In order to ensure that departments meet their target of including women in departmental planning, the National Treasury is expected to roll out the first phase of a strategy and roadmap for gender-responsive budgeting.

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, said this when she tabled the department’s budget vote on Thursday.

“In 2021, I reported that the department has been engaging with the National Treasury, DPME and the IMF in developing a strategy and road map for gender responsive budgeting.

“I am happy to inform this House that there will be a roll out of phase 1 of the project over the coming months by the National Treasury,” she said.

In addition to this, Nkoana-Mashabane said the department in partnership with the European Union (EU) hosted a policy dialogue on gender responsive budgeting in February 2022 which included over 700 international and national experts and participants.

“The aim of this dialogue was to foster discussions on the policy directives for gender responsive budgeting in the country.”

Nkoana-Mashabane said, meanwhile, that during the 2021 Budget Vote she had said that the department would undertake an analysis of the draft National Department Annual Performance Plans (APPs).

“In this context, the 2021 Monitoring and Evaluation Report showed that less than 50% of departments were implementing the Gender Budgeting Framework.

“However, the analysis of the 2022/23 draft APPs points to great improvement in inclusion of priorities of women, youth and disability in these plans. We are targeting an increase towards 100% by 2024,” she said.

Nkoana-Mashabane said the South African economy was built on mining and agriculture, with land being a key factor.

“Therefore, my department has signed an MOU with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in order to ensure that women, youth and persons with disabilities are mainstreamed in agriculture and land redistribution.”

Nkoana-Mashabane said there was a need to harness the potential of the country’s youthful population.

“This includes the political will by government and captains of industry to ensure an integration of youth across all strategic sectors of our society, especially the economy,” she said.

In the 2022/2023 financial year, the NYDA will target:

• The training of more than 25 000 young people to be youth entrepreneurs;

• Supporting 2 000 youth-owned enterprises with financial assistance through the NYDA grant programme. These enterprises will go on and create 6 000 jobs in the economy;

• Providing skills development programmes to 75 000 young people to enable them to enter the economy;

• Placing 10 000 young people in jobs through the National Pathway Management Network;

• Recruiting 50 000 young people in the structured National Youth Service where young people will earn an income, learn skills and increase their employability and offer meaningful quality service to their communities; and

• Conducting monitoring and evaluation reports on the impact of its grant programme, revitalised National Youth Service and the Community Works Programmes.

Source: South African Government News Agency