In its quest to assess the feasibility of the Women Development Fund (WDF), ZIMCODD carried out a rapid countrywide survey. The survey was carried out in 59 districts which covered all the 10 provinces. A total of 1551 interviews were conducted against the intended 1750 culminating into 88.6% response rate.
The survey sought to determine the accessibility of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MWACSMED), the responsiveness of ministry officials to enquiries on WDF and ascertain how helpful are the officials, the availability and accessibility of information on WDF and lastly the inclusiveness of WDF.
The survey discovered a myriad of anomalies in project administration, to begin with the call for proposal which was not cognizant of the challenges being encountered by women, the call was tailor-made to suit the middle and upper-middle class as the requirements are insensitive to the marginalized and vulnerable women in rural communities who cannot even write a proposal or constitution, the call was vague and ambiguous pertaining the type of proof of residence that is required. Also majority of the women interviewed indicated that the offices of the MWACSMED were inaccessible, they did not get favorable response as some public officials were not even willing to talk about the WDF. While other public officials were not aware of the WDF and referred all questions to senior personnel who were not in office. Lack of inclusiveness was another anomaly that impedes effective administration of WDF. Allegations against racial, tribal and partisan discrimination and exclusion were levelled against project administrators.
Read the full survey report here (670KB PDF)
Source: ZIMCODD
