In his statement, Minister Biti acknowledged that the economic empowerment of women and the youth remains an unfinished agenda because of the levels of capitalisation, planning and management of available funds.
"Consistent with the 2012 Budget, women and youth capacitating and empowering programmes be prioritised and will be anchored on two priority areas," he said.
As a mitigatory measure, the minister "promised" that the Government will improve access to credit through establishing micro-finance programmes and also provide adequate training and education to women and youth on the importance of saving.
For many women, the minister's statement is nothing short of rhetoric, and offers no respite for thousands who continue to live in poverty across Zimbabwe.
Women are confronted with a number of challenges, among them lack of capital to start income-generating projects at many levels.
They are also burdened with the responsibility of taking care of the family, with little or no resources at all.
The Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review Statement dashed a lot of women's hopes and expectations as they hoped that Minister Biti was somehow going to set aside actual resources to rejuvenate existing projects that have been stalled by lack of money.
His statement failed to respond or take note of gender differences in economic behaviour and also did not factor in biases that arise from resource allocations based on different roles, needs, responsibilities and relations of women and men.
The minister's statement also neglected to aggregate how much money was actually available for women; the number of women who would benefit and the level of empowerment the Government intends to achieve considering that the majority of women are poor, and literally live from hand to mouth.
Looking at the socio-economic situation, household levels anywhere in Zimbabwe, it is disheartening to note that women bear a disproportionate burden of the country's poverty, despite the existence of pieces of legislation and theoretical frameworks of their economic empowerment.
Poverty implications are widespread for women, leaving many without even basic rights such as access to clean water, sanitation, medical care and decent employment.
Being poor can also mean they have little protection from violence and have no role in decision-making.
In the last few years, the situation of women has been further exacerbated by the economic woes where thousands of people have lost their jobs, incessant droughts and the liquidity crunch, all of which make it unbearable to effectively run households in such hostile environments.
Furthermore, prices of basic commodities continue to rise at an alarming rate, particularly at a time when most women are trying to set themselves up within the informal sector.
Just last week, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe announced that the low-income monthly basket for a family of six went up by 0,18 percent to US$560 in June.
It turns out that the increase was largely due to an upward swing in the prices of rice, tomatoes, other vegetables as well as sugar, cooking oil and bath soap - all very basic commodities.
That development alone is indicative of the situation that most women find themselves. The latest announcement by Minister Biti coupled with the absence of a provision for an upward review of civil servants' salaries leaves women in a more dire position than before.
In light of all this, there is need for active civil society intervention to ensure that the needs of women are effectively factored in national fiscal policy and budget formulations. More gender-responsive budgets would look at the socio-economic dynamics that affect women and men differently and ensure that budgeting frameworks address existing and superimposed gender gaps.
We are not lobbying for the creation of separate budgets for women, or solely increasing spending on women's programmes but rather that the collection and allocation of public resources be conducted effectively in ways that contribute more towards advancing gender equality and women's empowerment.
This calls for provision of tools to assess the different needs and contributions of men, women, boys and girls within existing revenues, expenditures and allocations and the adjusting of budget policies to benefit all groups.
Gender-responsive budget analyses along with legislative provisions and other practical policy measures can address some of the challenges faced by Zimbabwean women as well as avert the heartbreaks they often suffer whenever issues affecting them are sidelined in the national fiscal policy.
These would be positive steps not only towards accountability, but also towards greater gender parity, public transparency and shifting economic policies that lead to gains across societies, particularly for women.
Until Zimbabwe is consistent about ensuring gender-responsive budgets, women's empowerment will remain a mirage.