Does the 2023/24 budget cater to the advancement of women?   

By Emmanuel Kashaija

The Budget reading was highly anticipated and some of the key points we in the women’s movement looked for were efforts of fast-tracking key NDP-III projects, mainly those with direct bearing on the lives and livelihoods of women and girls.

Whereas the NDP-III had 69 core projects spread across the 20 programmes, the recently concluded mid-term review revealed that only 20 (29%) were on track. The Human Capital Development (HCD) has projects and mandates that we consider fundamental for gender responsive service delivery and gender equality. It includes the development of at least 2 regional oncology centres; fully equipping of referral hospitals and increasing their functionality to at least 75%; and the establishment of a national productivity centre.

The rationale for ensuring that service delivery & development priorities of women and girls remains strong as they currently constitute at least 52% of Uganda’s population, and yet have been left at the periphery of development processes. We can assert that no true development can be achieved while leaving behind more than half of a nation’s population.

Additionally, according to a 2020 report by UBOS and CSO partners, 50% of households headed by women experience multidimensional poverty compared to 46% of male-headed households. The situation is worse among more vulnerable groups of women such as widows where the prevalence is at 56%.

While the Forum for Women in Development (FOWODE) appreciates the government’s commitment to the development of hard infrastructure (roads, airports, and the rail system), we would like the government to pay attention to the grave importance of addressing mind-set issues that affect citizens’ participation in development. These include the highly prevalent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Gender Based Violence (GBV).

That is because the estimates by programme allocation for FY 2024/2025 showed that development plan implementation (44.16%), human capital development (16.1%), governance and security (12.4%), integrated transport infrastructure & services (10.29%) had the lion’s share, whilst, mineral development (0.05%) and community mobilisation and mind-set change programmes (0.07%) had crumbs.

A recent study conducted by FOWODE on the opportunity cost of meagre budgeting for GBV prevention found that citizens in just two districts (Sheema & Kabale) bore costs to a tune of Shs168b owing to GBV. These numbers are much graver when expanded to a national scale. Addressing GBV, therefore, ceases to be just a women’s rights issue, but a national development issue.

Additionally, a study by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated that GBV incidents cost the Uganda’s economy about Shs77b every year.

However, it is worth noting, from the just read budget that the Uganda Revenue Authority has a high target of Shs32.3 trillion. That increased from Shs29 trillion, according to available data, to accommodate the ambitious Shs72 trillion budget. The question of how taxation affects gender equality has gained much relevance in recent times and needs to also pre-occupy policy makers’ minds.

Uganda runs the risk of pushing citizens further into poverty while trying to extract from them more resources to support ambitious tax revenue targets. Women, who are mostly employed in the small-scale informal sector, run a higher risk of collapsed businesses if tax collection is done blindly to the unique challenges they face.

Education is key in boosting the informal sector to make better earnings as well as empowering the girl child. In 2023, the cabinet recommended that an extra Shs309.162b be allocated to support full and effective implementation of free primary and secondary education in the country. Sadly, the government only managed to find Shs15.2b (Shs4b for supporting 38 primary schools and Shs11.2b for secondary schools) for this purpose.

Uganda’s education system is already riddled with challenges for poor and rural communities, especially for the girl child. The president’s campaign promise to provide free sanitary pads for girls in schools remains unfulfilled, yet it would have a huge positive bearing on girls’ ability to stay in school during menstruation.

The budget is a key national instrument, not only useful for the delivery of services to citizens, but also for the achievement of development and social goals such as gender equality and wealth/resource redistribution.

At FOWODE, we assert that women who comprise 52% of Uganda’s population should have their priorities reflected in the budget. We are committed to always providing government with alternative views of economic policy issues for the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality in Uganda.

The writer is a Gender and Economic Justice Programme Manager – Forum for Women in Democracy