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Bulawayo
Agenda activity update
Bulawayo Agenda
October 02, 2013
Public
Accountability Platform - Lupane (Masenyane)
At least two
hundred and fifty Menyezwa ward villagers thronged the Indaba Tree
near Masenyane Primary School in Lupane to attend a Public Accountability
Platform convened by Lupane Agenda, a chapter of Bulawayo Agenda
on the 24th of September, 2013. The newly elected Menyezwa Ward
Councilor, former Councilor, former Senator, the newly elected Member
of Parliament and local structures such as the Ward Development
Committee (WADCO) had been invited to account for the previous tenure
of office and outline plans for the present and future developmental
challenges. The current Member of Parliament was the only invited
speaker who failed to make it as the meeting coincided with the
first session of the 8th Parliament. Below are highlights of issues
that emerged from the meeting;
- The ward
14 councilor (Mr Mpofu) outlined his 5 year plan that includes
constitution of ‘strong’ Ward Development Committee
(WADCO) and Village Development Committee (VIDCO) among other
plans to which he committed to account.
- The villagers
applauded the initiative and urged local leaders (Councilor, MP,
Senators etc) to chart a different mode of engagement with the
communities so as to enhance accountability and community participation.
- Villagers
expressed fears of exclusion from participating in public processes
as polarization is likely to see elected leaders remaining partisan
rather than being magnanimous and inclusive in various activities
such as food aid distribution and other social issues.
Citizen
Forum - Lupane (Mzola)
More than 100
villagers from Mzola 27, Central and Nono villages attended a Citizen
Forum held at Mzola 5 Primary School on the same date as above (24
September) to assess the state of the community in terms of practices
of key development actors vis-à-vis the obtaining situation
in as far as service delivery is concerned. This would then inform
community-driven initiatives to address the gaps needing some change
of practices by certain development actors to address some challenges.
Below are key highlights of the meeting:
Access
to health facilities…
Villagers complained that the Local Health Officer’s station
was turned into a political party ‘Command Centre’ thus
condemning the villagers to continued suffering of having to travel
around 40kms to the nearest clinic. On this issue, the villagers
cited the need to tone down political activity which had taken precedence
over development thus further polarizing their community and hampering
any potential for magnanimity of public officials and constructive
engagements.
On management
of natural resources…
Villagers cited the need to hold the public officials to account
over the logging of timber in the area and extraction of deposits
of methane gas in the area while the communities remain in even
deeper poverty as the companies’ activities have remained
opaque. The local authority, i.e. Kusile Rural District Council
has also reportedly received far too little and/or failed to show
anything as the roads and schools remain in a deplorable state.
State
of the Community Forum - Matopo
Close to a hundred
villagers from Shumbeshabe village in Ward 16, other villages in
ward 23 and ward 17 attended a Matopo Agenda (Bulawayo Agenda Chapter)
State of the Community Forum at the Presbyterian Church hall in
Nathisa on the 25th of September, 2013. Councilors for ward 16,
17 and 23 were in attendance to outline their roles, development
plans and the state of the community regarding working relationships
among key stakeholders in the district.
The purpose
of the meeting was to then assess the community regarding the capacities,
attitudes, practices and policies of local public institutions and
officials so as to identify opportunities for leveraging positives
and ways of facilitating positive engagements among stakeholders
who lead development initiatives.
Below are highlights
of the issues that emerged during the discussions:
Clarity
of roles for different stakeholders…
There is embedded lack of clarity in terms of duties for Ward Development
Committees (WADCO), Village Development Committees (VIDCO), the
Chief, Councilors and other development structures and this has
caused immense stagnation. A plea was made to Bulawayo Agenda for
Capacity Building and All Stakeholders platforms to facilitate critical
conversations and build consensus for enhanced development in the
ward/district.
On revenue
collection and development of district…
- The villagers
bemoaned the weaknesses and leakages and/or lack of transparency
in the revenue collection and management. The community is adjacent
to the Matopos National Park and there are vast gold deposits
that are exploited with limited remittances and/or corporate social
responsibility. The community cited the authorities’ objection
to the setting up of a local ‘toll-gate’ to cash-in
on cultural tourism where tourists go beyond the National Park
to ‘photograph’ them and their homes.
- The villagers
thus urged their councilors and Member of Parliament to pursue
legislative means and exercise strategic leadership to ensure
that the locality is developed from the natural resources found
in the area.
- The community
has also seen politicization of Ward Development Committees (WADCO)
and Village Development Committees (VIDCO) as they are constituted
after elections instead of that being done prior to the holding
of general elections to avoid their politicization which affects
their effectiveness and magnanimity.
Access
to justice…
The community members also highlighted the difficulties in accessing
justice in a politically polarized environment. The local, traditional
courts have been politicized thus further dividing the community
and hampering the creation of an environment that promotes development.
Civic
Leaders Meeting - Masvingo
On Friday the
27th of September, Bulawayo Agenda, through its Masvingo chapter,
Masvingo Agenda, facilitated a Civil Leaders meeting in the province
as a platform for contextual analysis and strategizing for movement
rejuvenation and robust citizen engagement to hold the new government
to account.
The meeting
looked at the socio-political environment, i.e. opportunities for
consolidation and advancement of the incremental democratic gains.
More than 30 Leaders of key organisations working in the human rights
and governance and humanitarian sectors in Masvingo attended the
meeting and shared their perspectives.
Some of the
key issues discussed bordered around re-positioning civic activism
in the face of possibilities of democratic regression and/or unparalleled
need for holding the Government to account. The leaders thus came
up with strategies of cooperation among civil society organisations,
engaging the communities and the new Government.
Visit the Bulawayo
Agenda fact sheet
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