CHINHOYI–Southern Africa Crises Management Agency (SACMA) hosted a seminar to train and encourage the use of various social media platforms for the enhancement of service delivery in Mashonaland West Province at Goshen Hall in Chinhoyi on Thursday 5 February 2015.
The workshop which was attended by headmen, societal leaders, councilors and citizens from different parts of the province saw them taken through on how to use various social media tools like twitter, Facebook, the popular WhatsApp and text on the interactive ICT based ZimVoices platform.
Addressing at the workshop SACMA Coordinator Mr Tichanzii Gandanga urged residents of Mashonaland West Province to engage using the ZimVoices platform as it offers them an opportunity to take part in governance and developmental processes without much cost especially at this era erratic and unimpressive service delivery to incompetence and corruption by office bearers.
He said through reporting, sharing, monitoring and debating on service delivery being offered, citizens have the capacity to call authorities and office bearers to account and be answerable to misuse of power and incompetence to fulfill their duties.
Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop, Headman Chareka from Hurungwe West praised the role being played by ZimVoices through use of various social media tools to improve service delivery by affording citizens a voice.
He said lack of an effective interactive media tool operating in Hurungwe had resulted in his villagers becoming so accustomed to living under poor service for the past decade.
“We embrace ICT’s and this workshop has been an eye opener and from now my village will demand better service delivery from the relevant authorities,” said Chareka.
ZimVoices is a web based, Ushahidi inspired interactive platform for accessing information, monitoring, reporting, commenting and giving suggestions on key socio-economic, rights and governance issues. The web based platform allows citizens to interact using various social media tools like Facebook, WhatsApp, twitter etc. The ZimVoices platform is a brainchild of a consortium of five Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in Zimbabwe.
