CSOs Commit To Gender Budget Monitoring At CSJ’s Capacity Workshop

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria have agreed to spotlight the gender-friendly budgeting systems across government ministries, departments and agencies.

This was the outcome of the two-day training organised by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) with funding support from the British Council (EU-ACT) for Nigerian Civil Society Organizations on budgeting for the reduction of Gender-based Violence.

The training was aimed at present a developed manual on budgeting for the reduction of gender-based violence, review the stages of the budgeting process; and strengthen the capacity of CSOs to effectively mainstream principles of gender-based violence prevention and redress in budget, advocate and demand accountability in budget allocations, as well as releases and monitor utilization.

The workshop provided a relationship between the social contract theory and the state’s obligation to attain the rights and needs of citizens and residents within its territory. This obligation flows from the basic necessities of life to more complex demands.

It reviewed both the legal and constitutional obligations of the state to not only provide and protect the rights of citizens but to also make a budget which shows the revenue expenditure estimates as well as the developmental priorities of the government in any given year.

The CSO participants at the training committed to budget analysis using previous or extant budgets with a view to extrapolating how they reflect on gender equity.

They will also be employing budget tracking and monitoring to ensure allocations are properly and effectively disbursed to the priority gender-based violence expenditure items.

They also agreed to use lobbying and participation in legislative hearings as a means to bring the challenges and needs of actual and potential survivors to the attention of lawmakers and convince them of the need to take action favourable to the rights holders.

CSOs at the training generally work to promote budget awareness- improved understanding of budget data for legislators and other CSOs, budget transparency- independent scrutiny, dissemination and improved access to government data and participation in the budget process which involves improved legislative engagement.