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.

Diocesan Coordinator /Governance Officer: The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ)
Deadline: 16 December 2011

Based in Gweru, Gweru Diocese, Zimbabwe
One year placement (with the possibility of renewal based on performance)

Please note that for this placement we are only able to consider applicants who are fluent in English, Shona and/or Ndebele.

The Diocesan Coordinator/ Governance Officer will work with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ). S/he will strengthen the diocesan CCJP in promoting public education and facilitating the engagement of members of the Catholic Church in promoting accountable and responsive governance at the local and national level. The DC/GO will also facilitate the design and implementation of trainings for church leaders, to enable them to carry out similar trainings and lead dialogue on governance issues at the diocesan and parish levels.

The successful candidate should have a Master degree level qualification in Law, Political Science, International Relations, Public Administration, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or related fields.

A minimum of three years’ experience of advocacy work as well as relevant work experience in national policy reform issues are essential, as are previous experience working with, NGOs/faith based organisations in an organisational development capacity; developing and delivering training materials and group sessions/workshops on the themes of this placement, and working with the Catholic Social Teachings.

You should have a sound understanding of the Catholic Church structures and its Social Teachings; the fundamentals of good governance and human rights as development issues; capacity building techniques and methods, with the ability to share skills/mentor staff, and an understanding of gender implications in programme design and management

Maturity, sound political judgement, negotiation and mediation skills, and the ability to work and act under pressure and with discretion in a politically sensitive and rapidly evolving environment; effective interpersonal, communication and networking skills, and an ability to promote good working relationships; excellent research and analytical skills; excellent project management, self-organising and prioritising skills, and the ability to explore potential donors for governance-related work and to support fundraising efforts are also key.

You also need to have initiative and proactivity; excellent command of both spoken and written English; a preparedness to work and engage with people from different Christian denominations with a variety of theological backgrounds and understandings, and demonstrable commitment towards the aims and objectives of CCJPZ.

It is essential that you complete the application form in full, as very specific information is required and will be used to decide whether or not you will be short-listed for an interview.

Please note that CVs/resumes and certified copies both academic and professional qualifications must accompany your application.

For further information and form email: natdirccjjp [at] zcbc [dot] co [dot] zw

Closing date:  16 December 2011
Interviews:  Week of 19 December 2011

Please return the completed application form to: natdirccjp [at] zcbc [dot] co [dot] zw

CCJPZ is an equal opportunity employer and female candidates are encouraged to apply. The Diocese has the right not to appoint anyone to this post.

Recently health related NGOs all over the world condemned the decision by the Global Fund to cancel Round 11 Funding and place restriction on Grant renewals.  The implications of this action are far reaching, with Jeffery Sachs, PhD – the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special advisor to Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, going so far as to say “it’s game over for the Millennium development Goals’.

Adding his voice to the condemnation of the decision was Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS Free World. His remarks at the 2011 International Conference on Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 6, 2011 did not pull any punches:

… if you sense a certain impatience in me, you’re right. We don’t have another day to lose. Peter Piot did the arithmetic yesterday 1,350,000 put on treatment in 2010; 2,700,000 new infections, exactly double the number in treatment in the same year. It works out to 7,397 new infections every day. And it’s 2011, for God’s sake.

But right at the moment when we know, irrefutably, that we can defeat this pandemic, we’re sucker-punched at the Global Fund.

What’s a sucker punch? It’s when a boxer in the ring gets a punch below the belt that he doesn’t see coming. No one expected a complete cancellation of Round Eleven, with new money unavailable for implementation until 2014.

It’s just the latest blow in a long list of betrayals on the part of the donor countries; in this instance the Europeans in particular. I’ve heard from several people that the politics of the Global Fund meeting in Accra two weeks ago, when the decision was made, were not just complicated, but amounted to miserable internecine warfare. Certain governments on the Board of the Global Fund simply discredited themselves. They give a soiled name to the principle of international solidarity [].

The decision on the part of the donor countries is unforgiveable. In a speech a few days ago, I addressed the Global Fund predicament by talking of the moral implications of a decision that you know will result in death on the African continent.

I asked: “Do they regard Africa as a territorial piece of geographic obsolescence? Do they regard Africans themselves as casually expendable? Is it because the women and children of Africa are not comparable in the eyes of western governments to the women and children of Europe and North America? Is it because Africans are black and unacknowledged racism is at play? Is it because a fighter jet is worth so much more than human lives? Is it because defense budgets are more worthy of protection in an economic downturn than millions of human beings?”

Read the full statement here

Kubatana! Get Up. Stand Up in Harare to mark International Human Rights Day. Join Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on Thursday 8th. Meet 12:30 at High Court. Sharp!

GALZ and Katswe Sisterhood will be hosting a photo exhibition at the Alliance Francaise on the 1st to the 2nd of December. Tinzwei is a photo voice initiative carried out by a diverse group of Harare women aged 19 to 43 sharing the experiences of their struggles and successes.

From Pambazuka, an article on one of my favourite artists, Kudzanai Chiurai:

State of the nation, according to Kudzania Chiurai

Born in 1981 in Zimbabwe, Kudzanai Chiurai is an internationally acclaimed artist now living and working in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the first black student to graduate with a BA in Fine Art from the University of Pretoria. Highly regarded as a leading voice of his generation, Kudzi has made a name for himself as a thought provoking artist who uses his art to highlight the many fallacies of our continent with specific focus on African leaders and culture. Chiurai’s early work focused on the political, economic and social strife in his homeland and has since evolved to reflect a continental dialogue that puts the state and its people at the centre of progress or the lack thereof. Seminal works like ‘Presidential Wallpaper’ depicted Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe as a sell-out and this led to Chiurai’s exile from Zimbabwe.

Armed with a paint brush and a strong desire for change Kudzi has become somewhat of a legend in the niche world of pan-African urban culture. For someone who has achieved so much in a short space of time with bodies of artwork that speak loudly, his humility, sensitivity and introverted personality are humbling, making for an interesting harmonious contrast between the artist and his work.

His latest presentation titled ‘State of the Nation’ is intended to explore aspects of a constructed African state that bears scars of political and cultural discourses. On a continent that has experienced more violent conflicts than any other, this exhibition follows an individual’s narration of events that lead up to the inaugural speech by the first democratically elected president. The conflict that exists between cultural vistas and postmodern political narratives is evident in Chiurai’s work. Themes range from rituals, genocide memories of Rwanda and the all too familiar propaganda machine of the state to win hearts and minds of the nation. The vivid and curated portrayal of political scenes and the fear it imposes on the general populace is both profound and sad. The political truth of our continent is captured in every line and colour and together the state of all our nations is laid bare.

Melissa Mboweni curated the exhibition in partnership with the Goethe Institute and collaborations with photographer Jurie Potgieter, singers Thandiswa Mazwai and Zaki Ibrahim as well as clever use of technology brought this body of work to life. Chiurai references child and woman soldiers, African liberation movements and civil wars. He tracks the similarities between societal, political and ideological doctrines of nations in tumultuous times of transition with the often-ignored impact these cacophonous changes have on citizens. The juxtaposing of public and private were highlighted in performances that took place in the streets of Newtown and in the exhibition space that fostered private conversations about the state of our own nation as well as the artist’s work. A sound and technology installation scores the gallery experience. The influence of hip-hop in Kudzi’s own life is evident in his installations.

In a style similar to previous bodies of work such as ‘Dying to be Men’ series and ‘Black President’, Chiurai’s constructed environments are enticing, seductive and explore real casualties of African independence and critically examine the role of state public servants in advancing democracy. This ‘State of the Nation’ exhibition is a timely theme that comes at a time when the continent is grappling with its democratic identity and the role of the state in bringing real freedom and justice to its people.

As an art lover and a follower of Kudzi’s work, I’m hoping his social themes will evolve to depict some of the goodness on our continent and the power of the individual in bringing about change in their own community regardless of the state. Kudzi has the ability, passion and drive to start painting imageries of Africa that shows progress and a people with an undying spirit for survival and entrepreneurship.

- Charles Nhamo Rupare
* Charles Nhamo Rupare is of Shona origin and lives life through the creative eye and dreams of Afrika regaining her dignity and her sons and daughters developing the necessary mental freedom to love peace and communal co-existence. He is an award-winning Afrikan-centred brand specialist, percussionist, writer and a Pan-Afrikan thinker. He is chief editor of www.kush.co.za, a co-founder of Kush Kollective and a Partner of TEDx Soweto.

It is encouraging that a country as large as Nigeria, which is undoubtedly a big contributor to Africa’s carbon footprint is contributing to environmentally friendly initiative such as this. The seemingly limitless supply plastic bottles, is an encouraging indicator of the longevity of such a project.

In view of Zimbabwe’s hosing shortage, and increasing carbon footprint, due to the growing number of cars on the road, and the use of fossil fuels and firewood, instead of hydro-electrical power, (due to power cuts), and the lack of consistent garbage collection, a scheme like this, even just to provide temporary shelter, could make a huge difference to the housing shortage as well as in cleaning up our increasingly garbage ridden cities. If nothing else, it’s worth a try!

Check out the story ….

What a group of activists did was come up with a plan to build a house using those bottles, providing what they say is an environmentally smart strategy of chipping away at a housing shortage in Africa’s most populous nation.

With the prototype near the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna now well underway, the group wants to extend its efforts and build more, aiming to unleash what they say is some long bottled-up potential.

The project was initiated by the Kaduna-based NGO Development Association for Renewable Energies (DARE), with help from foreign experts from Africa Community Trust, a London-based NGO.

Sitting on 58-square meters (624-square feet), the two-bedroom bungalow looks like an ordinary home, but it differs in many ways. When completed, the house whose construction started in June will be used to train masons in building such structures.

It is made from capped, sand-filled plastic bottles, each weighing three kilograms, or nearly two pounds.

The bottles are stacked into layers and bonded together by mud and cement, with an intricate network of strings holding each bottle by its neck, providing extra support to the structure.
Bottle caps of various colors protrude from the cement-plastered walls, giving them a unique look. Those behind the project claim the sand-filled bottles are stronger than ordinary cinder blocks.

“The structure has the added advantage of being fire proof, bullet proof and earthquake resistant, with the interior maintaining a constant temperature of 18 degrees C (64 degrees F) which is good for tropical climate,” Yahaya Ahmad, the project coordinator said.

With the right adjustments to the supporting pillars the building can be as high as three stories, but can go no higher due to the weight of the sand-filled bottles, Ahmad said.

The house is also designed to produce zero carbon emissions as it will be wholly powered by solar panels and methane gas from recycled human and animal waste.

“Nigeria has a serious waste and energy problem, and this project is one small step towards making positive changes,” said Katrin Macmillan, a British environmental activist involved in the project.

Construction is estimated to require 14,000 bottles. Environmental experts say Nigeria, a country of some 160 million, throws out about three million plastic bottles daily.

Plastic houses are cheap to construct as it costs a quarter of the money required to build a conventional house. Nigeria has been grappling with a deficit of 16 million housing units.

TAIWAN NEWS