adminCitizen participation highlights the value of engagement with stakeholders in terms of greater local ownership of public actions or development projects. It is important as it creates a sense of ownership of decisions made and services tendered. Citizen participation in local authorities allows for the fine tune of services so that they are based on actual needs. With the establishment of an SMS hotline for City of Mutare, we are expectant that there will be in-roads in developing a wide range of participatory mechanism for enhanced citizen participation.
The implementation of the Mutare City Dialogue and Technology for Accountability Project (M-DATA) by City of Mutare in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is aimed at building the capacity of Council for more efficient service delivery through constructive dialogue. On behalf of Council, and as the Town Clerk for City of Mutare, I would like to appreciate greatly IRC and PACDEF for choosing City of Mutare to be the very first beneficiaries of this project. Council appreciates greatly that I.R.C and PACDEF dedicated funds to design and install an SMS platform for Council to interact with residents.
This is a very welcome improvement as effective and efficient service delivery will help to attract investors, leading to the resuscitation of industry, Council’s economic position and at large, the national economy.
Through the SMS hotline, Council is expecting improved communication between Council and the residents.
This is because Council appreciates that residents and ratepayers in Mutare as its most important stakeholders and thus values their engagement and participation.
Council is also urging citizens to own the SMS hotline and the number 34452 and use it to communicate faults, suggestions, compliments or any complaints to Council. Residents will soon be able to use the platform to enquire balances and to check their arrears with Council.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Council, it is my hope and belief that participation by citizens through the SMS hotline will create a great sense of ownership of decisions made by Council and services rendered. It is also my hope that communication through 34452 will allow us as Council to fine tune services to ensure that they are based on actual needs of residents.
Message from Mayor’s Desk on Mutare SMS Hotline (34452) for Dialogue with Residents
Mutare City Council appreciates greatly the International Rescue Committee, PACDEF and all their partners for initiating the Mutare City Dialogue and Technology for Accountability (M-DATA) project. M-DATA sought to augment Council efforts in ensuring increased citizen participation in democratic processes and as well as improve civil society’s ability to advocate for increased local government accountability. City of Mutare appreciates that there is a need to democratise our governance systems to enhance bottom-up, accountable and gender sensitive decision making processes in planning, financial management, procurement, monitoring and evaluation to foster democratic practice and community ownership.
City of Mutare is delighted to highlight that since the inception of the project in 2014; a lot of milestones have been recorded, chief among them being an enhanced relationship between Council and residents. It is through dialogue that council was able to convene successful budget consultative, strategic planning and master planning workshop in December 2014 and coming up with documents that have the input of residents. More so, council officials, councilors and residents associations were capacitated with equipment such as computers and in various ways through capacity building workshops.
Skills acquired in these workshops will definitely go a long way in ensuring efficient and effective service delivery.
As the Mayor for City of Mutare, I would also like to extend my greatest appreciation to IRC for successfully facilitating the establishment of a SMS hotline (34452) which has enabled Council to interact with its residents.
The SMS hotline is up and running. Council is currently receiving huge volumes of SMS in the form of faults, compliments, suggestions and complaints.
The SMS platform will also enable the residents of Mutare to make bill enquiries and receive bill statements via SMS or email. This form of e-governance is a welcome development given the world we operate in today. It is also imperative to point out that other Councils have started showing interest in replicating the SMS Platform in their cities and towns signifying the impact that the project has had.
Lastly, I urged all residents of Mutare to fully utilize the SMS hotline whose short code is 34452 for any form of communication with Mutare City Council.
International Rescue
Committee (IRC)
IRC is implementing M-DATA in partnership with Mutare City Council (MCC) and Peacebuilding and Capacity Development Foundation (PACDEF). Amongst other processes, the project also uses mobile technology (IT platform) to achieve its twofold aim of:
a. Increasing opportunities for citizens to participate in democratic processes and enhancing the capacity of local government to respond to their concerns
b. Creating space in which citizens and public authorities can engage constructively on service delivery issues.
The overall aim of M-DATA is to create space within which MCC and its citizens may together identify, analyse, propose and address the most pressing problems affecting their communities.
In light of this mandate, the MCC has shown a great enthusiasm for the proposed project, which supports its efforts to channel citizen concerns and share information through ICT and proactive citizen engagement.
PACDEF – Dialogue brings us together and together we will
make it!
In a bid to promote development in Mutare City development partners Peace building and capacity development foundation (PACDEF) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) jointed arms with the local council in a project known as Mutare City Dialogue and Technology for Accountability (M-DATA). The objective was to create a platform of dialogue that would facilitate interaction amongst stakeholders and mostly between the residents of Mutare and Mutare City Council.
In the light of this objective M-DATA has seen residents of Mutare talking about their issues together with their representing Associations and meeting with their Associations and Council.
This has started to bridge the gulf between residents and Council and facilitated for sharing of ideas for development, exploration of factors that bring them into disagreement and ways to foster delivery of social services.
A platform of dialogue that uses modern technology of the mobile system has been hosted at the Civics Centre with interaction already taking place among stakeholders in the City.
The awareness of this platform was done with the leading role of the residents associations and the councillors to the residents of Mutare through a number of strategies which include, but not limited to road shows, flyers, car stickers and newspaper advertisements.
Residents’ issues which include suggestions, faults, compliments and complaints are coming on the platform and the council takes its role in responding to as well as auctioning.
The platform has necessitated dialogue between residents through their Residents Associations (RAs) and council as well as mending the relations of the RAs and councillors and council management through shared understanding of their mandates.
By and large this project M-DATA, is a process which has started the ball rolling and envisages growth in terms of other scaling-up initiatives by various actors from both state and non state sectors, alignment and meaningful participation of communities to issues of their welfare and transformation of relationships that enhance peace-building and sustainable development of our environs in this post millennium era. Let me pen off by saluting the people (young and old, boys and girls, women and men) of Mutare city for taking part in dialogue.
Ngatikurukurei-Asikulume, Iwe neni tine basa, Anhu acho Tisu! Towards a vibrant City!
Online Reporter