HARARE city’s junior council on Saturday launched the Make Harare Child Friendly campaign to raise awareness on children’s rights, following a recent kombi accident which killed a Harare Girls High pupil, Jocelyn Gomba (17). BY STAFF REPORTER
Led by Harare junior mayor, councillor Rufaro Manyepa, more than 300 pupils from Girls High and Queen Elizabeth schools marched in the central business district under the campaign “#makehararechildfriendly”.
For years, pupils from the Harare Girls High and Queen Elizabeth schools have suffered untold abuse from touts operating near their schools.
Alderman Lungani Zwangobani said the campaign was part of efforts to pressure policymakers to urgently act on issues affecting ordinary residents.
“The purpose of the first meeting was to consult the children and gauge their capacity to undertake the child friendly councils’ initiative. The initiative has to remain driven by children, who have already developed a score card which they want used to rate their wards and councils on their child friendliness,” he said.
“The scorecard will be used to determine the winner of the inaugural Child Friendly Councils Award. It is expected that through competition, the councils across Zimbabwe will be challenged to address gaps that exist in their councils pertaining to service delivery for children.”
Zwangobani said the initiative would also be tabled for adoption at the official opening of the Children’s Parliament next month. “Challenges are still faced where local authorities do not understand the Junior Council concept, hence, have no platform to give children an opportunity to speak out,” he said.
