2016 SOCIAL PROTECTION BUDGET BRIEF

Transcription

1 ZIMBABWE 2016 SOCIAL PROTECTION BUDGET BRIEF Key Messages The Ministry of Pubic Service, Labour and Socia Wefare (MoPSLSW) that administers socia protection in Zimbabwe was aocated US$ miion a meagre 1% upward difference from the US$ miion aocated in Within the above amount, socia protection services in particuar, were aocated US$7.8 miion in the 2016 Budget, representing 0.2% of tota budget and 0.05% of GDP. Cash Transfers were aocated US$2 miion, transating to US37 cents per targeted househod in 2016, indicating an over-dependency on deveopment partner support. The E Nino reated Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy (FDMS) was aocated US$500 thousand, far too insufficient to cover the projected 2.8 miion food insecure peope, the majority of which are chidren. Education assistance in terms of schoo fee waivers was aocated US$10 miion, again, far too itte for the over 1 miion chidren who need schoo fees assistance. Government through partnership with UNICEF has deveoped a new Socia Protection Poicy Framework and Action Pan that needs to be impemented to hep unock resources and provide better sector coordination.

2 INTRODUCTION Socia Services 4.5% Labour Admin 1.7% Chid Wefare 7.9% Admin & Genera 84.2% The Ministry of Pubic Service, Labour and Socia Wefare (MoPSLSW) is responsibe for the socia protection system in Zimbabwe. The Ministry s priorities for 2016 incude the foowing: increasing access to schoo fees waivers under the Basic Education Assistance Modue (BEAM) by needy primary schoo chidren, orphans and other vunerabe chidren (OVC); provision of probation services to OVCs, scae up support grants to Chid Care institutions, scae up socia cash transfers; and strengthening the wefare of persons with disabiities through provision of empowerment oans. However, these priorities need to be funded and the 2016 aocation through the nationa budget eaves the socia protection system vunerabe and dependent for the most part on aready decining donor support towards socia protection. Training Centres 1.8% 2016 Budget Aocation Figure 1: Composition of Budget Aocation to MoPSLSW The Ministry of Pubic Service, Labour and Socia Wefare was aocated US$ miion. The Ministry ranks 7th on overa aocations. However, of the US$ miion aocated, US$147 miion (84%) is cassified as Administration and Genera which wi be spent on the pubic service medica aid scheme - Premier Service Medica Aid Society (PSMAS) and the government contribution to pubic sector empoyee pension contributions - Nationa Socia Security Authority (NSSA), US$120 miion and US$27 miion, respectivey. Training Centers and Labour Administration expenses accounts for 1.8% each, whist Socia Protection and Chid Wefare & Protection Services were aocated 4.5% and 7.9%, respectivey, (Figure 1). Figure 2: Chid Protection Indicators This Brief focuses on the aocations to Socia Protection and Chid Wefare & Protection Services, whose programmes have a direct impact on the webeing of chidren in Zimbabwe. Prevaence of sexua vioence, women (ZDHS) Prevaence of physica vioence, women (ZDHS) % of orphans among chidren 0-17 years (MIMS,ZDHS) Prevaence of chid marriage (UNICEF, SOWC, MICS) MICS 2010/ /06 The aocations for socia protection and chid protection services are insufficient, are predominanty carried out off-budget by deveopment partners, and are unsustainabe. And ooking at some of the chid protection indicators (Figure 2) underscores the chaenge for chidren. Socia Protection Services Prevaence of chid abour ( UNICEF, SOWC) % of chidren <5 years with birth cer ficates (ZDHS,MIMS,MICS) The socia protection services in Zimbabwe are quite comprehensive despite being under-funded and donor-dependent. Such services incude cash transfers, assisted medica treatment orders, socia assistance for the disabed, edery, and food deficit mitigation strategy (FDMS). 2 Zimbabwe 2016 Socia Protection Budget Brief

3 Socia Protection Services were aocated US$7.8 miion in the 2016 Budget. This represents 0.2% of tota budget and 0.05% of GDP. On a year-on-year basis, aocations to socia services have been decining from the peak of US$38 miion in 2012 to US$7.8 miion in 2016, (Figure 3a). This is a worrying trend and is indicative of the government s substitute-budgeting practices in ight of deveopment partner appetite for socia protection. US$ Miions Figure 3a: Trends in Socia Services Aocations ( ) Figure 3b: Composition of Socia Serives Budget Aocation in 2016 Capita Exp 2% Programmes 70% Empoyment Costs 28% Empoyment Costs Programmes Capita Exp A significant portion of the budget aocation is earmarked for programmes with wage reated costs account for 28.2% of the tota budget, (Figure 3b). This is unike other Ministries such as Education, wherein empoyment costs account for over 98% of the tota budget. Seventy percent of the aocation is earmarked for programme support, whist capita investments accounts for 1.9% of the 2016 aocation. The 2016 budget aocation to the socia wefare programmes amounts to US$4.74 miion. The harmonized cash transfer (HCT) programme was aocated the argest share (US$2 miion) of the patry socia services budget (Figure 4). With 504,000 househods 1 iving in extreme poverty, the aocated amount is competey unreaistic. As such, the burden of providing socia protection has been shoudered by deveopment partners, famiies and extended famiies. For exampe, UNICEF under the HSCT made cash transfers of US$9.9 miion in 2015, benefiting househods amost five-fod the government budget of US$2 miion. US$ Thousands Figure 4: Aocations to Programmes under Socia Services ( ) 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, ,000 1, ,000 FDMS SDGs HCT Heath Assistance Peope with Disabiities Edery persons Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy (FDMS) was aocated US$500 thousand. With an estimated cerea production shortfa of 650,000tones, the country is expected to have witnessed a 169% increase in food insecurity from 2014, hence, 1.5 miion peope are projected to be affected by the drought 2. As is normay the case in times of shortages, chidren are ikey to suffer the most. 1 According to PICES 2011/2012, 62.6% of the popuation are deemed poor, whist 16 2% are in extreme poverty. 2 Zimbabwe: Food Insecurity, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator Situation Update No. 2, of 13 Oct Zimbabwe 2016 Socia Protection Budget Brief 3

4 Support to peope iving with disabiities was aocated US$700 thousand. However, with an estimated 900,000 3 peope iving with a disabiity, this woud transate to US77 cents per person for the whoe of Budget Execution for Socia Protection Services Programmes Figure 5: Budget Execution for Socia Service Programmes as at Sept 2015 Percent FDMS SDGs HCT Heath Assistance Peope with Disabii es Edery persons On account of fisca space constraints, actua budget utiization in socia services has been beow budget aocations. For instance, by September 2015, disbursements to programmes under Socia Services averaged 65.5% of the aocated amounts. Disbursements to support peope iving with disabiities were at 94.3%, heath assistance (76.3%), Support to edery peope was at 66.7% whist ony 20.6% had been disbursed under the FDMS aocation, (Figure 5). Chid Wefare and Protection Services The Government in the 2015 Budget introduced the Chid Weare and Protection Services, as a stand-aone sub-vote in the MoPSLSW. Programmes under this sub-vote incude: the Basic Education Assistance Modue (BEAM), Chidren in difficut circumstances; Chidren on the Street Fund and support to Government Chid Protection Institutions. These programmes were previousy cassiffied under the Socia Protction sub-vote. Chid Wefare and Protection Services was aocated a tota of US$13.78 miion, about 0.3% of the tota Government budget and 0.1% of GDP. The 2016 aocation is 28.1% higher than the US$10.75 miion aocated in The increase in the aocation is mainy on account of scaing up of the Basic Education Assistance Modue (BEAM), whose aocation rose from US$7 miion in 2015 to US$10 miion for The increased aocation to BEAM is commendabe, but is however sti insufficient to meet the needs of most chidren. BEAM is designed to benefit a schoo-going age chidren (6-19 years) who are from resource constrained famiies and who have been faiing to be in schoo owing to househod financia constraints. BEAM assists chidren at both primary and secondary eves in both rura and urban areas, with tuition, evies and examination fees. 3 Living Conditions Among Persons with Disabiity Survey, Key Findings Report, BEAM is the major programme under Chid Wefare and Protection Services, accounting for 87.8% of the programmes aocation and 72.6% of the tota Chid Wefare and Protection Budget. BEAM provides assistance for tuition fees, evies, and examination fees to OVCs through bock grants transferred directy to schoos. A tota of 77,885 primary and secondary schoo chidren were assisted with schoo fees and 11,957 were assisted with examination fees through BEAM in This is against an estimated tota of 900,000 chidren requiring BEAM support. 4 Zimbabwe 2016 Socia Protection Budget Brief

5 Other programmes under Chid Wefare and Protection Services accounts for a combined share of 12.8% of the tota programmes aocation. Thes incudes: Chidren in difficut circumstances - aocated US$200,000.00, Chidren in the Street Fund aocated US$5, and support to Government Chid Protection Institutions US$800,000.00, (Figure 6). These aocated ammounts remain significanty short of the requirements. Concusion Figure 6: Aocations to Chid Wefare Services US$ Thousands 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000-7,000 6,000 BEAM 10, Chidren in Diff Circumstances Chidren in the Street Fund 2015 Est Act to Sept Proj Gvt Chid Protec on Inst The weak macroeconomic performance, couped with constrained fisca space is imiting the eves of pubic investments in socia sectors in genera, and Socia and Chid Protection in particuar. With increased expenditure pressures, particuary on wage bi and some unbudgeted and inescapabe expenditures such as response to the current drought, pubic spending in Socia and Chid Protection is ikey to suffer from under-funding. Whist the Government continues to expore options of growing the economy and hence its fisca space, deveopment partner support in socia sectors remains important in the short-to-medium term. However, this off-budget support is not sustainabe into medium-ong term, and fisca resources have to be improved and re-directed towards socia protection. The adoption of a new Socia Protection Poicy Framework and action pan, may hep unock resources and provides better sector coordination. This shoud be informed by studies to cost the minimum package of socia protection, which is important for government panning and budgeting. Simiary, such evidence wi inform the basis for resource mobiisation, incuding from deveopment partners. The new Socia Protection Poicy Framework further provides a great opportunity to harmonise socia protection, to better coordinate the sector, mobiise resources and contribute towards systems strengthening in socia protection. Thorough cost modeing of socia protection in Zimbabwe is required to ascertain the fisca impications. Further, it is important to assess the cost of doing nothing and strengthen advocacy for socia protection prioritization within the poitica and economic decision-making circes. Zimbabwe 2016 Socia Protection Budget Brief 5

6 LIST OF ACRONYMS BEAM HCT MoPSLSW OVC GDP PSMAS NASSA Basic Education Assistance Modue Harmonised Cash Transfers Ministry of Pubic Service, Labour and Socia Wefare Orphans and Vunerabe Chidren Gross Domestic Product Premier Service Medica Aid Society Nationa Socia Security Authority UNICEF, 2015 UNICEF ZCO 6, Fairbridge Avenue, Begravia, Harare 6 Zimbabwe 2016 Socia Protection Budget Brief