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Archive for January, 2013

MDC’s call for change has worn thin

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Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by Bev Clark

Writing for the Mail & Guardian, Jason Moyo asks whether the MDC can still win the next election? Their call for change has worn thin.

A new constitution for Zimbabwe has been agreed on and now parties are looking to the elections.

So, what does Morgan Tsvangirai have to do to win this time? His biggest task will be to reignite the fizz of 2008, which has died down over disappointments in his party’s performance in government and his personal scandals. But there is hope for him yet.

This week, analyst Lance Mambondiani asked in an opinion piece: “Is it possible that we are experiencing a shift in the maturity of the voter, in which politicians are held to account based on their policies rather than their rhetoric?” Yes, but not enough. And as long as candidate quality and policy are still taken as secondary to removing President Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai has a chance. His party can only win by targeting that “anyone but Mugabe” vote that has carried it for years.

The options on offer are stark: on the one hand, it’s a choice between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. The alternative is simply not bothering to vote at all, an increasingly appealing prospect for many.

Mugabe will run on his black-empowerment drive, promising rural communities near mining operations shares in the mines. Tsvangirai’s own economic policy, known by the acronym Juice, is vague at best. But lack of clear policy is not new to the Movement for Democratic Change and has never stood in its way before.

The MDC’s major struggle will be recreating its vibrant March 2008 campaign. The country’s economic collapse made Tsvangirai’s “change” platform far more appealing than Mugabe’s “100% empowerment” refrain. Tsvangirai ran a well-funded campaign, addressing thousands of red-card-waving supporters. Young people who had previously stayed away from politics came out to vote for the first time. There was a zest in the air, a great expectation that this time change was, indeed, coming.  In an unprecedented turn of events, the MDC was able to campaign freely in the rural areas. Having long been cordoned off by Zanu-PF militants, rural voters flocked to MDC rallies.

The results showed: Zanu-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time ever and Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe, although not enough to avoid the violent run-off that would follow.

Now, besides the mechanisms still needed to make the election a fair race, rediscovering its 2008 form is what the MDC needs the most. The events of the past five years have broken voters’ resolve: the violent 2008 election aftermath, the mind-numbing talks on the formation of the unity government and then its failure to bring about reform.

Although the economic growth of recent years is stalling, it is not as bad as it was in 2008, when hyper-inflation and food shortages bred deep resentment of Mugabe and drove desperate voters to the polls.

Tsvangirai will need to capitalise on Zanu-PF rhetoric that the party will revive the Zimbabwe dollar if it wins. The “Zim-dollar era” is a dark one for many and the MDC will need to play on those fears.

Tsvangirai’s personal scandals do not help. Those controversies showed that he, too, had built his own Mugabe-esque base of fanatical supporters. It wasn’t his fault, his lieutenants said – it was all some dark conspiracy. The scandals disillusioned many. The erosion in Tsvangirai’s support may not translate to backing for Mugabe or other rivals, but may simply keep people away from the polls.

In the previous election, many voters simply put an X against the name of any MDC candidate on the ballot. Nobody cared who the candidate was. But those voters now feel let down by corruption and lack of service delivery by urban councils run by the MDC.

There is little enthusiasm for the forthcoming election, which, including two referendums, will be the country’s eighth poll in 13 years.

A coalition against Mugabe would seem an obvious option, but it is unlikely. The bitterness between Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube, leader of the smaller MDC faction, runs deep. In 2007, an attempt to forge an alliance failed, partly because the parties could not agree on who would get certain positions in government if they won. In his autobiography, At the Deep End, Tsvangirai said Ncube and his backers never had any clout. They “were simply riding on my popularity, in the forlorn hope that part of it would rub off on to them”. Many Tsvangirai supporters agree. The two men trade frequent barbs in public, many of the insults eyeroll-inducing in their pettiness. Tsvangirai recently dismissed Ncube as a “village politician”, to which Ncube retorted that allowing Tsvangirai to lead would be like giving a cyclist a bus to drive.

So with no strong policy platform and little chance of an alliance, the only real game the MDC can play is the same one it has played before. The old “change” mantra is really all the MDC has – and it will be tougher to convince voters this time around.

Crying for justice

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Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by Lenard Kamwendo

I was not surprised when I read reports that ZimRights director, Okay Machisa, cried in court when his bail hearing failed to be heard at the High Court.

A lot of people who have never been through the same ordeal will just take it lightly. Every man reaches a breaking point in life regardless of how strong they are. To miss an opportunity for freedom breaks one’s soul. Words like “Further remand” coming from the judge or magistrate makes one go hysterical.

Let me give you a little preview what the day is like for an accused person on remand.

In the morning at 9am you get served plain porridge or brown water called tea with bread crumbs (donated leftovers from bakeries). In the afternoon its sadza and boiled cabbage, same for the evening menu. On a good day it’s sadza and boiled beans with some groundnuts. Bedtime starts at 3pm, not mentioning the time you sit in line to get counted. Your bed linen depends on how generous your inmates will be. You may get only two see-through blankets and if you have cigarettes you may trade for more, same as for the uniforms. Two cigarettes will get you a not so clean uniform.  If you are a non-smoker too bad because those cigarettes you would have traded will give you sleepless nights, as fellow inmates will be smoking stress out all night long. Visiting time is another moment of sadness because depending on your crime you will be in leg irons and handcuffed to another inmate. And if you don’t believe me ask someone who did prison time in Zimbabwe about the leg irons. If I tell you about the sanitary facilities you may miss your lunch.

Now this is the reason why Okay Machisa cried. He is in prison. His freedom is limited to between meals and bedtime. It breaks one’s spirit; it makes a grown man cry.

Ask the 45 of 2011 they cried too.

Job vacancies in Finance: local Zimbabwean NGO

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Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by Bev Clark

Work in and for Zimbabwe. Help grow our nation. Check out the vacancies below. If you’d like to receive this sort of information, as well as civic and human rights updates, by email each week drop us a note saying “subscribe” to: info [at] kubatana [dot] net

Please note that the job vacancies we carry are related to the NGO and civil society sectors only.

Finance Assistant: Childline Zimbabwe
Deadline: 1 February 2013 (4pm)

Childline is a local Private Voluntary Organisation looking for a qualified professional to take up the position of Finance Assistant in the Harare Branch. We seek an honest individual with an ability to work independently with minimal supervision, motivation and willingness to work within a child-centred, not-for-profit organisation.

General Purpose
The Finance Assistant is responsible for day to day transactions; preparing accurate and timely monthly bank reconciliation statements and ensuring proper maintenance of records.

Main Job Tasks and Responsibilities
-Process payment requisitions
-Receipt and bank all cash received promptly
-Maintain up-to-date cash books
-Issue fuel and maintain up-to-date fuel coupon stock records
-Verify vehicle consumables register with the driver – weekly
-Attach relevant support documents to requisitions in an orderly and sequential manner
-Code transactions for posting into Pastel
-Maintain up-to-date asset register
-Update office inventory register
-Maintain up-to-date records stock/consumables records
-File all departmental records (requisitions, stock records, correspondence)
-Any other duties as assigned by the Finance Manager

Education and Experience
- At least a Diploma in accounting
-Knowledge & experience of Pastel & Excel spread sheets, is  a must
-At least 1 year knowledge and experience in NGOs
- Clean class 4 drivers’ licence

Key Competencies
-Attention to detail and accuracy
-Planning and organizing
-Strong communication skills
-Honest and reliable
-Ability to work under pressure

Correspondence will only be entered into with short listed candidates & Childline Zimbabwe reserves the right not to fill the position. All applications should include a covering letter, CV and names of at least two contactable references.

Applications to be sent to The Director at:
31 Frank Johnson Avenue
Eastlea
Harare

Or email: reception [at] childline [dot] org [dot] zw

National Finance & Admin Manager: Childline Zimbabwe
Deadline: 4 February 2013 (4pm)

Childline is a local Private Voluntary Organisation looking for a qualified professional to take up the position of National Finance & Admin Manager, based in Harare. We seek an honest competent individual with a clear ability to lead and manage the financial administration of the organisation.

General Purpose
Managing the organisation’s financial and administration operations which include directly managing staff and the implementation & review of the organisation’s financial policies and procedures.

Main Job Tasks and Responsibilities
-Preparation of monthly, quarterly & annual financial reports
-Ensure organisation’s finances are audit ready at all times
-Payroll administration and personnel records administration
-Control, management & maintenance of organisation’s assets
-Verification & monitoring of payment requisitions, postings in Pastel & reconciliations
-Maintain up-to-date projects’ variance analysis reports to ensure expenditure is in line with approved budgets
-Conduct financial monitoring & compliance visits to Childline’s Branches and Drop-in Centres
-Manage & supervise the Finance & Admin personnel
-Ensure transactions are compliant with the financial policies & procedures of the organisation, as well as implement auditors and funding partners recommendations & requirements
-Provide technical support & assistance to management & staff in relation to financial matters, including reporting to the Branch Committees and Board of Trustees
-Any other duties as assigned by the Director.

Education and Experience
-At least a Degree in Accounting
-Knowledge & experience of Pastel & Belina is a must
-At least 5 years knowledge and experience in NGOs
-At least 2 years personnel management experience
-Clean class 4 drivers’ licence.

Key Competencies
-Leadership and management skills
-Attention to detail and accuracy
-Planning and organizing
-Strong communication skills
-Honest and reliable
-Ability to work under pressure

Correspondence will only be entered into with short listed candidates & Childline Zimbabwe reserves the right not to fill the position. All applications should include a covering letter, CV and names of at least two contactable references.  Applications to be sent to The Director at:

31 Frank Johnson Avenue
Eastlea
Harare

Or email: reception [at] childline [dot] org [dot] zw

Floods in Quelimine, Mozambique

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Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by Lenard Kamwendo

flood 1-1

flood 2-1

flood3-1

Job Vacancy: Programs Officer with local Zimbabwean NGO

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Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by Bev Clark

Work in and for Zimbabwe. Help grow our nation. Check out the vacancies below. If you’d like to receive this sort of information, as well as civic and human rights updates, by email each week drop us a note saying “subscribe” to: info [at] kubatana [dot] net

Please note that the job vacancies we carry are related to the NGO and civil society sectors only.

Position: Programs Officer
Deadline: 31 January 2013

Purpose Of The Job
The Programs Officer is responsible for facilitating palliative care and related training for Home Based Care organizations. He or she is also responsible for providing support for the provision of quality care to people living with HIV and AIDS.

Overall Responsibilities
-Plan for and conduct palliative care and related home based care training activities for partner organisations
-Participate in development and distribution of Palliative Care and Home Based Care IEC materials
-Prepare appropriate training materials
-Provide information whenever necessary, to trainers and caregivers
-Plan, coordinate and hold regular mentoring and support meetings with partners on HIV treatment, care and support
-Assist with the preparation of budgets for programme activities
-Conduct follow up visits and document
-Facilitate networking of project partners and sharing of information among stakeholders
-Represent the organization at provincial and district levels on matters relating to Palliative Care, Home Based Care and project activities
-Promote community awareness on Palliative Care, ART and Psychosocial Support for PLWHA
-Facilitate linkages and information sharing between organizations within the district
-Participate in developing monitoring tools for the projects
-Ensure maintenance of accurate records
-Present written reports to the Training and Support manager at stipulated times
-Participate in activities to disseminate programme evaluation findings

Minimum Qualifications and Experience
Nursing Diploma/ Degree
Experience in Palliative Care is an added advantage
A minimum of five years’ experience in nursing
Experience in training and facilitation in home-based care issues
Highly innovative and a self starter
Experience in HIV and AIDS, home based care and community health care
Good written and verbal communication skills
Clean class four driver’s licence a must

If you are interested and meet the above requirements please send your application letter, detailed CV and copies of your certificates to the following: programs13 [at] hotmail [dot] com by no later than January 31, 2013. Successful candidate to start immediately.

Staple diet

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Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by Bev Clark

Cash beer and multiple orgasms