Opposition Leader Wale slams drastic cut to budget of Ministry of women and youth
BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Leader of the Opposition, Matthew Wale, has raised serious concerns about the budget cut for the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA).
Wale said this in response to MWYCFA Minister Catty Nori’s presentation on her ministry’s budget and plans during the Committee of Supply proceeding on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday this week.
The Opposition Leader also noted similar budget cuts across various ministries.
Wale said that the common theme from Minister Nori is the fact that the finance department cut their budget even after the cabinet approved it.
“The Finance is more powerful than the cabinet. I don’t know how that works. The Cabinet should be the final approval over the budgets. Finance should not be the final approval of the budget. Nothing worked that way.
“When taking something that has fiscal implications, get finance to endorse it so any adjustments can be made. So, when the cabinet approves, we cannot make a mockery of the cabinet approval process,” Wale said.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs often get the least allocation and priority.
“And it is almost as if we don’t care as a collective leadership. Do we not care because it doesn’t touch us?”, Wale questioned.
“The extent of gender base violence in our society is very great indeed. Maybe we don’t believe it. Because perhaps we are insulated, or maybe it doesn’t touch your family,” Wale said.
Wale said investing in the Ministry is not just a social sector investment.
“It’s a big social safety net for us. It affects almost 80% of our women and girls. But this would be 2026, another year of neglect. Not a small neglect, gross, deliberate, by design neglect. Let’s take a zero-tolerance attitude towards this cancer in our midst.
“The allocations in the budget do not reflect a zero-tolerance attitude. It speaks of carelessness, light-hearted, neglectful. I have a really big disappointment. Worse than disappointment. So, we urge the government. We urge the Prime Minister to take a lead on this one and come up with some proactive initiatives,” he said.
For feedback, contact: [email protected]
