The Sunday Mail
Precious Masakara
GOVERNMENT has urged the public to assist the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) with facts that will aid the Commission to come up with recommendations on how the challenges faced in accessing national documents may be addressed.
The call was made by the deputy director in the office of the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs (Harare Metropolitan), Mr Ignatius Mungure, who was representing Minister Oliver Chidawu, during a stakeholder consultative meeting on access to documentation held Tuesday.
The meeting was held to gain an in-depth appreciation and understanding of the challenges faced by the public in accessing documentation and to identify potential witnesses and stakeholders who may bring verifiable evidence to the public hearings soon to be held in Harare Metropolitan province.
Said Mr Mungure: “I wish to encourage residents of Harare Metropolitan province and all stakeholders to assist the Commission with evidence or any information that will enable the Commission to come up with concrete recommendations to Parliament and Government on how the challenges faced by our people in accessing national documents may be addressed.
“The Commission has been working in close partnership with all stakeholders in Government and civil society from the inception of this national inquiry. In that regard, I urge you all to continue supporting the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission in this inquiry which I hope will accord people in Harare metropolitan province the opportunity to express their views on the challenges they face in accessing national documents.”
National documents include birth certificates, passports, national identity cards and death certificates.
Mr Mungure said citizens will not fully enjoy their rights if they do not possess national documents that empower them to claim their rights.
