NGOCC disappointed 2016 national budget is gender blind

The Non Governmental Organizations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has expressed disappointment that the 2016 national budget has largely remained gender blind.

The NGOCC says it expected the budget to clearly allocate resources to gender issues such as the full implementation of the Anti-Gender Based Violence Act of 2011.

Executive Director Engwase Mwale says her organization is of the view that it is high time that government embraced gender responsive budgeting if challenges Zambia faces are to be addressed.

In a statement to Qfm News Ms. Mwale has however noted that her organization welcomes government’s allocation of K35.7 million to the Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund.

Ms. Mwale states that NGOCC on the other hand implores government not to politicize the fund by ensuring that all women of Zambia benefit from it regardless of their political affiliation.

She says her organization has also taken note that government has allocated K727, 900,000 towards the holding of the tripartite elections and the National Referendum to enact the new constitution but that NGOCC remains opposed to the simultaneous holding of the forthcoming general elections with the national referendum.

Ms. Mwale states that NGOCC is however glad that government has proposed to allocate K35.6 million to the rolling out of the school feeding Programme for vulnerable children especially targeting rural areas.

She says it is on the other hand sad that the allocation towards the health sector keeps reducing with the Minister proposing to spend a total of K4.4 billion in the sector.

Ms. Mwale notes that in the interim while her organization is still studying the proposed revenue measures, NGOCC maintains that there is need for the government to structure some tax measure that will equitably benefit Zambians from their natural resources including minerals.

She says NGOCC therefore envisaged an increase in the tax free threshold of the PAYE from K3000 to K4000 to ensure that citizens have more disposable income especially now, given the harsh economic situation.