Source: All Africa
Some sectors like agriculture, education and health where women actively participate gained and we are happy. However, it must be noted that our women don't take part in commercial agriculture where benefits are very positive; most of them are into subsistence farming.

The advanced secondary level free education which was promised will not benefit our girls in the rural areas because most of them in such areas don't get the opportunity to join "A" level- they drop out from schools for some reasons much earlier. But on maternal health provisions, we are very happy because our indicators were very poor having 16 women dying every day as a result of maternal deaths.

We in the civil society, in parliament and women everywhere made noise and government promised us. The money has been provided and now our challenge is going to be implementation. Our corruption levels must reduce if we are to translate all these budget figures into reality to the benefit of the women of this country.

Jackie Asiimwe Mwesige, a lawyer and woman activist

Womens' concerns are always in social sector areas like health, education and agriculture where you find most of labouring or participating.

The budget figures are positive for the women of this country but it is one thing to read budget figures and the other to have those monies go to the sectors meant for them. We also hope along the way we won't see supplementary budgets of huge amounts of money going to state house.

As long as we still struggle with corruption and human resource challenges in these sectors, the women won't benefit anything. But all the same, people at the grass root want to see these sectors performing because when we sit in Serena and read figures, how do they benefit?

They want to visit the hospital and find doctors, medicine, ambulances ready to use without fueling them. Such things are what matters to our women at the grassroots. So how we translate the read figures into action is what matters at the end of the day."

Allen Asiimwe- Director FIDA Uganda

Other than the issue of maternal mortality funding, there was no other big deal for women. Government should have come out with stronger strategies to benefit women like in agriculture sector where women do much participate both for survival and for their home consumption.

When you put money in maternal health, similar support should be extended to medical human resource because we still see angry nurses and midwives whose motivation is wanting, they are tired and haven't been paid less. We also pray that the allocated funds for maternal health do not end up in workshops.

I was shocked when the Minister talked about hoes- surely in this era and age we are talking about hoes instead of tractors for mechanised agriculture on a larger scale?

I was disappointed in that. However, there is some token when they talk about irrigation and fertilisers. The said reduction in excise duties of both Sugar and Kerosene is all a farce because the most driving factor in these products is fuel which remains very high. The whole budget needs to be overhauled and looked at afresh because some things within it don't make serious sense.

• Uganda