By Tavita Natasha Mpala
Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) hosted a two-day Policy Analysis and Advocacy Training Masvingo at a local hotel aimed at strengthening the role of the church in promoting inclusive civic participation to promote transparency and accountability within the devolution processes.
In an interview with Street Eye, ZCC Masvingo Provincial Coordinator Tawanda Mafutha said that ZCC has trained 25 faith leaders and 3 resident association leaders on Policy Analysis.
‘The training is part of the 3-year program being implemented by Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) Partners with support from Trocaire and European Union, the participants were drawn from the ZHOCD member partners in Masvingo. Some of the objectives of the training are to enable ZHOCD partners to effectively identify opportunities and create spaces for citizen participation in policy-making processes, leading to greater civic engagement and participation and to foster collaboration and networking opportunities among ZHOCD partners and other relevant stakeholders in policy analysis and advocacy.
In a separate interview the acting permanent secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Clever Chingwara stated that local leaders or authorities come in as decision makers who play an important role in setting priorities, providing overarching policy direction, and bringing stakeholders together.
“Local leaders include faith leaders, village heads, headman, chiefs, councillors, DDC, Local Authorities, Office of the Minister State and Provincial Council. The devolution agenda can be achieved through coming up with the right policies which ensures holistic development without leaving no place and no-one behind. These leaders influence a broad base of residents who are consulted during Policy Discussions.”
He highlighted that Local leadership takes responsibility for effective strategic planning and co-ordination of policies across sectors and ensures policy consistency over time.
“Masvingo Province is a proud recipient of inter-governmental transfer funds and community development funds. So far the Province has received a total amount of ZWL3.8 Billion devolution funds from 2019 to-date. It is the role of the local leadership to come up with local policies that ensures that the funds are channelled towards projects and programs that meet the needs of communities. Local Authorities are more familiar with the local economy than any other level of government, they are in close contact with local stakeholders, and they can ensure that policies are adapted to local conditions, promote specific advantages and address important bottlenecks.”