For women to have any real power in society, they=20 need to be represented in the Budget, argues ANC MP=20 Pregs Govender=20
WHILE women have won initial victories by filling=20 positions of political power, economic power still=20 lies where it always has — with a few new black=20 faces — in the all-male white echelons of real=20
The Joint Standing Committee on Finance last year=20 suggested integrating gender planning with economic=20 planning as far as the Budget, legislation and=20 institutional changes were concerned, as a=20 challenge to departments.=20
The initiative met with some scepticism as well as =20 support — and work has begun on identifying Budget=20 changes which will impact on the lives of women –=20 the majority of South Africa’s poor and most=20
A country’s values are reflected in its Budget,=20 which shows who and what it values, whose work it=20 values, whom it rewards and whom it doesn’t. It is=20 thus a key target for transformation – and we have=20 a long way to go. =20
Most departmental budgets still follow old=20 apartheid lines: “police music”, for example, gets=20 R25-million, compared to R50-million for narcotics.=20 That this happens, despite clear policy often=20 existing in these areas, can be attributed to a=20 number of reasons:=20
* Most departments are still staffed largely by=20 old bureaucrats with old mindsets and there has not=20 been enough re-training of old staff to re-orient=20 them towards new priorities policies.=20
* Parliament has no power to amend the Budget. The=20 committee has hearings, analyses the Budget and=20 reports to Parliament. The Finance Department has=20 no obligation to answer to issues raised or make=20 changes. During the Budget debates, six=20 presentations on gender and finance were made. The=20 first minister said, patronisingly, it had all been=20 very educational. The second minister did not=20 seriously responded and the director-general said=20 gender should be dealt with by health, welfare or=20 the Reconstruction and Development Programme — ignoring the fact that every department, including=20 his, is responsible for implementing the RDP.=20
* Parliamentarians, who should be ensuring the=20 executive lives up to its election mandate, are=20 made ineffective by the lack of transformation of=20 Parliament itself. In my section, 80 MPs share one=20 secretary; there is no researcher. Far from there=20 being “too much participatory democracy”, lack of=20 resources means no real communication between=20 standing committees and the silent majority.=20
* Function committees, which process the Budget,=20 don’t get enough policy direction or political=20 leadership, either from departments or from=20
* Women in civil society are not organised around=20 Budget issues, which would strengthen the hand of=20 their representatives in Parliament. Changes that=20 are or are not happening are thus not monitored.=20 This, coupled with the inaccessibility of the=20 Budget process, means things stay in never-never=20
Another initiative aimed at seeing how policy gets=20 translated into rands and cents in a way that=20 changes women’s lives is the Women’s National=20 Empowerment Programme. This initiative was=20 developed as a response to the bleak picture=20 revealed by the South African report on the status=20 of women prepared for Beijing. After Beijing, the=20 programme is seen as a key area of work; hopefully=20 the government will increase resources for it. =20
Together with several NGOs (such as Case and the=20 Law, Race and Gender project who will edit the=20 report and Idasa who will help facilitate the work)=20 the finance committee has initiated a research=20 process to identify the budgetary changes necessary=20 to begin to impact on specific aspects of women’s=20
Balancing the need to focus on women with the need=20 to mainstream is important –the problem of=20 ghettoisation is one we are all familiar with. It=20 is easy to separate the ‘main Budget’ from what can=20 be peripheralised as the ‘women’s budget’.=20
Previously, the finance committee was the only=20 committee which examined the Budget. Its=20 recommendation that relevant portfolio committees=20 also look at it is now in effect, and has generated=20 interest in demystifying and transforming (not just=20 ‘tinkering with’) the budget process. Next year we=20 are proposing the finance committee set up a=20 working group on gender planning and economic=20 planning which will target the Budget. Committee=20 members — both men and women — have shown keen=20 initial interest for developing expertise in this=20
An international example of integrating gender and=20 economic planning is the Australian women’s budget=20 which forms part of the main budget and which=20 reports on steps taken by departments that promote=20 women’s equality and offers a comprehensive guide=20 to programmes and policies with implications for=20 women. It highlights progress and “gender equality=20 indicators” which measure women’s position in 14=20 areas of life, backed by detailed statistics.=20
For our Budget to change women’s lives, it is=20 essential to identify and clarify policy in each=20 area, translate this into concrete programmes,=20 spell out the budgetary implications and evaluate=20 priorities. With regard to domestic workers, for=20 example, while the Labour Relations Act is=20 important, change will depend on setting up wage=20 boards, a minimum wage and a social security=20
Realistic time-tables for implementation must be=20 set and our capacity to impact on, monitor and=20 measure change must be strengthened, through the=20 above and by identifying allies in Parliament,=20 government and civil society who can work together=20 towards the common goal of using public resources=20 to enable the poorest and most powerless to empower=20