Press Releases
Kagera’s Female Local Councilors and Community Leaders Gain Leadership Skills
March 12, 2007
A leadership workshop with Special Seat Women Members of Parliament and approximately 120 local female councilors and community leaders representing different districts in Kagera Region will take place in Kagera from March 13 to 14, 2007 at the Kolping Hotel in Bukoba Town. Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and DFID Parliamentary Strengthening Program, for two days, Local Councilors and Community Leaders will participate in sessions about MKUKUTA, MKURABITA, SEDP and PEDP, legal rights of women, leadership skills, Safe Motherhood, and HIV/AIDS. The sessions will follow a participatory approach including presentations and group discussions designed to tap into the local context at district and ward levels. The facilitators for the sessions will be representatives from civil society organizations, the Local Government Authorities, and others.
Women often carry a greater poverty burden and are afforded fewer opportunities in education and employment. In order to ensure that the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) is being achieved, more must be done to enlighten and empower voiceless women in Tanzania, so that they may overcome stigma and take advantage of economic and political opportunities.
According to Hon. Bernadeta: “Most women leaders in our communities lack leadership skills, entrepreneurial skills, sufficient knowledge about the on going programs such as MKUKUTA, MKURABITA, etc, and have limited knowledge about SACCOS due to cultural barriers and the multitude of work and multiple roles assigned to women. Educating women and community leaders will enhance the achievement of the Millennium Development goals by 2015”
The aim of the event is to build the capacity of women and community leaders through the exchange of information, skills and experiences related to their social, political and economical empowerment. As both national and local leaders, MPs have a responsibility to join with their fellow Local Councilors to ensure that the needs of citizens are well represented and that they enjoy high standards of living.
In October 2006 the Parliamentary Program, in collaboration with three Special Seat Members of Parliament from Ruvuma, Mtwara and Lindi, conducted a similar 4 day empowerment workshop attended by 200 female Local Councilors.
The Parliamentary Strengthening Program is implemented by the State University of New York (SUNY). The program seeks to strengthen the oversight role of Parliamentary Committees and to encourage more effective participation by Parliament in the policymaking and budgeting processes.
Contact:
Alice Muro
Operations Advocacy Assistant
SUNY Tanzania
212-0750