Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) held a Community Led Budget Seminar for Chipinge District on the Zoom platform. The purpose of this meeting was to enhance youth and women participation in community affairs, in particular development initiatives to ensure their aspirations are captured in key processes such as budget formulation.
Community members expressed their frustration with the manner in which the Town Council communicated meetings, in particular use of newspapers and radio, yet most residents can be reached by use of social media platforms such as WhatsApp.
Residents also disclosed that they were often ascribed party identity when raising service delivery issues, and the situation was so bad that they were now fearful of commenting due to intimidation.
The meeting resolved that residents would organise themselves under the Platform for Youth and Community Development (PYCD) which is a Community Based Organisation in order to communicate with the Town Council on any issues of concern.
Participants thanked VISET for the Citizen Driven Public Resource Management Programme as it assisted in bringing them closer to their elected councillors and also helped in illuminating seemingly complex processes involved in the budget cycle at both local and national levels.
Source: VISET
