Demanding Good Governance by Mary McNeil & Carmen Malena

Author:Mary McNeil & Carmen Malena [McNeil, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8213-8380-3
Publisher: THE WORLD BANK
Published: 2010-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Box 6.1 Children’s Participation in Budgeting Processes

NANGO values children’s participation as both a means and an end in its work, and it encourages and enables children to make their views known on issues that affect them. Put into practice, participation entails listening to children in all their varied ways of communicating. Participation ensures their freedom to express themselves and takes their views into account when making decisions that affect them. Engaging children in dialogue and exchange allows them to learn constructive ways of influencing the world around them. Children’s participation, therefore, must be authentic and meaningful—starting with children and young people themselves, on their own terms, within their own realities, and in pursuit of their own visions, dreams, hopes, and concerns.

NANGO, through the CFNBI, facilitated the establishment of different Children’s Clubs, run by children. The Children’s Club in Bulawayo held a Children’s Convention in May 2004 to promote dialogue with policy makers in the province on budgetary matters. The Chitungwiza Junior Council, through support from the CFNBI, held a Children’s Gala, which the local member of parliament attended, to sensitize other children on how budgets could be used to alleviate child poverty.

The media also have proven to be crucial partners and instrumental tools in championing children’s concerns and priorities. Through collaboration with the IN-TV Citizen Child program, children have participated in the budgeting process by airing their views about national resource allocation on national television and radio. (IN-TV is a Zimbabwean production company whose primary objective is to ensure children’s participation in development activities through radio and television).

In a landmark achievement, with NANGO’s help, children from all over Zimbabwe formed the Zimbabwe Child and Youth Budget Network (Z-CYBN) to find ways of enhancing their participation in budgeting processes. Z-CYBN got its start at a CFNBI-organized capacity-building workshop, held in April 2006 in Harare, for child legislators and other child-led groups. Z-CYBN was born out of the realization that even though children and young people have the potential to influence development processes that affect them, there was no effective child and youth participation in budgeting processes. Although children have been actively participating in issues such as HIV and AIDS campaigns, reproductive health discussions, talent shows, and other such activities, their views were not being deliberately and adequately sought and captured in policy and budget processes. Z-CYBN seeks to address this gap by giving voice, space, and capacities for all young people to participate meaningfully in budgeting processes.

In 2006 the Z-CYBN held a National Children’s Conference on the Budget attended by the speaker of parliament, the UNICEF country representative, the director of budgets within the Ministry of Finance, and the Save the Children Norway country director, among other distinguished delegates. Children continue to actively engage policy makers and budget makers on issues that affect them. With support from the CFNBI, children are developing and implementing annual plans informed by their strategic plan.

Source: NANGO 2006.

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