More effort is needed to target and orientate church leaders, especially at the local level. They are an important conduit to communities, and carry weight and credibility amongst many Zimbabweans. An informed strategic and targeted approach is also necessary with other constituencies, such as women, student and youth groups. Some constituencies are already actively engaged, and are likely to be more receptive than others. This includes many of the groupings recently participating at the Zimbabwean Social Forum, where the situation of victims of political violence was discussed. Engagement with these groups must entail more than just information dissemination, but must seek to identify individuals and specific structures that will act as animators and contact points with the broader community. This will require the development of a proactive plan of action to engage and resource for the purpose of ‘taking the debate to the people.’ Constraints on information dissemination There are multiple constraints on the dissemination of information relating to issues of justice and accountability in Zimbabwe. The clampdown on the independent media in Zimbabwe has been well documented.40 As a result most Zimbabweans remain almost entirely reliant on State organs or mouthpieces, which are characterised by propaganda and undisguised bias. The small independent press has very limited circulation as most people cannot afford to buy their publications, and distribution is severely limited, particularly in the rural areas. The State retains a monopoly on the domestic broadcast media, and alternative radio beamed in from outside the country is only available for limited hours per day on short wave and medium wave. Many Zimbabwean do not have access to radio; in the current economic climate many are unable to even afford batteries for them. Many parts of the country do not have radio and television reception, especially in the rural areas. In these locations there is strong reliance on local leaders, councillors, chiefs, village heads etc, many of whom are in the pay of the State. Many of these areas were principal beneficiaries of civic education programmes in the past. The contraction of democratic space, including limitations and a prohibition on involvement by non-governmental organisations in civic and voter education respectively has put constraints on delivering such programmes. It has become increasingly difficult to operate and disseminate information, particularly on human rights concerns, in geographical areas where the ruling party is dominant, such as Mashonaland Central and East. Under current security legislation, the Public Order and Security Act, any public gathering requires police notification, which has been deliberately misinterpreted by the police as giving them the power to veto such gatherings. An unspecified number of gatherings have been prohibited, whilst others have been physically broken open, with participants assaulted and detained. There are very real security concerns for ordinary members of the public in the current political climate. All these experiences have contributed to a climate of self-censorship and political conservatism in certain quarters and there are widespread concerns about taking on overtly political causes, or ‘anti-status quo’ initiatives. A number of organisations involved in civic education programmes face acute funding problems. Resource restrictions have resulted in the closure of offices (i.e. Zimrights, CCJPZ offices in Bulawayo). This has affected Bulawayo and Matabeleland adversely as a number of organisations 40 See, for example, Repression of Independent Journalism in Zimbabwe, Article 19, July 2002; State of the Media Report, 2002 & 2003, MISA; Annual Report on Press Violations, Reporters without Borders; Media under Siege: Report on Media Coverage of the 2002 Presidential and Mayoral Elections in Zimbabwe, Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, 2003. 25