{"id":7311,"date":"2026-05-15T14:59:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T12:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/hme\/?p=7311"},"modified":"2026-05-15T15:13:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:13:36","slug":"home-affairs-securing-nation-through-cultural-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.testdomain2023.gov.zw\/?p=7311","title":{"rendered":"Home Affairs: Securing nation through cultural heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because a nation is as strong as its internal security; which includes the security of every citizen, every child, every family and their communities; and the cultural heritage that shapes their aspirations as enshrined in their indigenous languages, Zimbabweans take pride in the strides that have been taken in that regard since Independence in 1980 through the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage.<\/span><\/p>\n

No activities, be they socio-cultural, socio-political or economic can thrive in the absence of internal security and cultural cohesion which brings forth peace, tolerance, compromise and oneness. The ministry, therefore, is key in the upholding of the values that shape Zimbabweans\u2019 collective destiny.<\/span><\/p>\n

Responsible for the administration of 38 Acts of Parliament that deal with security, cultural heritage, museums, lotteries and monuments, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage surpasses any other ministry in the moulding of the national ethos that mould Zimbabwean-ness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since such aspects like crime, cultural normlessness, unpatriotic tendencies, selfishness and corruption are fodder for civil strife if they are left to fester because of their impact on collective vision, the ministry keeps hands on deck to see to it that the fruits of Independence are guarded for the common good.<\/span><\/p>\n

All organs of the ministry; especially the Zimbabwe Republic Police which is tasked to ensure the nation\u2019s safety on a daily basis, the Registrar-General\u2019s Office, Immigration, National Archives of Zimbabwe, National Museums, Board of Censors, and Lotteries and Gaming Board, are crucial components in the economic development matrix embodied in Vision 2030.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the helm of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage is Honourable Kazembe Kazembe who is deputised by Honourable Michael Madiro with Mr Aaron Nhepera as the Permanent Secretary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Functions<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The purposes of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage are to; provide internal security, law and order; register and issue national identification documents; register birth and death certificates; acquire, preserve and provide access to national heritage (promotion of Nationhood and Statehood); and regulate public entertainment and general publications. To fulfil its mandate to the people of Zimbabwe, the ministry regulates entry and exit of people in and out of Zimbabwe; licenses, authorises and supervises gaming activities; and combats corruption. It also facilitates cattle branding certification; vets refugees; and formulates and implements policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflections on the Rhodesian system<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The Rhodesian internal security system was premised on the upholding of the colonial legacy of oppression, brutality and exclusion. The police force was Cecil John Rhodes\u2019 child, thus, it served colonists interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

The imperialist godfather, Rhodes\u2019 Pioneer Column, numbering 200 men, formed the backbone of the British South Africa Company Police (BSACP), Rhodesia\u2019s first police force, in 1889. It was a ruthless force meant to brutalise, maim, rape and murder blacks into submission, not to police them. The idea to form a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen was proposed by William Bodle who became the Commissioner in 1903.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

William Bodle mooted the idea of the police in 1889. Lieutenant Colonel Penne Father led the Pioneer Column into Zimbabwe in 1890 in charge of 500 policemen who offered military escort to settlers. During this trek north on a mission to pillage, plunder and murder indigenous people out of their ancestral heritage, the force was deployed in troops with the advance team under the command of Fredrick Courney Selous.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1892, Charles White became the Chief Commissioner of the BSACP. The force was disbanded in the same year, and replaced by the Mashonaland Mounted Police and the Constabulary Units.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two forces were amalgamated into the Rhodesia Mounted Police, and in 1909 became known as the British South Africa Police (BSAP), the name it retained until 1980.<\/span><\/p>\n

Up until 1954, BSAP officers were trained as both policemen and regular soldiers, which consolidated its role as a colonial force of subjugation; operating terror units during the liberation struggle in the 1960s and 1970s in rural and urban areas. The force whose middle name was violence, and knew no civility, was responsible for the disappearance, torture and death of thousands of blacks. It was a white people\u2019s police force, although there were thousands of blacks (mabhurakwacha) in its ranks.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1980, BSAP personnel numbered 46 000; 11 000 professionals (60 percent of them black), and 35 000 reservists (mostly white). All commissioned ranks were reserved for whites, and blacks could not go beyond sub-inspector rank.<\/span><\/p>\n

Birth registration in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) began on June 10, 1891 based on the Cape Colony Proclamation adopted in the country and was done in towns, including Bulawayo and Harare. However, this was for non-Africans only.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deaths and stillbirths were not accounted for until April 1, 1904. After this date births\/deaths\/stillbirths registration was declared compulsory for non-Africans (whites, Indians and coloured populations). Africans were not considered a factor in such registrations.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1952, the African Registration and Identification Act was passed entitling \u201cadvanced\u201d Africans the right to have an identity document which was different from the ordinary \u201csithupa\u201d held by every other African. Until November 30, 1963, magistrates were responsible for the registration. The registration of the births\/deaths\/stillbirths was handed-over to the District Commissioners who were under the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the Registrar-General as the departmental head.<\/span><\/p>\n

From November 30, 1963, the promulgated Births and Deaths Registration Act (Chapter 30) provided for registration of births, deaths and stillbirths of Africans, although it was voluntary.<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 17, 1972, Ian Smith\u2019s House of Assembly tabled a Bill introduced by the Minister of Internal Affairs which was passed into law as the Africans (Registration and Identification) Amendment Act, No 48 of 1972. Some of the requirements of The Act included:<\/span><\/p>\n

To move in and out of the country Africans were to apply for special leave or secure a permit at all times (Section 16 (1) (a) and (b) of the Principal Act); These documents were to be surrendered upon leaving the country and requested for on return (Section 16 (6) and (7) of the Principal Act);<\/span><\/p>\n

The discretion to issue or not to issue identity documents lay solely in the hands of Registration Officers (Section 5A (1) of Chapter 109);<\/span><\/p>\n

Without valid identity documents, Africans could not be employed.<\/span><\/p>\n

District Commissioners (formerly Native Commissioners) presided over the statelessness of many Africans who could not access the documents since the system was skewed. They also created a lot of challenges that families are grappling with today\u2014loss of familial identity. Names were recreated for Africans and family ties broken through surnames that in essence were nicknames. It is not uncommon for one family whose lineage traces back to a single great grandfather, grandfather or father even, to have three or four surnames among them. It is a colonial blunder or lie they are now stuck with.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a system of identification for whites and a separate one for blacks. The whole idea was to control Africans\u2019 movement and account for their population for labour and security purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The African cultural idea was also hijacked, and rubbished as a quintessence of evil where it suited settlers. To colonists, the African had no culture and no history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rhodes and his fellow settlers were aware of the pivotal role that culture played in the everyday lives of Africans, therefore, through Christianity, they robbed Africans of their spiritual connectedness to the land of their ancestors by destroying or capturing their shrines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Establishment of a people\u2019s police force<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Independence in 1980 gave Zimbabweans control of their internal affairs through the establishment of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) by integrating British South Africa Police, auxiliaries, ZIPRA and ZANLA forces.<\/span><\/p>\n

As was the case in other institutions and departments, the police force was affected by the exodus of whites to South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smarting from the repressive and tyrannical Rhodesian idea of internal security, the Government\u2019s resolve was to remodel the police force. Since the force carried the mistrust, brutality and intimidation of the past, the new thinking was to overhaul and commit it to the safety and wellbeing of all Zimbabweans. The first port of call, therefore, was to train black Zimbabweans and promote them to higher ranks previously reserved for whites while at the same time learning from them.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1981, 635 former freedom fighters and auxiliaries were integrated into the ZRP with a further 500 former guerrillas undergoing police training.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1981, there were nine black assistant commissioners, and more than 700 policemen had been promoted to patrol officers. Commissioners were selected from groups sent for senior officers\u2019 courses in Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1981, 166 of the 250 posts available for promotions were filled by blacks with the first black Deputy Commissioner coming into office in the same year. There were six Assistant Commissioners then, four of them blacks and two of them whites. The first black Commissioner Wiridzayi Nguruve was appointed in 1982.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rank of Assistant Commissioner was open to whites only and there were 12 of them before Independence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the ZRP has been transformed into a formidable force up to the task of upholding peace and provision of security for all Zimbabweans. The Zimbabwe Republic Police has been unwavering in its commitment to global peace and security through participation on United Nations International Peace Keeping Missions duties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Freedom of assembly<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

On May 13, 1991, Zimbabwe became party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Covenant provides for the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association under articles 21 and 22.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees freedom of peaceful assembly since it is a fundamental right provided that other citizens\u2019 rights are not infringed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on corruption<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Corruption is as destructive as it is violent, for it creates acrimony among siblings, friends and countrymen, leading to anger, poverty, despondency, frustration and ultimately civil strife.<\/span><\/p>\n

If individuals are obsessed with material gain they think only of themselves and no one else; as a consequence, the moral fabric that is supposed to hold the national consciousness intact is shred, leading to abject poverty, hurt and suffering of the majority, who feel betrayed by those in social and political echelons of influence. In the rat race that ensues a new breed of hunter is born; one who invariably hunts with the hounds and runs with the hares.<\/span><\/p>\n

Corruption becomes the order of the day as everyone rushes to take a bite of the rather insufficient national cake.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Transparency Ethiopia, corruption has \u201cpolitical, economic and social effects\u201d. Graft causes political intolerance and economic meltdown manifesting in a collapsed social system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Corruption is a vice that should not be allowed to take root, for all the country\u2019s gains will come to nought. Something needs to give to curb corruption is Zimbabwe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Procrastination really, is a thief of time, for monochronic time, which is both tangible and impatient waits for no man. As Jim Bishop pointed out \u201cnothing is as far away as a minute ago\u201d because, as Michael Forbes concurs, \u201cthere is never enough time, unless you are serving it\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is really those who are incarcerated who have plenty of time on their laps.<\/span><\/p>\n

National Vision 2030 is on course, and there is no reason why it can be obstructed. What is required now is for all citizens to come aboard in the fight against corruption; shunning individualism and avarice \u2014 the hallmarks of the scourge, knowing that there are no sacred cows in nation building.<\/span><\/p>\n

The time is now for the flower buds to be seen on the fruit trees of Eden, for as espoused by Baltasar Gracion, \u201call that belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage as the custodian of Zimbabweans\u2019 time as a nation keeps all eyes on the ball to deliver on its mandate to citizens in the battle against corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n

A glimpse into the Registrar-General\u2019s Office<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

After Independence in 1980, the role of the District Commissioner was taken over by the District Administrator under the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing on an agency basis until 1982 when the Registrar-General took direct control of the functions through Provincial and District Registrars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every citizen of Zimbabwe has a right to a birth certificate, national Identity card and passport. To that end, the Registrar-General\u2019s Office has decentralised the issuing of the vital documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

In February 2020, the Registrar-General\u2019s Office announced that the issuing of civil documents will be done at large church gatherings using its mobile units to make it easier for people to access them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Department has started decentralising mobile registration to provinces and districts that are now required to carry out at least one outreach once in two months at district level. Churches can now organise and engage the Registrar-General\u2019s Office so that services can be provided wherever they will be gathered.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the same month, the ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fidelity Printers and Refiners to secure consumables needed to print passports with the view to reduce backlog. Passport offices are also set to open in Chitungwiza and Murehwa as part of the Registrar-General Department\u2019s decentralisation programme.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the essence of culture<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A people\u2019s norms and values are contained in their cultural expectations, cultural heritage, therefore, is crucial to a peoples\u2019 socio-economic and political growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emile Durkheim (1988) points out that culture is the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Culture may be classified as community, national, regional, gender, social and corporate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Colonisation and technological advancements subjected African traditions to immense pressure. The Tonga people, for example, had their own songs, proverbs, idioms and folklores which were directly linked to the Zambezi Valley \u2014 their cherished ancestral abode before the Kariba Dam flooded their area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cultural heritage as enshrined in indigenous African languages should be preserved as it is the first step in decolonisation. Cultural beliefs obtaining in African folklore, riddles, idioms and proverbs can only be appropriately enunciated through indigenous languages. Language is a powerful vehicle in the conveyance of a people\u2019s mores in their original form.<\/span><\/p>\n

Citing Furusa, Chiwome and Mguni (2012) maintain that \u201c(a) search for language should be a search for collective wisdom and sensibility. It should be intended to bend the collective volition into harmony with the demands of social development\u201d. This is especially so because \u201clanguage embodies and is a vehicle of expressing cultural values\u201d (Chinweuzu, et al, 1982:7).<\/span><\/p>\n

Zimbabwe\u2019s culture as embodied in national monuments, shrines and museums should be guarded jealously, for they are repositories of cultural heritage. The death of a people begins with the death of their culture, as such the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage plays a pivotal role in upholding nationhood and ascertaining that \u201csocieties drained of their essence, cultures trampled underfoot, institutions undermined, lands confiscated, religions smashed, magnificent creations destroyed, extraordinary possibilities wiped out\u201d (Cesaire, 1994:21), are restored for the common good.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Independence in 1980, the component of culture had been carried in different ministerial portfolios as the Government of Zimbabwe has always been committed to the preservation and promotion of national cultural heritage as a vital facet of nationhood.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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