In Kenya, the budget calendar is an annual exercise that counties undertake as part of the development planning process. The budget process has four parts: formulation, approval, implementation, and oversight. It is in the formulation stage where women and men get an opportunity to participate and present their community needs and priorities.

Women face several barriers that hinder their participation in public spaces and processes. These barriers are both structural and societal—and can be linked to the social, cultural, and gender norms that restrict their participation in decision-making spaces.

Gender norms that confine women’s life and time to the domestic sphere is one of the barriers to their participation in decision-making processes, particularly in public spheres of development. This is why women’s participation and representation in the budget process is important—so their voices are heard in the annual development plans where they can articulate their priorities based on their needs.

In August 2020, WE-Care partners Youth Alive! Kenya and GROOTS Kenya mobilized and engaged women and men from Nairobi, Kiambu, and Kitui counties to respond to the call for submissions on the County Development Plan. The women and men who participated in the drafting of the memo raised their priority needs, which were then handed over to policymakers.

Across the three counties, a total of 119 (15 men and 104 women) participated in this process. They prioritized the provision of clean and accessible water; accessible and equipped health care, early childhood development, and education centers; and accessible market sheds and roads. These priorities were submitted to the county government for inclusion and budgeting in the Annual Development Plan.

Youth Alive! Kenya and GROOTS Kenya, in partnership with community social auditors, will continue to track the inclusion of the mentioned priority areas in the master county Annual Development Plan document and, subsequently, in the 2020/2021 budget. They will also monitor the implementation of these priority areas.

The inclusion and implementation of the priority areas will be a significant step towards the reduction and redistribution of unpaid care and domestic work in households and communities in the three counties.

Written by Ruth Oloo and Vin Aranas.