Voter registration is a contentious issue in Zimbabwe, with the Registrar General having been responsible for registration, whilst the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission oversees other aspects of elections.

Amidst news stories about an MDC meeting with ZEC, MDC-T and Zanu PF both being critical of voter registration, and the removal of “ghost voters” by ZEC, Kubatana subscribers share their feedback on and criticisms of the voter registration process:

I think the whole process of voter registration need overhaul. ZEC must have voter registration mandate which must be continuous, election observer accreditation & there is need for a clean biometric voters roll. The proof of residence issue must be phased out & the civic groups must be incorporated into ZEC. Mobile voter registration must be given adequate time ensuring that everyone eighteen years & above who want to register to vote have registered. Lastly the cost of the voters roll must be reviewed. - OB

Thanks, but how is voter registration going on, I read there are also insisting on a long birth certificate for voter registration which some of us have already lost sight of, we have IDs , passports but to ask for a birth certificate is ridiculous. The independent media should expose these nefarious activities by the Zanu PF ZEC. - IC

Hey! Need a job? Want to work in the NGO/development sector in Zimbabwe? Check out this ActionAid Consultancy and apply today. If you want to receive regular civic and human rights information, together with NGO job vacancies and other opportunities like scholarships by getting our regular email newsletter, please email join [at] kubatana [dot] net

Consultant – Livestock Project baseline
Deadline: 1 May  2013 (5pm)

Location: Harare/Mbire

To Start : 6 May
Contract: 1-2weeks

Purpose of the Position: To carryout baseline for proposed livestock development project in Mbire district

Key Strategic Performance Areas:

• Quantitative and qualitative benchmarks for the    indicators outlined in the log frame.
• Provide business plans for sale pens, abattoir and the tannery.
• Review current practices that contribute to livestock production and marketing looking at the policy/legal framework governing this sector.

A detailed Terms of Reference will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

Minimum Requirements:

Qualifications:
Minimum MSC in the following areas Social science, Agriculture, Veterinary science, with experience in livestock and social science research.

Other Essential Requirements

• Substantial experience in livestock issues, policy analysis and development programming in Southern Africa
• Experience working in rural areas in areas of livelihoods
• Proven experience in livestock business, development, policy analysis and value addition initiatives
• Experience in conducting reviews employing participatory methodologies
• At least 5 years relevant experience in livestock development issues
• Research companies and organizations that might be interested should have the required personnel with requisite skills

Applications:

To apply submit your updated CVs, work plan and detailed budget and at least three referees to The Human Resources and Organizational Development Manager, Action Aid International, 16 York Avenue, Newlands, Harare or jobs.zimbabwe [at] actionaid [dot] org

Closing date: 1st May  2013 at 1700 hours.

NB: Whilst all applicants will be assessed strictly on their individual merits, qualified women are especially encouraged to apply.

Please note: Although we value all applications, we can only respond to short listed candidates.

ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in over 40 countries, taking sides with poor people to end poverty and injustice together.

You will hear thunder and remember me, and think: she wanted storms.
- Anna Akhmatova

Via http://larmoyante.com/

After fighting so hard to move into his new residence in the plushy suburbs of Harare, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was reported to be securing his future by offering to buy the house from the government at a whopping price tag of 4.5 million US Dollars. The Prime Minister’s office quickly rubbished the report claiming that the PM has the right to buy the house but is yet to do that because he does not have the money.

But looking at both ways he can still make an offer and buy the house and most likely the price range is in the millions considering it was renovated with a loan of over 1.5 million dollars. This is a house which has been at the center of controversy with allegations of corruption in the loan allocation and which Mai Tsvangirai worked so hard to decorate with a kitchen suite reported to be worth over 40 000 US$. Taking it from the gospel of prosperity being preached in many churches these days some may say that as the Prime Minister he deserves to be associated with everything that glitters. From Hollywood style marriage celebrations to living in mansions. Who knows soon he will be having a chopper for his campaign in the next harmonized elections. The offer to buy the house comes at the time when legislators have also filed golden handshake demands in the form of stands, cars and cash as exit packages.  Whether the mansion will be the new state house or a retirement home for the Prime Minister it remains to be seen. It is up to the electorate to approve demands of such a tasty lifestyle.

One question from a bullet
John Agard

I want to give up being a bullet
I’ve been a bullet too long.

I want to be an innocent coin
In the hand of a child
And be squeezed through the slot
Of a chewing gum machine.

I want to give up being a bullet
I’ve been a bullet too long.

I want to be a good luck seed
Doing nothing in somebody’s pocket.
Or some ordinary little stone
On the way to becoming an earring.
Or just lying there unknown
Among a crowd of other ordinary stones.

I want to give up being a bullet
I’ve been a bullet too long.

The question is
Can you give up being a killer?

Walking the streets, it is easy to see how absorbed everyone is in their own lives. Very few people look up from what they are wrapped up in to look at what’s happening around them. This seems to be a result of the capitalist world we live in, where people are judged in terms of wealth and success, creating the competitive standards that disregard sympathy and concern. The result is that we become self absorbed and resistant to helping others.

Before the use of money there was a sense that everyone needed everyone else, since no one could sustain himself or herself entirely. The butcher needed someone to make his clothes, while the tailor needed someone to make his needles. A system of bartering created a need to support other people, otherwise a service would disappear. However, with the use of money there is no longer a direct link between the things we need and where it comes from. After all, as long as we have money we can buy it in the shops right? But people seem to miss, in their rush to become rich, the importance of different jobs in society.

It is important not to take for granted what money can buy for us, but in a capitalist world it can be very difficult not to get absorbed in the money making game. Sometimes it is good to take a step back and remember what you want rather than what everyone else expects of you.