Zambia – Kitwe City Council

Kitwe City council is relatively new to the Centre of Excellence process having been adopted in 2012. Hence not much has been done in terms of mainstreaming gender in the action plan.

The gender champion who is a councillor was recently sworn into office and has just recently began focusing on the gender action plan. The council is still in the process of finalizing an action plan. In terms of representation at the political level there are very few women of four councillors compared to the 24 male councillors.

All contributions during council meetings are considered on merit but male always dominate the discussions. However from interviews conducted by Gender Links with Beatrice Kabwe one of the three female councillors highlighted that their participation in council meetings and other gatherings are notable and that are also very influential at ward level. Their participation has greatly proved the need of having more women in decision making positions especially at community level.

Women directors take a leading role in decision making at the Council. About 51 and 75 percent women partake in the public consultations. Middle management has a high percent of youths who give recommendations on what works the Council should undertake.

The council has employed the total workforce of 40% men, 22% women, 37% youth and 1% PWD. The council’s management has five women. The council has three female directors and two female assistant directors in the management. The electrical engineer, the PR manager, and the parks superintendent are all females, and the council also has female fire fighters.

The Council has one more female director as compared to last year. In addition, there is also one more female assistant director. On the political side, there were three female councillors last year, but that number has gone up to four this year. The female fire fighters were sponsored for further training by the Council.

There are provisions for maternity leave and paternity leave within the council. The council does not have a policy against sexual harassment. However, any case pertaining to sexual harassment is dealt with using the council’s policy and the code of conducts.

The council’s Local Economic Development is in its formulation stages. The council has drafted a strategy in place to be finalised, and still awaiting further consultations from stakeholders. This include looking funding women, youth, PWD, and men to start up small businesses.

Click here to read more about Kitwe Town Council.