By The Respondents Reporter
The government is moving to strengthen its budgeting and public financial management systems to ensure that public resources are allocated and spent in ways that address the needs of both women and men.
Finance Minister Ambassador Khamis Mussa Omar said the government would deepen the integration of gender considerations into fiscal policy, budget preparation, resource allocation and monitoring of public programmes.
He said the move was aimed at ensuring government spending produces more inclusive development outcomes, rather than focusing solely on the amount of money allocated to various programmes.
Ambassador Omar made the remarks in Dodoma during a meeting with UN Women Tanzania Resident Representative Julia Broussard at the Ministry of Finance's Treasury Square offices.
The discussions centred on strengthening cooperation between the ministry and UN Women in implementing Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB).
“Gender considerations must be integrated into fiscal policies, the budget preparation process, resource allocation and monitoring of government programmes to ensure national plans contribute to building an inclusive and equitable economy,” Ambassador Omar said.
He said the 2026/27 national budget had taken gender considerations into account, with the government now considering a Gender Budget Statement as part of its formal public financial management system.
The statement is expected to provide a clearer picture of how budget decisions and public expenditure address gender-related priorities.
The minister said the government also plans to introduce Gender Budget Tagging, which would enable authorities to identify, track and analyse public spending directed towards gender equality and women's empowerment.
He stressed that accountability should go beyond tracking allocations and expenditure.
“The important issue is not only to look at the amount of money allocated or spent, but also the results achieved from those resources and to measure the outcomes of public expenditure,” he said.
The proposed systems could give policymakers and other stakeholders a better basis for assessing whether public funds allocated to gender-related programmes are delivering measurable benefits.
For her part, Ms Broussard said the Ministry of Finance has an important role in ensuring Tanzania generates and publishes information required under Sustainable Development Goal 5, Indicator 5.c.1.
The indicator measures whether countries have systems for tracking and making public allocations and expenditure aimed at advancing gender equality and women's empowerment.
Ms Broussard said UN Women would continue supporting the ministry in strengthening institutional capacity and systems for incorporating gender considerations into national planning, budgeting and public resource management.
The partnership will also promote greater use of budget data and statistics in government decision-making, including tracking resources allocated to gender priorities and assessing their impact.
The initiative comes as governments globally face growing pressure to demonstrate not only how public money is allocated, but also whether expenditure translates into tangible improvements in people's lives.
The meeting was attended by Ministry of Finance officials, including Assistant Commissioner for External Finance Melckzedek Mbise and Assistant Commissioner for Government Budget Management Andambike Mololo, as well as other ministry officials and UN Women representatives.
