ELLEN MLAMBO
MIRROR REPORTER

MASVINGO- Masvingo City Council (MCC) has secured a three year long grant from the Swedish Embassy to fund a flower production that will be done at Kernen Park next to Chevron, A Regency Group hotel.
Gender Links Senior Enterprise Development Officer Roselline Masunungure whose organisation is the implementing partner confirmed the grant. She said that all 92 local authorities submitted proposals and only 12 councils secured the grant. The councils will share a US$5 million grant.
“It’s a flagship enterprise where the local authority will provide land for flower production to participants which will be visible and have a mark as an activity done under the programme. We don’t focus on the flagship only because some will operate elsewhere. We are also looking at why there are few women participating during tender procurements and we develop their capacity,” she added.
Her organisation is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) committed to an inclusive, equal and jus society in which women and girls in all their diversities exercise their voice and choice in accordance with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development and related regional, continental and global instruments.
Gender Links has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works and jointly applied for the grant from the Swedish Embassy.
Masvingo City Gender Focal Person Alice Mashinge said they intend to have 50 beneficiaries who are already into floriculture and those with interest in the sector drawn from the 10 urban wards. The project will be done on a 2 400 square metre park.
She added that they chose flower production to provide vending space in the CBD as a lot of people are in the business but do not have vending space. She said women will be the major participants.
“We have events planners, land scrappers, nursery managers, and Masvingo Polytechnic floriculture students in the project. The project is an ongoing one which we want women to move from local production to international.
“Our technocrats will be drawn from the community. We are going to dwell more with Masvingo Poly’s floriculture department for our advisors. We will also engage major players like Zimtrade and ZIMRA,” she said.
Masunungure said the program is aimed at promoting five value chains, Arts and Culture, Health and Sanitation, Waste Management, Renewable Energy and Horticulture.
Local Action for Gender Justice Regional Manager Priscilla Maposa said the program, Promoting Gender Inclusive Local Economic Development in Zimbabwe is being implemented in 12 local authorities’ jurisdiction by Gender Links in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
She said the program is aimed at promoting gender inclusive local economic development.
“The beneficiaries of the program are mostly women followed by youths and then men. The program aims at ensuring that local authorities respond to services and also come up with gender responsive local economic development plan, particularly focusing on the issue of procurement where local authorities need to ensure that their procurement processes are gender responsive,” said Maposa.
The other 11 councils that secured the grant are Manyame RDC, Umguza RDC, Makoni RDC and Mutare City Council, Beitbridge Municipality, Murewa RDC, Kadoma City Council, Bulawayo City Council, Zibagwe RDC, Kariba Town Council and Norton Town Council.
Maposa added that they are targeting participation of 1800 entrepreneurs from the selected council’s areas of jurisdiction.