Yeukai Munetsi
Gweru-The Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) last week joined the community in commemorating International Day of Peace as part of efforts to promote peace in the nation.
The EFZ is a body under the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations which includes the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference, Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Union for the Development of the Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe Africa.
The church body also urged the community to be effective communicators in order to promote peace, as communication was key in development.
EFZ Gweru Chapter Programmes Officer Tatenda Madzikanda said there is need to uphold everlasting peace and solidarity through joining the September 21, 2022 International Day of Peace Commemoration as a way reinforcing unity.
“Peace is free from disturbances, it is the presence of justice and upholding of human rights in a system. So peace can either be positive or negative.
“Negative peace, I can say is the absence of peace while positive peace talks about the systems that promote a conducive environment for peace and inclusion.
“Peace leads to development and sustainability hence there is a relationship between development and peace. Where there is peace, there is equitable distribution of resources, where there is peace, we build schools, hospitals and safeguard our rights as a people.
“Conflicts can emerge in different societies of the world, I urge every member of society to be able to manage conflicts by being a Peace Ambassador. We are preachers of peace in our homes, wards, constituencies, provinces and it begins with us,” said Madzikanda.
EFZ Gweru district chairperson Pastor Alfred Hove said it was good that residents of ward 8 and 10 were part of the engagement as various service delivery issues were raised concerning their constituency.
“We are happy ward 8 and 10 residents are part of our meeting as last time we didn’t engage them much. We hope now that we have learnt, we can go to our wards and engage others, We want to advocate for service delivery issues peacefully and even hold our office bearers accountable for the development of our constituency,” said Hove.
