The pie chart shows that Harare Province received the highest number of cases at a total of 161, followed by Bulawayo Province which handled 117 cases. Midlands, Masvingo and Mashonaland East Provinces received between 48 cases to 41 cases. Mashonaland West Province dealt with 37 cases, whereas Manicaland Province handled 25 cases and Mashonaland Central Province handled 24 cases. Matabeleland North dealt with less than a total number of 10 cases and Matabeleland South received the lowest number with a total of 6 cases. Table 4 explains that out of the 515 cases received by ZHRC during the reporting year, 146 cases were advised on other remedies available, 110 cases were referral to partners which work in the human rights sector, 236 cases are matters pending for various reasons, 23 cases were closed on the basis that the files were either investigated and concluded or, adequate responses were made, or it was impossible to pursue the matters further for example were a claim could not be substantiated or the complainant did not provide further documents required. The geographical spread of the cases show the accessibility challenges affecting hard to reach remote communities who have challenges in seeking the support and protection of the ZHRC. The two provinces (Bulawayo and Harare) in which the ZHRC has physical presence contributed 54% of cases received whilst the remaining 8 provinces shared the balance 46% of cases. Furthermore, access to information including communication technologies may also have contributed since Bulawayo and Harare are the two urban provinces. This reinforces the need for the ZHRC to decentralize to provinces and districts to enhance mandate execution. Interim innovative strategies to reach out to these communities will also be considered as an option to cover the challenges. The slow turnaround time for resolving and closing of cases is attributable to, among other reasons, the limited capacity (due to resource constraints) within the ZHRC to investigate and follow through cases. The Commission has only 8 investigators to handle both human rights and maladministration cases. These are the same officers seconded to work as technical experts in the 8 Thematic Working Groups established by the Commission. Lack of cooperation by mostly public officials worsens the situation as the investigators have to follow up many times before responses are received. 6.2.4 Table 4: Status of Complaints received in 2016 In 2016 ZHRC continued to uphold one of its functions entrenched in section 243(1) (k) of the Constitution which, provides for the monitoring and inspection of prisons and places of detention in order to assess the conditions and challenges faced by such institutions. During the year 2016 ZHRC has monitored 21 out of 46 prisons in Zimbabwe and made recommendations to responsible authorities for improvement of conditions of detention. Prison visits provide an opportunity for the Commission to raise visibility on the institution’s role and mandate. Status Number received 2016 Advised 146 Closed 23 Pending 236 Referred 110 Grand Total 515 of cases 6.3 Monitoring and Inspection Visits to Prisons and Places of Detention Protecting, Promoting and Enforcing Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 17