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Weekend
activities update - Week ending 18 November 2012
Bulawayo Agenda
November 19, 2012
Election
Preparedness Multi-stakeholders Meeting
Matabeleland
South civic leaders and stakeholders from Plumtree, Beitbridge,
Gwanda, Matopo, Insiza and Umzingwane districts participated in
an Election Preparedness Multi-stakeholders Meeting held in Gwanda
at the Red Cross Society Hall on Saturday (17 November 2012.)
The participants
were drawn from different sectors of life and included educationists,
civic activists elected officials and women's rights activists.
The main purpose
of the meeting was to assess progress made in preparation for elections
and/or referendum, share perspectives and information on existing
challenges in so far as the referendum and the subsequent elections
are concerned.
The Zimbabwe
Elections Support Network (ZESN) and the National
Youth Development Trust (NYDT) were also invited to share their
experiences and findings in their work.
Participants
raised a number of issues regarding the electoral amendment act
and the general operating environment in their districts. Some of
the highlights of the meeting were that:
- Participants
lamented the continued militias and 'bases' in their
areas and said it remains intimidatory to the prospective voters.
- The registration
process is very cumbersome and frustrating to women and the usually
impatient youths.
- Participants
criticized the numerous loop-holes in the Electoral
Act and said the use of words like "may" in the
Act leaves a lot to the discretion of individuals hence increasing
the chances of electoral fraud.
- They recommended
the increase of registration centers and urged civil society to
advocate for mobile registration centers and the dedication of
specific staff in over-saturated registration centers.
What
they said . . .
"The truth
about militia bases is that they are usually set out by aggrieved
man who will be targeting beautiful women in our areas. Once the
bases are set, those women are forced to cook and in the process
get abused." - Participant.
"Youths
constitute 66% of the Zimbabwean population and yet only 18% are
registered as voters. Of that 18%, only 11% voted in the 2008 elections"
- Nqobani Tshabangu, NYDT.
"The reason
why we as youths do not vote is because of the elected officials
are not accountable and there is no internal democracy in the political
parties in Zimbabwe. " - Youth Participant.
"The Electoral
Act has been amended, it is now everyone's duty to make sure
they know its contents in order to be able to identify any breaches
during the elections"- Ndodana Ndlovu, ZESN
Community
Outreach Meetings
About 50 villagers
from Wabayi area in Gwanda attended the meeting on Saturday (17
November 2012). The meeting was organized by Gwanda Agenda in conjunction
with Zimbabwe
Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADR). Of this number,
about 20 were women.
The aim of the
meeting was to emphasize on the need for peace during the impeding
referendum and elections to be held next year as well as to encourage
the villagers to become registered voters in the upcoming elections.
The meetings
were also held to update villagers on the constitution making process
and also to open a platform for discussion of sore issues such as
the Gukurahundi, Election "bases" inter alia.
Leaders present
at the meeting included Joe Mpande (Village Head), Isaac(Zimbabwe
Association For Human Rights), Thabani Nyoni (Bulawayo Agenda Board),
Busani Ncube (BA).
What
they said . . .
"As far
as political violence is concerned, outsiders are the ones to blame
for scattering the community" - local participant.
"A wound can
not heal unless and until it is opened, sterilized and then covered
lest it harbors an infection, thus likewise, Gukurahundi cannot
and should not just be abandoned but we require that the leaders
responsible make public apologies to the victims concerned." - local
participant
"Terror bases
are scattering families as women are usually made to cook hereby
also forced to 'offer' other immoral services" - Mrs Maphosa (local
participant)
"We as
doctors are here to treat victims of political violence for the
most minimal of fees but this is not a go-ahead to be politically
violent"- Isaac (ZADHR)
"As villagers,
you should be aware that politicians have the potential of sowing
seeds of hate among you during elections. There is great need therefore
to remain united."- Busani Ncube (BA).
"We want
transparency in the Community Development Fund as we are still not
seeing much development in our area."
Visit the Bulawayo
Agenda fact sheet
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