www.ntjwg.org.zw WATCH NPRC What Some Delegates Said About the National Convergence and Validation Conference Rev Dr Kenneth Mutata from the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, declared the validation meeting a success. “The validation has been a huge success because in the beginning there was a lot of suspicion around the NPRC as regards its legitimacy, independence, objectives and whether it had the right people not tainted by political issues. “But now people have a feeling that the NPRC is in the right direction. And as the ZCC we feel the NPRC is inclusive, we have submitted to them the “Principles for Analysis of Gukurahundi” and now we are working on a document on the problem that the NPRC is trying to address,” said Dr Rev Mutata. Dr Lamiel Phiri, who is the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children (ZNCWC) said that the validation meeting was a breakthrough for national healing in Zimbabwe. “The validation conference is a breakthrough, the nation had been waiting for a long time to see what would come of the outreach meetings. “But today the NPRC was able to attract many key stakeholders, and their report captured the major areas of conflict,” said Dr Phiri. He however expressed concern over the omission of children's issues by the NPRC. “There is nothing specifically for children. Most of the time children's issues are bunched together with women's and youth rights. You talk of the liberation struggle as a source of conflict. Because a parent died during the war, that means there is no death certificate. This spawns generations of children without identity documents, stateless children who cannot be formally employed, who cannot open bank accounts or acquire drivers' licences,” said Dr Phiri. Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo, who is secretary-general of the Gwanda Residents Association said that the NPRC's recording of people's genuine views was important for confidence-building. “It's important that it has been held, otherwise the NPRC would have proceeded unchecked without validation of contributions made by people during the provincial consultative meetings. “This gives people confidence, that you say something and it is captured, and going forward, people will be more willing to participate,” said Fuzwayo. NPRC now needs to be on the ground, in the communities, holding hearings under trees. We need to start with truth telling so that we all understand what happened,” said Fuzwayo. Musah Zondo from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Zimbabwe (ELCZ) expressed mixed feelings. “The NPRC has given people hope of national healing, but I feel the voice of the church is excluded,” she said. NPRC Watch, 2018 Watch,Issue Issue4,3,May March 2017 16 17