BPRA to hold review meetings on CDFs

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Associations (BPRA) will this weekend (7 and 8 May 2011) be holding constituency meetings to discuss how Members of Parliament (MPs) utilised Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) in their respective areas. MPs and the councillors in their respective areas will be present. The meetings will give residents of Bulawayo an opportunity to question their House of Assembly representatives to ascertain how projects were identified and what kind of interventions were initiated using the funds. More importantly, the  meetings will seek to ascertain how residents were either included or excluded in decision making in terms of identification of projects. In addition, the meetings will establish whether or not the CDFs were actually used (in their entirety) for constituency development. From the meetings considerations for the future will be made to ensure that in future such funds are effectively utilised and residents allowed to participate in the identification of developmental needs and in the formulation of intervention methods to spearhead development.

BPRA is holding these meetings as part of its mandate to promote participatory democracy and create a culture of accountability in the country’s body politic. The association envisions a Bulawayo that is a city of first choice in the country due to improved service delivery, sustainable development and democratic developmental local governance pinned on residents’ participation and awareness of critical socio-political issues affecting the lives of Zimbabweans.

The meetings will be held in wards 5, 13, 24, 25 and 26 on the weekend of 7 and 8 May 2011 as shown in the table below:

Date	Ward	Venue	Time
07/05/2011	Wards 24, 25, 26	Nketa Hall	10am – 1pm
08/05/2011	Ward 13	Iminyela Hall	2pm – 4pm
08/05/2011	Ward 5	Bulawayo Club Famona	2pm – 4pm