ZESN organises two BRIDGE Workshops on Boundary Delimitation in Zimbabwe

Boundary Delimitation is a legislative requirement in Zimbabwe. In an effort to build capacity of civil society organisations as stakeholders in democratic processes and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) the body tasked with the demarcation of boundaries, ZESN organised two BRIDGE modular workshops on boundary delimitation to enable them to appreciate and strengthen their understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the processes linked to boundary delimitation.

The two workshops were held between 28-30 January 2019 in Harare and from 31 January to 01 February 2019 in Kadoma. The workshops were organised with the primary aim of reinforcing the mechanics, and principles of boundary delimitation and equip participants with knowledge and skills to carry out boundary delimitation with integrity, professionalism, transparency, and accountability. In the case of civil society, it was designed to help identify entry points to support ZEC operations in the process and educate the masses from an informed basis. Furthermore, it was anticipated that the training workshops would enhance peer learning among participants.
In Harare, a total of thirty-seven (37) participants from civic society including two (2) from ZEC participated in the course and in thirty-eight (36) in Kadoma turned up for the course, ten (10) being ZEC officials – one from each province.
In her opening remarks in both workshops, the Director of ZESN, Mrs. Rindai Chipfunde-Vava, expressed her gratitude to civic society and ZEC for working alongside as partners.
In both workshops, participants gave a comprehensive appreciation of the course by saying the following:
– A timely and well-delivered training that will no doubt enhance understanding and participation in the delimitation exercise.
– The course was very informative, we did not consider boundary delimitation relevant for us as a civil society until we participated in the course.
– I have changed my mind about the boundary delimitation process as a complex subject because I now have an understanding and keen to learn more and participate in the process.
– Continuing to engage with ZEC is critical so that we can move together, collaborating and moving together for the good of Zimbabweans