The Guardian reports

A Zimbabwean court has ordered Robert Mugabe to hold elections before the end of July, adding to a political dispute over the timing and funding of the vote in the country. “The elections should take place no later than 31 July 2013,” said the chief justice of the constitutional court, Godfrey Chidyausiku. More

And if you think that achieving something, if you think that solving something, if you think a career or a relationship will quiet that voice, it will not. If you think that happiness means total peace, you will never be happy. Peace comes from the acceptance of the part of you that can never be at peace. It will always be in conflict. If you accept that, everything gets a lot better. – Joss Whedon

Obert Hodzi thinks that the African Union @ 50 is a dream deferred and that the ‘old boys club’ needs a serious overhaul. Here you go:

The African Union has long been accused of being an ‘Old Boys Club’ with neither political will nor a genuine drive to see a reformed Africa. With virtually all African countries being members one would expect nothing short of a vibrant organization capable of stamping its authority when it comes to promoting good governance principles, human rights obligations and purging the scourge of impunity across the continent. 50 years on, Africa stills gruels under various forms of oppression and lack of accountability.

The recent stampede by African leaders to condemn the International Criminal Court (ICC) for ‘race hunting’ in Africa and the clamor to let go Kenyatta, Ruto and Al Bashir is just but one of the many barometers to gauge African Union’s commitment to good governance, transparency and rule of law. It is not just, Al Bashir and Kenyatta but also its response to the Zimbabwean, Swazi, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascan crises of governance and general disregard to good governance and human rights obligations that worries many. Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, after the much condemned June, 28, 2008 election in his country is on record for saying of African Union members: “We have never interfered in their domestic affairs. Never ever. And now we want a country which wants to point a finger at us and say ‘you have done wrong’. I want to see that finger and see whether it’s clean or dirty”. With the exception of a few leaders like Ian Khama of Botswana no one responded to Mugabe’s challenge. Who then can respond to Al Bashir or Kenyatta? Who among African leaders is clean enough to lay a finger on the two and many others, let alone execute the International Criminal Court’s warrant of arrest against them?

Truth be told, there seem to be no ‘African solution to African problems’ nor is the ‘African Renaissance’ rhetoric anything more than a dream. History proves it. Over a decade after its inception, the African Court on People’s and Human Rights has heard only a few cases; the African Peer Review Mechanism has only had a few volunteers while the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, which aimed at fostering good governance principles and economic liberalization in Africa was dismissed by many as a western initiative. Today, the ICC faces the same old demon; the African Union continues to urge its member states not to cooperate with the ICC first on Al Bashir’s case and now on Kenyatta’s. The enthusiasm with which African countries like South Africa have heeded that call begs a lot of questions: To what extent are African leaders willing to overlook grave human rights atrocities to protect their fellows? Can the AU be trusted with the mandate of ensuring and enforcing accountability, good governance and human rights across the continent? Could Africans afford a good night’s sleep unless the AU is transformed by the renewal of its member states’ leaders? Are any of the African leaders’ conscience clean enough to formulate policies to purge impunity enjoyed by most of them, and are their hands clean enough to execute those policies without fear or favor?

It is this multitude of questions that confronts us today. Possibly it is high time that African leaders are taken to task, both on a national and continental level. It is imperative that the civil society and dreamers of a better governed Africa take their governments to task regarding some of the decisions they make at the AU. It is high time Civil Society Organizations start campaigning for reforms in the AU bearing in mind that unless the AU transforms from an ‘old Boys’ Club’, Africans will continue to suffer at the hands of oppressive leaders who enjoy unquestioned impunity and no reprimand from the continental body.

Hey! Need a job? Want to work in the NGO/development sector in Zimbabwe? Check out the job vacancies below and apply today. If you want to receive regular civic and human rights information, together with NGO job vacancies and other opportunities like scholarships by getting our regular email newsletter, please email join [at] kubatana [dot] net

HIV Programme Officer – Zimbabwe Office: Trócaire
Deadline: 11 June 2013

Trócaire is the Development Agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland.  The Agency works in Zimbabwe under an MoU with the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference.  A vacancy for a HIV Programme Officer has arisen within its Zimbabwe Office. The successful candidate will be managed by the Programme Manager and will work in close collaboration with the other Programme officers as well as with our finance team. Trócaire has supported partners working on HIV in Zimbabwe for the past nine years. The HIV programme was a small programme, consisting of 2 – 3 partners, until early 2009. At present, the programme includes five partners. The programme is focused on the Rights of People living with HIV and the current programme cycle will come to an end in late 2013 when a new 5-year HIV programme will be developed.

Key Duties and Responsibilities include the following core areas
-Programme Development, Management & Monitoring
-Programme Administration and Finance
-Partner Relationship & capacity building
-Participating in broader work of the programme and country teams
-External links
-Mainstreaming

The ideal candidate will have
-At least 3 years proven experience in implementing and managing HIV programmes in a developing country context
-Experience of the partnership model of development work
-In-depth experience of Results Based Programme Management
-Knowledge of HIV and gender context in Zimbabwe, the region and globally
-Experience in managing budgets for development projects and programmes
-A proven track record in financial management
-Strong experience of providing capacity building support to NGOs in the areas of RBM, mainstreaming and advocacy
-Proven skills in facilitation using participatory approaches
-Understanding of and commitment to implementing MIPA in programmes and advocacy work
-Proven experience in mainstreaming HIV
-Experience in the implementation of HIV Workplace Policies
-Very good interpersonal skills, including excellent communications skills
-Good IT skills, including word processing, Excel
-Commitment to Trócaire values
-A team player

In return we offer a competitive salary and package commensurate with education and experience.

Full job description available on request from: fshereni [at] trocairezw [dot] org

To apply
Email your cover letter and detailed CV to: fshereni [at] trocairezw [dot] org with “HIV Programme Officer” in the subject line.