2015 SADC GENDER PROTOCOL SUMMIT AND AWARDS

CENTRES OF EXCELLENCELOCAL GOVERNMENT

INSTITUTIONAL APPLICATIONThis award recognises progress in mainstreaming gender the local government, and Media Centres of Excellence. Use this form to do your institutional profile as part of your application process. The application must be accompanied by evidence to support all application form.

ALL FIELDS ARE COMPULSORY.

THIS PART OF THE APPLICATION WILL BE UPLOADED ONLINE

Name of good practice E.g: Chobe Council walks the talk of Gender Equality

SCORE CARD AND EVIDENCE TABLE

Please fill in progress on your score card from last year, and update the evidence. Judges will assess the progress you have made. Their score will be final.

Please upload your completed score card on the online application in the section called supporting documentation. Please name your score card as follows Marondera Municipality _Zimbabwe_scorecard_your initials_date.

Please use this section to list the evidence that goes with your score card. Upload evidence on the online application in the section called supporting documentation.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT EVIDENCE UPLOADED – PLEASE RECORD FILE NAMES

Policy framework Gender policy, action plan, GBV action plan Governance Sex disaggregated data on the council Mainstreaming gender into existing programmesProcurement Procurement notices giving preferences to women or

inviting them to apply/ training etc Climate change and sustainable development

Any evidence of how gender is being integrated into these projects, especially sex disaggregated statistics, eg allocation of housing stands Land and housing

Water and sanitation Environmental health HIV and AIDS and care work Social development Gender specific projects Gender based violence Others

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT EVIDENCE UPLOADED – PLEASE RECORD FILE NAMES

Employment PracticesSelection and recruitment Job adverts encouraging women or men to apply

where they are under-represented Capacity building Evidence of gender training at different levels and

sex disaggregated statistics to accompany this. Working conditions and environment

Examples of how gender awareness is affecting and improving the work place

Gender Management System Gender structures Evidence of the gender structures that have been put

in place – for example and organisational chart; minutes of meetings.

Budgets Your council budget showing specific allocations for gender work, as well as how gender is being mainstreamed into all budgets.

Monitoring and evaluation Your score card and or any other evidence of how you are going about gender mainstreaming.

Resource mobilisation for work on gender equality Amount local urrency(specify)USD

Amount in Rand

Gender specific allocation – please state the names of the projects 50/50 campaign 500.00

Gender in mainstream projects (please specify)

Water, sewer treat and refuse collection 1 102 734.89Health 409 199.68Housing 657 707.61Street lighting 100 000.00

In kind contributions to the COE process – eg venues (please specify) Hope fay conference centre 300.00

Funds raised from donors or the private sector for gender work – (please specify) Gender Links 50/50 campaign 1000.00CORD AID-maternal health 70000

TOTAL 2 341 442.18

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THIS WORD DOCUMENT WILL BE UPLOADED TO THE WEBSITE 1. INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE

COUNTRY ZimbabweCOUNCIL Marondera municipalityGENDER CHAMPION Maria NhemachenaGENDER FOCAL PERSON

Majory svisva

Baseline score (year) 31Progress Score (year) 41Latest score (year) 60Attitude score –baseline Attitude score – follow up 50

Women Men Total % Women Council 1 11 12 8.33%Management 2 9 11. 18.18%Council staff overall 72 245 317 22.71%Population served 62120Key characteristics 52% of the population are women

Synopsis

Marondera Municipality for a long time that is 1985 to 2012 has not taken a resolve to address

gender inequalities at the work place. This gender inequality at institutional level was quite apparent

given that about 80% of our staff was male. African society has been described as highly unequal in

terms of race and gender. The sexual division of labour in pre-colonial period in Africa ascribed

women the role of manual labourers on the land and changes in the social structure brought about by

colonization eroded women’s rights along with their status in general. This can also be confirmed by

the disparity in staffing levels at council. There has not been any affirmative action policy in place

since independence and there are no women at the highest leadership and decision making echelons of

the council. Women are crowded in the lower levels as clerks, sweepers and council nurses in the

housing department. However it is quite pleasing to note that since 2013 council has resolved to

mainstream gender into its establishment. Council with the assistance of Gender Links came up with a

gender policy and action plan which was given legitimacy by council through a council resolution. At

middle management that is assistant director level there are only two women the Assistant Chamber

Secretary and the Nursing administrator who is responsible for a female dominated Department.

Council had a gender focal person who currently occupies a strategic position in council. Further

council has made it a point that all its operations are gender sensitive for instance when designating

areas for its residents to trade, the desire to empower women is given greater preference .In terms of

gender equity the is a huge discrepancy as one goes up the leadership and decision making ladder.

Council is in the process of putting up gender committees at functional and ward levels.

Key objectives

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Women are also major consumers of services provided by council hence the main reason why we feel as council they should also participate in issues to do with development. There is need for us to embrace the diversity of local communities to achieve gender equality, equity and justice in our policies and service delivery. It is common knowledge that Local government is the government closest to the people therefore is in the best position to involve women and men in the promotion of sustainable development. It is critical for Municipality of Marondera to gender mainstream as it is not only right to do so but is appropriate. There are a number of reasons why our council has to gender mainstream and these objectives are:

To include and broaden women’s participation at all levels of decision making

To prioritize gender equality objectives and framing policies of relevance for women.

To make use of appropriate policy tools and techniques to integrate the gender variables in all policies and to monitor and evaluate all policies from a gender perspective.

To develop Human Resource policies which support gender equality and equity and promote a gender sensitive organisational culture as well as establish gender management systems that will safe guard the gender equality and gender justice of staff.

To take practical steps to embrace the diversity of local communities to achieve gender equality, equity and justice in our policies and service delivery. Women and men experiences are affected differently by the services they receive from council. There is need to reorient some traditions and stereotyping of women that contrive to reinforce inequality, exclusion, gender neutral policies which fail to address practical gender needs.

To ensure that the most important instrument for ensuring the implementation of gender mainstreaming through the development of awareness, knowledge, commitment and capacity building.

Background

The town of Marondera, named after a Sub Chief of the Varozvi clan living at the Nyameni Hill was established in 1890 as a “Way Station” for people travelling from Harare to Mutare (then Salisbury to Umtali). It had been anticipated that the railway line, working its way up from Beira would pass through the settlement on its way to Harare; but when in 1898 the rail authorities discovered that 40 bridges and culverts would be required in the 67km between Headlands and Marondera alone by that route. They bypassed Marondera and established the line along the crest of the watershed some 9km to the North. The police and “Native Commissioner’s office” moved to the line of the rail and by 1900 the site of the first settlement was abandoned. The new town began to grow around the railway station and a hotel was established about that time.

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The first Village Management Board was established in 1913 and the Town Management Board in 1943. Subsequently in 1968 Marondera became a Town Council and in 1974 was conferred Municipality status. Marondera became the provincial capital for Mashonaland East in 1984. The town is now the centre for a large and progressive farming community around which some industries have been established. It is the nodal centre of administration for the whole province as well as servicing the several rural growth points surrounding it.

1.1 Statistical Data

The Population Census for the years 1982, 1992, 2002 and 2012 and the attendant percentage increases are shown below:

Year Population %Increase

1982 19 971 97.2%

1992 39 384 97.2%

2002 52 134 32.4%

2012 62 120 19.15%

Marondera experienced rapid population growth since independence since it grew by more than 300 % during the years 1982 to 2012. Attendant to this population growth is the need for huge investment in infrastructure such as water, sewer, roads, health care and education facilities which require substantial capital outlay. The land under the Municipality’s jurisdiction spans some 43.5 km2 and they are 319 people in council’s employ. Council’s annual budget is about $6.4 million. This is a far cry from what is required for the various capital projects needed to meet the needs of the town.

1.2 Gender issues

Before the intervention council was a male dominated institution. There were only two women in leadership position at management level Ms M. Ndlovu who occupied the position of investment officer in the office of the Town Clerk and Ms Mhlanga who was the then town planner. There were fifteen senior managers back then thirteen of them being men. Further to that at policy making level (that is elected positions) only two women were elected as councillors out of twelve wards. This disparity has persisted till now. And the COE has a major role to play to ensure that women take it upon themselves to emancipate themselves. Council has only one woman councillor and seventy three (73) women and of the three hundred and thirty people in its employ, 72% of the women are manual workers. The issue of race and gender impact on income distribution, political participation, power relations access to, control and ownership of economic and productive resources. Women are also

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major consumers of services provided by council hence the main reason why we feel as council they should also participate in issues to do with development.

As council there is need for us to embrace the diversity of local communities to achieve gender equality, equity and justice in our policies and service delivery. It is common knowledge that Local government is the government closest to the people therefore is in the best position to involve women and men in the promotion of sustainable development. It is critical for Municipality of Marondera to gender mainstream as it is not only right to do so but is appropriate. The Chamber secretary stated that for a long time in council women have been left out of most developmental issues let lone being under represented in council and managerial positions. He pointed out that although issues of gender in balance in council may not be addressed over night this initiative of COE work will go a long way to address the understanding of gender issues amongst the presently male dominated council and redress the mainstreaming of gender at organizational and community level. He highlighted that most women in council lack the required qualification and buttressed that some of the women are not willing to further develop themselves in order to take up the challenging position. He was quick to point out that they need to be capacitated more.

Key activities

1.2 Commercial and Industrial Base

Marondera’s industrial sector revolves around agricultural services and the increase in population has witnessed corresponding demand for goods and services in the retailing and banking sectors. The region produces beef, milk, tobacco, wheat, timber, fruit and maize. The commercial sector comprises mainly the wholesaling retailing business and banking operations. The town has not been spared from the de-industrialization that the country has experienced in the last fifteen years.

1.3 Infrastructure and Services

(a) Water

Marondera Municipality has 3 dams as sources of raw water namely, Rufaro, Nyambuya and Nyakambiri with a combined capacity of 8.3 million megalitres. This capacity has been further augmented by the completion of Wenimbe Dam which has a carrying capacity of 22 million mega litres of raw water.

The existing water treatment plant has a capacity of 13.5 per day compared with the daily demand of 22 leaving a shortfall of 8.5. The storage tanks have a carrying capacity of 18 mega litres compared with a requirement of 48 mega litres.

Although there is water rationing regime in the town, Marondera does provide clean water for up to 8 hours daily.

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(b) Roads and Stormwater Drains

Marondera has a road network 158 km most of which is in dire need of substantial maintenance work. Road re-sealing on some of the tarred roads that were recently attended to was done over a decade ago. Pothole patching has been the stopgap measure that was carried out given the available resources.

Some of the other services provided by Council are:

(c) Street lighting(d) Recreational facilities(e) Public health services(f) Provision of housing(g) Servicing of commercial and industrial stands(h) Provision of social services(i) Licences

Resource allocations Please put a summary here from the information uploaded

Local currency Rands Council allocations to gender-specific projects

500

Council allocations to gender in mainstream projects In –kind support to the COE process 300

Challenges The general economic meltdown of the Zimbabwean Economy which have resulted in industries shutting down and high rate of unemployment. Resulting in poor revenue collection thereby affecting the continues support of the COE project. Council practising other important needs such as the payment of salaries and wages. General understanding that formal lines of credit are not available or little is coming at prohibitive costs attached not suited for the type of local authority investment programmes. Low levels of investment in the town thereby impacting negatively on the capacity of council to provide services to its esteemed residents. It is these services that are needed most by both men and women. This has impacted negatively on both new investment and resuscitation of collapsed infrastructure e,g water argumentation, housing and road maintenance. Dilapidated infrastructure- council infrastructure is now aged and is failing to cope with the expansion in the population for example council water treatment was designed in 1970 cater for population of 20000 but that infrastructure has not been upgraded to match the existing population. To that end council had to put in place a water demand management regime. Council had to adopt a satisfying approach or model

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regarding water delivery. Most if not all council plant and equipment and vehicles have gone past their economic usefulness. Owing to serious financial challenges council has not been able to acquire new plant and equipment . The existing plant, equipment and vehicles are now very costly to maintain. In the case of a deliverable such as roads that area is equipment based. Council staff is bloated resulting in large chunks of resources going towards employment costs instead of towards service delivery, contrary to central government policy dictates of 30/70 respectively. Owing to these challenges council has found itself failing to pay its employees on time hence morale is at low ebb. Council is failing to remit statutory obligations and the responsible authorities have resorted to garnishing council accounts and that is affecting service delivery threshold. Informal trading was the preserve for local economic development of the community, where at women were the highest beneficiaries. However because of the high rate of unemployment illegal vending has become rampart.

The following has been done to overcome the challenges

Augmenting council revenue base through income generating projects. We have a cattle ranching and brick moulding project

Public private partnerships through leveraging council land Capacity building workshops to facilitate attitude change Citizen engagement meetings Information sharing through SLB, COE and twinning arrangements. Staff rationalisation,- reorganisation and recruitment freeze Advocacy and dialogue with residents and stakeholders. Political will and support from councillors to COE work Feedback meetings in wards Monitoring and evaluation

Results (Please fill in what is relevant to your COE)

Women’s empowerment Women have been empowered as a result of COE through capacity building. It is important to

point out that without building the knowledge it would be difficult to bring about change in

attitudes some of which are anchored in our socio cultural contents. In the case of Marondera

several workshops were held from 2013 to date as indicated by the number of women now

forthcoming to take up challenges. It is important to point out that the sexual division of labour in

pre-colonial period in Africa ascribed women the role of manual labourers on the land and

changes in the social structure brought about by colonization eroded women’s rights along with

their status in general. A number of women still lag behind in terms of the requirements and

experience demanded at decision making positions. Some of them still lack confidence .Five

women were promoted from general hands to bus levy clerks without conducting any interviews

as a way of targeting women for promotion. At council which for years was a female dominated

environment council engaged three male nurses. Most of the services offered by council are now

being disaggregated to check whether women needs are being catered for. During budget

meetings for example council ensures that women organization and advocacy groups are invited

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and their concerns are attended to. Prior to the intervention no needs analysis was being carried

out. Hence some markets were abandoned because women who were not being consulted. It is not

an exaggeration to argue that most of the council services are used by women. Over the years

most policy makers who consulted, the majority of then never bothered to consult women in order

to formulated informed policies. Through civic education women now feel they could do what

men can do. The 50/50 campaign that we held on two occasions saw the attendance of women to

these workshops improving significantly. Women now speak with confidence when it comes to

issues that concern them.

Evidence

Councillor Nhemachena implored on other ladies to participate as it is the only way that they can

influence policy and improve the lives of women and men in the community. She said today she has

gained confidence as she can now dress well, has gained respect and support from her male counter

parts in council. She called on or civic groups to keep supporting women through capacity building

programmes. She wowed to stand for the plight of women in the community. She was grateful to her

colleagues and all the people who believed in her she also boosted that since she become a councillor

she has developed as a leader in her ward and the Marondera community. She has also embarked on

her number of projects to improve the livelihood of people in her ward because she is now

empowered.

Men for change

Men are now supportive of gender equality as a result of COE as evidence by the change in attitudes

at institutional level. Council management for instance now appreciates the need to address gender

inequality for example when five employees when implicated in a scam at the bus levy section

management in keeping with the desire to mainstream gender resolved that women employees from

other sections of council be promoted to fill in those positions without conducting any interviews.

Subsequent to the 2013 harmonised elections upon constituting council committees all councillors

deliberated and resolved that the only lady councillor be appointed the vice chairperson to powerful

committees of council that is finance and staff and services committees. Whenever the gender focal

person requests for financial and material resources to conduct workshops on gender men in council

are now very supportive and assist in carrying out such activities. At council level when debating

issues that affect them. Women are now being afforded the opportunity to articulate without being

looked down upon. The environment is now more conducive than before. Previously the environment

was intimidatory given the ingrained cultural beliefs embedded in men. Council owns four schools

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because of their geographical location the wards they fall in are under male councillor who have

because of the change in attitude since the inception of COE work have embraced gender issued

positively have influenced women to be elected into the school development committees which were

previously dominated by men. Some men are now involved in the dissemination of gender

information which was previously a women territory and they are even involve in gender programs.

Some husbands are even assisting their wives establish business ventures or support their efforts to

raise income for the family. Of cause not all men have embraced the gender agenda but at least they is

notable changes in attitude, as change s not an event but a process.

Evidence “the burden of carrying for family traditionally rested with the mother. Women work longer hours. Furthermore women traditionally handle some of the most labourous jobs such as fetching for water and firewood, deforestation and power cuts make these tasks more difficult. Since men accepted the idea of empowering women across out town, this is results in peacefulness and prosperity of our town because women are now enjoying equal rights, equal vices and equal opportunities. …..”

Changes at household level

It is true that the work of COE resulted in power relations as endeared by the fact that most men now respect women. Men unlike before the intervention used to look down upon women and use to think that the women’s place is in the kitchen. Now women are being involved in decision making by their male counterparts. During the 2013 harmonised election quite a number of women declared their candidature to participate during the primary elections. Regrettably the majority could not make it given their poor financial status but it was encouraging unlike in the past. Women now believe in themselves as amplified by the unequivocal statement that” women can do it, Empower a woman! Empower a nation” such bold statements gave women confidence to participate at all levels of society. Men are also forthcoming to share house hold responsibilities with women at the house hold level as such men find themselves out of employment and yet their spouses are formally employed. When the woman comes home from work the husband would have taken care of some household chores which were previously done by women. Some men are taking their kid to the clinics of to the doctor while the women go to work. Because of cultural diversity women are also heading households in a more economical manner without the presence of men and they find themselves doing chores such as maintaining the house.

Evidence “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek” Barack Obama. It is pointless for us to stick to cultural beliefs instilled in us as we grew up because when we look at the changes in gender roles that are happening around us. For instance historically and biblically it was the men’s role to fend for the family but today we find women playing this role and sharing the stage with their male counter parts. Of cause there are biological roles which cannot be changed. To some extend men are also helping and changing role. Some men are working as house boys or cooks. Helping around the house with some chores such as helping the kids do their home work, preparing meals and some are doing their own laundry. Unemployment has also contributed in that some families are no longer living under one roof so the men has do the chores whether he wants to or not cause they may not be living together with the wife. Information on legislation for violating the right of women or men has become available therefore the penalty of violating such law also prohibits men to perform certain act. Some

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women are earning more than their male counter parts such that the men want to maintain peace at the house hold and would help around the house in order to enjoy the “packs.’’

Changes in attitudes Attitudes in the community are changing as a result of COE work. First there is ownership of council programmes by residents as they now participate actively in developmental issues the number of women participating at council meeting has increased thereby closing the inequality gap. Women and men in the community are now speaking openly on issues of gender based violence unlike in the past these were issues for women. Unlike in the past whenever one spoke of gender men would refer to it as women’s business but because of the capacity building which has been made possible by COE work men and women are becoming familiar with gender concepts, such as gender roles and sex roles. The formation of men’s foras such as Padare has gone some way in sensitising men on issues of gender as well since they target men in their social gatherings. Most School development committees were dominated by men but because of changes in attitudes by both men and women as a result of capacity building done to our councillors who also sit in these school committees they have shared knowledge at SDC meetings resulting in women and men voting for women to sit in these committees today there is no SDC committee which has only male committee members. Although we have not reached the 50:50 mark the change in attitude is quite remarkable.

Evidence Please provide at least one quote that demonstrates changes in attitudes. Please remember name, surname, organisation and designation. – 100 words

Changes at the work placeA number of employees have been promoted at the work place as a result of the COE work.. Attitudes have changed at the work place given that men now respect women, the majority of men now respect women and see them as equals. The workers representative bodies have embraced the concept of gender parity by constituting women’s bench that represent women’s interests, women issues are now being brought to the attention of management. Council is now making gender sensitive policies. Council has also adopted a gender policy and a gender planning framework. Council is now an equal opportunity employer. Works council meeting were traditionally chaired by men now women are also chairing these meeting. When it comes to selection of employee representatives women are now standing out on their own initiative for election and in some instances women are nominating other women. Capacity building is now being to all employees who are eligible unlike in the past where women were usually left out. In terms of training opportunities women are now being given preference over men but the only challenges is that in most cases women and has the prerequisite requirements. In terms of personal development more women are being considered for employer assisted training in the form of training loans, we had two nurses who were on study leave for a year doing their midwifery diploma with the assistance of council, our sister in charge for Dombotombo clinic recently acquired a degree in counselling and another nurse is doing a degree in counselling. Prior to council being involved in COE work only management employees were eligible to employer assisted learning. Our local clinics are under the supervision of women. Council has also deliberately allocated land for school development to two women who are directors of private schools.(wise Owl group of schools under the directorship of Mrs Makirimani) and Barnies primary school. The challenge we have at the work place s that men still fear that the issue of gender equality means they have to be displaced from their positions and yet its all of us at the work place who are supposed to champion gender issues. So the level of change is currently at a snail pace though signs are vsible,

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Evidence Please provide evidence of these changes through at least one quote from a Council functionary. Please remember name, surname, organisation and designation. 100 words

Service delivery Service delivery has improved as a result of COE because of the following:

Citizens now participate in meeting that discuss Issues of service delivery. Where they are given the opportunity to say their needs and what they expect to be done first given the available resources.

Their concerns are now being taken on board unlike before council became a COE it was the other way round. No feedback meetings were done and there was no extensive consultation.

Through the engagement of citizens and other stake holders council received donations from individuals and corporate 300 metal bins.

Church organisations participated in street cleaning Junior council is now working hand in glove with senior council Youth and women at ward level are assisting council with drain clearing and grass cutting in

their wards. Councillors have also been visiting other COE local authorities to learn from their best

practices and that has gone a long way in the improvement of service delivery Clearing of illegal dump sites with assistance of the local MP. Council has rehabilitated existing sewer and water infrastructure Regular and routine collection of refuse Road rehabilitation and by council maintenance Clients needs analysis Service charter is now in place

Evidence Please provide at least three quotes from beneficiaries to support your statements on the improvement of service delivery. Please remember name, surname and designation- 150 words

Public participationThe community has been involved in the COE work through workshops, budget meetings community meeting and community dialogues. Members of the public participated in the 50/50 campaign and through such platforms both men and women appreciating the need for gender equality. The involvement of the public has had positive impact particularly on change of attitudes rooted in our socio cultural aspects. For a long time men have not treated their partners as equals given that historical socio constructs embedded and ingrained in their mind sets but with the foregoing intervention a lot has been achieved. Community participation is now being honoured more in practice than in theory as enhanced by the community’s participation at workshops dealing with gender issues. Communities are also involved in the budget process where at they are engaged to put forward their requirements and expectations for the financial budget of council. COE work has also brought on board the participation of children in the budgeting process. This group of young people was usually crowded out by other sector as they were seen as the future and not the present. The young citizens also participate through Junior Council where they discuss issue that affect children going the community. They also get the opportunity to participate at the National

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budget where they at one time presented their ten point plan to the budget committee spelling out their needs which they wanted to be included in the national budget. Councillors also hold a number of ward meetings with people in their respective wards to discuss a number of issues concerning their areas. Communities have embraced the idea of having gender committees and a ward. Community centres where communities can access help on different issues. A ward coordinator from the Ministry of women affairs and a Youth officer are housed at this centre.

Evidence “Anything for us without us is not for us” this was said by the junior councillors who had attended a pre-budget meeting of their concern was that their issues were not being considered for instance they noted that the number of schools in the town was not growing prorate to the number of school going age. They felt that every day, in local arenas all the way to the parliament, adults sit around and decide what problems youth have and what youth need, without ever consulting us. We however want to acknowledge the recognition we have been accorded this day to participate and raise our issues of concern. We feel that adults think we are the future so how about now what you make of us” we embrace this COE work initiative and has given us recognition to come and present our needs to this house as a constituency. We are also participating in other activities such as cleanup activities in our respective communities. We were also invited to a 50/50 campaign workshop. We were unable to attend as we were preparing for our exams we hope to have our own capacity building workshop on gender issue…

Outreach through the media We provide write ups to the local paper on issues of gender at organisational level and also talk about upcoming events that we would be carrying out so that we reach community members. In some instances members of the press visit our organisation to make interviews on such issues especially when events like commemoration of women’s day are being done. We also invite members of the media to attend events that we would be having so that they appreciate and send the message out to the community that would have missed or not have been invited to the event. We also do interviews with members of the press on gender mainstreaming issues.

Changes at a policy level that have come about as a result of the COE workAt the recruitment level of employees by council, council has deliberately made policy giving preference to women when it comes to decision making positions in council all council policies are now being assessed to check whether they are gender sensitive. All policies are now interrogated by management and councillors before adoption. Whenever councillors are meeting to formulate policies and make decisions issues of gender are treated sensitively. Council is currently undergoing a retrenchment exercise and council has taken a stance to say that no women would be retrenched since they are already outnumbered by male employees. Council is in the process of reviewing most its policies to enshrine the issue of gender mainstreaming. Council is in the process of downsizing its work force councillors are busy lobbying with the ministry to spare women from retrenchment as they are an endangered species. Council has also adopted a client’s charter, gender planning framework, gender policy. Council has as a matter of policy established community centres in all wards where the Ministry of Women’s affairs ward

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coordinator and the Ministry of youth representative are house. Councillors also use these centres’ to disseminate information to people in their wards.

Evidence Council has adopted a gender action plan has a draft gender policy in place waiting to be adopted by council, has put in place a HIV and AIDS policy, is in the process of aggregating housing data by sex. Human and health data has been sex disaggregated. Council has taken on board the concept of COE work which will bring about change in the way gender issues are handled at the institution. Some training of worker representatives on gender issues has been done. Though capacity building needs to be taken to the grass roots that is to all employees of council,

Lesson learned and innovation Capacity building is important in changing attitudes and mindsets. It became apparent that to

change attitudes that have their roots in socio cultural aspects are not a stroll in the park hence a lot of awareness would be needed.

For an intervention to be effective and sustainable it is imperative to continue conducting awareness campaigns through workshops and interactive meetings.

Women need more education on issues that they often exhibit petty jealousies amongst themselves when it comes to electing or appointing people in leadership positions. The COE process has unravelled a number of challenges that inhibit women to occupy leadership and among them were petty jealousies and inferiority complex ingrained in women. In the majority of cases women tend to support men instead of supporting other women. The COE unravelled socio cultural aspects being the reason why women tend to support men given their socialisation over time that tended to view men as being superior to women. It was only through this intervention that women have confidence in themselves as they now believe they can do it like men if not better. Women now believe the difference in biological aspects does not inhibit anyone as the sky is the limit.

Council need to set aside budgetary provision to support the COE for sustainability reasons. The parent ministry should make it mandatory that all local authorities should set aside substantial resources to champion this process that has the potential to contribute to national development.

Collaboration and partnerships with other development agencies is very critical. Without collaboration there is tendency amongst partners to appear to be competing and appear trying to outwit each other on development agenda that is unidirectional(one way)

Gender mainstreaming and empowerment need to be honoured more in practice than theory. We should all not pay lip service to gender equality.

Under the current constitutional dispensation that has seen the establishment of the gender commission to synchronise their activities and operations for sustainability reasons.

Innovation Council has established a gender desk Council policies, projects and programmes are now being evaluated to ascertain whether

they will be gender sensitive through IRBM. Introduction of awards amongst the various COE to incentivise them regarding

implementation of the intervention. Through exchange programmes

Learning and sharing with other councils We have learnt and shared with other councils at training workshop as well exchange visits.Harare city council, Bulawayo City council, Gweru, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Gokwe town council, Bindura Municipality, Chiredzi Town Council, Masvingo city, Beitbridge Town Council, Makoni

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RDC, Zvimba RDC, kariba Town Council, Rusape Town, Chipinge Town Council, Bindura Town council and Mutare City Council. Evidence Please provide evidence of this engagement, for example a quote from a Councillor in another COE.- 100 words

Sustainability and replicationCOE work could be sustained in my organisation through Financial and material support. Without that support it would be difficult for us to conduct

outreach programmes and workshop to inculcate the requisite values to reorient the mindsets and attitudes ingrained in our people. Thus council should make budgetary provisions and engage partners in this regard.

Enhancing effective collaboration amongst stakeholders and development partners that champion gender issues. We say so because it is imperative for development partners to partners to put their agenda together for a common audience rather than appear to be outwitting each other.

Introduction of awards among council departments. This will encourage departments to compete against each other. Have best department for the month.

Exchange visits and programmes among COE comparing their best practices and exchanging notes.

Involving COE in the inception processes of council joining in the programme. Affording council in the COE process to evaluate each other

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