MUTASA NORTH 1. CONSTITUENCY: MUTASA NORTH 2. PROVINCE: MANICALAND 3. VENUE: HAUNA GROWTH POINT 4. DATE: 10 SEPTEMBER 2009 5. PARTICIPANTS: No.: 46 Sex: 39% female Age: 15–61, average 33 years From: government employees, youths, traditional leaders, peasant farmers, health workers, church leaders, the disabled, villagers and political activists 6. RECOMMENDATIONS i. Respect for human rights • There is need to create a culture of respecting human rights, beginning with local communities [government employees]. • Education is a basic human right which must not be interfered with. In the past period this right had been disrespected as teachers were harassed and schools went on without resources because of the political situation [government employees]. • The right to education must be secured through legal reform to ensure that political activities do not interfere with this right [youth group]. • Fundamental freedoms must be restored. Everyone must be free to participate in the political affairs of the country as they please and will, without being forced to act contrary to their will. “We want to be free from threats in a liberated country we profess, regardless of my political affiliation” [government employees]. • The government must work on making sure that economic rights are realised. Programmes must be put in place to increase the economic performance of communities, for example access to inputs [farmers]. • Economic fundamentals must be restored. Politics has eroded away the economy [local business people and informal traders]. • The police must stop destroying flea markets of people who are seeking honest livelihood [informal traders]. • The government must put in place facilities that are friendly to drivers of the rural economy. This will reduce useless imports from South Africa and China. ii. Institutional reform • The system of traditional leadership must be strengthened and secured against political influences. During political upheavals, traditional leaders lost their power and they became vulnerable to political influences [traditional leaders]. • During economic difficulties, the traditional leaders saw the ugly face of poverty and found it difficult to deal with urgent matters like starvation or political violence. There is need for capacity-building programmes to equip the traditional leaders with resources and skills to deal with crisis in times of conflict [traditional leaders]. 42 Taking Transitional Justice to the People – Outreach Report