2013 Beitbridge Municipality COE Institutional profile

‘The GL Zimbabwe Local Government Country Manager Priscilla Maphosa introduced the Local Government COE process to us. This is when we began to acknowledge the existence of a problem in terms of gender issues. We realised that it was important to integrate gender into our work. We asked ourselves how it had come about that we only have one female councillor in the whole town.

Lying on one of the busiest road border posts in Southern Africa is the town of Beitbridge. In this small town, Gender Links (GL) boasts of Beitbridge Town Council as one of its Local Government Centre of Excellence in gender mainstreaming.

This busy border town is home to an estimated 42000 residents most whose first language is Vhenda. Some of these residents do not have any formal accommodation or any means of survival.

Beitbridge Town Council (BTTC) started as a rural council in the Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe Over the years It has since graduated to being a Town council. As the council progressed from being a Rural to a Town council, it however inherited the same systems and employees it had it in existence as a rural council.

The council has experienced tremendous growth in learning and knowing how to mainstream gender from the onset of its interactions with Gender Links through the Local Government COE process. Gender issues were hardly topical in the previous structure. ”The GL Zimbabwe Local Government Country Manager Priscilla Maphosa introduced the Local Government COE process to us. This is when we began to acknowledge the existence of a problem in terms of gender issues. We realised that it was important to integrate gender into our work. We asked ourselves how it had come about that we only have one female councillor in the whole town,À speaks Mbongeleni Muleya Acting Administration Officer at the town council.

ÀGender Links workshops have taught us how we could react to council initiaves that are in existence. As council, we are gradually getting there as we are trying to obtain others in council to support this initiative, he says.À

From the time, BTTC began the COE process its work towards gender mainstreaming and especially empowerment has become more focused. Women are actively involved in selling of wares at the markets and in landscaping. ”This has been benefitting the local women tremendously as they are the ones given first priority especially in allocation of market place stands. You can even find that through empowering economically their lives and those of their families have also improved significantly,À says Muleya.

Jenifa Dube a market place owner who sells fuitys and vegetables as her main source of income concurs with Muleya.” council has fully rolled out this market exercise for everyone to benefit. What could be the problem is the capital to inject into the business. Our rentals too are reasonable. We pay $1 per day and they enable us to make us a lot of profit. Our market place is also very safe as there is security patrolling here even during the night. We are grateful because council is very active in responding to the problems that may arise here,Àshe says.

Beitbridge Town Council has also been able to respond to the needs of the previously marginalised groups like the blind. ‘In our allocation of land and markets, we consider the physically challenged community. We have been able to create a market for them close to where they reside. This is helping them sustain themselves and not resort to begging. The council is however facing several challenges. Lack of funding at the town council is fuelling challenges that it faces. Due to its location, the town has high immigration levels as people migrate to Beitbridge especially from the surrounding rural settlements in a bid to make an improved living. This influx into the town creates challenges for the council as the population begins to weigh heavily on the infrastructure, initially built for a much smaller population. Provision of water becomes difficult. Water reticulation systems like sewer structures continue to experience blockages. It then affects council ability to provide good water and sanitation and responding to the different needs of women and men. Council has also not been able to erect new lights

Nevertheless, this council is trying to mitigate these problems through revenue collection. They collect rates from homeowners, rentals from the market places and truck parking port. They also receive some revenue from the council farm.

ÀWhen people come to see our projects, it revives our efforts regardless of the challenges we might be facing. This COE process has strengthened us as local authorities. This project, it awakened us because we had traditionally looked at men as the main drivers of all activities leaving the women behind. However, things are gradually changing. To us this is a good project as it has positioned us to compete and learn from other councils on how they are mainstreaming gender in all their projects.