Facts and figures behind the budget

Date: January 1, 1970

This article is an analysis of the 2005/2006 Lesotho budget.

This article may be used in training to:

Demonstrate how most budgets in the region are gender blind, and how a gender aware perspective would raise critical questions about resource allocations.

Trainer’s notes

The following set of questions may be used to conduct a gender analysis of this or any other budget:

1) Is gender mentioned anywhere in the budget? If so, where?

Only once: the Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation budget.

2) What proportion of the overall budget may be regarded as gender specific?

The budget for the above ministry over the total (M36.5/M4154.3) = 0.9% or less than one percent of the total.

3) Which other sectors of the budget have a bearing on gender? What share of the budget do these receive?

Ministries that have a critical bearing on gender equality include: agriculture, health, education and training, justice, human rights and rehabilitation; employment and labour. These do receive the lions share of the budget, but critical questions need to asked regarding the allocation within sectors and beneficiaries; for example what proportion of women benefit from agricultural extension services.

4) Which sectors have little bearing on gender? What share of the budget do they receive?

Defense, which receives (M217.9/4154.3*100)= 5.2% of the budget; compare this to less than 1% for gender, youth, sport and recretation.

5) What other data would be necessary to determine the extent to which the budget affects women and men?

Critical information includes distribution of resources within sectors, as well as gender disaggregated data on beneficiaries. For example:

· What proportion of the education budget goes towards educare and literacy, two areas that are often ignored but have a critical bearing on women?

· What proportion of girls and boys are there at all levels and in all areas of education?

· What proportion of women is reached by agricultural extension services?

· What proportion of women is able to access credit facilities?

· What proportion of the Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation budget goes to gender?

6) If you were conducting interviews with citizens on their responses to the budget and wanted to draw out its gender dimensions, who would you target and what kind of questions might you ask?

This could include private sector and NGO representatives, as well as “ordinary” women and men. Questions might include whether they think the budget accurately reflects the most pressing priorities in the country; to which sectors and/or sub sectors they feel more resources should be allocated; whether they feel that there should be more resources specifically allocated for advancing gender equality and why.

Some training exercises

The above exercise can be repeated using the local budget.

Click here for additional training resources and information. Refer to fact sheet five.

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