Chronicle Editor
Midlands Bureau Chief
There is an urgent need to strengthen local peace structures while at the same time including the youths who are now leading in perpetrating violence in communities.
Elderly people, community leaders, the police, youths and civil society should all embrace each other as the Second Republic pushes for national healing, national development and engagement for the socio-economic development of the country.
This was heard during a Churches Converging on Conflict and Peace (CCCOP) inception meeting in Gweru yesterday which was attended by the Gweru local peace committee which has members such as the police, churches and the district development coordinator.
Gweru assistant district development coordinator Mr Tarisai Mudadigwa said peace was vital under the Second Republic.
Mr Mudadigwa who is also the chairperson of the local peace committee said without peace from the home structure, there cannot be any socio-economic development to talk about.
“We need to strengthen local peace committee structures to include the youths. We need to advocate for ward or village assembly meetings and we want the youths to attend and be part and parcel of peace initiatives. It’s no longer the adults who are leading in perpetrating violence, it’s the youths.
“They go for example in Gweru, they go and pan for gold and then go to the beer halls and clubs where they are engaged in violence. Sometimes the violence is taken home. So, there is an urgent need to cater for the youths and train them on peace building, nation building and tolerance,” he said.
Mr Mudadigwa said in Gweru, they have a local non-governmental organisation Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation (CCMT) which has also assisted Government in resolving conflicts in irrigation schemes such as Insukamini which is now fully operational.
“We have CCMT working on irrigation schemes where there were a lot of conflicts between members, utilities such as Zesa and Zinwa and I am glad to note that the conflict has been managed,” he said.
Officer commanding police in Gweru District Chief Superintendent Tsitsi Chikono said it was sad that cases of domestic violence were increasing in the district.
Without giving any statistics, Chief Supt Chikono urged members of the community to make use of police stations, bases and points dotted across Gweru to deal with perpetrators of violence.
“Domestic violence cases are on the increase in Gweru and we call upon members of the public to approach the police at any station, police base or point to report matters of violence, we also have the victim friendly unit and after we arrest, we take the accused to the courts as part of the justice delivery system,” she said.
Chief Supt Chikono said known people were also the main perpetrators of sexual violence on the girl child.
She said sexual violence crimes should be reported within 72 hours.
Also speaking during the same meeting, Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) executive director, Reverend Useni Sibanda said the CCCOP programme is aimed at strengthening the local peace committee from the DDC, police, chiefs to train them and re-equip them on cases of conflict familiar in the community.
The programme that we had initially launched under the banner Churches Convergence on Peace (CCOP) has come to an end and now we are extending the programme for a further one year 18 months under the CCCOP.
He said ZCA is working with local peace committees to address issues of conflict within communities some which have been caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
Online Reporter