WOMENS MOVEMENT CALLS FOR GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN BUDGET PREPARATIONS

ZNWL Executive Director Juliet Chibuta 

The Zambia National Women's Lobby Organization (ZNWL) has implored government to center its focus on gender mainstreaming through the budget formulation process.

ZNWL executive director Juliet Chibuta has told The Alf News Blog in an interview that government enhance budgetary allocation to gender  mainstreaming and programs that favor the marginalized in society.

She says government should ensure that the social sector such as the ministry of health is given priority as it favors women and children.

She says if the health sector is prioritized, the country will experience even further reductions child and maternal deaths.

She has since called for the restructuring of the budget process to provide for gender mainstreaming and the marginalized in society.

Ms. Chibuta has however hailed the gender ministry's efforts in inculcating gender budgeting in all the ministries.

Ms. Chibuta has also urged government to ensure that small scale women farmers in the country receive a fair share of the farming inputs through the E-Voucher.

She says that women in the country represent about 80 percent of the small scale farmers in the country hence the need for them to be given priority.

She further tells the Alf News Blog  news that in as much the women movement welcomes governments policies in infrastructure development, it is also prudent that it invests in its Citizens for self empowerment using various economic activities, citing farming as one of them.