CSOs called to foster peace
Fresh calls have been made for civil society organisations to implement more programs that foster peace amid revelations that political affiliations are the number one leading cause of conflict in Zimbabwean communities.
This is according to the State of Peace Report which is an annual product of ZimRights’ Right to Peace Campaign. The report captures peace concerns and issues in the communities.
“In the areas covered, political ideology or affiliation is most likely to trigger violent conflict. This concern featured in all the 6 areas covered while in other areas it came out subtly when participants were discussing access to food aid,” read the report.
“It would then become clear that while the situation that necessitated economic inequalities was economic, food was then distributed along political lines making it also an issue of political ideology or affiliation.”
Besides political affiliation, gender, economic status and ethnicity were also cited as factors triggering conflict.
“There is a need to first fix our national politics to build tolerance for divergent political views. This can be done through increasing civic education on tolerance. It is also important to design inclusive social programmes that bring together different political actors.
“Solutions to addressing gender based violence which include creating community structures for detecting domestic violence must be pursued to ensure that more cases, including the unreported, are detected and dealt with. There is need to open a dialogue platform with local police stations on how to combat corruption and ensure that perpetrators of domestic violence face justice,” read the document.
Commenting on the report Manatsa Tshuma from Cowdray Park said some conflicts had been passed on to the younger generation due to failure by the government to foster unity.
“We are young and waiting for the day we will be able to express our political views without suffering consequences like now. The problem is that everything is politicised in Zimbabwe, you cannot be free without attracting those who will link you to a political party. We need changes in that for us to be peaceful, we look forward to a more progressed Zimbabwe as youths,” said Tshuma.
Sihle Mdlongwa another resident from Bulawayo said most issues are historic and for peace to reign, leaders should be deliberate in rewriting the history of Zimbabwe to end the conflicts.
“The political squabbles are directly linked to ethnicity just like resources and all challenges that people are facing. The report reflects reality and unless we tackle some underlying issues like Gukurahundi, we cannot move forward and create communities where peace thrives,” she said.