The Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) has a robust team that has the courage and conviction to tackle all aspects of residents’ welfare, ranging from access to clean water supplies, effective representation by elected representatives, transparent and accountable utilisation of resources by service providers and public institutions. The team has exceptional capabilities to advance the interests of the residents of Harare and sees a free and prosperous citizenry when everything concerning service provision has been addressed. The key challenges facing the citizenry today is the archaic Urban Councils’ Act (Chapter 29:15), a low calibre of elected representatives, especially councillors, high rates of unemployment, exorbitant rates and rentals, poor service delivery, a corrupt bureaucracy at both Town House and Central Government and a demoralised workforce of council. Our strength is in our diversity.
The weakness of the other is the strength of the other, making us a successful team. Below is a list of the Board Members of the HRT, who all uphold the principle of non-partisan community advocacy;
The Board
Chairperson- Mrs Emmiliah Chakatsva
She was born on 25 June 1969 and has been actively involved in the defence of women’s rights. Mrs Chakatsva is a dedicated community leader who has worked with sector, specialising in imparting knowledge to children with hearing challenges. Her areas of expertise are community advocacy, public speaking and advancing women’s and children’s rights, and raising environmental issues to become.
Secretary- Mrs Elizabeth Rutsate
She was born on 2 August 1965. Mrs Rutsate has 10 years working experience as a magistrate, who rose through the ranks to Senior Magistrate then Provincial Magistrate in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, a post she held for two years prior to leaving service in 2002. A mature, experienced and highly motivated individual, she has interests in challenging undertakings with room for growth.
An excellent team player, effective at undertaking projects in a multi- cultural and multi-disciplinary set up. A dynamic person, who possesses strong analytical and conceptual skills, integrity, high professional standards and good management and communication skills essential for the delivery of quality results within set deadlines.
Mrs Rutsate has a rich legal background, having worked as a senior legal practitioner at Masawi and Partners Legal Practitioners, in the University Of Zimbabwe Faculty Of Law Department as a staff development fellow, and at the United Nations Development Programme as a consultant or judicial mentor in Cambodia. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Zimbabwe. She also has qualifications in Community Development and Humanitarian Project Management. She is a team player and a writer.
Treasurer- Mr Albert Mazula
Born on 21 February 1954, Mr Mazula is married. He is the Director of the Africa Book Development Organisation. He holds Masters Degree in Policy Studies specializing in Micro-Economic Development, a Bachelors Degree in Education and several diplomas and certificates in the fields of adult education and rural development acquired locally and internationally and Post graduate diploma in General Management. His strengths are in organizational development, covering organizational structures, job descriptions, organizational capacity analysis and management systems development, human resources management and development, including being a specialist in performance management, results based management systems and training of trainers, strategic planning, policy analysis and formulation, rural and community development, curriculum and education materials development and financial management.
Local Government and Public Policy- Mr John Makamure
He holds a Bachelor of Science Honors Degree in Economics and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Zimbabwe, and a Diploma in News Agency Journalism, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi India. He is married, and was born on 14 October 1967. Mr Makamure is a dynamic professional who brings to the HRT his wide experience in legislative strengthening, civic society strengthening, advocacy, economic and public policy analysis and research. He founded the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust which is now the leader in parliamentary strengthening in Zimbabwe and is making inroads into the Southern African region.
John has carried out research and presented papers at various fora on legislative strengthening, the national budget process, civic and public engagement and provided technical assistance to the Zimbabwe Parliament and other parliaments in the region to effectively execute their constitutional mandate in the core areas of law-making, executive oversight and representation. Under his leadership, SAPST spearheaded the establishment of the SADC Association of Parliamentary Budget Committees, which is a regional network for MPs and civic society to network and share knowledge on budgetary and economic governance best practices. His working context has been that of Parliament, civic society, international development organizations, the media and the private sector.
In addition to working in Southern Africa, Mr Makamure has a lot of experience working in post conflict situations, having carried out legislative strengthening consulting work in Iraq, Afghanistan and Southern Sudan. He is currently Executive Director of SAPST.
Founder and Coordinator- Mr Precious Shumba
Precious Shumba is a journalist, and public relations’ training who has previously reported for the Manica Post, the Eastern Star and the Daily News where he worked as a Senior Reporter until 2005. Shumba then joined the Combined Harare Residents’ Association (CHRA) as the organisation’s Spokesman and Information Officer before moving to Action Aid International as a Governance Consultant until May 2008.
In February 2008, he founded the Harare Residents Trust (HRT), a Harare-based residents’ organisation advocating for increased citizenship participation in local governance. The HRT model is structured in the same lines as the United States-based Jacksonville Community Council International (JCCI), a United Nations Best Practice, promoting community participation and accountability in Northern Florida. Shumba also has public relations and project planning management qualifications. Competencies include but not limited to hardworking, strong analytical skills, professional, fearless and a serious communicator. He is currently the Coordinator of the HRT, and serves the organisation for a period of 10 years.
Vision:
A free and Prosperous Citizenry
Mission Statement:
to build capacity for productive engagement among citizens, their elected representatives, and service providers as means to improve living standards in communities/ suburbs
For details and comments contact us on hretrust@yahoo.com/ info@hrt.org.zw and website www.hrt.org.zw or call us on 0772 869 294/ 0772 365 805/ 0733 296 806
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