Zvishavane residents have expressed ignorance of the provisions of the new Constitution, saying they have not seen or read the document as it is not readily available in the mining town.
This is despite the constitutional provisions that government has to widely disseminate information about the Constitution.
Some of the mining town residents who visited a one-day National Peace and Reconciliation Commission information kiosk run by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum this week said they had not seen or read the Constitution.
Taken from SouthernEye
Tadiwa Mutero (39) said he knew Zimbabwe had adopted a new Constitution, but had not seen the document.
“I attended one of the Copac meetings during the outreach programme, but as for the adopted document, I have not seen or read it. There has been no information dissemination,” he said in reference to the Constitution Parliamentary Select Committee which led the process in the writing of the Constitution.
Tsitsi Gasvi, a vendor, told NewsDay that many people thought Parliament would ensure that the Constitution was widely distributed.
“I have not seen the Constitution despite the fact that it’s over two years old. We usually depend on non-governmental organisations for information, but the Constitution has not come to us,” she said.
Some of the residents were still haunted by political violence and said they hoped the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission would be established soon to help in their healing.
One resident Archim Matiza was, however, afraid to take home literature that was provided at the kiosk.
“I am afraid to carry the booklets and be seen with them. Human rights information is associated with the opposition and I do not want anyone to follow me because of this literature,” he said.
Mary Midzi said she hoped that the commission would fully meet its objectives. “I am looking forward to that era where we will proclaim that never again will Zimbabweans kill each other over politics. Political violence and any other violence are chapters that should come to a closure,” Midzi said
Other residents who spoke to NewsDay said they had learnt about the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission for the first time from the Forum’s NPRC information kiosk