http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
3
May 2011
Some 21 villagers from Nyambeya in Cashel Valley have been
forced to flee
their village after ZANU PF militia carried out an early
morning raid on
Sunday and burned down seven houses owned by MDC-T
officials.
Homes belonging to MDC ward chairman Moses Chemwanyisa, ward
youth chairman
Admire Chizikani and his mother Naomi were torched, as
rampaging ZANU PF
thugs went on a spree of violence and
destruction.
Eyewitnesses told SW Radio Africa from Mutare that the
entire village of
Nyambeya, which had already been attacked in March, had
been set alight and
several houses razed to the ground. The village is in a
constituency,
Chimanimani East, under the control of Samuel Undenge, a ZANU
PF legislator.
It is believed the village was targeted again simply
because the inhabitants
are staunch supporters of the MDC led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. A
senior army officer, identified as Colonel
Charles Muresherwa, is being
accused of having links to the militia gangs
terrorising the area.
‘Apart from the burning, some female villagers were
badly beaten while other
homes were ransacked and vandalised. The heavily
armed militia destroyed
maize fields and looted all villagers materials
found, alleging people there
were enemies of ZANU PF,’ one of the
eyewitnesses said.
Another eyewitness added; ‘The women were beaten with
logs and rifle butts.
Some of the assailants are known soldiers based at the
nearby army base. The
gang marched from house to house in an operation that
saw children, men,
women and the aged chased into the bush before their
houses were set ablaze.’
MDC-T spokesman for Manicaland province, Pishai
Muchauraya, confirmed the
incident and said the attack took place when most
of the male villagers were
in Bulawayo for the third national congress that
ended on Sunday.
‘It was a planned attack because they knew they would
face little or no
resistance from the women, children and the elderly. This
is the same
village that was attacked in March this year forcing some of the
villagers
to flee to neighbouring Mozambique,’ Muchauraya said.
Two
months ago the MDC-T approached the Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee (JOMIC) to intervene, after more displaced villagers from Cashel
Valley turned up at their head office in Mutare, seeking shelter from
violent ZANU PF supporters.
A team from JOMIC visited the area but
obviously this has not deterred the
rampaging thugs from operating with
impunity and at times with police
assistance.
‘We made a report to
Sergeant Hapawori of Cashel Valley police and we were
able to provide them
with the names of some of the attackers but no arrests
have been made two
days after we lodged a complaint.
‘I just want to remind Chihuri (police
Commissioner-General) that we have
people from ZANU PF who have destroyed an
entire village and your officers
are not taking action. This is why we
accuse his police force of being too
partisan,’ Muchauraya
said.
Meanwhile war vets leader Jabulani Sibanda is reportedly back in
Masvingo
province, intimidating and threatening villagers with war if they
refuse to
cooperate with ZANU PF.
Sibanda, who has never been
questioned or arrested despite numerous reports
made to the police, has been
having meetings with chiefs and village heads
in the province. He’s been
telling them to make sure that their
‘subordinates do not repeat what they
did in March 2008 if they want to
live,’ referring to the MDC-T election win
in 2008.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
03 May 2011
The
negotiators from the political party’s in Zimbabwe’s coalition
government
will head to Cape Town this week, for the latest round of talks
with
President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team.
Zuma’s international relations
advisor, Lindiwe Zulu, who is also part of
the South African facilitation
team, confirmed on Monday that the meeting
will get underway on Thursday and
continue for three days. She also
confirmed that on the agenda for these
talks is the draft roadmap towards a
credible election in Zimbabwe,
reportedly agreed to by all parties in the
unity government.
The
roadmap has been laid down as a critical measure by leaders in the
Southern
African Development Community (SADC), who earlier this year
appeared to do
an about turn from their usual policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’
towards Zimbabwe.
SADC leaders demanded an end to violence, and also called
for the drafting
of an election roadmap, before its next Heads of State
summit, pegged for
later this month.
But violence has not stopped and the draft roadmap,
revealed last week, has
already been widely criticised as a nothing more
than a shortened version of
the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which ZANU
PF has refused to
implement. Political analysts have expressed concern that
the draft does not
spell out any punitive measures if parties do not abide
by the terms of the
roadmap.
The draft also fails make any concrete
commitments to dealing with ZANU PF’s
structures of violence that are
already entrenched in Zimbabwe’s political
landscape. For weeks, reports
have been growing about an increased military
presence across the country,
worsening harassment by militia groups and
violent attacks.
Political
analyst Charles Mangongera confirmed that the roadmap is just a
shortened
version of the GPA.
“My sense is that we are going round and round in
circles,” Mangongera told
The Standard newspaper. “What is lacking is
political will and commitment on
the part of the principals. We all know
what needs to be done.”
Analyst Clifford Chitupa Mashiri meanwhile said
the draft agreement
“confirms our worst fears,” saying that the roadmap “is
a big joke.” He told
SW Radio Africa’s Diaspora Diaries series on Tuesday
that “nothing about
this roadmap is satisfactory.”
“SADC will need to
fulfill its promises and ensure that if there is a
roadmap, it is one that
ensures the safety of the people and the credibility
of a vote. Otherwise
this is just a roadmap to disaster,” Mashiri said.
Phillip Pasirayi from
the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said that ongoing
“sticky” issues that have
haunted the GPA have not been dealt with in the
draft election roadmap. He
said the meeting in Cape Town this week will once
again “end in a deadlock,
because there will be no movement from ZANU PF,
again, on these
issues.”
“We do have hope though that SADC will stick to its promise and
ensure that
there is a proper roadmap. We will continue to lobby SADC to
make sure that
they do not relent on their promises,” Pasirayi said.
http://www.voanews.com/
Sources
said Bright Matonga, a former deputy information minister, has set
up a
consortium including top politicians, business leaders and residents in
a
bid to forcibly take over Zimbabwe Platinum Holdings
Gibbs Dube |
Washington 02 May 2011
Senior officials of the ZANU-PF party of
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
and top business executives with ties to
the Affirmative Action Group have
started positioning to claim shares in
Zimbabwe Platinum Holdings, the
country's largest platinum mine under the
controversial indigenization or
black empowerment program, sources
say.
The sources said former Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga
has
already set up a consortium with top politicians, business chiefs and
local
residents of Mashonaland West province in a bid to forcibly take over
the
mining enterprise.
They said other top ZANU PF politicians
seeking share stakes include
Information Minister Webster Shamu, Local
Government Minister Ignatius
Chombo and other members of the former ruling
party's politburo and central
committee.
Matonga, Shamu and Chombo
could not be reached for comment. But sources said
they want to force
ZimPlats to cede a 51 percent stake without compensation.
Affirmative
Action Group President Supa Mandiwanzira said politicians have a
right to
take a stake in such companies under the country’s indigenization
program.
But economic commentator Bekithemba Mhlanga said politicians
lack the
capital to buy shares in large enterprises like ZimPlats. "If
sources of
funding are investment vehicles then the money can be used to buy
shares at
ZimPlats, but that can't be the case when broke politicians divert
public
funds," Mhlanga said.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by MDC Information &
Publicity Department
Tuesday, 03 May 2011 17:02
Zanu PF youth militia
in Mbare, Harare have launched a “witch hunt” on MDC
supporters who attended
the just ended MDC Third National Congress that was
held in Bulawayo at the
weekend.
An MDC supporter from Matapi flats who preferred anonymity said
all MDC
supporters in the area are living in fear as they were being forced
to
attend Zanu PF’s all night vigils for the past three days. Those who do
not
attend are being threatened with expulsion from the flats as the youths
claim that the flats belong to Zanu PF when they are council
property.
Meanwhile, Magreth Majoni an MDC member from Hwedza in
Mashonaland West
province on Monday lost party regalia, grocery worth US$25,
clothes and
US$12 to Zanu PF thugs at Mbare musika. She was coming from the
MDC Third
National Congress that was held in Bulawayo at the weekend. Majoni
who was
on her way from MDC congress was assaulted by thugs at Mbare musika
in front
of a helpless crowd before trying in vain to seek for police
protection.
She said the thugs comprising of three women and more than
seven men led by
the one they called “Shefu” confronted her at the bus
terminus and asked her
why she was wearing MDC regalia. They then took all
her possessions before
running away.She reported the matter to the police
but no action was taken.
Mean while in Ward 28 Chikomba East constituency
in Mashonaland East
province, MDC supporters are again under threat from
Zanu PF led by one Mai
Grace Rufu were they are threatened with unspecified
action for spearheading
MDC attending the just ended MDC congress. MDC
Councilor Ekenia Bhunu and
the Hwedza district organizing secretary Manyani
are the main targets from
Zanu PF in the area. Reports say that people are
being frog matched to bases
were they are forced to confess their sins of
supporting MDC in the area.
The MDC Today - Issue 188
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Chengetai Zvauya, Staff Writer
Tuesday,
03 May 2011 17:42
HARARE - Controversial businessman Phillip
Chiyangwa who made an inglorious
exit from Zanu PF following his arrest on
charges of spying against Zanu PF
and the government of President Robert
Mugabe, might bounce back into the
party structures.
Chiyangwa, was
suspended by the ailing Zanu PF in 2004 after he was nabbed
by security
agents in a spying scandal which involved senior party officials
and an
ex-diplomat.
He allegedly suffered a mild stroke during detention by the
dreaded spies
from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) who tortured
him during
intense interrogation.
He was later freed and announced he
was quitting active politics but would
remain an ordinary Zanu PF card
carrying member.
Zanu PF political commissar Webster Shamu told the Daily
News that
Mashonaland West Provincial senior politicians Nathan Shamuyarira
and
Ignatius Chombo recommended his comeback and asked the Zanu PF
secretariat
headed by Didymus Mutasa to accept Chiyangwa back into the
party.
“The province wants Chiyangwa to come back and work for the party.
They want
him to be allowed to contest in any post if he wishes, and this
has been
forwarded to the administration,” said Shamu.
He said the
decision to allow Chiyangwa back in the Zanu PF structures was
reached by
the Zanu PF Mashonaland West leadership over the weekend.
Chiyangwa told the
Daily News that if the Mashonaland West leadership wanted
him back, he had
no problems with their decision.
“If the leadership says I must serve the
party again, I have no problems
with that. It’s ok with me if that is their
decision,” said Chiyangwa.
Chiyangwa once served as Mashonaland West
chairman and legislator for
Chinhoyi before he ran into the spying
problems.
Chiyangwa is tipped to be nominated for the post of the
provincial chairman
following the death of Robert Sikanyika last
month.
He was suspended from Zanu PF political activities in 2005 after
he was
accused of selling official state secrets to foreigners and was
charged with
espionage.
Chiyangwa was charged together with former
banker Tendai Matambanadzo,
former Zanu PF deputy security chief Kenny
Karidza, and Zimbabwe Ambassador
to Mozambique Godfrey Dzvairo.
They
were accused of selling official secrets to South Africa and were
slapped
with five years in prison but Chiyangwa was set free by the High
Court.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
03 May 2011
An
internal hearing by the United Food and Allied Workers Union has upheld
the
decision to fire its Organising Secretary, Eddson Chakuma, for being
‘absent
from work without reasonable grounds’ even though he was detained
for more
than three weeks in police custody facing trumped-up treason
charges.
Chakuma, along with Munyaradzi Gwisai, Antonetta Choto,
Tatenda Mombeyarara,
Hopewell Gumbo and Welcome Zimuto, was charged with
treason having been
singled out as one of the ring leaders who addressed a
meeting in February
where video footage of protests in Egypt and Tunisia was
screened and
debated.
The activists were tortured in custody, placed
in solitary confinement and
subjected to all sorts of deliberate delays that
saw them spend over 3 weeks
locked up. A judge finally granted them US$2,000
bail each, with conditions
to reside at their homes and report to the CID
Law and Order section three
times a week.
Speaking to SW Radio Africa
on Tuesday Chakuma told us an ‘appeal panel’
within the union decided to
uphold his dismissal claiming he was absent
without good cause. Ironically
they also claim his treason case has
tarnished the image of the union, even
though they refuse to accept the same
case as the reason for his
absence.
Four days after his release Chakuma said the union demanded a
report from
him on why he was absent. Instead of receiving solidarity from
the union he
works for, all he got was victimization. The appeal panel is
also said to
have ignored receipts from the payment of bail, that he
provided as evidence
for his absence.
Chakuma believes he is being
victimized by the executive running the union,
because they have over-stayed
their positions without going to elections and
he had in the past advised
the branch structures to write letters of
complaint over the matter. He will
now file an appeal with the Ministry of
Labour.
In the meantime,
while Chakuma fights his case, he is on the verge of being
destitute and is
appealing for help. He said he received some money from a
fund set up at the
Zimbabwe Labour Centre, but it was not enough.
‘Since I came from prison
I haven’t paid electricity bills, the only thing I
managed to pay is rent. I
want to be able to sustain my family. Now I am
reporting thrice a week, I
need transport (money) from home to the police
station,” Chakuma
said.
He does not want to rely on hand outs everyday and says he wants
help
starting a poultry project, something he has experience in, having
worked
for a company that bred chickens.
Those willing to help can get in
touch with him on echakuma1@yahoo.com
or
via SW Radio Africa.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
by Irene Madongo
03 May
2011
Leading officials within ZANU PF are reported to be accelerating
their plans
to dispose of Mugabe as leader and prepare a successor for
elections.
Some reports suggest that senior party members have agreed
that the ailing
octogenerian is too old and unwell to stand in the next
election. Mugabe’s
health problems are becoming more apparent and he has
shuttled between
Harare and Singapore for treatment a number of times, this
year alone. There
are claims he is battling prostrate cancer, but his office
has denied this,
saying he went to see doctors for an eye
operation.
It is believed hat there are two main factions within ZANU PF.
One is headed
by Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, a hardliner, and the
other that
supports Vice-President Joyce Mujuru, regarded by some as a
moderate.
Weekend press reports have highlighted infighting in the two
camps which is
said to have intensified. The Sunday Times of South Africa
allege that the
Mujuru camp was in talks with the MDC-T, on working together
in the
post-Mugabe era.
Insiders also allege that Mugabe is giving in
to the demands of his top
officials. ZANU PF’s recent announcement that
elections should be held in
2012 or 2013 is reported to have come about
after party hawks demanded
Mugabe agree to defer elections. This is a major
and unusual climb down for
Mugabe as he has been insisting they be held this
year.
The Zimbabwe Standard newspaper claimed that security chiefs held a
teleconference with Mugabe recently when he was in Singapore and told him to
tone down talk of having an election this year. The article went on to say
that ZANU PF’s attitude to the poll roadmap indicates that the president
agreed that it could be time to appoint a successor.
The newspaper
said that the plan is for ZANU PF to have time to sell a new
presidential
candidate to Zimbabweans. They quoted an informant who said;
“Zanu PF’s best
chance was in identifying a successor who would be sold to
the electorate
between now and 2013.”
The Sunday Times quoted a ZANU PF source saying;
“He [Mugabe] is no longer
in control of his faculties and really people
can’t take us seriously if we
present him as a candidate. He is looking
frail and I tell you, if he
participates in an election with Tsvangirai, he
will be severely thumped.”
http://www.nation.co.ke
By KITSEPILE NYATHI, NATION
Correspondent
Posted Tuesday, May 3 2011 at 18:37
Zimbabwe’s
Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has dismissed weekend reports
that army
generals have demanded that President Robert Mugabe must prepare
to step
down by appointing a successor immediately.
The privately owned The
Standard newspaper on Sunday reported that the
service chiefs, who are known
to be fiercely loyal to President Mugabe, told
the 87 year old in a
teleconference while he was in Singapore last week that
they were no longer
prepared to support his continued stay in power.
President Mugabe was
reportedly told to tone down on talk of having
elections this year and
choose a successor immediately who will receive the
support of the
generals.
But Mr Mnangagwa who is said to be leading a Zanu PF party
faction
positioning itself to succeed Zimbabwe’s only ruler since
independence in
1980, has told state television that the report was
“nonsense and rubbish.”
Another government spokesman Retired Major Anyway
Mutambudzi described the
story as “wishful thinking.”
“I am a retired
soldier and I am fully aware of security protocol,” he told
the state owned
Herald newspaper.
“In the first place there was no way service chiefs
could choose to discuss
a state security issue over the phone when they have
access to the president
in the joint operations command meetings.”
He
said the story was a “pack of lies designed to destabilise Zanu PF and
the
government of Zimbabwe.”
President Mugabe was in Singapore to collect his
wife who is reportedly
battling to recover from a dislocated
hip.
Zimbabwe is now expected to hold elections in 2013 and the president
who has
already been chosen by his party to be its candidate will be
89.
His main rival will be the 59 year old Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai whom
he has controversially beaten in two elections since
2002.
The last election in 2008 was inconclusive after President Mugabe’s
supporters launched a very violent campaign and this led to the formation of
a unity government a year later.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
03/05/2011 14:41:00 Staff
Reporter
HARARE – In an open show of defiance towards his Zanu PF
succession rivals
Defence Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa has dismissed with
disdain the pressure
from within the party and Service chiefs for President
Mugabe to resign with
immediate effect, amid reports that the Defence
Minister has lost grip on
senior military officers who are now reporting to
retired General Solomon
Mujuru.
The feuding rival factions have
escalated their bitter skulduggeries on the
back of mounting health problems
of the 87 year old President Mugabe and
there are glaring signs that the
party will soon disintegrate as both sides
show no sign of working together
without Mugabe at the helm.
In the last few weeks, Mujuru has stepped up
his campaign to force Mugabe
into retirement and he has regional support
particularly from the South
African President Jacob Zuma who has threatened
the Generals with the
release of a highly sensitive election violence
report.
In 2008 former South African President Thabo Mbeki
commissioned a fact
finding mission into state sponsored violence that took
place in the run up
to Zimbabwe’s one man presidential
run-off.
Mbeki, as mediator, sent six retired South African army generals
on two
fact-finding missions to investigate the cause of the political
crisis,
especially the role of the army in the violence. The highly
sensitive
damning report has still not been made public and attempts through
the
courts have hit the brick wall, but now South African government are
threatening to throw the Generals to the wolfs, hence the latest effort to
push out their leader.
While this is happening, Mnangagwa has been
sidelined and by-passed in high
level discussions which will culminate in
SADC Heads of State Summit on 20
May 2011 forcing President Mugabe to
retire.
In an interview with the State media, Mnangagwa lambasted
the media for
reporting what he described as nonsense and utter
rubbish.
He added that President Robert Mugabe is here to stay,
and that claims by
the media are cheap politicking working in cahoots with
Western sponsors.
“They and their western sponsors should stop
fooling themselves as President
Mugabe has proved beyond doubt that he is a
tried and tested leader who
still commands overwhelming support from his
party, Zanu PF,” said
Mnangagwa.
The Defence Minister also
dismissed, as cheap politicking by the western
sponsored paper, claims by
the publishers of the paper that Service Chiefs
held a teleconference with
the President while he was in Singapore, asking
him to relinquish
power.
In its edition dated 1 May 2011, the weekly Standard
newspaper said Service
Chiefs and hardliners in Zanu PF have asked President
Mugabe to defer
elections and appoint a successor.
Mnangagwa
said while it is not the first time that The Standard has tried
unsuccessfully to cause despondency in Zanu PF through falsehoods, this
latest article showed how desperate the paper, which is failing to find
relevant news, has become.
Sources within the military
services said the Defence Minister is now being
by-passed by senior Military
officers who are closely working with the Zanu
PF faction led by retired
General Solomon Mujuru.
Most senior army and airforce officers
worked with General Mujuru during the
liberation struggle while Mnangagwa
was in an in the “back office” as an
assistant to Robert Mugabe, hence he
has struggled to gain respect among the
service chiefs, who call him “povo”,
meaning untrained civilian.
Hawks within Zanu PF and securocrats have
reportedly demanded that President
Robert Mugabe defer elections and
immediately appoint a successor, as time
was not on his side.
Sources
said Mugabe and the security chiefs held a teleconference last week,
when
the veteran leader was in Singapore, where the president was told to
tone
down on talk of having an election this year.
He was also told to instead
direct his energies to appointing a successor in
an effort to prevent
further fissures within the party and the country.
The sources revealed
that the hawks and securocrats told Mugabe that if need
be, he had to
dictate a successor to his party and they would support that
person.
“He was told that he was no longer marketable as a
candidate,” an informant
revealed.
“Zanu PF’s best chance was in
identifying a successor who would be sold to
the electorate between now and
2013.”
It was not immediately clear what Mugabe’s response was, but the
insider
said Zanu PF’s attitude to the poll roadmap indicates that the
president
agreed that it could be time to appoint a
successor.
Questions have been raised about Mugabe’s health and whether
he was prepared
for the rigours associated with another election, the fourth
in nine years.
Mugabe’s health has for decades been a matter of
speculation and conjecture
and interestingly the teleconference was held
while he was in Singapore,
where he has previously sought treatment and at a
time when the veteran
leader had gone to collect his stricken wife,
Grace.
Mugabe has been demanding an election this year to end what he
describes as
an impasse in the inclusive government.
The uneasy
coalition government was created by his Zanu PF party and the two
MDC
formations in 2008 after an inconclusive election.
In recent days Zanu PF
has changed its tune on elections, saying the
dictates from the poll roadmap
made it impossible for a vote to be held this
year, with 2013 being the most
likely date.
Then, Mugabe would be 89 and too old to embark on an
exhaustive electoral
campaign.
“It is my own opinion that it is not
possible to hold elections this year.
We need to start talking about
elections next year or 2013, assuming that
the (constitution) referendum is
completed in September as we have been
advised by Copac (Constitutional
Parliamentary Committee),” Chinamasa told
the state media last
week.
This indicates a major climb down from Zanu PF, which had claimed
they would
have polls whether a new election had been approved or
not.
Security chiefs are said to have warned that going for elections was
likely
to mirror the 2008 polls, where Mugabe lost the popular
vote.
He only maintained power by holding a much condemned election
re-run, after
neither he nor his long time nemesis, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai were
unable to pass the 50% threshold to be declared outright
winner.
The Zanu PF succession debate has been a thorny issue in the last
two
decades, amid claims of a widening rift between two factions, one led by
retired army general Solomon Mujuru, whose wife, Joyce is the vice-president
and another led by Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
03/05/2011 00:00:00
by Lunga
Sibanda
AFRICAN Export and Import Bank (Afrexim Bank) president, Jean
Louis Ekra is
expected to officially open the 52nd edition of the Zimbabwe
International
Trade Fair (ZITF) which kicked off in Bulawayo on
Tuesday.
Officials said indications where that this year’s event – which
will run
until Saturday -- would attract more foreign exhibitors this year
compared
to last year.
General manager, Daniel Chigaru said the
country was expecting to host 800
exhibitors of which 136 are foreign
exhibitors.
“We are expecting close to 800 exhibitors in both local and
foreign
exhibitors,” he said.
“We have 597 local exhibitors and 136
foreign exhibitors. There are 14
countries from SADC and several more from
other countries such as Egypt,
German, Iran, Indonesia and
Pakistan.”
Chigaru expressed satisfaction with the preparations and said
everything was
in place for the trade showcase to begin adding this year’s
event had better
prospects for business
compared to previous
years.
The ZITF boss however, expressed concern over the supply of water
to the
exhibition centre.
“Our major challenge is that the pressure
of water in the tapes is very low.
A lot of people are using water and we
fear that the supply might not be
adequate given the low pressure on the
tapes,” he said.
He also expressed satisfaction with the uptake of
exhibition space saying at
least 95 percent of the available stands had been
taken up compared to 94
percent last year.
Exhibitors also expressed
optimism that this year’s fair would provide them
the opportunity to improve
their business operations.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo mayor, Councillor Thaba
Moyo said the Fair could help
the city reclaim its place as the country’s
economic hub.
“We are hosting the event as a city and it is an
opportunity for us to
record good business as we will be having many
visitors from within and
outside the country,” Moyo said.
“This means
the services we render across various sectors will be doubled or
even
tripled and it means that it is up to us as Bulawayo to make this big
event
work because of the support we give it.
The fair is also expected to
provide a much needed boost to the city’s hotel
and leisure industry with
officials the sector was experiencing brisk
business.
“During the
ZITF exhibition most hotels and lodges are fully booked which
shows that
accommodation will be on demand and our hotels record brisk
business,” Moyo
said.
“Most hotels and lodges have confirmed that they are fully booked
for the
whole week which is always a great achievement for the city.”
http://www.radiovop.com/
03/05/2011 12:42:00
Bulawayo, May
03 2011 - The 52 nd edition of the Zimbabwe International
Trade Fair (ZITF)
kicked off in Bulawayo on Tuesday amid praises from
exhibitors who see the
fair as better organised than the previous ones held
in the last
decade.
The country premier trade show will be officially opened on
Friday by Africa
Import and Export Bank (Afreximbank) president Jean Louis
Ekra. Exhibitors
who spoke to Radio VOP on Tuesday paid tribute to the
organisers of the fair
for inviting Afreximbank boss instead of the
traditional heads of state who
are usually invited to officially open the
trade fair.
This year’s exhibition – which ends on Saturday - runs under
the theme,
“Optimising Business Synergies Now and Beyond.”
“This
year’s trade fair is really a fair with a difference. The organisers
have
set the right tone for the fair by inviting a strategic technocrat whom
we
believe is going to assist our local business people by identifying
synergies that will see our local companies forging strategic partnership
with both foreign financial institutions,” said James Moore, the Director of
Infet Irrigation suppliers whose company is exhibiting at the annual trade
expo for the first time in 10 years.
Moore said over the years, his
company had lost faith in the trade fair
because of the politicisation of
the event as well as the economic meltdown
which the country went through
before the formation of the inclusive
government.
Industry and
International Trade Minister, Welshman Ncube revealed that 96%
of exhibition
space had been taken up by exhibitors. Thirteen foreign
countries including
Turkey, Germany, Botswana, Egypt, Iran, India, Malawi,
Mozambique, South
Africa and Zambia, among others are attending.
He said this year’s trade
showcase is meant to be a return to the business
approach, saying this is
the reason why the organizers closed out flea
market stands that have
dominated the fair in previous years.
“It is certainly bigger than last
year in terms of the space covered. The
space taken this year is around 96
and 97 percent the space available. It is
3000 square metres bigger than the
space available last year,” Ncube said in
an interview. “This trade fair is
an exhibition of the manufacturing
industry’s products and trade. We expect
that the manufacturing sector will
showcase that which it
produces."
The chief executive officer of Association for Business in
Zimbabwe (ABUZ)
Lucky Mlilo said companies exhibiting at this year’s event
must use the fair
as a platform to establish smart partnership with foreign
companies.
“ZITF presents many businesses with the best chance to secure
credit
facilities from multinational financial institutions. We encourage
our
members to utilise such opportunities as they come once year. Credit
lines
are hard to come by,“ he said.
The trade fair is being
concurrently held with the International Business
conference.
http://www.radiovop.com
03/05/2011
17:05:00
Harare, May 03, 2011 - At least six mining companies have
told the Minister
of Indigenisation and Employment Creation their
indigenisation plans as they
gear towards "change", Saviour Kasukuwere, has
confirmed.
In an interview with Radio VOP, Kasukuwere, clad in a cap and
T-shirt in his
office, said he was, however, very unhappy that some of
proposals had the
"same names appearing maybe being used by Westerners to
act as fronts in the
vetting process".
He said: "I can confirm that
at least six mining firms have told us what
they intend to do as far as
indigenisation is concerned. I am, however,
unhappy that we tend to see the
same names appearing in their pitch letters
which is
worrying".
President Robert Mugabe has regularly scolded local business
entrepreneurs
accusing them of being used by Whites especially the British
and the
Americans, saying Zimbabweans could be re-colonised.
While
the minister did not reveal the names of the concerned mining
entities, it
is reliably understood that mining giants Rio Tinto Zimbabwe
Limited (Rio
Zim), Freda Rebecca Mine, Unki Mine and Zimplats (Private)
Limited have
confirmed and dished out their proposals to Minister
Kasukuwere.
Rio
Zim currently has a market capitalisation of US$53,923,626.00 on the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).
Its share price stands at US$1,38. Rio is
the second most heavily
capitalised mining concern on the bourse after
Hwange Colliery Company
Limited (WCCL) whose market cap stands at a huge
US$140,536,616.16.
However, WCCL faces numerous financial problems and
dwindling international
markets and prices for its products. The mining
giant is mainly
government-controlled by a huge shareholding, and is
currently led by
tycoon, Tendai Savanhu, a Zanu (PF) functionary.
The
Minister of Mines, Obert Mpofu, in an interview, said the mining
industry
was "picking up" from about two years ago when many mines were
closed
resulting in workers being sent home.
Investors have questioned the new
indigenisation regulations in the mining
sector asking why they should
continue putting their money on mines while
not being allowed to take
dividends back to their investors in the West.
Kasukuwere urged mining
houses to come clean and reveal their proposals
otherwise government would
be forced to "take over the mines because they
belong to Zimbabweans".
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by James Mombe Tuesday 03 May
2011
JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is among
Africa’s seven
worst press freedom predators who regularly harass and
persecute
journalists, media rights group Reporters Without Borders or
Reporters sans
frontières (RSF) has said.
In statement released ahead
of World Press Freedom Day tomorrow, the RSF
said journalism in Zimbabwe
remains a risky and dangerous operation despite
formation more than two
years ago of a unity government between Mugabe and
pro-democracy Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The RSF said Mugabe has maintained a tight
grip on the state-owned
broadcasting and newspaper publishing empire, the
most dominant in Zimbabwe,
while making sure the make sure the small but
vibrant privately-owned media
are, “unable to express themselves
freely.”
The RSF, a France-based non-governmental organisation
campaigning for
freedom of the Press, also mentioned unconfirmed reports
that some state
editors have been “placed under electronic surveillance to
check their
loyalty to the (ZANU PF) party of Mugabe.
“Despite being
hailed as a “liberator” when he came to power in the 1980s,
Mugabe has no
problem with the arbitrary arrests and harassment to which
most of the
country’s journalists are exposed,” the group said, adding that
Mugabe has
stepped curtailment on free speech as he prepares for the next
elections
whose date is yet to be set.
Other top African press freedom violators on
the RSF list are Gambian
President Yahya Jammeh, Eritrean President Issaias
Afeworki, Equatorial
Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Rwandan
President Paul Kagamé,
Swaziland’s King Mswati III and Somalia’s Islamist
militias (Al-Shabaab and
Hizb-Al-Islam).
Others outside Africa named
as press freedom violators include the leaders
of North Korea, China, Iran,
Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Azerbaijan,
Vietnam, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan.
While Zimbabwe’s coalition government has implemented some of
the media
reforms agreed in a power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai it
has avoided instituting far-reaching measures that would
drastically open up
the country’s media space.
The reforms instituted
so far include the establishment of the Zimbabwe
Media Commission (ZMC) and
the licensing of at least nine private newspapers
to compete with the
state-run titles that have dominated the country’s media
landscape since
2003.
But Mugabe’s allies in the Ministry of Information that oversees
the media
have continued to hold back reforms especially in the key
broadcasting
sector.
More than a year after the coalition government
was formed, the government
broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) still dominates the
country’s media.
The Broadcasting Authority
of Zimbabwe has refused to license private
television or radio stations,
forcing several radio stations to broadcast
into Zimbabwe from Europe or
United States.
It however allowed the ZBC to launch a second television
channel last May
underlining its dominance of the airwaves.
The
Information Ministry that is controlled by Mugabe loyalist Webster Shamu
and
the President’s influential press secretary George Charamba has also
held on
to the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA)
and other laws that restrict media freedom.
The AIPPA requires
journalists and media houses to register with the
government and also
criminalises the publication of "falsehoods". The law
has been solely used
to harass and arrest journalists working for the
private media or state
media reporters who fail to toe the line. --
ZimOnline
Tuesday, 03 May 2011 10:48 |
This year’s World Press
Freedom Day (WFPD) commemorations on 3 May 2011 are indeed of great significance
as they come on the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of the 1991 Windhoek
Declaration. The Declaration is of great importance especially for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and more so for MISA-Zimbabwe as it provides the foundational mission and vision statements that guide the organisation’s media freedom and freedom of expression lobby and advocacy activities. The 2011 WFPD international theme: 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers, directly relates to the fast growing media phenomena of information technologies not only in Africa but the world over. According to the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), Zimbabwe has a total of 9.1 million mobile phone users but that the figure was projected to decrease by about 34% following the requirement for all subscribers to register their lines. The growing usage and demand for advanced information technologies undoubtedly adds value to the exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and citizens’ right to access information. MISA-Zimbabwe therefore urges the government to complete its revision of the proposed ICT Bill as a matter of urgency given the potential of the ICT sector in entrenching democracy and employment creation. MISA-Zimbabwe however, notes with great concern that 10 years after the crafting of the African Charter on Broadcasting (ACB) and enactment of the Braodcasting Services Act (BSA), Zimbabwe is still far from fulfilling the three-tier broadcasting system as envisaged under the Charter. The three-tier system comprises public broadcasting, private commercial broadcasting and establishment of community radio stations. It is against this background that MISA-Zimbabwe came up with its 2011 WFPD theme: Broadcasting Reforms on the Agenda: Free the Airwaves Now! The theme was deliberately crafted to embrace the milestone significances of this year’s commemorations. For instance, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the coming into being of the 2001 African Charter on Broadcasting as intertwined with the enactment of the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) in the same year. A majority of the 14-member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) now boast of a plethora of privately owned broadcasting stations and community radio stations. Zimbabwe thus remains stagnated as a monolithic pariah state whose airwaves continue to be monopolised by the state controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). While the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has taken commendable steps towards fulfilling the obligations of the Windhoek Declaration for a diversified, pluralistic and independent media environment by licensing more than 20 media houses in the print sector, the broadcasting media environment remains restricted and constricted. MISA-Zimbabwe therefore urges the inclusive government to fulfil its pledges and commitments to undertake comprehensive media reforms that will allow new private players into the broadcasting sector as mandated in terms of the GPA and Constitutional Amendment No 19 of 2009. This can be achieved in the immediate short-term through: • Urgent reconstitution of Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) and licensing of aspiring private broadcasters and community radio stations as an interim measure to free the airwaves ahead of elections. • Recognising the existence and potential of Community Radio Initiatives (CRIs) spread throughout the country especially Radio Dialogue FM in Bulawayo and Community Radio Harare (CORAH), which are fully equipped and ready to broadcast. • Urgent reconstitution of the ZBC governance board to ensure the broadcaster fulfills its public service mandate and reflects all shades of Zimbabwean opinions. • Resuscitation and adequate resourcing of the Mass Media Trust to insulate Zimpapers from political interference. • Urgent repeal or extensive amendment of laws that impinge on freedom of expression and media freedom, and citizens’ right to access to information notably AIPPA, BSA, Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and Interception of Communications Act. • Arrests and prosecution of any individuals implicated in any forms of extra-legal media freedom violations in order to curb wanton harassment of media practitioners and guarantee the safety and security in the conduct of their lawful and professional duties. |
http://www.radiovop.com/
03/05/2011
12:47:00
Harare, May 03, 2011 - President Robert Mugabe on Monday
said journalists
should be free to do their work but quickly criticised the
local media for
reporting negatively about Zimbabwe’s coalition
administration.
"Press freedom means just that, press freedom, but
freedom to report on what
is progressive to society,” he told journalists on
his return from the
Vatican.
"Yes the negative must be reported but
it must not be created by the media.
Most parts of our media focus on the
negative, the negative always and the
conflicts between our leaders but
never look at the constructive and
positive work that is being done by the
inclusive government. We look
forward to being informed and objectively
criticised, and objectively
praised."
Mugabe on Monday also
criticised the Italians for denying ZBC’s chief
reporter Reuben Barwe a visa
to travel in his delegation to Rome where he
attended the beatification of
the late pontiff Pope John Paul II.
"I was surprised and shocked that on this
holy trip there was an unholy
decision to bar one of our journalists called
Reuben Barwe," he said.
Barwe is among a group of local journalists who
were included on the EU and
American sanctions blacklist dominated by
politicians for abetting Mugabe’s
regime violate human rights in Zimbabwe.
http://www.radiovop.com/
03/05/2011
15:13:00
Paris, May 03, 2011 - In a groundbreaking effort to promote
the voice of
women in the news-gathering and news dissemination process,
UNESCO and the
International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) collaborated in
a global
research partnership that has culminated in the publishing of a
report on
women in the news media.
According to Unesco. the study
report – titled Global Report on the Status
of Women in the News Media -
represents a set of reliable and comprehensive
data on which to make a clear
determination about where women currently fit
into the news-making
operation, decision-making hierarchy and ownership
structure of media
companies.
“This publication represents a significant milestone in the
debate on gender
inequality and news media. It adds value to UNESCO’s
ongoing work on
developing gender-sensitive media indicators, by
highlighting the gaps that
such indicators could possibly address,” says
Janis Karklins, UNESCO’s
Assistant Director-General for the Communication
and Information Sector.
The research project was carried out over a
two-year period, and sought to
offer the most complete picture to date of
women’s status globally in news
media ownership, publishing, governance,
reporting, editing,
photojournalism, broadcast production and other media
jobs.
More than 150 researchers interviewed executives at more than 500
companies
in 59 countries, using a comprehensive
questionnaire.
Overall, the study identified glass ceilings for women in
20 of 59 countries
studied, commonly visible in middle and senior management
positions.
Slightly more than half of the companies sampled have an
established
company-wide policy on gender equity, ranging from 16 percent of
such
companies in Eastern Europe to 69 percent in Western and Sub-Saharan
Africa.
“The challenge for UNESCO”, continues Karklins “is to
innovatively factor
these findings into its regular and extra-budgetary
programming. Clearly,
while some findings indicate that women are breaking
through glass ceilings,
there is cause for alarm that this is not the case
in all the countries
studied”.
The study also found that all regions
except Eastern Europe suffered from
women’s under-representation in the
journalism occupation. However, the
research report concludes, this does not
suggest that women have failed to
advance both in number and occupational
status in recent years. Rather, it
means that women are still lacking
adequate access to the journalism
profession in many newsrooms across the
globe.
UNESCO places a very high priority on gender equality. Its
strategy consists
of gender-specific programming and gender mainstreaming
with action in all
of UNESCO’s fields of competence: education, the
sciences, culture, and
communication and information, and applies to all
levels of interventions
from policy development, awareness raising and
advocacy, research, to
institutional capacity building and
training.
More specifically, in the field of communication UNESCO aims at
“increasing
the participation and access of women to expression and
decision-making in
and through the media and new technologies of
communication”. The
Organization cooperated with the International
Federation of Journalists to
produce and disseminate guidelines on gender
equality in media organizations
and gender sensitive reporting. Recently
UNESCO joined forces with major
stakeholders to elaborate gender sensitive
indicators for media.
http://www.upi.com/
Published: May 3, 2011 at 8:35
AM
By AVI JORISCH, UPI Outside View Commentator
WASHINGTON, May 3
(UPI) -- Recently the United States pledged to provide
more than $1 billion
in aid to Africa before the end of the fiscal year. But
another transaction
is brewing, between Iran and Zimbabwe, that has received
far less interest
but could have a far larger impact on U.S. foreign policy.
According to
intelligence reports recently leaked by the United Nations'
International
Atomic Energy Agency, Iran is looking to a number of African
countries in an
effort to secure uranium, a key mineral in building nuclear
weapons.
It has been nearly a year since the United States and its
allies
strengthened economic sanctions against Iran in an effort to force
the
Islamic Republic to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Thus far, these
measures have yielded mixed results. As Iran continues to expand its nuclear
program, it will be seeking countries around the world that can provide it
with additional uranium, since it doesn't possess great quantities
itself.
Naturally, the poorest and least-regulated countries that have
this mineral
will serve as the richest targets.
The United States and
its allies must make clear to those countries that are
considering providing
Iran with uranium that doing so would have severe
economic and diplomatic
consequences.
One of the most effective ways to achieve nuclearization is
relatively
simple: obtaining ample supplies of enriched uranium. Normally,
centrifuges
that contain uranium are spun to extract uranium hexafluoride --
also known
as uranium ore or yellow cake -- which can be used both as
reactor fuel and
for arming nuclear missiles. All intelligence seems to
suggest that Iran
doesn't have significant domestic supplies of uranium.
This ultimately means
that unless Iran secures foreign supplies, its
enrichment efforts will slow
down.
Iran has started to scour the
Earth in search of countries that possess
uranium deposits, searching in
Asia, Latin America and Africa. Recently, the
Islamic Republic has made a
full-court press in Africa in particular and
Iranian engineers have
reportedly mapped out all the uranium deposits on the
continent to assist in
assessing which countries are most likely to sell
them the coveted
mineral.
Iran has reportedly decided that Congo, Nigeria, Senegal and
Zimbabwe are
the countries with uranium that are most likely to do business
with it. Iran
appears to have targeted Zimbabwe as its most promising source
of uranium.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Harare in April
2010 and,
according to the media, he expressed personal interest in
Zimbabwe's
uranium. Ahmadinejad has followed up with President Robert Mugabe
but the
talks have stalled over the most effective way of extracting
Zimbabwe's
uranium without raising undue international
attention.
While Zimbabwe has approximately 455,000 tons of uranium at
Kanyemba, a site
north of Harare, it isn't near existing mining operations.
Zimbabwe's
government is loath to start uranium mining, which would
inevitably lead to
additional punishing sanctions against the country. Both
the United Nations
and United States have a robust sanctions regime against
the government of
Mugabe, who has been in power for more than 30
years.
In recent months, there have been reports that Iran has secured
the mining
rights for Zimbabwe's uranium. Zimbabwe's minister of state for
presidential
affairs, Didymus Mutasa, reportedly signed the agreement in
Tehran last
year. In return for uranium, Harare is said to have secured oil
and cash to
help its economy.
While Mugabe has denied these claims,
he has stated that Iran can apply for
such privileges at any
time.
Washington should closely monitor this connection between Iran and
Zimbabwe
and, if it determines that Iran is beginning to mine or secure
uranium
deposits from Harare, the U.S. government should engage in a
full-court
diplomatic press and employ a wide array of existing financial
sanctions
against companies and institutions that aid in Iran's illicit
efforts to
obtain yellow cake.
Going forward, policymakers around the
world will need to be vigilant in
tracking Iran's efforts to secure
uranium.
Iran has yet to develop a nuclear weapon, but experts agree that
sanctions
have thus far only delayed its efforts, not quelled its ambitions.
If the
Islamic Republic succeeds in securing large quantities of uranium
that can
ultimately be converted into yellow cake, this would most likely be
the nail
in the coffin in the West's efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining
nuclear
weapons.
--
(Avi Jorisch, a former U.S. Treasury
official, is president of the Red Cell
Intelligence Group (www.redcellig.com) and the author of "Iran's
Dirty
Banking: How the Islamic Republic Is Skirting International Financial
Sanctions.")
--
(United Press International's "Outside View"
commentaries are written by
outside contributors who specialize in a variety
of important issues. The
views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of
United Press
International. In the interests of creating an open forum,
original
submissions are invited.)
http://theafricareport.com
Written by Petina Gappah ″in Harare
Tuesday, 03
May 2011 14:25
Award-winning writer Petina Gappah ″is working to
revive Harare City
Library. She explains the importance of the library to
the city’s cultural
life and launches The Africa Report's campaign to help
support it
To get to my office on the second floor of Harare City
Library requires a
strong stomach. You walk through the main doors of the
library, then up the
back stairs. There is no lift to the second floor.
There was a book hoist
once, but it doesn’t work anymore. The binding room
has been converted into
a storeroom that houses exam scripts for Zimbabwe
Open University. Next to
the book hoist are toilets that no longer work: it
is to walk past these
that you need the strong stomach – and a clothes peg
for your nose. ″
The library was established in 1902 as the Queen
Victoria Memorial Library
and Museum – a lending and reference library for
the colony’s first
settlers. It soon built branches in the suburbs of
Greendale, Hatfield,
Highlands, Mabelreign and Mount Pleasant. Effectively,
the City of Salisbury
had two racially separated library systems: the Queen
Victoria Memorial
Library and its satellite branches for whites, and a
system of libraries for
blacks in the townships, run from the proceeds of
Salisbury’s beer gardens.
″In 1982, the Queen Victoria Memorial
Library and Museum separated, and the
library portion of it became Harare
City Library with its five branches. It
still has only the five branches;
there has been no expansion. Instead,
there has been decay. ″
The
library wears the hardship of the past decade in every torn and broken
piece
of furniture and in the mismatched curtains hanging askew at the
windows.
The collection in some of the branch libraries seems made up
entirely of
large-print books from the ’60s and ’70s. Some books have not
been taken out
since 1978. It is not a library for the asthmatic – the dust
of years has
settled into the books and all the fittings.
″Worst of all, the roof
is leaking. Above the reference library at Rotten
Row are dirty splotches
and what look like little white stalactites. There
is not a single computer
for use in the entire library. An enterprising soul
has drilled a light bulb
onto a fitting for fluorescent lamps. The telephone
has been cut because of
a bill that has not been paid for two years. The
electricity bill too, has
not been paid: like many institutions, the library
is making part-monthly
payments to keep the lights on. ″
On the bright side, the electricity
is working, and I suspect this is partly
because the library shares a grid
with the headquarters of the ruling
ZANU-PF party – the president’s wailing
motorcade occasionally silences the
traffic on Rotten Row. Indeed, the
library exemplifies the extent to which
Harare, and Zimbabwe, has fallen in
just 11 years, and the mammoth task
required just to get things barely
running again. ″
The decline of the library is particularly shocking
to me because it is
deeply associated with the happiest part of my
childhood. When my family
moved from the township of Glen Norah to
Mabelreign, a modest suburb, I
joined the Queen Victoria Memorial Library.
Almost all my classmates at
Alfred Beit School were members.
″
There I gorged on Enid Blytons and Malcolm Savilles, on Agatha
Christies and
on the Moses books by Barbara Kimenye. I became obsessed with
exploration
and wanted to go to Antarctica. The world came alive for me
through that
library, an experience that I shared with my friends and the
many children
who swarmed in and out. Throw a stone into the northern
suburbs of Harare
and you will hit an adult of 30-plus who was once a child
member of the
Harare City Library.
″Its decline is thus not only
a grievous wound to my memories, but also a
shocking reminder of how much
today’s children are missing. I have decided
to do something about it. I am
currently in Zimbabwe on sabbatical leave
from my job as a lawyer in Geneva.
I have an office at the library because I
now chair the committee that runs
it.
Harare City Library needs your support
If you can help by
donating books, periodicals and magazines or money,
please contact the
Harare City Library on: hararecitylibrary@gmail.com
To
find out more about The Africa Report's campaign to help the library,
contact: campaigns@theafricareport.com
The social networking
site Twitter is popular with young people of Zimbabwean heritage, who discuss
Shona as though it were an exotic language spoken by their parents and other
'grown ups'. Postings on social networks reveal a disconnect between the avid
fascination with the Shona language, and the time and effort that young people
are actually willing to invest in learning 'another' language.
For young people in
the Zimbabwean Diaspora who have been brought up in countries such as the US,
the UK and Australia, Shona sometimes belongs to the 'other language' category.
It can be difficult to find the time to learn Shona, given the limitations of a
crowded school curriculum that consists of more mainstream languages such as
French or Spanish. But online distraction has an even more restricting effect on
the ability to learn another language.
Research shows that
young people are spending more time online, to the detriment of time spent on
homework. Not only do students have less time to do homework, but they certainly
don't have enough time left over to learn Shona after all the time spent on
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
A typical teenager's
day will consist of at least 3 hours spent online, according to research
published by the University of Southern California in the US, and the Institute
of Public Policy Research in the UK.
Whilst expressing an
interest in the Shona language online, young people are spending time on
Facebook and Twitter that could otherwise be invested learning the language.
Now a new application
and Shona course have been created by Exceltasks Ltd, the company behind
LearnShona.com, to help young people learn Shona and manage their time whilst
online.
Since homework as
well as learning Shona is impacted by the amount of time spent online, the
Homework Focus application enables a student to block distractions such as
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This improves concentration and allows the
student to stay focused, whilst permitting access to any websites required for
schoolwork.
“Homework Focus
empowers the student to acquire online time management skills. Students can stay
focused, take responsibility for their time and improve their chances of
academic success.” said Nyasha Madavo,
Exceltasks Ltd Founder.
The Homework Focus
application can be downloaded for free at http://homeworkfocus.com, whilst Shona
courses for young people are available at
http://learnshona.com/shona-audio-courses.
http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=5803
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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.
Project Officer – People Up
Project: Practical Action Southern Africa
Deadline: 6 May
2011
Practical Action Southern Africa is part of an international
technology
development organisation headquartered in the United Kingdom,
seeks to
recruit a Project Officer for the People up Project based in
Harare.
Key performance areas will include inter alia:
-Conducting
quality control management on the project activities being
undertaken.
-Participating in Monitoring and Evaluation of project
progress against the
original intention and design.
-Facilitating
relevant thematic workshops with internal and external
stakeholders.
-Producing monthly reports to assist in project
implementation so as to
ensure successful completion
-Producing
material for publication and documentation, to inform all
stakeholders on
progress and challenges.
-Conducting field research for the People Up
project.
-Assisting in lobbying and advocacy activities to build the
endorsement of
Practical Action.
-Recruiting beneficiaries with the
assistance of the supervisor.
-Engaging in public relations and
networking to identify synergies and
strengthen existing
partnerships
-Participating in fundraising activities in support of
Practical Action
opportunities’ so that Urban Services are
met.
Person Specifications:
-Bachelors Degree or Higher National
Diploma in Rural & Urban Planning,
Engineering, Development Studies or
any related discipline.
-2 years NGO experience,
-Excellent
interpersonal skills.
-Excellent computer skills
-Excellent
communication skills a must i.e. both written and spoken
Send
applications and detailed CVs to: Human Capital and Administration
Manager,
Practical Action, 4 Ludlow Rd, Newlands, Harare or email to: hc
[at]
practicalactionzw [dot] org
Four (4) vacancies: International Rescue
Committee (IRC)
Deadline: 6 May 2011
Location: Mutare
IRC
intends to implement a project to mitigate risks of water borne disease
outbreaks focusing on community adoption of households’ water treatment
practices. The project will focus mainly on community behavior change
through social marketing of Point of Use (PoU) water treatment products,
promoting grassroots distribution systems of retail and kiosk owners in
remote rural areas and creating demand of the products through community
awareness raising. Four (4) positions have arisen and all will be based in
Mutare with job responsibilities covering Manicaland Province. The contract
is for a period of twelve (12) months
1. Project Manager –
WASH
The Project Manager WASH plays an important role in the
International Rescue
Committee’s (IRC) field office management structure and
is responsible for
the supervision of four officers.
Job
Responsibilities
-Responsible for the overall management of the project
which includes staff
and the design of appropriate tools to spearhead
community education on PoU
water treatment techniques while working with the
local authorities,
government departments, schools authorities and
traditional leaders.
-Prepare timely work plans and promote quality in
project deliverables.
-Represent IRC and collaborate, plan and liaise
with key local government
officials, NGOs and community members in the
implementation of project
activities.
-Monitoring and documenting
achievement of project outputs and objectives.
-Prepare and submit timely
quality internal and donor project reports on
field activities with
indicators tracking.
-Participate in needs assessment
activities.
-Manage project assets and budget management (Budget vs
Actual expenditure
tracking).
-Represent IRC in WASH Cluster
Provincial coordination meetings to foster
positive interaction and good
working relations with all partners.
Skills and
Qualifications
-Degree in Public Health, Health Education and Promotion
or Social Studies
with a strong bias on community development in
WASH.
-Two years of professional experience managing WASH programs and
experience
in implementing OFDA funded projects is an added
advantage.
-Strong understanding of Monitoring & Evaluation of WASH
programs.
-Excellent interpersonal, organizational and time management
skills.
-Capable of training staff and motivating community
support.
-Operational knowledge of Microsoft Office software, knowledge
of GIS
mapping a plus.
2. Social Marketing Officer (SMO) x
2
Job responsibilities
-Responsible for organizing the provincial,
district and ward level
stakeholder inception/launch
workshops/meetings.
-Identifying, assessing and listing down potential
grassroots distributors
of household PoU water treatment products in remote
areas.
-Training the identified grassroots distributors on social
marketing,
business management and promotion of linkages with distributors
and
transporters.
-Rebranding places like kiosks, retail shops with
household PoU water
treatment products promotional materials and organize
the grassroots
household PoU water treatment products distributors to form
buying clusters.
-Carrying out community based educational sessions on
promotion of household
PoU water treatment products at schools, business
centers, market places
etc.
-Develop & implementing a monitoring
system to measure residual chlorine
levels of treated water at household
level.
-Monitoring and documenting achievement of use of PoU water
treatment
products as a project output.
-Prepare and submit timely
and quality internal project reports on
activities.
Skills and
Qualifications
-Diploma in Marketing with a strong bias on community
social marketing.
-Experience implementing WASH programs and experience
in implementing
OFDA-funded projects is an added advantage.
-Strong
understanding of Monitoring & Evaluation of WASH programs.
-Capable
of training communities and motivating community support.
-Operational
knowledge of Microsoft Office software, knowledge of GIS
mapping a
plus.
3. Hygiene Promotion Officer (HPO)
Job
responsibilities
-Responsible for identifying existing and establishing
new school hygiene
clubs, supporting their functioning and roll out their
plans as vehicle for
hygiene promotion.
-Carrying out training to
School Hygiene Club Coordinators and community
hygiene club
leaders.
-Support the setting up of a Healthy Corner at school events
such as soccer
and athletics competitions.
-Spearheading community
based educational sessions on promotion of behavior
change.
-Supporting District WASH commemoration
events.
-Monitoring and documenting achievement of behavior change
project output
and objective.
-Prepare and submit timely quality
internal project reports and indicators
tracking.
-Represent IRC in
WASH coordination meetings/forums at district level to
foster positive
interaction and good working relations with all
partners.
Qualifications
-Diploma in Environmental Health, Public
Health Promotion with a strong bias
on community development in
WASH.
-Two years experience implementing WASH programs and experience in
implementing OFDA funded projects is an added advantage.
-Strong
understanding of Monitoring & Evaluation of WASH programs.
-Capable
of training communities and motivating community support.
-Operational
knowledge of Microsoft Office software, knowledge of GIS
mapping a
plus.
Qualified candidates should send their detailed CVs and cover
letters to
Zimbabwe [at] theirc [dot] org and write title of the position
they are
applying for in the subject line.
Youth & Adolescent
Development Specialist at NOC Level: United Nations
Children’s
Fund
Deadline: 9 May 2011
Based in Harare, Zimbabwe (Fixed Term
Post)
Vacancy Notice No. Zim/2011:08
UNICEF, the world’s leading
children’s rights organization, has an opening
for passionate and committed
professionals who want to make a lasting
difference for children in
Zimbabwe. We are seeking people with a commitment
for women and children,
high drive for results, demonstrable embracing of
diversity, integrity,
demonstrable teamwork, good self-awareness and
self-regulation.
Purpose of the Job:
Under the general
guidance of the Chief of Communications, provides support
in the
conceptualization, planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of
child
and youth participation strategy to promote respect for children’s’
and
women’s’ rights and support UNICEF’s mission in Zimbabwe with
approx.
Major Tasks to be accomplished:
* Actively contributes to
the development and implementation of a Government
of Zimbabwe/UNICEF child
and youth participation strategy that will
accelerate the realization of
children’s and young people’s rights in
Zimbabwe.
* Liaises and
advocates with parliamentarians, civic society, private sector
and
independent providers on the benefits of, and need for, children’s
participation as key stakeholders in social development and political
agenda. e.g. participation in the legislative and Constitutional reforms;
policies and programmes.
* Identifies and creates opportunities for
child and young people’s
meaningful participation where children’s and young
people’s views,
experiences and beliefs are heard, considered and acted
upon. Explores the
use of regional communication platforms, such as “Speak
Africa” – Speak
Zimbabwe to encourage dialogue and learning among children
and young people.
* Provides technical support to strengthen the capacity
of child and young
people’s national structures and representations in
government, civil
society and children’s organizations e.g. child
parliament, junior
councilors, child protection committees, child
participation clubs and other
school based participation
programmes.
* Works with children and young people to appreciate the
regional and
international legal and policy instruments on children and
young people.
These include the UNCRC; ACRWC; African Youth Charter; A call
for
accelerated action on AFFC.
* Support operational research,
documentation, information sharing and
dissemination of good practices on
child and young people’s participation,
with government; civil society;
young people and children, private sector
and other partners.
*
Facilitate coordination of child and young people’s participation within
UNICEF country programme; UNCT and Government, civil society and other
partners.
* Contributes to fundraising strategies for overall
communications and
advocacy, with special focus on child and young people’s
participation.
* Draft relevant chapters for Annual Reviews; Reports on
child and young
people’s participation.
Qualifications and
Competencies:
* Advanced university degree in social/ political sciences,
or equivalent
professional work experience in the child and young people’s
participation
area, or in related field.
* At least five years
progressively responsible professional work experience
in child and young
people’s development and participation programmes, of
which two years should
be in developing countries.
* Good analytical and organizational skills
and ability to work in a
multicultural environment.
* General ability
to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in
written and oral
form, specific skills in writing policy briefs and position
papers on
children’s rights, child and youth participation.
If you have experience
of working in a similar capacity, meet the above
profile and want to make an
active and lasting contribution to build a
better world for children, send
your application quoting vacancy notice
number to the following
address:
HR Specialist
(Vacancy Notice No.
Zim/2011:08)
UNICEF, 6 Fairbridge Avenue,
P O Box
1250
Belgravia, Harare
Or email: hararevacancies [at] gmail [dot]
com
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Communication
Officer at NOB Level
Deadline: 9 May 2011
Based in Harare, Zimbabwe
(Fixed Term Post)
Vacancy Notice No. Zim/2011:09
Purpose of the
Job:
Under the general guidance of the Chief of Communications,
undertakes the
planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluating of an
advocacy and
communication strategy to get children’s and women’s issues
into the public
domain, strengthen donor and political will in support of
UNICEF’s mission
and objectives in Zimbabwe, and enhance the organization’s
credibility and
brand. The Communications Officer also extends support to
the co-ordination
and dissemination of communications message through the
local and
international media and is responsible for the website of the
Zimbabwe
country office.
Major Tasks to be accomplished:
*
Works on the production of communication products, including the country
office website.
* Drafts background information, fact sheets,
communication and other
promotional advocacy materials for briefing visits,
media, Goodwill
Ambassadors and other special interest groups.
*
Supports the development, drafting and maintenance of information and
relationships with journalists and media outlets
* Writes articles,
speeches, press releases, other public information
materials and reports, as
well as contributes to development of
communication messages and materials
for the traditional and web based media
outlets
* Distribution and
dissemination of advocacy materials from NY, Geneva, the
Regional Office and
the country office to identified partners and other
target audiences. Helps
to identify the need for additional
materials/activities, such as radio and
television programmes, publications,
photographs, websites, etc., to
advocate and promote organizational goals
within the country.
*
Facilitates engagement with nationally known personalities and helps to
organize special events and activities to support country programme goals.
Generates public support for special events.
* Supports social
mobilization and media through organizing community
participation of key
players and through organising field visits and media
training events; photo
coverage and TV Footage, using both the traditional
and web based media as
appropriate.
Qualifications and Competencies:
* University degree
in Communication, Journalism, Public Relations; or
equivalent professional
work experience in the communication area, combined
with an advanced
university degree in a related discipline
* At least five years
progressively responsible professional work experience
in communication,
print and broadcast media or interactive digital media, of
which two years
should be in developing countries.
* General ability to express clearly
and concisely ideas and concepts in
written and oral form; specific skills
in writing press releases and
articles/stories for traditional, electronic
and new media.
* Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas,
as well as impart
knowledge and teach skills
* Ability to work in a
multicultural environment.
If you have experience of working in a similar
capacity, meet the above
profile and want to make an active and lasting
contribution to build a
better world for children, send your application
quoting vacancy notice
number to the following address:
HR
Specialist
(Vacancy Notice No. Zim/2011:09)
UNICEF, 6 Fairbridge
Avenue,
P O Box 1250
Belgravia, Harare
Or email:
hararevacancies [at] gmail [dot] com
Only shortlisted candidates will be
contacted.
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This entry was posted on May 3rd, 2011 at 11:25 am by
Bev Clark