Harare used to have public toilets situated at many suburban shopping centers. But these days the toilets are often locked. I guess the City of Harare doesn’t want people sleeping in them. The City also can’t supply water to them. So rather keep the toilets shut than have them stinking up the place. Of course this makes some sense but people passing through shopping centers or people vending in many of the vending communities that coexist next to shopping centers, shit and pee in the bush.

I’m convinced that the Mayor of Harare and the other head honchos don’t ever walk the streets of Harare. If they did they’d very promptly “vomit their gulls” as Tendai (below) suggests because the stench and dirt in our City has reached unacceptable levels.

Tendai makes a good suggestion when he asks private companies to put up refuse bins and fix the public toilets. But one has to ask why should private companies do this, and in so doing, let the City of Harare off the hook? If private companies have to step in time and time again to provide services that the City of Harare should provide, why do we have an expensive Mayor and his entourage?

It’s about time that a certified auditing firm audit revenue received by the City of Harare together with their expenditure. For example the City of Harare is going mad allowing a gross number of advertising billboards to be erected in Harare. But where does the rental money for these billboards go? These rentals can be used specifically to resuscitate public toilets.

Here’s Tendai getting things off his chest:

Toilets and refuse bins

It is high time City of Hare make a stand in 2011 to change the status of our city and bring sanity to the environment. Where are the refuse bins? Down town you hardly see one. Imagine, as our population increases I would think that in the City of Harare’s plans, toilets would increase according to the increased number of people. And with the few toilets we have can everyone afford 50 cents?

One is bound to vomit one’s gull. There is a strong stench of human waste especially when it is raining.

Please if there are companies or organizations reading this letter I appeal to you that you make your toilets available to the public and work on a program, or even build toilets to make all Zimbabwean cities better places. Even if each Zimbabwean organization can provide a litter drum painted with keep our city clean.

Victor Kunonga invites Sam Mataure & Enock Piroro

Victor Kunonga, the legendary afro jazz maestro calls on his highly gifted friends and jazz spitfires – Sam Mataure (drums) and Enock Piroro (bass guitar) for an enthralling afro Jam session, packed with the unexpected.

Bring your dancing shoes!

Alliance Francaise, 328 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
Friday 21 January 2011
8pm till late.
CC: $10
For more information contact: Tsungi Zvobgo on 0774 433 209 or email tsungiz [at] gmail [dot] com

Below is an excerpt from a recently published Pastoral Letter from the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference:

We urge our political leaders to:

i) Prioritize poverty eradication by using proceeds from natural resources like diamonds, land, etc., for the development of the whole nation and all its citizens. In its final message, the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops noted that Africa is rich in human and natural resources but ‘many of our people are still left to wallow in poverty and misery, wars and conflicts, crisis and chaos. These are very rarely caused by natural disasters. They are largely due to human decisions and activities by people who have no regard for the common good … .’
(No. 5).

ii) Stop the active and tacit collusion of those undermining the fight against corruption. Corruption is a cancer destroying our nation.

iii) Prosecute wrong doers and widely publicize any disciplinary action so that no one is seen to commit crime with impunity.

iv) Desist from intimidating and mistreating members of the public, the media, civic communities, etc. Uphold human rights.

v) Uniformed forces should maintain peace and security for all citizens at all times and especially before, during and after elections, and do so impartially.

vi) We implore our political leadership in the coalition government to reflect deeply on the timing of elections bearing in mind the unhealed state of the nation and the fragile state of the economy. They shoulder a heavy responsibility to serve and save Zimbabwe. They must think and act in pursuit of the Common Good. In the event of elections, implement the SADC guidelines in full.

vii) We expect our members of Parliament to make an effort to spearhead the mitigation of the pressing needs of the people they represent and desist from being preoccupied with enriching themselves.

You see those fliers always strewn all over the place by pro-democracy activists be it about the constitution, elections or whatever? They could be dangerous to your health after all, and this not because they are environmentally unfriendly or anything of that sort.

I picked up one the other day under a tree where a friend was having his hair trimmed by those outdoor barbers who have become ubiquitous in Bulawayo. Also there chatting with the barber was a cop I am acquainted with. The guy helpfully says to me, be careful about just picking up these papers in the street and reading them. I give a knowing laugh that he is warning me that someone might have used it as toilet paper, but the guy says, no dude I’m serious. Then he explains, and it is not about hygiene considerations:

A man obviously minding his own business picked up one of these pro-democracy fliers just in front of the Western Commonage courts in Bulawayo – there is also a notorious police station here.  As he was busy going through the flier, two men approached and asked him to tell them what Tsvangirai was saying. The man was bamboozled. “Isn’t you have read this piece of paper, now tell us what it is saying.” The poor man was like “who the fuck are you people?” the two men were like, “we are asking you politely and you are saying such rude things.”

Turns out the two were plain clothes cops, and the cop under the tree tells me, these two wanted to take this poor man in and give him a thorough beating, but they “realised” the person they were dealing with was clueless about what they were talking about – and the gravity of the offence, I might add. So they let him off with a stern warning: don’t go about reading these papers put on the streets by unknown people or else you will die for things you don’t know [that’s a direct translation from the vernacular they spoke].

And to me the cop says, “When you see these papers and want to read one, just pick it up, put it your pocket and read it in the privacy of your home”! Why? But I answered it myself – to avoid being picked up by the spooks for reading “subversive” material. I thanked the cop for the invaluable “tip” but in my mind yelled, “Idiot!” I suspected he was one of the said cops as the chap is already known in the locality as a super patriot and moron.

There you have it folks, careful what you read, you may not exactly die of a misprint, but political zealots may just not like what you read and you may die of that dislike from people with apparent dyslexia!  The mind control could be working overdrive ahead of elections, after all, haven’t some people been beaten up in the not-so-distant past for reading the Daily News and other newspapers critical of Zanu PF? Certainly the Zimbabwe we do not want.

In a post titled: Democracy won’t help Zimbabwe, Mugabe is not the problem, blogger African Aristocrat share’s his thoughts on the regime change agenda:

It is tempting to believe that if we manage to dislodge Zanu PF Zimbabwe will immediately turn into a land of milk and honey. It will not. This is an inconvenient truth and will likely irk the many evangelists of hope that write in support of the opposition. Let us be reminded that these are the same people who just two years ago told us that billions of dollars in aid awaited Zimbabwe and would be speedily dispensed the moment Tsvangirai put his hand to paper and committed to a power sharing agreement. Following Tsvangirai’s participation in government, the reality has not be quite as colourful. Zimbabweans are still poor. Serious problems persist in the health sector. Not only so, all indicators point to a prolonged struggle ahead.

The greatest challenge we face when analysing the Zimbabwe situation is that of deliberate amnesia. The general consensus is that Zimbabwe should not have gone to war in the Congo. I agree. Zimbabwe should not have taken over white owned farms in the manner that it did. Again I agree. Gideon Gono should not have kept the printing press in an endless loop. This again is true. There is a lot more that could be said of Zanu PF’s mismanagement and errors of judgement in the past years. There is no defence, they messed up.

But this view is misleading. It assumes that people started suffering in Zimbabwe following the events just detailed. This is not so. The past decade has simply brought poverty to the formerly privileged. The majority of Zimbabweans had been living in these desperate conditions even when Zimbabwe was lauded as an economic success story. Let us imagine that all of this had not happened and we were back in the comforts of August 1998. Would Zimbabwe’s intelligentsia protesting so loudly. I doubt it.

But remember this dear reader. In August of 1998 millions of Zimbabweans lived in the rural areas. Millions of Zimbabweans ate bread only on special occasions and they considered basics such as jam a treat. These many millions struggled to earn a living tilling their land. Why was there no call for Mugabe to step down then? The Zimbabwean middle class seemed content to live in a country in which others lived in such desperation whilst they enjoyed the fat of the land.

What would happen if the middle was restored to its former luxury? Would they continue to call for democracy. I doubt it. In 1998 Zimbabwe was hardly a democracy, say the wrong thing and even then you could disappear. But people really didn’t care for democracy. They were comfortable.

I get distracted. I started by suggesting that democracy will not help Zimbabwe and that Mugabe is really not the problem. Those who think Mugabe is the problem view the Zimbabwean crisis as one which began only 10 years ago. This is untrue. The rural folk have always been in crisis and it has become a way of life for them. This is what explains their continued support for Mugabe. It often goes unmentioned that although the MDC won more seats in parliament in the free and fair 2008 elections, it is ZANU PF that won the popular vote. More people voted for ZANU PF than for the MDC.

Why do people in the rural areas vote for ZANU PF? Certainly not for economic reasons, since 1980 Zanu PF has done very little for the rural man as an entity. The rural vote is based on liberation nostalgia and ignorance. This, I accept, is a vulgar generalisation of the rural electorate. But that is beside the point. What I am trying to highlight is that the rural folk have not really been shaken in their support for Zanu PF. The people in urban areas have. In the past decade it is those in urban areas who lost the most. Those in rural areas continued farming their land and living off it. They have complaints but nothing that compares to those of the city dweller.

Now let us come to the issue of democracy and Zimbabwe. I have done my best to explain how what we call the best years really where not the best years. The majority was living in squalor, out of sight is indeed out of mind. People call those days democratic. So what then did this democracy yeild for the average Zimbabwean? Very little, if we are to be objective in our analysis.

What we need in Zimbabwe are men of vision. Politicians and technocrats who have radical ideas as to how we can solve the considerable problems that we face. I admire the Cubans, their doctor : patient ration is impressive and shames many Western democracies. Their life expectancy is 77, just a year below the Americans. This in spite of the fact that the Americans have for years tried to strangle the nation through an unjustifiable embargo, even the menacing Iranians are not subject to such. Fidel Castro is many things unpleasant but he managed to inspire a people into an ideology. I need not say that his ideology is not entirely wholesome but there is much we can learn from the Cubans.

Apart from the impressive healthcare statistics the government has managed to create a food subsidy for ALL CITIZENS which guarantees them a basic food basket. That basket constitutes up to 70% of a Cubans daily intake, which is above 3000 calories. These are impressive numbers for a third world country.

We can speak of Brazil. It has come up with a genius food security strategy. City councils lease lucrative market stalls but set the pricing for anyone wishing to sell in those stalls. Sellers are then given land within the city to farm. The sellers are thriving and prices are affordable. The supermarkets are complaining as they continue to lose custom to the cheaper markets. The people are celebrating. I have simplified the Brazilian model but those eager for learning can easily research these matters.

I give these example not necessarily because they are a solution for Zimbabwe but because they are a radical approach to peculiar problems. What Zimbabwe needs is a government that cares for all citizens, not just those above the upper quartile. Zanu PF has had 30 years to prove itself competent. It has failed. Nothing in the MDC election manifesto infuses me with confidence that they will be any different.

South Africa is a democracy as is Nigeria. The poor in these countries are paupers when compared to the poor in Cuba. The poor in Cuba have easy access to healthcare. They will certainly live longer that the South Africans who perish at a youthful 50years of age or the Nigerians who die at a pathetic 47. The difference is not money. Nigeria [GDP $173billion] and South Africa [GDP $290bilion] both have much more money than Cuba [GDP $62billion]. The difference is not democracy either. Cuba is not in anyway democratic. So how is it that the poor in Cuba have it so good? They have a leadership that thinks outside Western textbook economics.

I am yet to hear the MDC or Zanu PF offer us anything in the way of such revolutionary policy.

Every week Kubatana publishes an email newsletter sharing information from Zimbabwean civic and human rights organisations, interesting articles, notifications of scholarships, workshops and job vacancies within the NGO sector. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter email info [at] kubatana [dot] net

Below are a few of the jobs from our latest newsletter. To apply for these positions, please get in touch with the advertisers directly.

Training Supervisor: Tree of Life
Deadline: 15 January 2011

The Tree of Life Trust is a local NGO. We provide a group based approach to the healing and empowerment of survivors of traumatic violence. The approach is facilitated by survivors themselves who have been trained and supervised in the methodology. We use the metaphor of the tree to provide a framework for understanding the trauma experience and, through a series of guided processes, help the survivor to an appreciation of his or her strengths and the support of family and community in surviving.

It is a proven, para-professional, culturally appropriate and cost-effective method of providing psychosocial assistance, breaking patterns of isolation and rebuilding a sense of belonging. We work at the interface between isolation, fear and polarization on the one side, and renewed social activity and community development on the other side. Work is very much team based and in the field, in 4 categories of inter-related activities:

* Healing and empowerment workshops for survivors of trauma, with referrals where necessary to specialist care;
* Healing and empowerment workshops for members and beneficiaries of partner organizations, and training partner organizations and communities to be able to provide their own workshops;
* Occasional back-up support to communities in their post-workshop activities;
* Documentation and research, for improving processes and activities, for monitoring and evaluation, and for reporting and advocacy.

A vacancy exists in our Harare based team for a Training Supervisor. Key deliveries of the successful candidate include developing and delivering a strategically focused Facilitator training programme, supporting Partners and Communities in their own healing and empowerment activities, and membership of a small, open hearted and open minded team.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Together with the team;

-    Developing and managing, implementing and monitoring, training programmes for the Tree of Life process and related, culturally competent systems of care,
-    Multiplying the process and widening a network through collaboration with other interested organizations, including the de facto mental health system,
-    Creating a cadre of trained facilitators capable of autonomously running Tree of Life processes in the community and in their organizations, and providing appropriate back-up,
-    Attention to and actions for preventing mental health problems in care givers, Attention to and actions for assessment, referrals, outcomes follow-up and monitoring, and participation in research and advocacy generally,
-    Ensuring records and statistics for effective case management, receiving reports from partners, and writing reports.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have
-    Excellent interpersonal skills, a team builder and team player,
-    At least 7 years working experience in facilitation, training, and counseling including trauma counseling,
-    A track record in building partnerships and networks between communities, policy makers and interested organizations,
-    Excellent spoken and written and presentation skills in English and Shona, and good computer skills,
-    A degree level qualification in training,
-    A degree level qualification in counseling, in Psychology, in Psychotherapy or Mental Health Nursing.
-    A clean driver’s license and a willingness to spend time away from home.
-    The highest ethical standards and a willingness to accept and contribute to Tree of Life values.

To Apply email, with Training Supervisor in the subject line, your application letter and full CV, with at least 2 contactable referees to The Coordinator at wildcahi [at] zol [dot] co [dot] zw

Only short listed candidates will be contacted. Deadline is 15 January 2011, and interviews will be conducted in the week starting 17 January 2011.

Zimbabwe Programme Manager: Mildmay
Deadline: 21 January 2011

Mildmay is a not for profit organization providing care and treatment for people living with HIV+AIDS. Mildmay is a Christian foundation. The challenge for providing responsive high level models of care and enhancing healthcare systems in the countries we operate has never been greater. Come and join a committed and experienced team.

Mildmay International currently has a 3-year grant by the European Union entitled ‘Building and Strengthening the capacity of Community Support Network to Care and Support Children with HIV and AIDS and OVCs in Zimbabwe’. We are looking for a Mildmay Zimbabwe Programme Manager to be based in Harare, with field work currently in Mat-South, to provide leadership in implementing this project, providing appropriate project management oversight and ensuring the required compliance and reporting to the EU is achieved. In addition, the person will represent Mildmay and explore scaling up Mildmay’s overall programmatic exposure in Zimbabwe.

The candidate must demonstrate an active commitment to Mildmay’s Christian ethos and charity Vision.

To access the detailed job description, person specification and download an application form, please visit Mildmay’s website

Please note CVs will NOT be accepted. All correspondence will be dealt with by EMAIL ONLY.

Interviews will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe, on the 31st January 2011.

Qualified candidates living with HIV and AIDS are particularly encouraged to apply.

Project Director: International Rescue Committee
Deadline: 21st January 2011
Location: Harare

IRC Zimbabwe requires a Project Director to oversee all aspects of the Zimbabwe Results Based Financing Project funded by the World Bank. The Project Director will supervise a team of six staff and will report to the Country Director and will be based in Harare with frequent travel to project sites.

Job Responsibilities:
-    Provide leadership and direction, define and implement activities to achieve the greatest impact.
-    Prepare strategic plans and manage the overall project by planning, monitoring and evaluating project activities in accordance with the cooperative agreement.
-    Manage associate partners and ensure coordinated inputs and technical/managerial quality.
-    Oversee the establishment of a performance based fund which provides grants to health facilities;.
-    Oversee the disbursement of sub-grants to health facilities communities.
-    Provide financial and technical management to ensure the best use of resources by preparing sound budgets, monitoring project expenses and ensuring timely submission of financial reports.
-    Oversee the establishment of a district level RBF steering committee in each participating district.
-    Oversee procurement assistance to health facilities in the purchase of items financed by RBF funds.
-    Report to WB and MoHCW through both formal and informal debriefings and quarterly reports.
-    Maintain an on-going dialogue with the WB representatives and respond timely to inquiries.
-    Manage a solid cooperation with the MoHCW, Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) board of trustees, associate organizations, provincial and district level governments, donors and the international community.
-    Manage external relations by representing the project and the organization in the public and ensuring the distribution of information about project achievements and lessons learned.
-    Support project staff by creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes teamwork, trust, mutual respect, and empowers staff to take responsibility and show initiative.

Qualifications:
-    MBA, Public Administration, MPH
-    Experience in performance purchasing and/or result based financing
-    Experience and expertise managing WB grants and/or sub-grants, with strong knowledge of relevant WB regulations and practices
-    Experience with trust fund oversight
-    Financial management and accounting skills with demonstrated success managing USAID funds
-    Planning and organizational skills that ensure efficient and effective grants and finance management
-    Experience in decentralization and governance, health financing, health policy and planning, health systems management, program evaluations, operations, budgeting, human resource policy and management, and project planning and implementation
-    Experience in developing country setting, preferably Africa

Qualified and interested candidates should send their detailed CVs and cover letters to Zimbabwe [at] theirc [dot] org not later than 21st January 2011 and write PROJECT DIRECTOR in the subject line.