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.

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

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.

Yesterday Bulwayo24 published a story, which created some controversy on their site and some social networks. The article, Why it is risky to marry a Shona woman like Sheila Mutsenhu, was removed from the site after some few hours. I never got to read the article myself, though I wish I had. Here is a comment which was posted on the Bulawayo24 website by someone who had read the article.

I would like to complain about the tribalist hate speech that was published in the following article.

Why it is risky to marry a Shona woman like Sheila Mutsenhu (Article removed)

The author of this article chooses to parade his prejudices and ignorance and expose his own virulent tribalism rather than offer any meaningful discourse. Any responsible editor should not have allowed him a platform to air such irresponsible nonsense, or would have at the very least solicited counterpoints.

For the record women stripping in protest is not even part of Shona culture. Nor is it unique to Sheila Mutsenhu. I have witnessed several examples of it here in South Africa at service protests. Maybe the editor of Bulawayo 24 should look at the website (teealimodels.wordpress.com) or even this one (huffingtonpost.com) against the speaker of the United States congress.

Please understand that I am not advocating naked protest, but I am merely seeking to point out that Ryton Dzimiri’s views have absolutely nothing to do with his dislike for naked protest but everything to do with his tribal prejudices against the Shona. Naked protest has been happening all along including streaking at sporting matches but we have never heard even a whimper of protest from him.

The choice to make Bulawayo24 a site for the airing of tribalist hogwash is their editor’s choice. However they should not complain if others start making similar tribalist claims against one of their favoured tribes whichever that is.

Believe me such tribalist judgemental and prejudiced opinions do exist against all tribes in Zimbabwe. It is out of responsible consideration for others, that we often correct those who hold them.

Yours sincerely
Jupiter Punungwerecovery efforts.