MARTIN MAWAYA
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) has implored its service delivery champions to spearhead development in the city, which has been grappling with poor service provision.
The call was made by GRRA programs officer, Fadzai Kanyai during the training of 50 service delivery champions (SDCs) at Gweru Memorial Library last week.
Service delivery champions play a crucial role in ensuring efficient and effective delivery of public services to residents within the municipality.
Currently, the residents association has trained more than 250 SDCs drawn from all 18 wards.
Kanyai told The Midweek Watch that the ongoing training is meant to equip residents with skills and to be part of the service delivery matrix.
She said GRRA’s objective is to continue imparting knowledge to citizens so that they can hold elected officials accountable and propose solutions to the challenges facing the city.
“The service delivery champions training is meant for the sustainability of the organization after the end of the project that we have been running for the past five years under the thematic area of Enhancing Citizen Participation,” Kanyai said.
“Central to this training is to equip residents with skills to advocate for better services in their wards and also be included in all decision-making processes that will be happening at the local authority,” she added.
Kanyai encouraged service delivery champions to mobilize the community to attend development meetings in their respective wards and work hand in hand with local leadership to address the city’s challenges.
“Be at call for citizen duty. Hold your local councilors and duty bearers to account because we want an open government which is transparent and accountable,” she emphasized.
“You are the primary point of contact in addressing citizen concerns, inquiries, and complaints,” added Kanyai.
Kanyai highlighted that the service delivery champions monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), analyze data, and prepare reports to assess service delivery effectiveness.
She said the local authority can use this information to make data-driven decisions, allocate resources efficiently, and drive continuous improvement.
However, Kanyai bemoaned the impact of partisan politics, which she said had been affecting development.
One of the service delivery champions from Ward 9, Sibonile Desouza, commended GRRA for equipping them with knowledge to defend their rights.
She said “residents can interface and direct their issues to the right people at the right time, because we are well-informed and understand our role in the development of the city”.
Another resident, Thomas Takawira from Ward 4, said they are now “responsible citizens” who are on call to provide knowledge and help to address service delivery challenges in their respective wards, working with duty bearers.
