Members of Parliament have been urged to appreciate the role of the Gender and Equity Certificate in processing bills and budgets.
According to the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, this is enshrined in the Public Finance Management Act, 2015 that made it mandatory for all ministries and agencies to incorporate gender and equity into planning and budgeting processes.
He adds that the action of issuing a certificate of gender compliance is expected to increase gender responsiveness of public expenditure.
“Social and economic parity can only be achieved when Members of Parliament are knowledgeable of the social gaps in communities and ably address them,” Mpuuga said.
The Leader of the Opposition these remarks while officiating at the orientation of selected Committees of Parliament on gender and equity planning and budgeting, as a development approach to realising socio-economic transformation of Uganda.
The Committees included the Equal Opportunities Committee of Parliament and the Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development Goals.
The Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Hon. Safia Nalule Juuko said that the Parish Development Model can succeed if all Ugandans are involved.
She added that achieving equal opportunities for all Ugandans takes time, and called on Parliament and ministries to consider the concerns of struggling people, through affirmative action.
“We are glad that the efforts we have put into equity over the last 20 years are paying off. Three blind students performed exceptionally well in the recent exams, and this this attributed to the longtime advocacy put in for persons with disability,” Nalule said.
Hon. Judith Alyek, the Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Committee pledged to champion gender and equity planning and budgeting.
She added that the merging of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) with the Uganda Human Rights Commission will limit resource allocation and implementation of the compliance.
“The certificates of Gender and Equity Compliance in budgeting have been offered by the Equal Opportunities Commission. Where shall we get them from now, if we do away with the Commission?” Alyek said.
The merger of the two bodies comes in light of Government’s plan to merge some agencies.
