Following reports of the third accident by Zimbabwe’s presidential motorcade in two weeks, Kubatana sent an SMS to our subscribers asking their opinion: Should the motorcade slow down, or should we get out of the way.

We received nearly 200 responses, with about 2/3 of opinion arguing in favour of the motorcade slowing down, and 1/3 arguing that the rest of us should get out of the way. Where possible, we’ve mapped responses here. Other opinions are shared below. What do you think? Submit your opinion as a report on this site or via twitter – hashtag #zwmotorcade.

• He must leave home in time and slow down.
• The motorcade should slow down or he should walk on foot.
• Mugabe should slow down. Why is he always in a hurry? If he has too many duties he should be pruned of some.
• He must slow down. Our roads are no good for formula1 races!
• Being d President o Zw doesn’t give Mugabe mo privileges than us, he should lead by example &we 4llow.He must SLOW DOWN!
• We must always make sure to stay away from the road when the big man is coming.
• He should fly.
• If the hero passes, his way must be fully honoured by everyone!
• Its up 2 us 2 get out e way, 4 e president have 2 b safe guys
• The motorcade is just too large. For starters let it be cut. The man is secure enough for God’s sake.
• He must slowdown to save his life and we must give way to save our life, we one life!!
• Lets not blame Mugabe for what is beyond his control. All drivers must be trained in defensive driving. My condolences to families and relatives who lost loved ones, those injured our Lord Jesus Christ cure them as hospital staff can only treat and Jesus heals.
• He has to slow down after all why the rush
• He should slowdown and cut his procession short
• Let us be out of the way
• He should slow down or not use the whole road
• Know Mugabe must respect the human rights and slow down his motorcade.
• As we are all equal citizens road rules to be observed by all, drive with caution always, its better to late than to be the late.
• He travels at suicidal speeds. Our roads are no good for formula1 races! He must travel responsibly before more lives are lost. Love Life, Love Zimbabwe.
• It is  up to us to get out the way, coz its being foolish to always appreciate (sorry)! Who will then be said to while there will be no one left alive.
• Mugabe’s motorcade must slow down, there is a lot of traffic in Zim nowadays
• To get out of the way is the best solution and to tune down our radio volumes
• Life is irreplaceable they should slow down & redo defensive driving course a human being is never a soft sport in driving
• Is it up to us 2 get out of the way or they compel us 2 do so?
• He needs to drive responsibly we do not want to die young so he MUST slow down.
• Highway code teaches that When the siren sounds for whatever reason pull off.
• He must slow down. Who knows he might be the next victim
• We must get off the way
• They must drive fast but safely.
• It is up to us to get out of the way because he is the president of this country, & his motorcade must not slow down, they are same like the ambulance passing through.
• They should fix their roads, which are in a bad state.
• He should slow down why the rush and cause more deaths. we should value lives than sacrifice.
• They slow down to allow the other road users to pull off the road safely without panic.
• He must stop when accident occurs and render first aid also his motorcade is too big
• They have to up grade the roads. Oh yes have to move at a moderate speed since having al the road.
• Let us get off the way should we hear the siren
• High speed is always dangerous
• The police are to blame they think they are the only ones right
• He must slow down where there is danger. Those cars are driven by human like us, why cant they just take precautions where necessary.
• There is no need for motorcade in this peaceful country? Vanoti kanganisa kufamba tavekutogara takatiza tikadziona (It is very disturbing on the roads, we get off the road each time we the motorcade)
• The motorcade should slow down. Why hurry every time?
• He should reduce speed as no politician has been shot in Zimbabwe but many have been killed in road accidents in which the cause has mainly been speeding.
• Why rushing, anenge achimbo nhanyira kupi,achitiza ani next time a big penalty (why rush, where will he be running to and running away from who next time, a big penalty)
• He is not rushing anyway, should not speed.
• We must get out of the road because we can die for nothing if we don’t do so.
• He should cut down on the number of vehicles and SLOW DOWN. What is he afraid of.
• Its up to us to get out of the way. It is even stated in the Highway code. Worldwide when the motorcade is sounding siren,u pull out of the road.
• It is up to the public to give way to the head of state.
• Lets obey road regulations and the law.
• He does not need motorcade. He is safer than any of us in Zim. He has enough room to show off. He should leave the streets out of it.
• He should slow down. mota dzinomhanya zvisingaite idzodzo (His motorcade moves really fast)
• The president should reduce number of vehicles on his convoy. What does he needs that whole fleet for he should be man enough what does he fear he is the president that won’t change anything
• Up 2 us to get way we cannot just watch such sad news.
• He should reduce the size of his convoy and slow down.
• He must slow down than 2 coz deaths thru accidents by trying 2 save an individual, why rush all d time?
• Its good for us to get out of the road bcoz if we don’t its also us the public who end up being injured
• Both the public and the motorcade should always drive carefully. Why speeding anyway.
• Like many other accidents happening in the country, what can we do before we focus on one person?

Okay, so I know we’re all products of media hyperbole in both conscious and subconscious ways. But still, I was shocked to find Zimbabwe ranked 5th in this year’s Foreign Policy Magazine Failed State Index. That’s 5th as in fifth most failed. Fifth worst off. Sure, we’ve got our problems. Things aren’t perfect. There’s a lot of room for improvement. But fifth worst in the World?!

Countries ranked worse than Zimbabwe for 2011 are Somalia, DRC, Sudan and Chad. Granted, I’m also a product of this media hyperbole, but do you really mean to tell me that things were better in Libya (50) and Syria (23) than they were in Zimbabwe?

Maybe we need a better index, a less blunt way of measuring these things. The Postcards From Hell feature that goes with the index shares representative photographs from “the world’s most fragile countries.” There’s the bloody bodies of a suicide attack in Kabul, a bloodied political protestor in DRC, and a bombed out vehicle in Sudan. It’s telling that the worst image they could find for Zimbabwe was a torn election poster. Seeing as how the last election was in 2008, it’s no wonder the poster was torn.

Things aren’t great here – and with an election or constitutional referendum on the way, they’re sure to get worse. But that’s exactly the point. What disservice is done by crying wolf about Zimbabwe now? If you’re already ranked 5th worst there’s not a lot of room to demonstrate if things really do get worse.

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.

Two (2) drivers (Bulawayo): Catholic Relief Services – Zimbabwe Program
Deadline: 22 June 2012

Primary Responsibility
The CRS Driver will be available to drive members of the CRS staff and will assist the CRS’ Support Services Department in managing functions within the transportation sector when not carrying out duties relating directly to their primary driving functions

Qualifications & Experience
- 5 ‘O’ Levels plus a valid and clean Class 4 Driver’s
- Five years of professional work experience
- Previous background should include a proven ability to work diplomatically with a variety of personnel
- Ability to communicate fluently in English
- Ability to communicate fluently in Ndebele and Shona is an added advantage.

Those who meet the above criteria are invited to submit their applications together with a cover letter and detailed Curriculum Vitae that includes the names and contact details (plus e-mails addresses) of three traceable references. Applications should be clearly marked “DRIVER- BULAWAYO”.  Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

The Country Representative, 95 Park Lane, Harare or 33A Duncan Road Suburbs Bulawayo or P.O. Box CY 1111, Causeway, Harare, or email: taurai.musakaruka [at] crs [dot] org

Social Franchise Coordinator: Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ)
Deadline: 24 June (12 noon)

12 months Fixed Term Contract

Be at the heart of an organization that’s at the heart of the community.

Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ), an affiliate of Marie Stopes International, is a market focused, result oriented non-governmental organization. We develop efficient, effective and sustainable family planning and reproductive health programmes, with particular emphasis on the lower income and disadvantaged communities in Zimbabwe. What we do makes a real difference to people’s lives, so it’s absolutely crucial that we fill our organization with passionate people. An opportunity has arisen in the following area:

The SF Coordinator will be located in the Harare, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East region, providing clinical quality assurance support to all PSZ franchisees within the designated region. Supervise franchisees to ensure the integrity of demand generation activities according to PSZ’s demand generation plan.

Responsibilities
- Facilitate a positive and professional relationship with the franchisee on behalf of PSZ
- Provide monthly supportive supervision visits to franchisees such that each franchisee is visited once a month, or maximum once in 6 weeks
- Ensure franchisees adhere to the signed MoU with PSZ
- Complete clinical audits: At least one internal audit per franchisee per year
- Ensure and support quality record keeping and correct implementation of franchisee service reporting, as well as validation of reports against in-clinic records
- Use PSZ data collection tools to gather complete information on the franchise and submit dully on time
- Manage clinical complications by informing PSZ immediately and ensuring proper documentation
- Complete a monthly report reflecting all regional activities, challenges and stories from the field (FC work activity report)
- Assist in coordinating formal franchisee trainings
- Assist in logistic support for franchisee equipment, commodities etc
- Liaise with MoH/ZNFPC officials in the region
- Coordinate with the Marketing and Communications Unit for all marketing/mobilization needs
- Identify and recommend solutions to problems in the assigned regions that interfere with franchisee quality and PSZ objectives
- Communicate regularly and proactively with the franchise manager

Outputs and deliverables
- Strong, professional relationships between PSZ and all franchisees and MoH/ZNFPC in the region
- Franchisees operate according to the MoU and to PSZ/MSI standards
- Increased CYP and SRH services amongst franchisees and achievement of forecasts in the region
- Effective oversight of demand generation
- Improved quality amongst franchisees
- 100 percent report submission
- 100 percent clinical audit submission

Qualifications
- Diploma in Nursing, preferably a Degree in Nursing Science
- Post graduate qualification preferably in project management

Experience
- At least 3 years’ senior management experience, 2 years must be in project management in an NGO
- Extensive project cycle management experience
- Family Planning Training is an added advantage
- Understanding of the issues surrounding provision of reproductive health care services internationally

If you would like to be considered for this role, please submit a covering letter and CV, outlining your experience to date, to:

The Team Development Officer
9 Bisley Circle
Belvedere, Harare

Or

Send an email to recruitment [at] pszim [dot] com quoting the job title.

Programme Analyst: UNIFEM
Deadline: 29 June 2012

The UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Country Representative, the Programme Analyst is responsible for management of the Gender Support Project (GSP). She/he provides technical competence on gender and governance issues with a holistic approach to development. The Programme Analyst analyzes political, social and economic trends and leads formulation, management and evaluation of project activities within his/her portfolio and provides policy advisory services. Through the Country Representative, the Programme Analyst provides analysis for formulation of strategies and briefings to senior management.  The Programme Analyst represents UN Women in his/her area of expertise as requested by the Country Representative.

The Programme Analyst works in close collaboration with the UN Women programme and operations teams, programme staff in other UN agencies, Sub-Regional Office staff and Government officials, technical advisers and experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful delivery of the GSP.

For more information and to apply online please visit this link

Faced with the world’s worst economic crisis and currently experiencing political uncertainties, Zimbabweans can still afford to be happy. More than our neighbors in South Africa, with Botswana occupying the last position. This is according to the recent 2012 Happy Planet survey.

“Even South Africa’s embattled northern neighbour, Zimbabwe, has a better outlook, being in 115th position, with Ethiopia 94th. Botswana occupies the bottom ranking.” – Sunday Times.

Inspired by a worrying statistic about the paucity of blood donors in Zimbabwe, we recently sent out this text message to our subscribers:

Kubatana! There are only 50,000 blood donors in Zimbabwe. Let’s change that! Celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday and become a donor. Help your family and others.

This prompted a number of responses from our subscribers, some of which we share below:

• I’m one of the 50,000 & I’ve donated 26 units so far.
• I donate blood but I cannot afford it when need arises its so expensive its really disappointing.
• I am among that number. Thanks for the msg.
• I’m donating every 3mths at Kadoma post.
• I don’t see the point coz we donate the blood for free & patients are charged exorbitant prices for that same blood.

Visit the National Blood Service Zimbabwe website for more information – and to find out where you can donate.  Whilst you’re at it, share your feedback with NBSZ about donating blood, and about the expense of accessing blood when one needs it.

Reading a book by a Franciscan friar on the fall of apartheid and came across this quote: “It is often victims who are cursed by memory while perpetrators are blessed by forgetting,” from  The File by British author Timothy Garton Ash. I looked it up and a review by the UK’s Guardian newspaper says it’s an account on the feared Stasi in East Germany. I thought, yet another poignant reminder why the Gukurahundi ghost lives on. Yet I figured it goes even as recent as the 2008 Zimbabwean polls where we find the murders of political activists remaining unpunished, the perpetrators blissfully amnesiac.