MANYAME 1. CONSTITUENCY: MANYAME (NORTON) 2. PROVINCE: MASHONALAND CENTRAL 3. VENUE: NGONIDZASHE COUNCIL HALL 4. DATE: 28 JANUARY 2010 5. PARTICIPANTS: No.: 142 Sex: 51% female Age: 18–60, average 33 years From: church leaders, youths, women, political activists, traditional leaders, government employees and farmers 6. RECOMMENDATIONS i. Accountability • The desire to push for accountability is the first principle in all sections of society. • Accountability helps to curb discrimination in the distribution of national resources [traditional leaders]. • Measures must be put in place to ensure that distribution of inputs is not politicized and that beneficiaries of a particular intervention are indeed the actual recipients [farmers]. • Scandal has become a culture in Africa because of lack of accountability and in Europe what is tolerated in Zimbabwe would cause a minister to resign. There are crimes that cried out for accountability [political activists supported by participants in plenary session]. • Human life is sacred. “Munhu akasiyana nehuku inonzi yaida kudyiwa.” [“A human being is different from a chicken which one can say he/she wanted to eat.”] [political activists]. ii. Institutional reform a. Politicians and traditional leaders • Traditional leaders and politicians accuse each other of “varying political views”. • Transformation of traditional leaders must begin with the traditional government of the chiefs, headman and village heads. They have been infiltrated by politicians who have exposed them to ridicule. Everything that they sought to do is now controlled by politicians. “Hatisisina basa, tangova mifananidzo.” [“We have lost all power. We are now just political pawns.”] [traditional leaders]. • When government says it is supporting traditional leaders, these are political moves. For example, the housing scheme for chiefs is true and houses are being built but they never belong to the traditional leaders as they soon become party property and are converted to torture bases [traditional leaders]. • Traditional leaders have become part and parcel of “terrorist political groups”, facilitating the torture of people who hold divergent views [political activists]. • Reforms must touch the civil service, traditional government, local government; the security systems, the banking and electoral systems [political activists and government employees]. Taking Transitional Justice to the People – Outreach Report 79