Forum for Women in Democracy Uganda

Parliament has been challenged to make the next 2012/2013 budget gender responsive for the equitable development of the country. The ministry of finance is expected to table the next Budget Framework Paper at the beginning of April for scrutiny and members of parliament have been tasked to ensure that the resultant budget is friendly. Women make up the largest proportion of the country’s population but less has been done to by government to improve their plight. They continue to suffer most due to poor budgeting. The Forum for Women in Democracy and the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association have held a gender budget training workshop for Gender Responsive Budgeting champions in parliament under the theme; enhancing the role of parliament in gender responsive budgeting . The training was attended by 30 members from the finance, social services, agriculture and the budget committees of parliament. According to Julius Mukunda, the Senior Program Director, Forum fo

In 2011, FOWODE began examining the extent to which funds for safe motherhood especially Family Planning Services have been utilized and whether there are any leakages in distribution of family planning drugs and materials. While applying the Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) methodology, FOWODE tracked the flow of family planning funds/commodities from Uganda’s Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to the Ministry of Health, National Medical Stores (NMS) and to the Health Center IVs and Health Center IIIs in the 5 selected districts. In total 20 Health Center IIIs and 10 Health Center IVs were randomly but proportionately selected in Luwero, Kabale, Kibaale, Gulu and Kibuku and data was gathered to ascertain the amounts of funds allocated for family planning services. To discover the nature and efficacy of criteria used to allocate, disburse and account for funds released for Family Planning services and also to determine the levels of re-allocations,

Former MP Susan Nampijja suffered a tragic experience when her former companion inflicted deep cuts to her head. Believing she was dead, the estranged Geoffrey Mukisa attempted to commit suicide. All because he could not let Nampijja keep property she had reportedly acquired when their relationship blossomed. Nampijja is a daughter of Rubaga South MP Ken Lukyamuzi. Together, they can petition the powerful and when tragedy befell her, her father gave an impassioned speech in parliament. Many came to her defence. Police was quick to act; a search was immediately set for the culprit. Though Mukisa was found unconscious, police stayed guard at his room at Malaga Hospital lest he gained strength and tried to escape prosecution. He died on his hospital bed. But what if Mukisa had tried to usurp property from an average Ugandan woman? Isn’t it instructive that when Dorcus Inzikuru , she of the Olympic Gold Medal fame, caught her husband with another woman in her prize house in Ar

Forum for Women in Democracy ( FOWODE ) in partnership with the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, Uganda Women Parliamentary Association ( UWOPA ) in 2011 created and supported a task force in parliament to act as gender responsive budget champions mandated to spearhead gender budget advocacy at parliament level. I n order to improve advocacy efforts of the gender budget champions, a capacity building training has been scheduled for the 18 th – 20 March 2012 under the theme “Enhancing the role of Parliament in Gender Responsive Budgeting” to equip the parliamentary gender champions with skills and techniques critical for analyzing government plans, policies and budgets from a gender perspective. According to Julius Mukunda the Senior Program Director, Forum for Women in Democracy this training is timely considering that Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED) is preparing to present the indicative planning figures to parliament, the newly acquired

Members of the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group met to develop a checklist that will guide the 9th Parliamentarian when critiquing the Budget Framework Paper for the financial year 2012/13. Recognizing that Parliament is mandated to check that spending decisions are in line with national priorities, the budget advocacy group which advocates for pro-poor and gender sensitive budgets in Uganda believes that this checklist will guide parliament in ensuring that gender and pro- poor concerns are incorporated into the national budget priorities for the upcoming financial year 2012/13. Priority areas in Health , Educatio n, Agriculture , Information Communication and Technology , Trade , Water and Sanitation , Lands , social development and macro economics were identified and some of the emerging issues included the declining budgetary allocations to the water sector yet access to clean and safe water especially in the rural areas is still lacking. The other issue was government