Summit 2018 – Harare City Council COE

The City of Harare aims to provide and maintain soft bound infrastructure and efficient services. The Harare City Council is dedicated to providing an enabling environment which offers first-class municipal services and goods to its stakeholders while creating investment opportunities, promoting smart partnerships in an endeavour to reduce poverty and develop the city.

The City of Harare council has a gender policy that was reviewed in 2016 so that it is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goal targets. They also have a number of policies that guide their operations vis-à-vis gender and service provision. The council has 46 councillors (39 male councillors and 7 female).

Harare City Council has eight committees, and none are chaired by women. Council has a junior council through which young people participate and air their concerns. The junior council is composed of more girls than boys. However, the mayor of the junior council is male.

In Harare young people, people with disabilities and women in the community participate mostly in pre-budget consultative and councillors feedback meetings. Between 76 and 100 percent, women participate at these consultations and meetings.

Harare has a total workforce of 7120, of whom 36 percent are women. Women constitute only 17 percent of management. 68 women from the council are employed in non-traditional areas of decision-making.  A number of women are in the Department of Works employed as heavy vehicle drivers, plant operators and .6 women are employed as firefighters. Recently the City of Harare employed for the first time in their history a female engineer.

Zimbabwe by law prescribes maternity leave thus Harare provisions for it. However, there is no paternity leave. The council has a sexual harassment policy whose cases are reported to the Industrial relations section which deals with the perpetrators through a disciplinary hearing process. The council has ensured Disability-friendly access in all council buildings.  Council constructed a ramp at Town House to ensure ease of access for people with disability. An elevator which was malfunctioning was repaired as well. All Council institutions are being renovated to ensure ease of access by people with disability.

Harare City Council allocates a substantial budget to gender-related projects, these amounts have increased from 2016 to 2017.

As part of the of the Council’s local economic development plan Harare has an Informal Sector Development Policy. Thirty one (31) Flea Markets and Fruits and Vegetable Markets were identified in Greater Harare and the Infrastructure Development Programme on the identified sites was submitted and approved by Council.10% was set aside for youth, 15% women 10% people with disability.

In the area of care work the City of Harare has community health workers who assist in care work. These are usually members of communities who get a monthly allowance of US$100 .The City through various organizations such as UNFPA have special programmes running in new settlements that include capacity building.

Read more about Harare City Council here