Last Updated- Jun 22, 2009 19:21 - - 0 Comments


Gender responsive budgeting best strategy for all round development – Dansua

Akua Dansua - Minister, Women and Children Ministry

Akua Dansua - Minister, Women and Children Ministry

Ms Akua Dansua, Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, on Monday said incorporating gender perspectives in the national development budget at all levels, should not be misconstrued to mean women were calling for more money.

Rather, she said, the call aimed at apportioning scarce resources to meet the strategic gender needs of society.

Ms Dansua’s remarks were contained in a speech read for her to open a three-day National Advocacy Training Workshop on Gender Responsive Budgeting and Aid Effectiveness for selected members of parliament and staff of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Ho.

She explained that gender responsive budgeting “is the incorporation of gender perspectives at all levels of the budgetary process and restructuring revenues and expenditures in order to promote gender equality”.

Ms Dansua said gender responsive budgeting sought to “qualitatively improve the lives and welfare of citizens, which include the poor, the disadvantaged and the vulnerable, especially women and children”.

She said the workshop would deepen the knowledge of policy makers and core staff of the MDAs in “gender equality and equity, women’s empowerment and the role of women in National Development”.

The Commonwealth Secretariat is sponsoring the workshop organised by the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs.

Madam Jennet Kem, Advisor to the secretariat said the workshop would equip participants with gender responsive budgeting concepts, approaches, tools and techniques to enable effective gender mainstreaming in development processes on the lines of the principles and mechanisms of the Paris declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

She said the workshop would give the technical people the capacity to do gender related work in compliance with various decisions of forums to translate donor and government commitment into improved development practice, results and impacts.

Madam Kem quoted a statement by the UN Secretary-General in 2008 which said, “investment in women and girls has multiplier effect on productivity, efficiency and sustained economic growth.”

She said that approach could lead to the fast attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Mrs Francisca Pobee, Acting Director of the Department of Women, said the workshop would introduce participants to gender terms, gender mainstreaming in budgeting in the public sector and pool resources to enhance aid effectiveness in the country.

Mr Joseph Amenowode, Volta Regional Minister said national development strategies would be lopsided if gender issues were not built into them.

Source: GNA

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