7 3. ZLHR’s Strategic Framework (2014-2018) and relevance to stakeholders and beneficiaries, by using our core skills, competencies and expertise. ZLHR, in its strategy, seeks to foster a sustainable culture of human rights and respect for the rule of law in Zimbabwe by: i. Increasing gender-sensitive and equitable access to civil, social and economic justice through provision of quality legal services to women, men, youth and marginalised groups; ii. Strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness of state (justice sector) institutions in delivering on their mandate and accounting to the public; iii. Increasing knowledge and public participation through the provision of reliable human rights information and platforms for dialogue; and iv. Protecting the rights and enhancing the safety of human rights defenders through litigation, education and advocacy. These Priority Areas have become the focus of the 4 restructured programmes, as outlined below: 33 Access to Justice Programme Programme staff Manager: Dzimbabwe Chimbga Assisted by: Lizwe Jamela Programme staff: Tawanda Zhuwarara; David Hofisi; Bellinda Chinowawa Consultant: Bryant Elliot ZLHR seeks to ensure that communities, through greater awareness and the use of the law (litigation), are equipped to access their constitutional social, economic and civil rights and, in the longer term, demand for more substantive and meaningful participation in governance issues, thus holding state and non-state actors accountable for their actions. ZLHR acknowledges the crucial role in society played by informed, empowered communities that assert their rights in promoting active citizenship. Through increasing awareness of the remedies in the Constitution during Mobile Legal Clinics, and taking on public interest, strategic and constitutional litigation, ZLHR will not only breathe life into the Constitution but also provide communities – especially the rural and peri-urban populations – with a chance to contribute to and influence the evolution of strengthened governance systems in the country. In the long term, service delivery, public services accountability, social and economic justice will become issues that communities increasingly engage with, demand and obtain. ZLHR Annual Report 2014 ZLHR undertook a comprehensive strategic review, visioning and planning exercise, commen­ cing after the 2013 national elections. Through intensive meetings with membership, staff, select partners and the ZLHR Board, guided by the needs of our beneficiaries, and in light of global and national funding constraints, the organisation was able to streamline and restructure its programming, and reduce its budget and its structure from seven departments to four units working at an organic and interrelated level towards four priority objectives. Staff – armed with new skills on gender mainstreaming and results-based management, and a comprehensive organisational monitoring and evaluation framework – began rollout of the new strategy in early 2014. ZLHR’s three offices remained busy throughout 2014, reinforcing the view that the restructuring exercise has helped us to improve our services, respond more quickly and often more proactively to challenges, and increase our services