Centre Seeks Women Participation In Budget Process

Women have been called upon to actively  participate in budget processes
The founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kebetkache  Women Resource and Development Centre, Miss Emeni Okon, gave this charge recently at a workshop on Finance for Development, organised by the centre in Port Harcourt.
Okon, who was speaking while presenting the reports of a research on women participating in budget process, to civil society organizations, called on women groups to engage government on budget  for women in the society.
She said the aim of the workshop was to find ways to  increase women participation in budget planning and implementation.
According to the activist, “we want to mobilise people to engage the government of the day to ensure that women and  community needs and aspirations are imputed into the budget so that  officials will not sit in their  offices  and draw up budgets for projects or activities that they assume are addressing women and community needs”.
She continued, “budget  should actually evolve from the  community, so we are  looking at increasing advocacy and  campaign  for people to speak up.
She further said the research work would assist the government in reflecting the basic community needs inside the budget”.
Okon noted that the research  was carried  out in four states including Rivers, Lagos, Delta and Enugu.

Tonye Nri-Dappa