The Gender Division, in collaboration with the Non-Governmental Gender Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC), is conducting a budget tracking exercise in the health and agriculture sectors in Chinsali and Isoka districts.
NGOCC Communications Lead Matthews Musokotwane explained that the budget tracking exercise will help to examine the allocation, release, utilisation and implementation of public resources to establish whether government expenditure is responding to community needs, particularly those of women, girls and other vulnerable groups.
Mr Musokotwane said the exercise will strengthen public accountability and promote evidence-based advocacy.
He said this when he, accompanied by other NGOCC officials, paid a courtesy call on Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary, Dr Tuesday Bwalya, at his office.
Mr Musokotwane said the exercise will involve consultations with relevant stakeholders, including District Health Office representatives, local government officials, health facility staff, district agriculture officers and beneficiaries.
He further said that stakeholders are expected to provide budgetary and expenditure information, share progress on implementation, highlight challenges affecting service delivery and identify opportunities for improving the utilisation of public resources.
Mr Musokotwane said the team will also visit selected projects and service delivery facilities to verify implementation progress, where applicable.
Meanwhile, Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary Tuesday Bwalya has urged stakeholders to use budget tracking findings to strengthen the inclusion of gender issues in government planning and resource allocation.
Dr Bwalya has encouraged NGOCC and other relevant stakeholders to raise gender-related concerns during the budget preparation process, noting that the current budget has already been consolidated ahead of its final presentation in Parliament.
“Bring up your tracking reports and show how the Province and the nation at large fared particularly on mainstreaming women’s issues into the national budget,” Dr Bwalya said.
Dr Bwalya said the exercise will help stakeholders assess whether budget allocations are gender sensitive by examining issues such as recruitment, the representation of women and men, and funding for training and skills upgrading.
He said such assessments will help establish whether public expenditure is responding fairly to the different needs of vulnerable women, girls and men.
While in the district, the team is expected to visit the One-Stop Centre and Chief Nkula’s One Stop centre to appreciate their operations.
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