Summit 2018 – Zvimba Rural District Council COE


Date: June 29, 2018
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Located in Mashonaland West Province, with a population of 263,020 Zvimba RDC covers an area of 6 275 square kilometers. Zvimba is known for its Agriculture activity. One of the few local authorities in Zimbabwe which boasts of a stand-alone gender committee.

Zvimba Rural District Council has a gender policy that incorporates the Sustainable Development Goal targets. The council has proved to be one of the most gender-sensitive councils in the country as witnessed by the initiatives the council has taken to mainstream gender in their institution. The council has 35 councillors (24 male councillors and 11 female). The chairperson of council is female. Zvimba Rural District Council has eight committees, and four are chaired by women. This was necessitated by a council policy which states that for every committee chaired by a woman, the deputy must be male and vice-versa.  Council has no junior council.

In Zvimba young people, people with disabilities and women in the community participate mostly in pre-budget consultative, District Aids Action Committee meetings and Water Sanitation and hygiene meetings. Between 76 and 100 percent, women participate at these consultations and meetings. Zvimba has a total workforce of 64 employees, of whom 24 are women and 17 are youths. Women constitute only 38% of management. 1 woman from the council is employed in a non-traditional area of decision-making as the Town Manager of Banket Local Board, a jurisdiction managed by Zvimba RDC.

Zimbabwe by law prescribes maternity leave thus Zvimba provisions for it. However, there is no paternity leave. The council has a sexual harassment policy whose cases are reported to a committee in the council through a disciplinary hearing process. Regards disability-friendly access in all council buildings the council has ensured that all schools that council is building have rumps at the entrance as well as at the council head office a rump has been built. Council is also constructing toilets that are disability-friendly/ to ensure ease of access by people with disability.

Zvimba Rural District Council allocates a substantial budget to gender-related projects, these amounts have increased from 2016 to 2017.

Category Budget 2016 Budget 2017
Resources allocated to gender policy process and action planning $1 529 070 $2 391 060
Resources allocated to promoting gender equality in decision-making and public participation $128 880 $132 200
Resources allocated to promoting gender equality/family friendly/ youth and disability friendly policies and practices $10 000 $8 000
Resources allocated to gender-responsive local economic development $186 217 $210 264
Resources allocated to promoting gender/youth/PWD responsive projects on climate change $17 000 $30 000
Resources allocated to promoting gender/ youth and disability friendly infrastructure and social development policies and practices $200 000 $280 000
Resources allocated to promoting gender/ youth and disability friendly SRHR, HIV and AIDS programmes $10 000 $8 000
Resources allocated to ending gender violence $49 200 $71 400
Resources allocated to visibility for the Council’s Gender Action Plan       –       –
Resources allocated to Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for the Council’s Gender Action Plan $2 500 $3 000

Zvimba Rural District Council has a gender committee which seats 5 times a year. The committee has many successes among them the lobbying for a bursary fund for less privileged children to enable them to go to school and the construction of victim-friendly units.

Zvimba RDC has a climate change policy which is being implemented. To reduce the effect of deforestation, the council has embarked on tree planting project. This project has a budget of $17000. In 2017 council planted 52400 trees in 32 wards. In 2018 council targeted schools and to date, 25000 trees have been planted. Zvimba district is mainly for communal farmers and farm communities who rely on firewood for cooking. Council in partnership with environment Africa is constructing bio-gas digesters that are being used to provide energy for cooking. Council has a budget for construction of landfill to the tune of $300000.

Click here to read more about Zvimba Rural District Council.


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