BPRA to step up use of social networking sites

Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) is stepping up its social networking campaign as a means to increase the reach of the information it disseminates and promote citizen participation in local governance. This is in line with the association’s belief that citizen participation in discourses on service delivery and local governance is important in ensuring that the socio-economic needs of residents are considered in the day to day operations of the national and local authorities. This follows a week long social media training workshop hosted by OSISA in Magaliesburg, South Africa which was attended by the BPRA Information Manager, Mr Zibusiso Dube. Among issues leant at the workshop was how to link various social networking sites for enhanced reach to stakeholders, and how to manage content on the sites for maximum impact.

The social networking sites, encompassing Facebook, twitter, blogger, YouTube and possibly Picasa will be aimed at serving three key functions. Firstly, availing residents with critical information pertaining to service delivery and local governance. Secondly, to provide platforms for residents to share their views and wishes on service delivery and governance issues. And lastly, to act as tools to bring to the fore anomalies in service delivery and execution of public mandates by holders of public office in order to promote accountability in their operations. The use of social networks as important communication tools comes after a realisation that they are a good medium to reach to the youth, who most often constitute a sizeable portion of the populace and are generally apathetic when it comes to issues of governance and service delivery.

Importantly, the social networking sites will allow the association to employ use of multiple media forms – text, video and images – to communicate with residents, and they will enable two way communication between BPRA and its various stakeholders. The association therefore calls upon residents, partners and other stakeholders to participate in the online discourses on critical issues affecting the lives of not only the residents of Bulawayo, but Zimbabweans at large.