Even with all the media outlets in the country, it is still quite the challenge to get an accurate (or close to) picture of what is going on in Zimbabwe. This is mainly because there aren’t that many reservoirs of information that citizens can report their experiences. In turn, those of us who aren’t native to those areas don’t really know what is going on in other parts of the country outside from where we reside.
Those information gaps between communities, I think, keep us from understanding what the government, elected officials and other entities have done or not done around the country. This is especially important for the government and its activities. There are communities that need help and there has been a raft of government projects that have been launched but we sometimes never hear how they have positively or negatively impacted communities. Well, that’s if the projects actually get out of the planning and concept stage.
These often murky areas are where an organisation called Pachikuva is trying to bring light and clarity to. Pachikuva is an online platform that has taken the crowdsourcing approach to improve the access to information, and by doing so, pushing for government accountability.
Pachikuva, mission and objectives
As the name suggests the organisation is looking to give anyone living anywhere in Zimbabwe a stage or pulpit so that their voice is heard. Pachikuva’s mission is to ensure that relevant media and information is collected and distributed. The information they collect is aimed at keeping track of government projects/activities and therefore increasing social activism for open and effective governance.
In turn, Pachikuva is looking to furnish the media with accounts and reports from communities that they wouldn’t normally cover or have access to. To add on to that, Pachikuva will be providing statistics, analytics and surveys for a number of sectors and society in general.
How you can participate
The avenues currently available are through email, social media or commenting on any one of the reports that Pachikuva posts. The team will then assess and research any information that is brought to them. This will then lead to a report which after being published, Pachikuva will keep track of and publish any new developments as and when they occur.
Limitations
Without non-internet based methods of contacting Pachikuva the pool of people they have access to is not as large. However, the team at Pachikuva are looking to have constituency-based representatives, contributors and journalists to increase coverage.
On the whole a good idea
A couple of weeks ago we covered Sivio Institute’s Local Governance Tracker. Sivio sent out surveys to medium to high-density communities to gather information on service delivery from local authorities. The findings from Sivio’s reports were enlightening and shone a light on where local authorities are falling short.
Pachikuva I think is a welcome addition. It will add on to the work that is being done by organisations like Sivio Institute. This is an area where we need as many resources as possible to properly catalogue the events happening accross the country.
For more information, you can visit Pachikuva’s website with the link here. Alternatively, you can send an email to hello@pachikuva.org
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