Monitoring budgets for child rights
The Bill of Rights in South Africa's constitution gives special consideration to child rights such as basic nutrition and education, health care and social services. Is it possible to ensure that these rights are realised?
There are more boys in hazardous work
than girls and in the year 2000, boys
accounted for 60 percent of children in
hazardous work (ILO)
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The Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has evaluated government programmes and budgets to see if child rights are being met. There is no explicit system in South Africa for linking budget planning and implementation to the rights of children. Having complete information about the government's obligations is the first step, as lack of clarity weakens attempts to hold the government accountable.
Idasa's budget monitoring involves three steps:
- investigating the content and scope of the right in question
- identifying and describing the government programmes which affect the right
- analysing the sufficiency of one programme affecting the right.
Over the last ten years government funding for children's programmes has improved in certain areas but many children continue to be vulnerable to poverty, extensive parental unemployment, neglect and abuse, HIV/AIDS and disability.
An analysis of the 2005 budget shows that the government plans to improve its current programmes but more needs to be done. For example, it aims to increase the Child Support Grant to poor families and include more children by extending it up to 14 years of age. More money is being invested in improving education services through higher teacher salaries, better infrastructure and extending the Primary School Feeding programme. However, there is no additional money for NGOs assisting the government in providing services such as assessing child abuse or juvenile crime cases and arranging foster care or alternate sentencing. Lack of adequate funds compromises their work as they cannot employ more staff or increase their salaries.
Idasa's budget and expenditure analysis has helped to improve services and assess programme costs. Advocacy groups use such information to strengthen their work on children's rights. For example, joint efforts by Idasa and other advocacy groups helped to improve the Child Support Grant programme. Child rights can be ensured through budget monitoring. It is important to identify:
- the international rights treaties a country has ratified and how this has been translated into national action plans and policies or legislation
- the available budget information to assess transparency levels
- critical allies in the government who are able to support the work to realise rights and budget transparency.
Shaamela Cassiem
Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa)
6 Spin Street
Cape Town
South Africa
T +27(0)21 467 5659
F +27(0)21 462 0162
shaamela@idasact.org.za
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