Garare- Veteran journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has congratulated Information, Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services minister, Tatenda Mavetera for successfully opposing a cabinet move to abolish the Zimbabwe Gender Commission.

In a post on X on Tuesday evening, Chin’ono said the minister’s intervention during a cabinet meeting reversed the attempt to disband the constitutionally mandated institution.

“Good evening Minister @TateMavetera. I know we have our differences, but I want to congratulate you for standing against the decimation of the Gender Commission on Tuesday in Cabinet,” Chin’ono wrote.

“I am told that your intervention has resulted in that attempt being reversed. When you do good, Minister, we applaud, not for patronage, but because we do not have to be in the same political party to call out bad things.”

The Zimbabwe Gender Commission was established under Section 245 of the Constitution to promote gender equality and investigate violations of gender rights.

Chin’ono, a frequent critic of the government, said Mavetera’s stand demonstrated that public office could still be used to protect institutions and defend marginalised voices.

“Well done for standing up for women, using your position for progressive things is what we expect from people in power,” he said. “It is this kind of leadership that reminds citizens that public office can still be used to protect institutions and defend those whose voices are often marginalised even in the midst of political differences.”

The government has not issued an official statement on the matter, and Minister Mavetera had not publicly commented on the reported cabinet deliberations as of Thursday afternoon.