Achieving Gender Equity in South African Local Government: Exploring the Synergies between Participatory Budgeting and Gender Responsive Budgeting

Local government budgeting has remained a highly specialised field of expertise in South Africa. Since the establishment of the democratic dispensation in 1994, the main priority has been to advance the interests of the previously marginalised groups, offering them financial support being the significant one for socio-economic development. The concept of participatory budgeting has, therefore, emerged as one of the initiatives applied to achieve social equity and ensuring that local communities can have a conversation about how to distribute resources fairly. However, the concept of gender-responsive budgeting that also gained traction at the same period has taken its own growth trajectory, frequently devoid of participatory techniques. This article used qualitative research to conduct literature analysis to understand the current dynamics on the application of the two concepts - participatory budgeting and gender-responsive budgeting - in the South African local government. The findings of the study demonstrated that participatory budgeting processes have remained rigid to incorporate gender dimensions. Consequently, the article suggested the establishment of a synergy between the two concepts to ensure that budget allocations reflect the interest of both men and women.