Organisations engage locals on citizen agency
Staff Reporter
Zimbabwe currently suffers from deep systematic and structural barriers which negatively affect active citizen agency and participation. These barriers have resulted in disengaged citizens who have neither agency nor capacity and space to effectively participate in demanding gender-responsive service delivery from both elected and appointed public officials and institute.
It is against the backdrop that Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) in collaboration with Public Policy, Research Institute in Zimbabwe (PPRIZ) and Youth Invest conducted a training of Local Participating Champions in Victoria Falls, Matebeleland North . The training was aimed at capacitating citizens by stressing the importance of citizen participation.
Amongst the participants were representatives from cross boarder traders’ association, vendors, residents’ associations and civil society organisations.
Busani Ncube the facilitator, unpacked the concept of Citizen Participation.
“Citizen participation is a process that gives citizens the opportunity to influence the decision-making processes for the betterment of service delivery in their communities. Decisions are deemed more legitimate and are less subject to challenges if the citizens are involved in the cycle of the process,” he said.
Ncube highlighted that in Zimbabwe, citizen participation is grounded primarily on the Constitution.
“The constitution highlights the need to entrench democracy, good, transparent accountable governance and reaffirms commitment to upholding as well as defending human rights and freedoms,” said Ncube.
Participants also discussed the challenges hindering them from actively participating in decision making processes.
“Selective application of the rule of law is one of the challenges we are facing as citizens because there is freedom of speech but there is no freedom after speech,” said Nigel Chitombo.
The COVID-19 pandemic redefined the role social media plays in citizen participation. Local participating champions were capacitated with the necessary skills to organise the community using social media and engage duty bearers peacefully without causing any harm.
However, participants also identified dangers of social media in an effort to advocate and lobby for good service delivery.
“Social media is vulnerable to information disorders,” said Ncube.
The facilitator concluded that citizen participation is critical in the digital era and the media as it helps bring to account leaders and duty bearers.
