CIVIC responsibility is the foundation for the development of creative communities. For a society to improve it requires well informed citizens who partake in community initiatives; citizens who are actively involved in programs that seek to eradicate their daily struggles.
Being a backbone of every community, youths are the major players in determining the future of any given community. The elders, kids and teenagers rely on youths and expect a lot from them. This requires them to be responsible so that they can renew, refresh and maintain the social, economic and political structures of their respective communities for collective development.
Through CYDT`s continuous programs on service delivery and accountability in Matabeleland South, Stanmore female youths in Gwanda rural have let their actions to speak louder than words by grouping themselves to deliver water to their local clinic which is currently facing a water crisis. These responsible youths bring five litres of water each to the clinic. Such a move by the determined youths prevented the catastrophe of a health crisis that was looming.
The clinic water pump is dysfunctional at the moment. The female youths who took part in Young Women Accountability Forum organised by CYDT alleged that the Rural District Council (RDC) purchased a water pump that was fake. They argued that they were never consulted as a community regarding the purchasing of the clinic water pump. The women lamented lack of transparency and accountability by the RDC on development funds that were supposed to improve social services in the area.
The women further bemoaned that beside their local clinic not having water, there was nothing that was being done by their RDC to mitigate on water challenges in the ward to ensure their protection from the pandemic which required water and sanitation services.
The ward Councilor Lobukhosi Malila who had been invited to engage with the young women on the crisis in the ward, shared that she had lobbied the RDC and DDF to address the issue, but the authorities in the local government referred her to central government where she was not getting attention concerning the issue. She told young women that she was engaging with well-wishers and development partners to address the crisis in her ward.
The young women concurred that they would use their advocacy skills to hold to account RDC on the plight of social service provision in their ward despite funds being allocated for improvement of social services in the area.
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