Outcome RD_D_1.2

Increased budgetary allocation for GEWE at national and county level

Kenya has in 2022 made some progress in increasing the amount of budget allocated to Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE), with the support of UN Women. Results National Level According to a report by the Parliamentary Service Commission 2022 (Revenue and Expenditure for 2021/2022), the amount of budget allocated to GEWE in Kenya for the FY 21/22 increased by 0.9% (KES. 314.82 million). The full amount allocated to GEWE was KES 103.7 billion representing 3.24% of the total national budget of KES 3.7 trillion. In the 2020/21 national budget allocation for addressing equity and poverty through social protection for vulnerable groups GEWE allocation stood at KES 103.4 billion (3.4% of the national budget), an increase from KES 88.4B in FY2019/20 (3.16 % of the total national budget). Despite the slight increase in the budget allocated to Gender Empowerment for the FY 21/22, the National Government expenditure on social services decreased by 23.2% from KES. 64.3 billion in 2020/21 to KES. 49.4 billion in 2021/22. Loan disbursements by the Women Enterprise Fund and the Uwezo Fund decreased by 4.6%and 5.4% to KES. 3.1 billion and KES. 0.6 billion, respectively, in 2021/22. Disbursement by the Youth Enterprise Development Fund increased by 25.7% to KES. 730 million in 2021/22. Moreover, Grants disbursed by the National Government Affirmative Action Fund increased by 19.4% to KES. 1.1 billion in 2021/21. The total value of public procurement reserved for youth, women, and Persons with Disabilities (PWD) groups increased by 25.0% from KES. 65.3 billion in 2020/21 to KES. 81.6 billion in 2021/22 [Source of Data: Economic Survey 2022, pg.7] In comparison, Loan disbursements by Women Enterprise Fund, Uwezo Fund and Youth Enterprise Development Fund increased to 1.4% 26% and 21.5%, respectively in 2020/21. The total amount of grants disbursed by the National Government Affirmative Action Fund in three of their programmes (Social Economic Empowerment, Value Addition Initiatives and Bursaries Scholarships for vulnerable students), increased by 3.8 per cent from KES 758.9 million in 2019/20 to KES 788 million in 2020/21. County Level Similar results were observed at the county level, especially in the priority counties of UN Women. For instance, in Wajir County, the County Assembly allocated Ksh 3.5M for youth and women empowerment projects in the FY 2021/22 with priorities being given to a revolving fund accessible to women and youth to enable them to invest in income-generating activities. The net effect of this allocation was to have more funds for special interest groups with the aim of improving their lives and livelihood. In Kajiado the County Assembly approved Ksh 15M for the youth and women empowerment fund an amount that would be utilized as a revolving fund for the mentioned SIG. Further Isiolo allocated an additional 22 million for youth, PWD, and women empowerment programs, which include but are not limited to the construction of vocational institutes and having an allocation to boost the small and medium enterprises for the youth and women in the county. Lamu County Assembly Allocated Ksh 4M towards youth, women, and PWDs empowerment schemes in the FY 2021/ 22 with social halls being constructed where women and youth would converge to learn and acquire skills on investment opportunities in place. Garissa County gender champions advocated for an allocation of 63M towards gender interventions. The amount was however reduced by 50M, which was reallocated to offset pending bills. The balance, however, was channeled towards women empowerment projects in the County with the priority to provide a safe environment for women and children by putting in place mechanisms to reduce gender-based marriages and FGM as well as offering women some funds to invest in income-generating activities. Notably, Isiolo, Lamu, Kajiado and Wajir counties did not have gender responsive budgeting policies in place for the FY 20/21 therefore data on budget allocation to GEWE was not available for the FY 20/21 in these counties. These results build on the previous results on GEWE budgetary allocation for the FY 20/21 in Muranga, Kiambu and Meru County which stood at KES 6.2M, 5M and 4M respectively. UN Women will continue supporting national institutions such as Society of the Clerks at the Table (SOCATT), Council of Governors (CoG), County Assemblies Forum (CAF), Commission Revenue Allocation (CRA) and Office of Control of Budget (OCOB) to upscale the capacity gains in the 14 devolution counties to the other 33 counties across the country. Contribution of UN Women UN Women contributed to these results through various interventions. Firstly, UN Women supported Society of the Clerks At The Table (SOCATT) in the drafting and final review of the county assembly gender analysis toolkit for county assemblies in Kenya, which was used to mainstream gender in county plans and budgets including County Integrated Development Plans (CIDP III). Further, UN Women coached and mentored the programme staff of Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development (TICH) and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) on how to conduct monitoring and reporting of gender audits conducted by gender champions. UN Women has also supported the Office of the Control of Budget and National Treasury through the development of the Controller of Budget Management Information System (COBMIS). Specifically, UN Women provided inputs draft guidelines on the gender variables to be integrated in the system. Lessons learned It is important to have continuous efforts and follow-up of operationalization of COBMIS to ensure data on gender-related projects in the social sector in the Counties is fully disaggregated

Increased budgetary allocation for GEWE at national and county level

In 2021 UN Women continued to work collaboratively with relevant actors to support institutional strengthening, policy support, advocacy and awareness-raising on increased budgetary allocation for GEWE at both county and national levels. National The 2021/22 national budget allocation for addressing equity and poverty through social protection for vulnerable groups stood at KES 103.4 Billion (3.4% of the national budget), an increase from KES 88.4B in FY2020/21 (3.16 % of the total national budget). Loan disbursements by Women Enterprise Fund, Uwezo Fund and Youth Enterprise Development Fund increased to 1.4% 26% and 21.5%, respectively in 2020/21. The total amount of grants disbursed by the National Government Affirmative Action Fund in three of their programmes (Social Economic Empowerment, Value Addition Initiatives and Bursaries Scholarships for vulnerable students), increased by 3.8 per cent from KES 758.9 million in 2019/20 to KES 788.0 million in 2020/21. T he national gender machinery received a marginal boost in resource allocation from 0.20% of the total national allocation in 2020/21 to 0.21% in 2021/22 (Programme based budget). County Through the partnership with the Society of Clerks at the Table (SOCATT), the capacity of gender champions drawn from County Assemblies staffers was strengthened to support county legislators in carrying out their budget oversight roles with a gender lens. Following the enhanced capacity on gender-responsive budgeting, the gender champions in Muranga, Kiambu and Meru County Assemblies have facilitated the discussion and actions towards proposals for allocations under the supplementary budgets Financial Year (FY) 21/22 for gender mainstreaming. The proposed budgets are Kshs 6.2M, 5M and 4M respectively. Through capacity support provided by the gender champion in Wajir county, 3.5M was allocated towards gender interventions. Similarly, Garissa has allocated 13M to address county gender priorities.