THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has been hit by staff shortages, amid reports that it has four of the required staff complement of 52 officers.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Gender and Women Development made the disclosure, while submitting its 2017 National Budget report last week.
“The Gender Commission must be allocated $1,3 million for their operations and at a minimum there must be Treasury concurrence for the recruitment of the urgently required 20 members of staff with the requisite qualifications and experience, and funds to be availed for the six vehicles required for operations support,” committee chairperson, Biata Nyamupinga said.
“The projected establishment for the commission is 52, however, currently, there are four officers, three of who are seconded from other ministries and one funded by a development partner,” she said.
“The commission must also have the latitude to recruit from a wide range of sources, instead of being constrained to recruiting from retired civil servants. Currently, transportation for the Commission is confined to a donated vehicle and one from Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), whereas a minimum of six vehicles are required for the commission to begin outreach activities.”
ZGC was allocated $105 000 for 2017.
Part of its duties include public education on gender and awareness, investigating possibly violations of human rights related to gender, research, monitoring compliance with gender equality commitments, and institutional strengthening.
