ILLEGAL POLICE ACTION MUST BE CHALLENGED

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is astounded by the most recent actions of the Zimbabwe Republic Police on Tuesday 19 February 2013, where through a press briefing, they launched an unwarranted assault on freedom of expression and access to information by purporting to ban citizens from possessing and distributing radios and similar communication devices.

In terms of Section 20 (i) of the Constitution every Zimbabwean is entitled to receive and impart information without any hindrance and the use of common technology such as radio, television or mobile phone is protected by law.

The utterances by the police are patently illegal. This so-called ban has no basis in law. The lengths to which State institutions and actors are now going to deny fundamental rights and freedoms and act outside the law is alarming but is typical of paranoid State authorities who are contemptuous of any diversity of opinion and information.

ZLHR is deeply committed to freedom of expression and access to information. It is also our firm and unshakeable belief that the police are the least expected to act outside the law considering that they are mandated in terms of Section 18 (1) to act lawfully and uphold the Constitution. We refuse to be passive spectators of such blatant violations and impunity, and as such ZLHR is preparing to challenge this purported ban through the courts imminently.

United World Colleges Scholarship Awards
Deadline: 19 March 2013

UWC is a worldwide movement of senior-secondary Colleges promoting international understanding through education. The Colleges follow the 2-year international Baccalaureate curriculum, an alternative to A-level as a university entrance qualification, students from all races, religions and backgrounds live and work together, and engage in a wide variety of community service and other activities in addition to the rigorous academic programme.

Full scholarships to four of the College (in Singapore, USA, Canada and Swaziland) are available to Zimbabweans, for entry in August 2013 (January 2014 for Swaziland).

Important Note: The National Committee has to supplement the financial awards of the Colleges, the families of full scholarship will be expected to make a contribution of one half of the fees they would have paid for their child’s sixth form studies in Zimbabwe. Applicants should therefore discuss this with their parents before writing.

Applications, in the student’s own handwriting, from those with excellent O-level results (7+ A grades), a good record of extra-curricular and service activities, and a commitment to the UWC ideals and to representing Zimbabwe in an international community, should reach the address below before 20 March. They should include full biographical and April contact details (e-mail address, if possible), exam results and a covering letter giving the reasons for the application. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and interviews will be held in Harare in April. No further correspondence will be entered into, and no documentation can be returned to applicants. We offer no funding for other programmes, and will not consider applications from students who did their O levels before 2012.

UWC Zimbabwe National Committee
38 Broadlands Road, PO Box EH49, Emerald Hill, Harare

There’s a COPAC advert in the Herald today encouraging a Yes vote in the upcoming Referendum. This is wholly unacceptable. COPAC helped draft a new constitution for Zimbabweans to decide on; it’s not for COPAC to tell them what to do. It’s like Zanu PF using all of its machinery (media, and other pillars of power like the armed forces) to influence the outcome of elections. COPAC is going out into the field to hand out copies of the draft constitution and to encourage debate. They shouldn’t be using their funding, their resources and infrastructure to lobby for a yes vote on behalf of Zanu PF and the MDC. COPAC is completely undermining the democratic outcome of the referendum.

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Country Director, Zimbabwe: The Swedish Organisation for Individual Relief (IM/SOIR)
Deadline: 8 March 2013

Location: Mutare

IM/SOIR is a Swedish aid organisation fighting and exposing poverty and exclusion. The organisation was founded in 1938 and is active in four regions worldwide: Central America, South Asia, Europe and Middle East and Southern Africa. IM is a member based non-governmental organisation. We promote sustainable development through support to civil society and by applying a rights based approach.

IM/SOIR is working in Zimbabwe since 1994. The country programme is supporting community based organisations (CBO) in Manicaland Province. The country office is situated in Mutare and has approximately 12 employees. The strategic focus is to promote primary and secondary education for marginalised girls and boys; to promote access to preventive health care; and economic empowerment of marginalised groups. In all programme components CBOs in the target communities are the main partners.

Position
The position as Country Director is placed under the Regional Director who is stationed in Malawi. The duty station of the Country Director is Mutare in Zimbabwe. The position is a two year contract with possibility of extension.

Key responsibilities
-Strategic leadership of IM/SOIR’s programme in the country;
-Development of country strategies and annual operational plans;
-Implementation, follow-up, reporting, and evaluation of the country programme;
-Management of the country office including division of duties, capacity development, and work environment;
-Overall responsibility of the budget frame and ensuring that financial and narrative reporting is done in a qualitative and timely manner;
-Ensure that operations, systems and routines of the country office comply with IM policies, guidelines and regulations;
-Build and maintain strong and productive relationships with donors, government agencies, civil society organisations and other relevant actors in Zimbabwe;
-Network with other like-minded organisations for purposes of advocacy;
-Contribute to IM/SOIR’s global development by liaising with the head office in Sweden and other directors in the field.

Qualifications and skills
-A strong commitment to fight and expose poverty and exclusion by strengthening civil society and the capacity of marginalised groups to claim their rights
-Minimum five years senior management experience in development work with civil society, preferably in Zimbabwe
-Minimum three years of experience in managing staff
-Experience in managing complex change processes and relationships involving a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
-Experience in working with community based organisations is an advantage
-Knowledge in some of IM/SOIR’s key areas of work (health, education, economic empowerment) is an advantage
-Strong analytical skills and ability to think strategically
-High inter-personal skills and a good team player
-Dynamic and self-driven with an excellent track record of delivery
-Open and perceptive in contacts with marginalised groups
-Experience in finance and administration and in managing budgets and writing narrative reports
-Excellent command of written and spoken English

Women are encouraged to apply.

How to apply
Please send a personal application letter and CV to Lars Mannberg, Regional Director by email to: lars.mannberg [at] manniskohjalp [dot] se

We regret that we will only be able to contact short listed candidates.

For more information about IM/SOIR please visit http://global.manniskohjalp.se

Here’s a statement from Heal Zimbabwe Trust:

Summary of  minimum conditions for free and fair elections from the view of survivors of political violence:

-Regional and International peacekeepers should come six months before elections and leave 6 months after elections in order to protect the electorate from political violence.
-Security sector reforms should be implemented before  any call for elections.
-All members of the army should reside in army barracks and should desist from moving around villages, victimising civilians.
-There should be media reforms before any call for elections where hate speech is banned and all political parties given equal share to campaign in all the media spaces in the country.
-Members of the police should be impartial in conducting their duties and should stop the arbitrary arrests of political activists.
-The Member in Charge of the Buhera police post, Dispol Muguti who is a war veteran should be removed immediately from the police station as he is partisan and harassing all non ZANU PF supporters.
-Wives of police officers who were given police force numbers because they support ZANU PF at Buhera Police station without undergoing training should not be allowed to operate as police officers in the area.
-All the political bases that are being revived by ZANU PF youth should be banned forthwith.
-All political parties should be allowed to campaign freely without harassment from the police or other rowdy members of certain political parties.
-International and regional observers should come from all around the world not to be cherry picked.
-Traditional leaders should not be partisan in conducting their duties.
-The regional and international observers should take action after noting any  human rights violations  rather than just producing reports with no action to protect the electorate.
-The Government food distribution exercise  should not be done in a partisan basis.
-Members of the uniformed forces should not be cohesed into voting while putting on their uniforms but should be allowed to vote freely from home in their civilians clothes.
-Those who cannot write, the elderly and the physically challenged should choose whom they want to assist them in voting not to be forced to get assistance from the police or election agents.
-Members of the uniformed forces who want to join politics should first resign then join politics later rather than taking advantage of their posts to force people to vote for them.
-All perpetrators of political violence should be brought to book before any call for elections.
-The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) should employ new people as its secretariat not the current partisan one which deliberately delayed the 2008 election results.
-Mr Tobaiwa Mudede, the registrar general should be fired as he is responsible for tempering with the voting records of 2008 in favour of  ZANU PF.
-The mobile voter registration exercise should be accessible to all those who want to register to vote.
-People should be allowed to vote at any polling station of their choice rather than having designated polling stations where they are subjected to victimisation and harassment.
-All outstanding issues to the GPA should be fulfilled first before any call for elections in Zimbabwe.
-Election results should be released 24hours after the voting process.
-ZEC should use upto date technology in order to ensure election results are released on time.
-If ever there are any reports of political violence before the election date, the elections should be stopped forthwith.
-All those vying for the post of Presidency in the upcoming elections should be given one public platform to explain to the public what they intend to do for the country if elected as President like what is happening in other countries for example Kenya.
-All those who lost their sources of livelihoods, livestock, property should be reparated by the Government and the perpetrators before any call for elections.
-Civil servants should be allowed to support political parties of their choices rather than having their salaries deducted for supporting a certain political party.

 

Protester outside the Pretoria court where Oscar Pistorius is being charged.