CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

ZIMBABWE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND GENDER JUSTICE SUMMIT AND AWARDS DATE: 23-25 APRIL 2012 VENUE: KOPONANG HOTEL, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA 365 DAYS OF LOCAL ACTION TO END VIOLENCE AND

EMPOWER WOMEN

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

POLICY FRAMEWORK
The Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe signed and then ratified the SADC PROTOCOL ON GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT, which means Chiredzi Town Council is obliged to satisfy all the articles found in the Protocol. The Council has a GENDER POLICY, which was adopted from the Zimbabwe Local Government Association Gender Policy. The gender policy was introduced to mainstream gender issues in the Town Council. The Council has also adopted a GBV ACTION PLAN, which promotes zero tolerance for discrimination against women and complements the CODE OF CONDUCT and the LABOUR ACT.

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GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

ACTION PLAN
Steps Name of activity Expected Outcome
The development of a professional development programme for residents related to G.B.V issues

Party to undertake the activity

Chiredzi Town Council

Partner organizations
Gender Links

Time frame
2/01/12-23/01/12

Funding
Chiredzi Town Council

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Preparing a curricular and teaching methodology for imparting Genderbased violence knowledge to residents Undertaking activities aimed to raise awareness to residents, representatives of Government and Quasi-Government institutions, N.G.Os and the press regarding G.B.V

Consultative sessions and discussions will be carried out with the participation of residents, the Police, representatives of the Judiciary, N.G.Os, Government and Quasi Government institutions, Local gender activists and the media, with a view of raising awareness about GBV and the elimination of gender stereotypes.

Ministry of Home Affairs Ministry of Justice and Legal affairs, Ministry of Womens Affairs Ministry of Local Government N.G.Os Local Press

Gender Links

24/01/12-27/03/12

Chiredzi Town Council Local N.G.Os

Dissemination of information materials on GBV and the efforts that are being made to combat it at local, national, regional and international levels

Leaflets and booklets on GBV will be prepared, published and disseminated to residents

Chiredzi Town Council Chiredzi Rural Council Ministry for Womens Affairs

Gender links F.A.C.T

24/01/12-10/12/12

Chiredzi Town Council Gender Links Donors

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

4.

Carrying out special activities aimed at combating GBV

16 Days of activism against GBV will be carried out

Ministry for Womens Affairs Chiredzi Town Council

Gender Links WIPSU

25/11/1210/12/12

CTC International partners

5.

Staging theatrical events on subjects related to GBV.

Performing plays on issues related to GBV

Lectures on GBV will target schools in the District

Chiredzi Arts Society Chiredzi Town Council

Chiredzi Rural Council Ministry of Education Ministry for Womens Affairs Ministry for Home Affairs Ministry of Health Ministry of Health FACT MSASA Project

Gender Links

24/01/1226/06/11

C.T.C Donors

6.

Giving schools and lectures on GBV

Gender links WIPSU Msasa Project FACT

1/03/121/07/12

C.T.C Local NGOs

7.

Training Parents on the need for impartial treatment for both the girl child and the boy child.

Use of social scientists to offer Counselling to parents, particularly those in the low income group i.e. the poor

Gender Links

1/03/1229/06/12

Gender Links Local NGOs

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

GOVERNANCE
REPRESENTATION
There Council Board has TWO WOMEN COUNCILLORS out of total of nine Councillors.

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PARTICIPATION
Chiredzi Town Council has four Council Committees. There are no female Committee Chairpersons. However, the Council has a FEMALE DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON serving the influential Audit Committee. The DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR is a woman, and she is the Head of Local Government in Chiredzi District. She appreciates the importance of gender equality. The Council Board is democratic and entertains the views of both women and men, even though there are more men than women. One of the most important issues lobbied by women Councilors, and supported by their male counterparts, is the economic empowerment of women through land allocation. It is for this reason that Council decided to disaggregate gender data and issue 16 OUT OF 38 COMMERCIAL STANDS AND 310 OUT OF 500 MARKET STALLS in 2010/2011to women under favourable conditions.

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

LAND BENEFICIARIES

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FLEA MARKET RECEIVER 1

FLEA MARKET RECEIVER 2

JOSEPHINE CHAVANI DOCUMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL STAND

CHIREDZI FEMALE COUNCILLORS

COUNCILLOR J. MUTEYAUNGA AND COUNCILLOR B. CHIPEMBERE

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

GOVERNANCE
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Women participate more than men at public meetings e.g. Ward level meetings. However, participation in large numbers has not translated into proportional representation in politics, business and social forums

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GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO EXISTING PROGRAMMES

PROCUREMENT
Council has a procurement policy. The procurement policy is intertwined with the gender policy. Therefore, the selection of suppliers is gender balanced. To illustrate gender sensitivity in procurement decisions, Councils Senior Management acquired five new vehicles in 2011 from an organization that is owned by a woman

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CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

There is no policy specifically targeted towards addressing climate change. However, the Environmental and Health Officer works with the Environmental Management Agency and Community Leaders, to implement Council programmes that deal with the eradication of pollution, land degradation and deforestation. Council is also in partnership with NGOS like UNICEF, which drill boreholes at strategic locations, to ensure that people do not have to travel long distances to get water, when there are intermittent supplies from Council. Council has waste management five year plans . These plans take into consideration the increase in population and how Council will prepare itself as a result. There are currently seventeen out of thirty five women in waste management

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

BOREHOLLS DRILLED AT STRATEGIC LOCATIONS FOR EASY ACCESS TO WATER

POLYCLINIC NURSES

RESIDENTS AT A BOREHOLE

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO EXISTING PROGRAMMES

LAND AND HOUSING
Council keeps disaggregated data on land ownership. Information on sex is captured at the time an application is made and at the time a lease agreement is signed.

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The organization has a four member LAND ALLOCATION COMMITTEE, which is comprised of two men and two women. The land allocation committee is tasked to ensure that women and men get an equal number of stands. In the last allocation, 16 out of 38 commercial stands were issued to women and an additional 310 out of 500 market stalls.

WATER AND SANITATION

Water treat is subcontracted by Hippo Valley Estates. Hippo Valley Estates is a Private Limited company with world-class standards in terms of sanitation, health and safety. Council has no disaggregate data on water treatment. Water treatment employees are provided by Hippo Valley Estates. Hippo Valleys Water Superintendent is male
Sanitation is the responsibility of Council. There are 35 employees responsible for waste management and sanitation, of which seventeen are women.

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

THE LAND ALLOCATION COMMITTEE

Community Services Officer

Personnel and Admin Officer

Housing Director

Auditor

WATER WORKS

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO EXISTING PROGRAMMES

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Health campaigns are spearheaded by Polyclinic Nurses in collaboration with stakeholders like FACT i.e. Family Aids Caring Trust. Most campaigns are on HIV and AIDS, Womens Reproductive Health and major diseases affecting the community e.g. Malaria and Cholera

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Polyclinic also maintains records of treatment of patients and visits made to patients

HIV/AIDS AND CARE WORK

Council has an HIV Policy

Statistics on HIV and AIDS are kept by Polyclinic staff. The information is necessary in order to compile District statistics.
Council nurses trains caregivers and provides them with material support e.g. gloves and medical paraphernalia. The polyclinic has eight nurses, of which three are male and five are female. The Polyclinic nurses make house-calls for bed ridden HIV/AIDS patients, particularly women

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

POLYCLINIC NURSES AND NGOS REPRESENTATIVES

POLYCLINIC NURSE DISTRIBUTING DRUGS

F.A.C.T OFFICER SHOWING HOW TO USE A FEMALE CONDOM

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

MAINSTREAMING GENDER INTO EXISTING PROGRAMMES

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Council has social facilities e.g. tennis courts and a library. All facilities are accessible to both sexes. There is no facility that is designed in such a way that it discriminates against a particular sex. However, facilities need to be user friendly to disabled persons of both sexes. No disaggregated data exists.

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TENNIS COURTS

LIBRARY

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

GENDER SPECIFIC PROGRAMMES

GBV FLAGSHIP PLAN
There are very few street lights in Chiredzi. The town relys more on tower lights. Streets are named after, 1. Particular events e.g. Molly Drive was named after a prostitute, who was burnt along the street 2. Senior citizens 3. Controversial individuals

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Chiredzi Town Council is growing in size. In future, it shall name its roads after local women who make a difference to the community

PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

Council and the community have conducted cyber dialogues during the sixteen days of activism against GBV Council has also carried out 50/50 campaigns at ward level, in order to promote awareness of gender equality and gender based violence.

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

STREET LIGHTING IN CHIREDZI

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AND CYBER DIALOGUES

GBV AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

50/50 AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

CYBER DIALOGUES DAY 1

CYBER DIALOGUES DAY 2

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

GENDER SPECIFIC PROGRAMMES

RESPONSE AND COORDINATION
Council conducts joint gender workshops and campaigns with Chiredzi Rural District Council and the Local Constabulary. The victim friendly unit of the Zimbabwe Republic Police is helpful to the community. However, it does have its shortfalls from time-to-time Chiredzi Council Police, the SPCA, Veterinary services, EMA and the Police constitutes a nine member law enforcement task force, that addresses issues like crime and its relationship with gender. There is only one woman on the taskforce

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GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES AND ENVIRONMENT

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT
There are three women out of twenty three managers at Chiredzi Town Council. However, there are women who are not in management but hold strategic positions. These are, Beerhalls manager. Manages, the biggest single business units in Council The Housing Clerk- Maintains records on stands

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1. 2.

There are no women on the five-member top management level

CAPACITY BUILDING
Council management receives gender training from Gender Links. It reciprocates the initiative by training other Council staff members and the community at large. Gender Links also provides networking opportunities with other gender pro-equality organizations like WIPSU and Fatherhood Peace Project

Council health staff and NGOs also trains care givers on HIV and AIDS and womens reproductive health.

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

COUNCIL WOMEN IN INFLUENCIAL POSITIONS

Beerhall Manager

Housing Clerk

GGENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES AND ENVIRONMENT

WORKING CONDITIONS AND ENVIRONMENT
Council has a gender policy that ensures equal treatment of both sexes at all levels. The policy covers treatment of pregnant women and gender based violence. The Labour Act also helps to protect women from unfair treatment.

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Sexual harassment at the workplace is not permissible. According to the Code of Conduct, it is a dismissible offence.

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

GENDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

GENDER STRUCTURES
Council has gender champions at the Council Board Level and at the Executive Level i.e. Councillor B. Chipembere and Town Secretary Charles Muchatukwa respectively.

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The Council has two gender focal persons i.e. Auditor Owen Gwasira and Personnel and Administration Officer-Precious Mutsetse

BUDGETS
Council has a budget for gender awareness campaigns totalling USD6 000 per year under the Community Services Section.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Council reports quarterly on gender issues. Gender reporting is done by the Community Services Section and gender focal persons. Whenever gender targets are not met, corrective action is taken in order to adhere to the Action Plan Council uses the action plan to benchmark performance. Gender Links scorecards and targets are also considered when measuring performance

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

GENDER CHAMPIONS

TOWN SECRETARY-C. MUCHATUKWA

COUNCILLOR B. CHIPEMBERE

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Chiredzi Town Council officially started gender mainstreaming in 2010, but has made a lot of headway in terms of complying with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
A lot of work is still needed. However, our goal is to satisfy all the 28 targets of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development by 2015.

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WOMEN SELLING THEIR PRODUCTS

PAYING WAITING LIST FEES

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

STRENGHTS
Council has energetic and committed gender activists, who work tirelessly towards attainment of 50/50 representation by 2015.

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Council has ample land to allocate to women for income generating projects. The allocation of land to women is meant to breach the empowerment gap between men and women. Council uses its position as the most influential organization in Chiredzi to rally together all stakeholders for one common purpose i.e. 50/50 representation by 2015. Council has structures in place to distribute information on gender issues to the populace e.g. meter readers and councilors. Council is a powerful lobby group in Chiredzi. It will attempt to convince political parties to consider fielding female candidates against each other in the forthcoming harmonized election. Council has qualified health staff . They have experience in dealing with issues related to womens health

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

CHALLENGES
Council does not have enough material resources at its disposal. Council requires pamphlets and books from Gender Links and its sister organizations like WIPSU. Waste management is still a major challenge to Council due to insufficient funds to expand dump sites. Most roads in the locations are dust roads and there is inadequate lighting.

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GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

LESSONS LEARNED
COUNCIL DOES NOT NEED A LOT OF RESOURCES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY in terms of gender mainstreaming. Very little financial, human and other resources can be used to create awareness of gender equality and 50/50 treatment of women.

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With the commitment of Council, stakeholders and Gender Links, 50/50 representation is possible by 2015 .

LECTURES ON GENDER EQUALITY

FLEA MARKET WOMEN AT 50/50 CAMPAIGN

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

NEXT STEPS
Chiredzi Town Council wants to expand its 50/50 awareness campaigns into the rural areas of Chiredzi. At present, the campaigns have been limited to Chiredzi urban areas.

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Chiredzi Town Council wants to lobby political parties to field female candidates against each other in the upcoming election. Development of an Local Economic Development Plan with women entrepreneurs in mind. Increase women employees from 30% to 50% of workforce by 2015 Develop a policy on climate change

Increase women in senior management positions from zero to a minimum of two out of five by 2015 Increase gender budget by 100% to USD12,000 in 2013

GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY

ANY QUESTIONS

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GENDER AND SERVICE DELIVERY