Graph 1: CIC Visited by Province

The survey was conducted in all the provinces except
Mashonaland Central. Mucheke in Masvingo Province,
had the majority of respondents per CIC with 37
respondents followed by Chikato in the same province
with 35 respondents. In Manicaland, Checheche, had
the highest number of respondents with 20 while Chibuwe
had 12 participants. For the metropolitan provinces,
Bulawayo had Mpopoma with the third largest number
of respondents while Harare had respondents from CICs
in Zengeza, Chitungwiza. In the Midlands, only one
respondent was recorded at Gweru Old Post Office.

2.0 THE ROLE OF
COMMUNITY BASED
INFORMATION
CENTRES IN
DEVELOPMENT
Access to information is important as it is a driving force
of modern society in developmental projects for the
development of both individuals and communities.
It is also a fundamental right protected internationally by
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and locally by Section 62 of the Zimbabwean Constitution.
In Zimbabwe, the right is also enforceable through the
Freedom of Information Act which was gazetted in July
2020 to repeal the Access to Information and Protection

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of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and to also give effect to the
right to access to information as provided for by the
Constitution1. The exercise of this right is fundamental
to a functional democracy. Independently verifiable
information increases transparency, enables accountability,
builds citizen capacity and helps fight misinformation.
Importantly, as MISA points out, access to information
allows citizens to “exercise other crucial rights such as
the right to vote, the right to a clean and healthy
environment and the right to make informed choices”2.
However, the state of access to information is not the
same across communities. Some people, particularly those
living in affluent urban centres, can choose from abundant
sources of information. In contrast, people who live in
poor communities are frequently denied access to the
information that they need to improve their lives3.
CICs are therefore an intervention to address the gaps
by providing digital technologies and access to the internet
as aforementioned.
According to Hurbert (2006), the purpose of having
CICs in rural communities is to enable them to access
relevant information and access to means of
communication4. The CICs offer a kind of enforced
passage point for the objective of reform programmes and
the latest trends in the international development agenda,
for instance, bridging the digital divide as well as
achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)5.

Media Institute for Southern Africa Zimbabwe (MISA). October 20, 2021. Unpacking the Freedom of Information Regulations Zimbabwe.

2 MISA, Access to information. Available at: https://misa.org/issues-we-address/access-to-information/
3 S. Ndide. (2014), The Role of Community Based Information Centres in Development: Lessons for Rural Zimbabwe, Vol 4, No 19.
4 Hurbert (2006)
5 M. Mushunje, (2020) Customer Perceptions of Community Information Centres in Zimbabwe. PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, p. 30.

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MISA Zimbabwe • The State of Access and Use of Community Information Centres (CICs) in Zimbabwe

Select target paragraph3