A GAMBIAN delegation is in Gokwe for a peer review which could see the town council establishing programmes to improve service delivery.
BY BYRON MUTINGWENDE
The delegation from Kanifing Municipality in the Gambia is in the Midlands town for an International Peer Review (IPR) meant to improve the two municipalities’ capacity to improve service delivery.
Gokwe Town Council chairperson Esther Senga said the visit by the Gambian team would boost the local authority’s ability to provide quality services through skills transfer and exchange programmes.
“We are really delighted to have different stakeholders drawn from the government, private sector and civil society organisations participate in this programme whose main thrust is for the Gambians to systematically examine our performance as a local authority,” Senga said.
“The ultimate endeavour is to help us improve the way we make our policies, adopt best practice and comply with established standards and principles in the running of council business.
“The long and short of it is to improve service delivery.”
The IPR programme is an initiative of the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ) with the support of the European Union.
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According to UCAZ acting secretary-general Tserayi Machinda, the IPR mechanism is being undertaken in fulfilment of activities under the project on Strengthening Transnational partnerships and Networks for Enhancing Participatory Local Governance (STRAP).
The IPR process borrows from the indicators of good governance adopted by the three Local Government Associations of Ghana, The Gambia and Zimbabwe at a regional workshop held in the West African country in 2013.
“The agreed indicators are participation, equity, effectiveness and transparency and accountability,” Machinda said.
“Using these indicators, participants will conduct the peer reviews guided by the IPR toolkit developed for this process.
“Within the toolkit, are questions which address service delivery standards as they relate to the specific indicators.”
Pa Kalifa Sanyang the chief executive officer of Kanifing Municipality and his delegation were first presented with Gokwe Council profiles and departmental reports before being taken on a field tour of the key service delivery sites of the municipality.
“We realise that there is a strategic plan in place to guide council programmes within an envisaged timeframe,” he said.
“This is quite positive. As big as we are at Kanifing, ours is still in the formulation stage.
“Gokwe Town Council also has a waste management plan in place and again ours is in the formulation stage even though we have a much bigger challenge in terms of waste management,” he said.
“We have also noted the huge investment the council is making in the construction of the new hall out of locally generated revenue.
“However, we believe the investment could be better guaranteed if the whole construction is awarded to one competent and legible contractor as opposed to awarding it in piece meals.
“This will enhance greater transparency and boost public confidence more in the investments being made.”
