Chronicle Editor
Yolanda Ndlovu —
Despite a lack of financial resources, communities have had success in achieving gender friendly budgets through community mobilisation. Community mobilisation has been defined as a capacity building process through which community individuals, groups or organisations plan, carry out and evaluate activities on a participatory and sustained basis to improve health and other needs on their own initiative or stimulated by others.
Many local authorities face difficulties in implementing various initiatives due to the meagre revenues they collect from ratepayers and the amount of resources allocated from the national budget. In this regard they are forced to compromise on service delivery.
Despite such circumstances, other communities have progressed in terms of service delivery because of community mobilisation that engineered various strategies for development.
As it can be identified, gender budgeting addresses strategic needs by spending on activities that empower women, men, boys and girls. In addressing issues, gender budgeting involves participatory engagement for community mobilisation.
In the past five years the Zimbabwe Women Resource Centre and Network mobilised communities to establish Gender Budget Action Committees (GBACs) made up of people with disabilities (PWDs), people living with HIV (PLWHIV), trade associations, young people, the elderly and other interest groups in five districts.
These include Bulawayo, Kwekwe, Mutoko and Murewa. The GBACs were relevant to local authorities who did not wish to consult “unorganised groups” in the preparation of the budget.
It provided an entry point for other community associations including women, the aged, youth, people living with disability, market women, cross border traders, church women and people living with HIV (PLWHIV) to engage the councils as GBAC members on the budget and demands related to service delivery.
The GBACs over time have successfully advocated for delivery of services and have potential to strengthen the demand side of governance in local areas. As part of the capacity building on gender responsive budgeting by ZWRCN, councils were supported to create platforms to interface with citizens on budget issues, and the trend has been for the GBACs and other stakeholders to interface regularly with councils on key development issues, including on budget matters.
Although citizens’ consultations are required by the Ministry for Local Government for budget approval, the local authorities who implemented the programme included a group of stakeholders who represent women, youth and vulnerable groups. Two local authorities mentioned that gender equality was included in their draft strategic plans.
Other towns like Kwekwe and Bulawayo incorporated various gender budgeting strategies to improve on service delivery. Bulawayo councillors convened to put aside a certain percentage of revenue collected to be used for needed service in the community.
This was created in tandem to ward Whatsapp groups that would report feedback from the community to ward councillors and vice versa.
Bulawayo Councillor Mlandu Ncube, whose ward incorporates the city centre bordered by Masotsha Avenue, R. G. Mugabe Way, First Avenue, S. Parirenyatwa Street, Railway Avenue, Basch Street spoke of how they have used these strategies to improve on service delivery.
“In Bulawayo we are working on improving service delivery and that includes working with the community.
We have initiated the creation of Whatsapp group for wards which brings back information from the community so that we understand what we need to do,” he noted.
“As one of the cities that have been affected most by closure of industries that makes it affect revenue.
In such a situation as different wards, we have decided to put aside 3 percent of the revenue collected which should go back straight to the ward where the councillor and the development committee in that ward can identify,” Ncube said.
Ncube further added how this 3 percent benefited the subordinate groups in the community such as widows and orphans.
“In my ward there are a lot of widows and orphans, and as a ward we have agreed to renovate the areas and I think that is the most important thing.”
“That 3 percent is where direct service delivery should take place. In this way, when residents see what happens with their money, it makes them have the appetite to pay,” Ncube added, emphasising how this strategy ultimately assisted council recognise better revenues.
Kwekwe town council used the build, own, transfer (BOT) strategy to build a taxi rank and a conducive market area for vendors. One of the issues faced was a seized up public toilet which was affecting business for the vendors.
“The economy is bad but Kwekwe is trying to improve on service delivery. To build the rank, we are engaged in a Built, own, Transfer which is a public private partnership,” noted Kwekwe councillor Edzai Mupupuni, who did not divulge more on the project.
BOOT (build, own, operate, transfer) or BOT (build, own, transfer) is a public-private partnership (PPP) project model in which a private organisation conducts a large development project under contract to a public-sector partner, such as a Government agency.
A BOT project is often seen as a way to develop a large public infrastructure project with private funding.
Some countries in Africa have implemented various models of gender responsive budgeting including South Africa and Tanzania focusing on service delivery sector especially water and sanitation, Morocco on service delivery and health sector and Rwanda has focused on women’s political participation.
Online Reporter