ZDDT Has Taught Us To Be Effective Councillors - Cllr Khoza
Cllr Khoza, whose ascension to Councillorship coincided with the inception of the Trust, said the training workshops that were facilitated by ZDDT were very helpful in mentally equipping them to efficiently carry out their duties.
She said she could now properly hold monthly meetings to get in touch with the community, to hear their concerns, grievances and recommendations and also to give them feedback on what is being deliberated on and done at the Local Authority (LA).
In a nutshell, she uses these assemblies as a podium for the exchange of ideas and as a medium of effective communication between the community and the LA. She attributed the success of these meetings to ZDDT’s Meeting Skills workshops that were attended by the majority of the Councillors.
ZDDT also introduced cleaning campaigns, tree planting and after-care programmes (The Urban Greening Initiative) and the training of Councillors and Community Action Teams in Servant Leadership. Cllr Khoza utilized these initiatives and interventions to cultivate in her community members, a culture of love, tolerance and living together. She managed to integrate people regardless of their socio-political, religious and ethnic persuasions; hence they now work collectively with the sole goal of restoring their beloved Ward based community.
“To address the issue of poverty among the residents in my Ward, I approached the City Council and numerous charitable organizations for assistance. This paid well as the Council allocated us pieces of virgin land, within the Ward, in which to practice horticulture and feed the aged and the vulnerable. We now have a number of nutritional gardens and we would like to thank Non Governmental Organisations (Civil Society Organisations) such as ZDDT for coming in to help us administer these gardens,” she said gleaming with joy and satisfaction.