German Catholics must now pay a 8% church tax for them to continue receiving the Holy Communion and a religious burial when they die. The tax is in addition to the income tax they already have been paying. Though some may argue that the church is now selling what is sacred, Roman Catholic bishops say the levy was introduced in the 19th Century in compensation for the nationalisation of religious property. One wonders whether this religious tax applies to other religions like Islam or it’s just selective targeting of Catholics.

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.

Finance and Administration Officer: Local NGO
Deadline: 28 September 2012

Job Responsibilities
-Responsible for developing and implementing financial and administrative procedures such as: payroll, bookkeeping, insurance, budget and cost control, personnel policies, accounting functions, procurement procedures, contracts, inventory management and control procedures, security of facilities, financial reporting, strategic planning.
-Develops budgeting methodology and aids other departments in preparing their budgets and quarterly reports.
-Monitors departments’ actual cost and recoveries versus budgeted cost.
-Prepares comprehensive periodic financial reports.
-Ensures that statutory payments are made in a timely manner to all government agencies.
-Establish and implement financial procedures in line with organizational requirements progress reporting of programme funds and grants.
-Establish and prepare accurate and timely information for budget monitoring and Provide financial management advice on revisions of budgets, preparing periodical forecasts and any changes needed.
-Monitoring of the petty cash and bank balances to ensure sufficient funds are always available depending on the programme needs.
-Management and reconciliation of the bank and cash accounts, preparation of the weekly cash counts and monthly financial records including cashbooks, ensuring financial and resource accountability and effective management for records as required for auditing.
-Timely and accurate recording of all financial transactions in line with organizational and donor requirements and deadlines.

Person specification

Accounting qualification
-A Bachelor’s degree holder, minimum 2 years’ experience in Finance, preferably NGO experience.
-Full CIS qualification.
-Computer literacy and knowledge of Pastel version 10 or higher is a pre-requisite.
-Experience in conducting compliance checks and also ability to work with people from different backgrounds and nationalities.

Personal attributes
-Attention to detail.
-Self-motivated and have the ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision.
-Have the capacity to train community groups in financial management aspects.

Send your applications to: admin [at] chiedza [dot] org or marko [at] chiedza [dot] org

Policy & Advocacy Officer: Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe
Deadline: 28 September 2012 (1600hours)

Department: Programmes
Reports to: National Co-ordinator

Basic Function & Scope of the job
The Policy and Advocacy Officer is responsible for supporting WCoZ in analysing policy and recommending appropriate advocacy strategies to influence policy and legislative changes in support of women and the gender sector in Zimbabwe. S/he reports to the Director.

Principal Responsibilities
The Policy and Advocacy Officer is responsible for the following:
-Support WCoZ to effect the implementation of national, regional and international conventions, treaties and agreements that promote gender equity and equality in line with WCoZ’s core business
-Develop and coordinate effective collective advocacy strategies that promote changes in the policy and legislative environment as well as practices at local, national and regional levels
-Enhance the quality and relevance of WCoZ’s internal and external policies in the context of gender equity and equality
-Ensure that policy analysis and advocacy are effectively integrated in WCoZ’s initiatives and contribute substantially to the agenda of the Women and Gender Sector in Zimbabwe as well as generating best practice to be shared with other stakeholders

Advocacy and lobbying
-Identify macro policy issues affecting women from consultations with members and stakeholders
-Design advocacy and lobbying strategies in conjunction with lead organisations and stakeholders
-Produce policy briefs on a quarterly basis for purposes of lobbying and advocacy
-Identify platforms for lobbying and advocacy at national, regional and global levels
-Engage the media in lobbying and advocacy related activities
-Lead the women’s agenda in the broader advocacy campaign at national, regional and global levels
-Lead the implementation of such advocacy and lobbying

Linking with policy makers
-Work closely with the policy making bodies ie parliament and its secretariat, senate, cabinet, national institutions (ONHRI, JOMIC, Media Commission, etc) parliamentary committees, councils and provincial structures etc
-Track parliamentary, senate and cabinet processes and advise WCoZ and members on relevant points of intervention
-Link parliamentarians, national institutions/commissions, parliamentary committees with women’s NGOs and groups for advocacy and lobbying purposes

Requirements
The successful candidate must have:
-Exceptional oral skills
-Excellent written communication skills
-Excellent information analysis and report writing
-Ability to work with a variety of stakeholders
-Ability to work as a team
-Initiative and assertiveness
-Proven experience in marketing and women’s rights work
-Willing to travel

Qualification
-University Degree in Social Sciences, Development, Policy studies, Politics and Administration, Women’s Law or related field.  Masters an added advantage.
-Minimum five years of experience in NGO work.
-Excellent computer skills.
-Able to speak and write two languages English and   Shona/ Ndebele.
Please note that post is 50% time, Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.

Please send your CV to: coalition [at] zol [dot] co [dot] zw or hand deliver your CV to Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe, 9 Edmond Road, Belvedere, Harare.

Field Officer: Zimbabwe Land O’ Lakes
Deadline: 28 September 2012

The Zimbabwe Land O’ Lakes, IDD currently implementing a USAID funded Zimbabwe Livestock and Dairy project and preparing to start up another USAID sponsored project focusing on improving small-livestock agriculture seeks a Field Officer.

Timeframes: The contract for the Field Officer should run up to May 2014.
Experience: For this post a minimum of 4 years experience in livestock agricultural extension work is required.
Locations: The Field Officer will be working in Mutare District.

Key responsibilities
-Offering basic extension services to beneficiary farmers focusing on topics such as fodder collection, animal nutrition, milk hygiene, financial, business, and farm management
-Acting as field liaison to participating farmers for Land O’Lakes (and partnering organization) staff, communicating and following up in training activities and coordinating logistical arrangements for Land O’Lakes activities
-Collect data on field activity performance and report accurately to Land O’Lakes for report creation
-Supporting farmer associations with administrative support, linkages, and communication as they seek to strengthen their organizational capacity, farming systems, member services, and economic returns

Skills and Knowledge Requirements
-A Diploma in Agriculture with good knowledge in Animal Husbandry
-Experience in livestock-based agriculture and knowledge of farm management
-Basic English required; Fluent Shona and/or Ndebele desirable depending on location
-Good organization and time management skills
-Able to ride and use of a motorbike – Class 3 and 4 driver’s licence holders will have an advantage
-Reliable and trust worthy
-Basic computer literacy desirable
-Must be a Zimbabwe citizen or permanent citizen with legal work permits for Zimbabwe
-Must be a team player with prior experience working in a team environment

Application letters and CVs should be addressed to the Country Director and sent to: zimlolfieldofficer [at] gmail [dot] com

Public Health Coordinator: Oxfam
Deadline: 28 September 2012

Job Reference no. INT5692
Location: Shurugwi
Contract Duration: 11 months up to July 2013
Interviews to be conducted from week ending 5 October 2012

This position is open to candidates with the right to work in Zimbabwe

Job Purpose
To support, lead and coordinate the implementation and monitoring of a project providing assisting a local authority to improve WASH services for urban residents in Midlands Province. The project being implemented will transfer technical, operational and business expertise in public health promotion programmes from Oxfam to local communities, partner organisations and local institutions, ultimately allowing them to be fully and independently operational.

Please note that this is an urgent recruitment and short listing will commence as soon as we receive applications

For more information and to apply please click here

In a misguided attempt to add some zing to my sex life I decided to shave my “bits” …  so Saturday morning found me doing a myriad of contortions in the bathtub, wrestling with shaving cream, my legs and the razor, the kids happily distracted by an hour of cartoons. Yes. Not the brightest idea I ever had. I didn’t cut myself. So there’s a plus. I also chose this day, of all possible days, to stop taking my antihistamines – I’ve been taking one every day for about 2 months to beat my hay fever into submission. And because I feel like I’m giving in by taking them at all, I thought I’d take a short break and test if it were actually necessary. In the big scheme of things, you understand. (I am also reading a book called “Don’t sweat the small stuff, for moms”). As it turns out, it probably will be a day I will remember five years from now.

At 9, a friend dropped off her son, and we went along to spend the day at a local school’s fun fair. The kids had a great day going down water slides, riding ponies, entering the colouring competition, pinning the eye patch on the pirate (an exciting variation to tails on donkeys) and racing around the obstacle course. I searched in vain for a patch of shade and ended up slowly roasting at 30-voetsak degrees amidst a small mountain of juice bottles and hats and clothes and towels and swimming costumes and balloons. One of which popped – I was not the most popular parent of the day. It might even have been on my cigarette – which I do not own up to!

Needless to say by 3 o’clock that afternoon I was a mass of snot with swollen-shut red eyes, sunburn, and the urge to scoot across the grass like a dog with worms (very itchy bits!) or rub myself up against a tree (obviously not fussy). 3 Castle Lites later, toilet roll (helpfully supplied by a concerned parent) clutched in free hand, a possibly erroneous feeling of control descended … the Castles are not so “Lite” after all.

Later Graham, happily home from work, cooked dinner for our unexpected guests while I threw back a vodka and coke (or two) and had a satisfying scratch. True to form, by the time I had eaten my dinner, with some fantastic red wine, acquired at the recent Big 5 Wine Festival, my eyelids were drooping, speech was slightly slurred and my enthusiasm for the rest of the evening seriously compromised.

I’d like to say the sex was worth it. But Graham came to bed eventually to find me snoring gently, my choice of adjective I must admit, fully clothed, a burst balloon at my feet – must’ve been the lone survivor.

So the news is abuzz with research and survey findings of critical political issues in Zimbabwe. Political parties have commented on the results of these surveys to support or castigate the reports based on how favourable the findings are for their political interest. Politicians, civic society and the media have met to discuss these surveys. Hot and out of the oven, is a survey commissioned by Afrobarometer and conducted by the Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) of their Round 5 Survey in Zimbabwe.

The survey which was conducted by MPOI from the 16th to the 30th of July 2012 randomly selected adult Zimbabwean citizens aged 18+ in the ten provinces of the country. The randomly selected study population was both rural and urban however, it excluded people residing at institutions, police camps and barracks. A total of 2 400 adult Zimbabweans were interviewed in a face-to-face interview using Shona, Ndebele or English as preferred by the respondent. The findings to the first three questions as concluded by MPOI were:

Presidential Term Limits
-A majority of Zimbabweans (74%) want term limits for the president.
-Support for maximum term limits is high in both urban areas (83% in favor) and rural areas, where 69% support this.
-Majorities in all provinces support devolution with Bulawayo Province recording the highest number of this support.
-A huge majority of MDC-T supporters (93%) favor presidential term limits
-Opinion on presidential term limits among Zanu-PF supporters is almost equally split; 48% support the idea while half are opposed.

Citizenship
-A majority of survey respondents are in support of other forms of citizenship except dual citizenship. 72% reject dual citizenship.
-Manicaland province had the highest number of respondents (84%) against dual citizenship while Mat South boasts the highest number of respondents in support of this kind of citizenship in Zimbabwe.
-More Zanu-PF loyalists (76%) reject dual citizenship than the MDC-T supporters (67%).

Devolution of Power
-A majority of Zimbabweans (61%) are in support of devolution
-A significant proportion of survey respondents (21%) could neither agree nor disagree with the concept of devolution
-7 out of 10 provinces want to see a devolved state in Zimbabwe
-The strongest sentiment for devolution was expressed in Bulawayo

In conclusion MPOI says they wait to see if the people’s views found in the survey will be incorporated in the constitution, which is still in the making process.

“If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose,” the Walrus said,
“That they could get it clear?”
“I doubt it,” said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.

This morning the tide line at Noordhoek beach was marked with a bright trail of plastic litter
If this is the result of one high tide, what is left out there in the ocean must surely make us weep.

Today is equinox
for a few moments the planet will pass through a place of balance with the sun
equal light and dark.

How far are we from the movement of this celestial dance?

Where did  we lose awe?  the reverence?
the honouring of our relationship with this extraordinary planet we inhabit?

Are we ready,
yet,
to let ourselves feel this loss?
for perhaps it is only in this opening
that we will be ready to take the responsibility for healing our brokenness
ready to dance on waste heaps, on littered beaches
and celebrate equinox with the pain and the awe
in balance?