adminPamela Shumba Chronicle Reporter
WOMEN In Politics Support Unit (Wipsu) on Monday held a capacity building workshop for more than 80 female candidates in a bid to help them design and implement winning strategies during their political campaigns. The workshop also equipped the candidates with skills to manage the media, how they should react to reports about them and how they could effectively use the media during their campaigns.
The workshop, which was conducted at a local hotel in Bulawayo, was attended by female candidates from Matabeleland region and the Midlands Province who would be representing different parties in the harmonised elections scheduled for 31 July.
The candidates would be contesting in council, National Assembly and Senate.
Addressing the candidates, Wipsu programmes manager, Ms Patricia Muwandi said the main objective of the workshop was to assist female candidates to be courageous and confident as well as pitch campaigns that would make them win their respective seats.
“The objective of this workshop is to equip female candidates with the necessary skills to pitch meaningful campaigns that will make them win the seats at ward or parliamentary level.
“Female candidates are lagging behind in politics due to different challenges which include lack of resources and stiff competition from their male counterparts who have more resources and experience. This workshop is meant to instill confidence in female candidates,” said Ms Muwandi.
She urged the candidates to desist from talking negatively about their opponents as it does not give their parties a good image.
“It is important for candidates not to speak bad about their opponents or other parties, but instead they should focus on their strengths and use them to win votes.
“After this workshop we expect candidates to be able to relate with the media and the electorate and be able to freely interact with the people in their constituencies,” said Ms Muwandi.
Zanu-PF Senatorial candidate for Matobo North Cde Rossy Mpofu commended Wipsu for conducting the workshop, saying women needed support to succeed in their political careers.
Cde Mpofu, who is visually impaired, is also a Zanu-PF Central Committee member.
“This capacity building workshop helped me to know how to work with people and deal with the media during our campaigns. The biggest problem that we have as female candidates is lack of resources to conduct our campaigns but we have learnt that we can use the little that we have in our communities to spearhead development.
“I am happy that our communities now accept female leaders but we need organisations like Wipsu to help us,” said Cde Mpofu.
Ms Jasmine Toffa, the MDC candidate for the women’s quota under proportional representation said the training workshop equipped women with skills of how to deal with different political issues.
“Most women are new and inexperienced in the political field and such capacity building workshops are important because they benefit both the female candidates and their constituencies or wards.
“We have learnt that it is important to put the interests of the people first and work for them instead of them working for us. It is important to listen to the people and maintain a positive attitude even after winning the elections,” said Ms Toffa.
Another candidate Ms Sihle Dlamini from MDC-T, who is eyeing the local authority seat for Ward 6 in Binga North also commended Wipsu for the capacity building training workshop and said she learnt that it was important to be honest.
“Candidates tend to lie to the electorate and make empty promises to gain votes. I realised that this only spoils relations with voters and nothing is achieved at the end of the day.
“I am now an equipped candidate and I will stand by the truth and desist from talking against my opponents but concentrate on the policies of my party,” said Ms Dlamini.
Wipsu is conducting similar training workshops in different provinces countrywide and female candidates from Manicaland and Harare have already benefited from the training.
Online Reporter