Zimbabwean News You Can Trust
Own Corresponded
Desire Tshuma
The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has urged journalists to disseminate fair, objective and balanced reporting as the country gears up for the crunch 2023 general elections.
The clarion call was made in Harare yesterday at a breakfast meeting organized by NPRC. The meeting was for senior media practitioners.
Addressing journalists during the breakfast meeting, Dr Chiropafadzo Moyo said the media is a critical stakeholder in peace building hence without it , NPRC would remain invisible.
He outlined some of the projects and engagements they have conducted so far to ensure that peace prevails before, during and after elections.
He said “The commission has managed to set infrastructure for peace and such as conflict prevention and non recurrence thematic committees, the parliamentary peace champions and provincial peace committees which play a leading role in promoting peace, unity and social cohesion at various levels.
“Early this year we partnered with Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC ) and UN Women to embark on trainings to sensitive and train communities to guard against electoral gender based violence in the country.
“We have so far engaged communities in Manicaland , Masvingo , Midlands, Bulawayo and Matebeleland South provinces and equipped them knowledge on electoral gender based violence, developed strategies and pro-active interventions and mechanisms to address and respond to electoral gender based violence before, during and after elections.”
Among the commissioners who attended the breakfast meeting was Advocate Obert Gutu who reiterated that NPRC will work with the media to promote peaceful elections this year.
The media fraternity was represented by different stakeholders including Zimbabwe Editors Forum ( Zinef ) , Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and several senior journalists from different media houses.
Zimbabwe is set to hold the crux 2023 general elections on a date to be announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa later this year.
