Gender Budget Tracking Workshop Concluded in Monrovia

(Monrovia, March 24, 2011-MICAT) A three-day gender budget tracking on information, Education and communication (IEC) materials development workshop has ended in Monrovia with a quest to strengthen government and civil society capacities in budget process considering gender responsive measures.

According to the facilitators who were drawn from the United Nations System, consultants Obey Nwankwo and Stella Twea, the rationale for gender responsive budgeting against the backdrop that national budgets impact various sections of society differently through the pattern of resource allocation and priority according to competing sectors.
At the opening session, the UN consultants asserted that gender responsive budgeting measures the extent to which gender commitments are translated into budgetary processes that facilitate accountability, transparency and the participation of the community.
MICAT release quotes Madam Stella Twea as saying that budgets are usually indicators of various governments’ commitment worldwide to meet the social and economic needs of its people.
Madam Twea indicated that the United Nations Women are working not only in Liberia, but are engaging in global campaign for national budgets to reflect government social and economic policy priorities and translates political commitments into decisions on where and how funds should be spent.
The participants of the workshop were drawn from civil society organizations, relevant ministries and agencies including the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICAT) as a strategic institution in the area of Information in budget tracking.
Other participants who were drawn from the civil society expressed their commitment to collaborate with UN Women in finding ways and means in responding to gender measures during budgetary allocation.