STATE AUDIT OFFICE
- Press release -

Skopje, 11 July 2022

 

Effectiveness of Government measures on Gender Equality and Gender-responsive Budget Initiatives

 

Measures and activities taken by competent institutions are not sufficient to ensure effective implementation of the concept of equal opportunities for women and men in the processes of creation and implementation of policies

The objective of introducing the concept of gender equality of women and men in all institutions is to reduce the gap between women and men in all parts of society. The concept relies on best national and international practice, because gender equality is one of the key aspects for prosperity of the whole society as well as country obligation arising from the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2020 - 2030.

To provide necessary information and data on whether activities taken by competent institutions at central level provide conditions for promotion of gender equality, we conducted performance audit on the topic "Effectiveness of Government measures for gender equality and appropriate gender-responsive budget initiatives". The audit covered the period 2018-2020, although certain issues and events were covered subsequently until the date of reporting on the audit.

The performance audit was conducted to assess the state of affairs of gender equality in the country and in the institutions in RNM and to contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the process of introducing gender equality by identifying certain shortcomings / inaccuracies in the laws and bylaws,  competences, financing, HR resources, communication and cooperation of institutions responsible for setting up gender equality in RNM, monitoring level of realization of objectives and measures, and activities taken by competent institutions to improve the situation in the audited area.

      RNM population by gender[1]

The audit activities and evidence obtained provide basis for expressing the following conclusion:

Measures and activities taken by competent institutions are not sufficient to ensure effective implementation of the concept of equal opportunities for women and men in the processes of creation and implementation of policies, monitoring achievement of gender responsive budgeting goals at all stages of policy creation cycle - problem identification and assessment, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and achieving UN SDGs of Agenda 2020 - 2030.

Competent institutions in RNM at national level have not fully implemented the measures and activities planned and set in the current Strategy for Gender Equality, National Action Plans and Operational Plans. In addition, due to the lack of measurable indicators, the progress achieved and fulfillment of specific goals cannot be fully monitored. The Assembly of RNM has not adopted the National Strategy for Gender Equality 2021 - 2026.

The auditors identified insufficient coordination and communication between the competent institutions, lack of financial resources for implementation and enforcement of the process of gender equality and gender responsive budgeting.

At institutional level, it is necessary to take on activities for raising awareness of the importance of gender equality of managers in institutions, for improving HR resources to implement the process of gender equality, as well as continuous professional development of employees on gender equality.

Activities and the manner of implementation thereof are not precisely defined and conditions are not completely created for implementation of the process of gender responsive budgeting in all phases, which includes problem assessment, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation by the competent institutions in the country.

The Law on Budgets does not regulate the concept of gender responsive budgeting and the other laws are not harmonized in relation to gender equality, which contributes to untimely and incomplete fulfillment of gender goals. The programs envisaged with gender budget statements have not set appropriate measurable indicators and there is no summarizing of achieved results and progress to enable decision-making for the future course of the programs. We found absence of systematized job positions of gender equality coordinator in the ministries and larger state administration bodies, which does not ensure continuity in the implementation of the process of gender equality and gender- responsive budgeting.

The auditors point out the need to strengthen the role of the Commission for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, to assess the impact of regulation on women and men and to implement post-legislative oversight.

The above state of affairs influences the effectiveness of implementation of gender equality process and the slow dynamics of implementation of gender responsive budgeting by state administration bodies at central level, which aims to ensure that planned and allocated funds are equally taken into account and meet the needs, interests and priorities of both women and men.

Realization of necessary activities in the area subject to audit will contribute to improvement of gender equality in RNM, and thus to the overall process of gender equality in RNM. The performance audit activities aim to help competent institutions to focus on achieving the postulates set for improving the situation with gender equality in RNM in the future.

The performance audit covered the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia - General Secretariat; Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia; Ministry of Labor and Social Policy; Ministry of Defense; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning; Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy; and Agency of Youth and Sports. Questionnaires were also submitted to six political parties on the state of affairs and measures taken for promotion of equal participation of women and men in political parties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Press contact:

Albiona Mustafa Muhadziri +389 72 228 203 [email protected]

Mijalche Durgutov +389 70 358 486 [email protected]

Martin Duvnjak +389 75 268 517 [email protected]