Ministry assesses, evaluates women’s projects in city

Pamela Shumba  Chronicle Reporter
THE Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development has embarked on an assessment programme to monitor and evaluate projects in Bulawayo that were funded by the Women Development Fund between 2011 and this year.The assessment and evaluation programme, which is being conducted in all the province’s districts, will see a number of women receiving prizes at the Outstanding Women Development Funded Projects Awards at the end of the year.

The awards would be held on the sidelines of the launch of the provincial 16 Days of Gender Activism Against Gender Based Violence.
The assessment and evaluation programme, which started last week, is funded by the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB).

Out of the 39 projects in the province, five would receive prizes for excelling in their projects while 10 get consolation prizes.
The winners of the competition would be selected by Ms Charity Mapira, the Agritex  provincial training specialist, Ms Elizabeth Ribeiro a senior lecturer at the Bulawayo School of Hospitality and Tourism and Mr Tristan Mandirawhe, a credit analyst at POSB.

Speaking during a tour of one of the projects in Gumtree, Imbizo District yesterday, the ministry’s Bulawayo provincial development officer, Mrs Vaidah Mashangwa said the evaluation programme and competition was meant to motivate beneficiaries and help them learn the best practices in their projects.

“We have embarked on a provincial tour to assess and evaluate the projects that were funded by the ministry from 2011 to 2013. This programme is meant to motivate beneficiaries and make them learn the best practices. For the 2011 to 2013 fund we have 39 projects in the province, with each group having between three and five members. In 2010 we had 43 projects.

“So far we have visited projects in Mzilikazi, Bulawayo Central and Imbizo Districts. We have set aside prizes which include farming equipment, seed maize and chicken feeds for our winners,” said Mrs Mashangwa.

She expressed satisfaction with the women’s projects in the province.
“I am impressed with the projects that we have visited so far. I am happy that there is a great improvement in terms of loan repayment and the productivity at the projects. All the women were trained before the fund was disbursed and they understand that it is a revolving fund.

“The projects that the women are running include poultry, piggery, food processing, peanut butter making, bee keeping, horticulture, craft and curios, detergent making, home décor and a pre-school,” said Mrs Mashangwa.

She said the ministry was prepared to continue supporting the groups that had done well in their projects. One of the beneficiaries of the Women Fund, Mrs Janet Nyoni of the Ebenezer group in Gumtree, which specialises in poultry and piggery commended the Government for supporting women, saying they had managed to earn a living through the projects.

The judges said their criteria to decide on the winners included record keeping, loan repayment, product quality, business growth, employment creation and project knowledge.