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Herald Reporter
Herald correspondent Daphne Machiri was the first runner-up at the Zimbabwe Journalism Awards on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) at a ceremony held in Harare yesterday.

For her sterling efforts, Machiri walked away with cash and a certificate at an occasion beamed live on Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) and ActionAid Zimbabwe’s Facebook pages.

The awards were funded by the European Union in partnership with the Africa We Want and ActionAid Zimbabwe.

Machiri’s winning entry titled, “Women’s participation in politics crucial” was published in The Herald of October 1, 2019.

An elated Machiri, who said the award was her first in her journalism career, thanked The Herald editorial staff for their support.

She expressed gratitude to ActionAid for capacitating her on incorporating ACDEG principles in her story for effective articulation of issues around constitutionalism, health, gender and social justice.

Speaking at the occasion, ActionAid Zimbabwe Women’s rights and economic justice manager, Mrs Rumbidzayi Makoni congratulated nominees and winners for their contributions towards citizens’ empowerment by highlighting the Charter’s tenets in their stories.

“The culture of democracy and peace speaks to the necessity of nurturing tolerance, bipartisanship and collective exertion as we strive towards common and shared goals,” she said.

Taking cognisance of the crucial role the media plays in enlightening communities on democratic institutions, elections and transitioning of governments, Mrs Makoni underscored the urgency required in entrenching such values with the view to curb “the polarisation that taints the fabric of Zimbabwe’s political system.”

ActionAid Zimbabwe head of programmes and resource mobilisation, Mr Andrew Chikowore, thanked the winners for keeping Zimbabweans abreast with the ACDEG values and principles saying: “journalism provides the first draft to history.”