BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Prime Minister Jeremiah Manel has responded positively to Opposition Leader Matthew Wale’s concerns regarding the budget cut for the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA).
Wale raised the concern when he reflected on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recommendation for an additional budget to be allocated for violence against women and girls in the country.
The opposition leader also urged the members of Parliament (MP) to take a zero-tolerance attitude towards this cancer, violence against women and girls in the midst.
He said that the allocations in the budget do not reflect a zero-tolerance attitude but speak of light-hearted, neglectful and heartless.
In response, Prime Minister Manele confirmed the Government’s negligence of the important requirements and needs of the ministry.
“So as a coordinating department, we will work very closely with finance and, of course, with the Ministry of Women, so that earlier on in the budget process, they come with fully costed programs and projects so that we can improve in terms of the budget allocation. We note the point you raised earlier in terms of papers coming to Cabinet,” PM Manele said.
He said that the ministries do check with the Ministry of Finance in terms of the financial implications of programs that they bring to the Cabinet.
“It’s also important to note, while the allocations in the budget for this ministry are extremely low, we will work to improve on those, it is also important to note that some of the issues or even initiatives affecting the Ministry of Women, Youth and Children are also cross-cutting issues,” he said.
He said that there is a need to streamline these programs more strategically going forward to achieve milestones, especially under the Ministry of Women, Youth and Children.
“At the same time, the other line ministries that do address women’s issues like health, education, culture and tourism in terms of projects, agriculture. I think there is room for improvement on those as well, so that we can properly target the needs of women, youth and children going forward.
“But thank you for those important observations, and I hope next year we can improve in terms of preparations for 2027,” he said.
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