Seke Rural Communities Encouraged To Engage In Local Governance Issues
As part of Community Radio Harare (CORAH) and Seke Rural Development Platform (SERDP) awareness campaigns meant to mobilise citizens so they would participate in local governance issues, some residents are now attending full council meetings so as to appreciate council operations and development initiatives.
‘We have been holding community meetings where we educated local citizens on the need to actively involve themselves in the running of affairs of their local authority, Seke. As a result of these interventions, citizens are now attending council meetings in order to observe progress and we are proud of this, says SERDP Chairperson Tsitsi Mashiri adding that the Rural District Councils Act gives local citizens the authority to attend such meetings as a means to promote transparency and accountability.
CORAH and SERDP have so far held residents meetings in Wards 1, 2, 3, 7 and 20.
At these meetings, residents have revealed that they were not aware that it was their right to attend such meetings.
Discussions of the meetings focus on topical issues regarding good governance, service delivery, devolution, climate change, environment, development as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
On its part, CORAH uses its alternative media platforms to help information sharing amongst the residents.
Seke rural or Manyame has 21 wards and just over a population of 100 000.
The district is hit by water crisis, unplanned, urbanisation, stock theft, rising youth unemployment, poverty and a host of other socio-economic challenges.
