BY TAPFUMANEI MUCHABAIWA THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs has said underfunding of the parent ministry in the 2022 national budget will cripple women empowerment projects.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube allocated less than 1% of the 2022 the national budget to the Women Affairs ministry.
In a report on the 2022 national budget presented in the National Assembly, committee chairperson Chido Madiwa said the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) was underfunded to effectively support its activities in 2022.
“ZGC requires more resource allocations and timely disbursement in order for it to execute its mandate. The Anti-Domestic Violence Council, has been unable to carry out its work effectively due to lack of any meaningful funding, yet it was established to promote the protection and relief of victims of domestic violence through research, information dissemination, co-ordination and monitoring,” the report read.
The committee called for gender responsive budgeting and the crafting of legislation that criminalises confiscation of informal traders’ wares by law enforcement agents.
“There is a need for the ministry to push for the criminalisation of actions by the municipal police and Zimbabwe Republic Police, who confiscate goods from informal traders for selling in non-designated areas. Workspaces are inadequate and this should be taken into consideration,” the committee said.
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