South Africa started the Women’s Budget Initiative in 1995 as part of its
commitment to meeting its gender equality objectives and gender
mainstreaming. However, in later years, research has found that government
Gender Responsive Budgeting or GRB initiatives in South Africa are either
dormant or dead. There is a range of reasons for this and some of them are
not directly related to gender budgets or even gender. Research has shown
that perhaps the greatest weakness is the lack of advocacy.
From the review of existing literature, it is clear that there is a need for strong
alliances between key stakeholders, which are Parliament, non-governmental
organisations, academics, United Nations and the media to sustain the
momentum of the gender budget process. Capacity building and training are
also important for budget officers, civil society, national and local
parliamentarians, given the low level of skilled financial personnel in
municipalities. The availability of adequate sex-disaggregated data is an
important success factor for municipalities so that they can deliver services
equitably to their communities.
This research is exploratory in nature and focuses on assessing GRB in one
of South Africa’s largest urban municipalities. It also reviewed the 2012/13
Integrated Development Plan through a focus on health, housing
infrastructure, safety and security and education. These are some of the wellknown
variables to ease the plight of the poor and are good quality of life
indicators for men, women, boys and girls.
The research method that has been used in this research is both qualitative
and quantitative. This study has found that there is no clear co-coordinated
plan for the implementation of GRB in this metropolitan municipality. The lack
of resources is also seen as the main challenge to GRB in this metropolitan
municipality.Public AdministrationM.P.A
