As the nation gears up for a constitutional referendum, approximately seven in every ten people claim to have heard about the COPA process and 59% claim to be aware of the draft Constitution of Zimbabwe published in July 2012. The figure drops to 30% of adult Zimbabweans reported to have heard about the Second National All-Stakeholders’ Conference.

The Mass Public Opinion Institute revealed these results yesterday at a dissemination meeting on the State of the Economy and People’s Survival Strategies survey. The survey covered the period from 2009 to 2012 and had a national sample size of 1200 randomly selected participants, above 18 years of age.

Politics still dominate the economic turn-around of the country. The survey revealed that 16% of people interviewed think the Inclusive Government should seek external aid and create a more conducive environment for investment. According to public opinion, state organs and institutions were performing badly regarding the Global Peace Agreement. A majority (57%) of the respondents were not in favour of increasing the term of office for the Inclusive Government. The survey data shows the general impression that Zimbabweans will vote YES in the referendum but a substantial proportion said they do not know how they will vote since some claim not to have ever heard about the draft Constitution and the COPAC process.

Perceptions on the death penalty in Zimbabwe show a contrasting view to that published in the COPAC report. The MPOI survey shows 53 % of people interviewed to be in support of the abolishment of the death penalty. The support mainly came from female respondents.

On the issue of national elections this year, Zimbabweans of voting age feel the nation is ready to hold the election. Only a small portion (25%) disagrees as compared to 68% who are in favor of elections this year. Much emphasis on the need to engage international observers from SADC, EU and UN was suggested to ensure free and fair elections. The survey projected a closely fought race between ZANU PF and MDC-T with the latter still commanding a large support base in urban areas, especially among the male electorate.

On the economic state of the nation, 58% of the people interviewed felt that availability of consumer goods had become better over a period of one year but 59% of the urban respondents lamented the worsening employment crisis. The multi-currency system adopted by the nation continues to receive nationwide support with 68% supporting the dollarization of the economy.

The survey also noted high incidences of poverty as 61% of Zimbabweans indicated that they have sometimes gone without clean water, 62% say that they have not had enough to eat, and 70% lacking adequate medicine.

The source of income for many Zimbabweans is still agriculture with a few depending on a regular salary. Others have engaged in income generating activities like cross border trading.

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

Northern Regional Case Management Coordinator: World Education Inc
Deadline: 25 February 2013

Background to the Position
World Education Inc has been selected to work with the Ministry of Labour and Social Services (MoLSS) under the thematic area of National case management system development and practice .The overall purpose of this thematic area is to review and update the current national case management system together with MoLSS, Department of Social Services (DSS) and deliver innovative community based services nationally, that ensures that children and families who are identified as vulnerable are supported within a continuum of care. The program will be implemented within the ten cash transfer districts of Epworth, Goromonzi, Rushinga, Makoni, Kariba,  Zvishavane, Bulawayo Urban, Umguza, Chivi and Mangwe.The posts will be based in Harare with frequent travel to  the mentioned districts

Job Summary
Reporting to the Project Manager, the main role of the NR  Coordinator is to oversee the implementation of the Case management project in 6 districts. The NR coordinator will support the case management officers and DSS offices to implement the case management system in their respective district.

The NR Coordinator will assume the following responsibilities:

Key Functions of the post
-Oversee the Implementation of the National case management system project in their regions
-Design and develop case management tools for the project
-Coordinate and support activities of Case Management Officers
-Coordinate and spearhead the development of appropriate child protection tools, and share with CMOs
-Train, mentor and supervise Case management Officers and DSSOs
-Write monthly, Quarterly, annual progress reports using district feedback and reports
-Network and represent WEI at various child protection forums/stakeholders meetings
-Technical backstopping for consultants on delivery based contracts/grants.

Applicants are encouraged to meet the following criteria
-Primary university degree in Social Work
-Good Presentation skills
-Excellent communication skills
-At least 4 years experience working with vulnerable people and one year must be at middle management level supervising people
-Ability to work with little or no supervision
-Results oriented and able to work under pressure
-Knowledge of capacity building initiatives
-Experience working within a multi stakeholder project

Applicants with the relevant experience are encouraged to apply to recruitment@worlded.co.zw

Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Whilst the Unity Government hand out copies of the draft Constitution, they arrest people for gathering to discuss it:

Zim distributes copies of draft constitution

Zimbabwe has begun to distribute copies of a new draft constitution — a key reform ahead of elections later this year.

But a citizen’s group said police had detained three activists meeting to discuss the text, which is due to be voted on next month.

“We are starting distribution today of 90 000 copies of the draft constitution in various languages as well as braille and audio versions,” said Jessie Majome on Monday, a spokesperson for the lawmakers who wrote the charter.

Police arrested three people at a meeting on the constitution process in the central town of Chegutu, according to the head of a group promoting citizen participation, the Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ).

“They were charged with organising and holding an illegal meeting and they are now being held at Kadoma police station,” CCDZ director Phillip Pasirayi told Agence France Presse (AFP).

Police could not immediately confirm the arrests.

The new constitution is a key reform ahead of an election in July to end a shaky power-sharing government between veteran President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Zimbabweans will vote on the charter, which notably limits presidential terms and reduces the president’s power, on March 16.

Monday’s edition of the state-owned Herald newspaper carried a pull-out copy of the draft constitution. – AFP

In my mind this is not only an entirely legitimate request, it’s also an essential one, that is, of course, if the Unity Government believes ‘the people’ count:

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) is filing an urgent High Court application this morning seeking an extension of the referendum date which was gazetted on Friday 15 February 2013. The government set the 16th of March 2013 for the conduct of the referendum were Zimbabweans will be asked to vote YES or NO for the draft constitution.

The NCA is seeking an extension of at least two months for the conduct of the referendum counting from the day gazetted by government. We strongly feel that Zimbabweans should be given adequate time to scrutinise the draft constitution and be allowed to make an informed decision on what they will be voting for.

We view this move to have the referendum on the 16th of March as a ploy by the parties in government to deny Zimbabweans a chance to scrutinise the flawed and undemocratic draft which they authored.

Further we wish to dismiss the ridiculous proclamations by the government that they will be distributing only 100 000 copies of the draft, and yet Zimbabwe has a population of more than 13 million people.

With all eyes and ears on the Constitutional Referendum this statement published today by ZESN is worth a read:

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) notes that the referendum date has been penciled for 16 March 2013, a date which is literally in four weeks’ time. This raises serious concerns about citizens having a meaningful opportunity to learn about the draft constitution and to make an informed choice. The date also raises questions about the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) having sufficient time to organize a credible referendum consistent with laws of Zimbabwe as well as Southern African Development Community (SADC) and international principles and guidelines governing the conduct of democratic elections. The political decision to hold the referendum undermines the ability of the ZEC to enhance its capacity to conduct the election or strengthen its credibility with stakeholders and this might be a missed opportunity.

Further, ZESN is concerned that the referendum date was set before the draft was published in the government Gazette. In addition, citizens are yet to examine and study the draft as copies have not yet been availed to the public and plans for civic education by COPAC have not yet been implemented. ZESN also realizes that the proposed date will have the potential to disturb the already shortened school calendar given that most of the polling stations are normally located in schools and most teachers also serve as polling officials.

In addition ZESN notes that the announcement of the referendum date comes just 24 hours after the departure of the Chairperson of the ZEC Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe. In the past few years ZEC under the leadership of Justice Mutambanengwe has made strides in engaging stakeholders in a number of activities such as consultative meetings to strengthen synergies and relations. It is however sad to note that the time and energy that the institute and the government have invested in the Chairperson has been wasted particularly given that the resignation comes in an election year.

We urge that a new ZEC Chairperson be identified and approved expeditiously. According to the Electoral Amendment Act, 2012, Section 100B (1)(a) a chairperson is appointed by the President in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. Further, subsection (2) stipulates that “The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must be a judge or former judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, or a person qualified for appointment as such a judge.” ZESN hopes that this process results in the speedy appointment of a credible chair to steer the Commission.

The Network remains dedicated to the promotion of democratic elections in Zimbabwe. As such despite serious reservations ZESN will continue to watch the unfolding of the political developments in the country and provide independent non-partisan information on the electoral processes to the public, civil society, policy makers, political parties and electoral authorities. ZESN reiterates that Zimbabwe cannot afford to have anything but credible and legitimate elections as it transits from the Government of National Unity (GNU).

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

Finance and Administration Officer: Gender Links Zimbabwe
Deadline: 22 February 2013 (Close of business)

Gender Links, a Southern African NGO based in Johannesburg specialising in gender, media, women’s rights and governance, seeks the services of experienced individual to serve as Administrative Officer for its Country Offices in Zimbabwe. The main task of the incumbent will be to provide accounting and administrative support to the Gender Links Country Office.

Tasks
-Preparation and administration of all program budgets
-Proper control of the supporting documents for payments and financial reports ensuring that all authorisations are done accordingly
-Procurement: Sourcing quotations and ensuring that the procurement policies are adhered to at all times
-Processing payments of all goods and services
-Managing and reconcile petty cash
-Processing of all statutory requirement payments
-Checking program cash expenditure reconciliations
-Cashbook management, including uploading of all documents on sharepoint and performing monthly bank reconciliations
-Banking including liaising with suppliers in relation to payment queries
-General administration, including follow up with suppliers on outstanding issues and attending to queries
-Ensuring that all staff complete timesheets and upload them on HR sharepoint folder
-Filing of all finance and admin documents
-Assisting with managing the incoming and outgoing phone calls
-Performing daily and monthly backups for all the office data
-Assisting with compiling documents for workshops, researches as required by the country office
-Assisting the Country Manager at all times as required

Skills
-Tertiary education with specialised certification in accounting or finance
-At least three years experience in accounting in the NGO sector
-Experience in Pastel accounting software, Microsoft office programmes and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet
-Ability to administer and execute financial processes and transactions
-Good administrative and inter personal skills
-IT proficiency
-Able to handle pressure and is dynamic to change

General conditions
The above post is for an initial period of one year, based in Harare. Competitive remuneration packages will be offered, commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the successful candidates. Applications must be submitted by close of business (COB) Friday 22 February 2013. A letter of motivation, CVs and references should be sent to: hr [at] genderlinks [dot] org [dot] za

Or fax +27 11 622 4732. For further enquiries phone +27 11 622 2877.

Only short listed and successful candidates will be contacted for interviews.