Published: 2013 December 17 21:34:07 (4939 Views)

RESTLESS Development, a non-governmental organisation operating in Mangwe District has come under fire for offering pregnancy prevention lessons to Form One pupils without government knowledge.

The matter came to light during a departmental meeting called to discuss the operations of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the area on Friday.

During the meeting the Bulilima and Mangwe districts' nursing officer Crescencia Maphosa said pregnancy prevention education was not suitable for under aged pupils, save for those aged above 16.

"As a ministry we were not aware that such a programme was being conducted in schools in Mangwe as the organisation did not approach us first as required. Education on preventing pregnancy is only provided to pupils above 16 years in line with the laws of our country," she said.

Maphosa added: "Anyone below the age of 16 is not fit to have sexual intercourse hence the need to exempt them from any content which can encourage them to have sexual intercourse."

Different departmental heads who also spoke during the meeting also expressed condemned the organisation's lessons and demanded an audit of NGO's activities.

Member of the National Assembly for Mangwe Cde Obedingwa Mguni who also attended the meeting said NGO operations should complement and not distort government policies.

"Your operations as non-governmental organisations should correspond with government policies. I was amazed when I got to Ivimila High School and found a representative from Restless Development educating 13 year old pupils on preventing pregnancy which is not in line with the bill of rights," he said.

"To make it worse the programme was being conducted without the knowledge of the relevant ministry."

The organisation's representative who declined to be named could not comment on the issue saying only senior management was eligible to respond. Cde Mguni advised NGOs to liaise with relevant government departments before implementing their programmes and urged them to implement projects which were relevant to each community.

"All NGOs should to consult respective departments whenever they want to implement a programme or hold a workshop. At the same time they should identify and analyse the particular needs of each community in order to introduce relevant projects," he said.

Cde Mguni said Mangwe for instance, was in need of clinics and schools, irrigation schemes and dams and challenged NGOs to focus their efforts on such concrete initiatives.

He said there were a number of projects which were lying idle in the district as they served little purpose to the people. - Zim Metro

You might also want to read this

• Armed Robbers Hit Roman Catholic, Get Away With Cash And Car
• Killer Nabbed After Fleeing To Botswana
• Hubby Bashes Woman For Locking Door At Midnight
• Probe Launched Into Bulilima Mining Activities
• Woman Burns Self In House Over Sickness
• Teenage Pregnancies High In Rural Areas - Report
• Gold Rush In Bulilima
• Chiefs Exercise Powers, Summon Defaulters
• Plumtree Villagers To Pay $1500 Over Stray Cattle
• Mum Helps Daughter Terminate Pregnancy

Comment as Anonymous | Comment With Facebook Submit

There are no comments.

Big Reads

© Copyright 2024 Zim Metro is not responsible for the content of external sites | Contact Us: editor@zimmetro.net | RSS Feeds | Sitemap