Summit 2016 – Norton Town Council COE

Norton is a small town in the province of Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe. It is located about 40 km west of Harare on the main road and railway line connecting Harare and Bulawayo. The farm lands surrounding the town produce a range of crops including tobacco, maize and wheat, and cattle rearing for the beef and dairy industries is also an important element of the local economy.

Norton Town Council has gender policy in place as well as the action plan that incorporates the Post 2015 SADC Gender Protocol, SDGs. it is known by Councillors, Council officials as they participated during the crafting and alignment of it to the sustainable development goals. The council has 13 councillors, of which six are male and seven are female. The Mayor of the council is a female.

The council has seven committees, and women chair four of those. The council has more girls than boys. The Junior Council is a male.

People living with disability, women and youth actively participate in Council work through clean up campaigns, formulate HIV/AIDS clubs in Council schools, and participate in waste collection for economic purposes thereby reducing the burden of care by Council. People living with disability also participate through formulation of support groups, they also register as organizations so that they are easily recognized accepted and assisted. We have Dhanaira support group of people living with a disability. The members managed to engage in poultry sewing and knitting projects for their own benefit.

The junior Council before its inauguration has also provided guidance and counselling services to pupils who have finished grade 7. Women have also managed to open a college where the aged are able to go back to school. Women are able to do driving lessons, interior deco lessons, motor mechanics.

There is only one woman in the council’s management. The Town Engineer of the council is a female who is also involved in the decision-making position. Other females are in finance and engineering but not at decision-making level.

The council provides for paid maternity leave that takes up to three months. There is no policy against sexual harassment. However, if a person is sexually harassed at a workplace he or she is entitled to report to the immediate supervisor. If not satisfied he or she skips the immediate to the next boss until satisfied. Depending on the complainant sexual harassment cases can be reported to the police.

This council has allocated budget from 2015 and 2016 to support gender-related projects.

As part of the economic development plan, market stalls at four different shopping centres were erected. That is, the Maridale shopping centre 28 females only benefited, CABS shopping centre 14 females and two males benefited, Katanga shopping centre had 100 people, with 72 females and 28 males and also six people living with disability were also assisted. In Govans shopping centre 32 females and four males benefited.