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Report of the CADEGO workshop held at Chiware Business Centre
Civic Alliance for Democracy and Governance (CADEGO)
March 15, 2006

District: Makoni West
Number of participants: 35

Introduction

Participants from Makoni West district attending the CADEGO/NCA workshop at Chiware Business Centre

The workshop was held at Chiware Business Centre on Wednesday 15 March 2006. The theme of the workshop was PROMOTING DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE The target group for the workshop were traditional leaders and selected women from the community. It was noted that no women were in leadership positions such as village head or headman and yet they influence decisions and behavior in the community. For this reason ten women were selected by the Headman to attend the workshop.

Thirty five (35) participants attended the workshop. Of the 35 participants 24 were village heads, one was a headman whilst the other ten were women selected from the community. As early as 8 AM some participants had already taken their seats whilst others were still trooping in from their homes. The workshop finally started at around 9AM. The Headman, Ishe Mbiriri, had already chosen a Master of Ceremony who throughout the day kept on complementing our efforts.

Methodology
We tried hard to work as a team with the local leadership. The Headman gave opening remarks where he expressed his gratitude at hosting such a workshop. He said they will never stop learning as a community. The headman was also pleased to note that there was a lawyer within the team. He said they were eager to understand legal issues, particularly were it pertains to defending one’s individual rights.

We used presentations, group discussions and plenary sessions to drive our message home. Mrs Mukwada delivered the first presentation. She talked about democracy and governance in relation to tradition. She highlighted that democracy and good governance are not alien to Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular. In her presentation she explained that traditional leaders have always tried to uphold the principles of justice and democracy. She denounced partisan leadership or leadership that is manipulated by money and politicians. A brief discussion followed Mrs Mukwada’s presentation. The workshop broke up for 10 minutes.

After the break Mr Mauya presented on How traditional leaders can promote democracy. In his well-researched presentation, Mr Mauya said traditional leadership is God chosen and hence it’s a high calling to be a traditional leader. He said God is just and fair, allowing people to live freely in His world.. He said likewise, traditional leaders must allow people to live freely under their authority.Reading from the Holy Bible, he challenged traditional leaders to be morally upright so that people will not point fingers at them. He emphasized the necessity of humility, justice and mercy.

Women were also part of the workshop. The theme for the workshop was "Promoting democracy and good governance"

Mr Mauya then randomly assigned participants to five groups for discussions. Each group was given a topic to discuss. Topics that were discussed are

1. What type of a leader do you want?
2. What type of a leader do you dislike?
3. What are the qualities of a good leader?
4. What is a leader?
5. Are leaders always right?

There were exciting group reports leading to a plennary. They seemed to suggest that they want leaders who are kind, just, fair, polite and generous. It was also agreed that traditional leaders must not be political activists, as this will compromise their performance. Participants said traditional leaders should not be manipulated by politicians as has been happening in the past. They want an independent traditional leadership whose powers are regulated by the highest traditional authority, the Chief.

After lunch we had the third and final presentation of the day. This was delivered by Mr Hope Ngara. Mr Ngara explained the role of traditional leadership in promoting the rule of law in the country. He reminded traditional leaders that they have enormous power that is guaranteed by the laws of the land. He read clauses from the Traditional Leaders Act that gave them power to rule in their communities. Mr Ngara told them to be fearless in executing their duties, assuring them that ZHLR is there to assist them with free litigation in the event that they are victimized for upholding the principles of justice and democracy. He also gave them ZLHR contact details for any legal assistance they might require.

Workshop ended with a vote of thanks from Ishe Mbiriri and prayer from one of the participants.

Strenghts
Governance and democracy issues are increasingly becoming sensitive in Zimbabwe. Discussing such issues require effective methodology that alleys any fears the participants may have. The presence of a legal practitioner brought some peace of mind to the participants. Furthermore the CADEGO national Coordinator, Farai Maguwu, has just completed a Masters in Peace and Governance at Africa University and skills acquired during the study were effectively implemented at this workshop. The coordination was done thoroughly such that everyone targeted to attend was present.

Recommendations
There is need for the CADEGO workshops to be held in every ward in Zimbabwe. We must also carry out follow up workshops to see if our resolutions are being implemented. CADEGO needs more funding to enable it reach out to more communities.

After the Makoni West workshop we have been receiving invitations from several traditional leaders who want us to come and hold workshops in their areas.

Visit the CADEGO fact sheet

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