Protection and promotion of the interests of disadvantaged and disabled women in Africa

Date: Wed 28 Aug, 2013

Time: 5.30 – 7pm

Venue: Book Café, 139 Samora Machel Ave/6th Street

The rapid integration of world economy has transformed the world at large and its women. However, it has ushered in its way many changes of immense significance and fresh opportunities. Though a great deal of progress has been done to protect and promote the interests of disadvantaged and disabled women, more efforts are required to create a sense of awareness and confidence to enable them to become active participants in the process of social transformation and regeneration. WHERE ARE WE NOW IN AFRICA?

Marlene Le Roux, Director of Artscape Audience Development and Education Artistic Program (Cape Town) is joined by Soneni Gwizi (Radio Broadcaster, Gender & Disability Activist) together with Cleopatra Ndlovu (Gender Activist) as they interrogate issues that affect disabled women and how much advocacy is being done vis-a-vis what needs to be done in regards to the protection and promotion of the interests of disadvantaged and disabled women in Africa.

In November 2009, Harare arts development organization, Pamberi Trust, created a platform for the discussion of gender and women’s issues at Book Café in Harare.  Aimed at contributing to initiatives of advancing gender equality and promoting women’s rights in Zimbabwe, the Book Café Gender Forum has become a popular space for tackling issues of concern guided by audience responses.

The Book Cafe Gender Forum is a monthly discussion, targeting human rights activists, members of civic society, and members of the general public.  This month’s discussion is hosted by the Book Café Gender Forum in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The discussion is FREE and all are welcome.

MISA-Zimbabwe in partnership with the Quill Club invites you to a press club discussion  to be held at the Ambassador hotel.

Venue: Quill Club (Ambassador Hotel)
Date: Thursday 29 August 2013
Time: 1800 – 1930hrs

Topic: Setting the service delivery agenda for the newly elected Harare council

Panelists:

• City of Harare Mayor elect, His Worship Obert Gutu
• Harare Residence Trust Director, Precious Shumba
• Representative from Combined Harare Residence Association (CHRA)

Chair: Stanley Kwenda (MISA-Zimbabwe Harare Advocacy Committee Chairperson)

Deadline: 30 August 2013

International Rescue Committee seeks to fill in an immediate position of Environmental Health Coordinator to be based in Harare with frequent travel to the field.

Scope

The Environmental Health (EH) Coordinator will be the focal point for Environmental Health programs in Zimbabwe providing technical oversight to the Environmental Health Team and developing and implementing an Environmental Health Sector Strategic Plan. The EH Coordinator will ensure the implementation of a quality environmental health program in accordance with accepted national and international standards. S/He will be responsible for maintaining regular contact with all partners, including the relevant Government of Zimbabwe authorities, UN agencies and other NGOs. The EH Coordinator will also directly provide leadership to the IRC’s new Disaster Risk Reduction Program.

Responsibilities

Program Quality
-    Oversee, through supervision of the Program Manager(s) all project cycle management processes including: participation and preparation for grants opening/review/closing meetings, reporting, information management and data collection, budget and actual expenditure analysis, and program evaluations
-    Provide technical support to the EH program to ensure that the IRC programs are of high quality and that programs are driven by data and learning, working in conjunction with the Program Coordinator
-    Provide leadership and direction to the EH program on a day-to-day basis, working closely with project managers and officers
-    Oversee the development, implementation and monitoring of program work plans taking into consideration time, quality and budget
-    Design and undertake environmental health assessments.

Program Development and Strategic Planning
-    Work with the EH Program staff, and senior management on the development of new program ideas to inform budgets and proposals; lead technical proposal writing and programmatic budget development
-    Lead the design process of the Country Sector Strategy for EH and ensure the final version is rolled out and adapted by program staff and by the Zimbabwe Country Program
-    Develop and undertake needs assessments to inform program design and strategic direction

Human Resources Management
-    Act as focal point and advocate for training and capacity building for all EH program staff including mentorship, supportive delegation, and staff exchanges where appropriate internally and with other IRC country programs
-    Supervise the EH program department and ensure regular performance evaluations and job description reviews are carried out
-    Participate in recruitment of EH staff
-    Provide leadership, promote professional working relationships, conflict resolution, and encourage EH staff members to manage their staff effectively

Representation and Communication
-    Responsible for liaison with and technical collaboration/communication with the designated technical advisor/ senior technical advisor for the IRC EH unit
-    Maintain relationships with all relevant donors in conjunction with the Program Coordinator and Country Director, informing them of partnership and funding opportunities
-    Oversee the writing of internal and external reports (formal and informal) by the EH Program staff
-    Maintain and enhance IRC’s profile within the Zimbabwe WASH cluster, the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, District Development Fund (DDF) and EH/WASH focused donor agencies
-    Act as the primary focal point for EH program internal/external inquiries

Program Management – Disaster Risk Reduction
-    Manage the IRC’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program, including budget management and oversight, coordination of partners, design of workplans, supervision of implementation, technical oversight, internal and external reporting, project human resource management, etc
-    Leadership of the DRR program will require management of cross-functional teams (economic development, nutrition, WASH) and close collaboration with other sector coordinators and technical advisors.

Other
Perform other duties as directed by the Program Coordinator or as the program changes.

Requirements

-    Degree in Public Health, Civil Engineering or Environmental Sciences (MSc is an advantage)
-    Experience as a water and sanitation professional, preferably in both urban and rural settings
-    Five years experience in developing sector strategies and designing, coordinating, implementing and managing environmental health programs in developing countries
-    Experience in managing Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programs is an added advantage
-    Background in situation analysis, environmental health assessments and program implementation
-    Additional qualities: ability to multitask, ability to handle pressure well, ability to improvise, flexibility, adaptability to transitions, good management and communication skills

This position reports to the Zimbabwe Programs Coordinator.

To apply
Qualified candidates should send their detailed CVs and cover letters to: zimbabwe [at] rescue [dot] org and write the title of the position in the subject line.

Photo by ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images

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Driving out of the shopping centre where I work requires a deep breath, extreme concentration, and a small miracle each afternoon. Traffic can come at you from at least 5 different directions, and there typically isn’t much clear or agreed sense amongst the drivers who should be where,  who should yield to whom, or where one should, or shouldn’t park. The picture  below gives a sense of the chaos:

So, one might think that the presence of Zimbabwe Republic Police Traffic Section at this intersection would be a good thing. They could direct the traffic, clarify the no parking zones, and generally ease congestion and accident potential there.

Unfortunately, as I experienced this morning, their presence instead seems to create even more potential accidents, as they pull cars over into non-existent shoulders, causing cars to back up into the road and risk rear-ending one another. It’s hard also, when you see police here, not to assume they’re more interested in taking a few bribes than they are in enforcing road safety.

So, I phoned the police to find out What’s The Story.

First, I spoke to someone at nearby Highlands Police Station. That didn’t go so well.

Me: Hello – I have a question about a roadblock in Newlands. I’m not sure who the right person to speak with is?
Him: You can speak with me.
Me: Okay, thanks. Well, you see, there is this roadblock at the Newlands Shopping Centre where the shops meet the robots and its’ all very confusing there already, and so when they pull cars over it just makes more congestion and more potential accidents, and maybe they could their roadblock elsewhere, since I’m not really sure what purpose they are serving there?
Him: Are you saying they shouldn’t have their roadblock there?
Me: No, um, well, I’m just saying maybe there are other places that are better, and maybe I could speak with someone to find out why they are there?
Him: There isn’t really anyone I can recommend for you to speak with.
Me: Oh. All right then. Thank you anyway.

I had more luck with Inspector Nuta at the Traffic Section. I explained the situation, and he clarified a few things:

1. It’s only a road block if there are 8 or more police officers, drums, and “police ahead” signs. If there isn’t all of that, it is a traffic blitz.
2. At Newlands, the traffic blitz is there to enforce the stop sign for the drivers coming along the old road towards town.
3. Because there is no parking for cars the police pull over there, the police have been instructed to only pull over one car at a time. However, that creates problems when driver A gets pulled over for not stopping – But then sees drivers B, C and D not stopping and not getting pulled over – So sometimes police pull over more cars (and create more problems).

I suggested that maybe rather than trying to enforce that one stop sign, they could rather invest in better road markings for the whole of the area, so that it’s more clear for all of the traffic who has right of way where. Nuta said this was a fair point and would raise it with his superiors. Of course, I have no way of knowing if he will, but at least their PR machinery has clearly given the Traffic Section some helpful lessons in managing customer complaints and speaking with the public.

I also mentioned a possible “traffic blitz” I’ve seen on Ridgeway / Kew Drive a few times recently. That, Nuta thought, might not be a legal one, and could instead be a case of people misrepresenting the police. He gave me his number and that for his Officer In Charge, and asked that the next time I see them I phone him so that he could “race to the scene” to confirm whether “they are ours.”

It’s easy to get frustrated with the police in Zimbabwe, and assume that every encounter with them will be pointless and aggravating. But this morning’s phone call was a very positive experience. If you are in Harare and have questions about a road block, traffic blitz, or other police traffic behaviour you witness, phone them to find out more, and to report potential problems.

Harare Traffic Section: 04-460268
Inspector Nuta: 0772 929 172
OIC Traffic Chief Inspector Sabau 0772 910 590

Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Zimbabwe’s 31 July Election was free and fair, and that Robert Mugabe was duly elected President. This followed the submission of an election petition to the Constitutional Court by Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T, and the subsequent withdrawal of the petition when it became clear that the Electoral Court would not give the MDC-T access to the election materials they needed to support their election petition.

Mugabe’s inauguration has been scheduled for today – and yesterday it was announced that today would also  conveniently be declared a public holiday, so that everyone can attend. (As I recall, inaugurations in the past haven’t been public holidays.) Oh yes – And 30 heads of state (current and former) are expected among the guests.

So, never mind whatever plans, appointments, meetings or other obligations you may have had for Thursday 22 August, they’re all suspended. And hey – If 30 heads of state can clear their calendars to arrive in Harare at a moment’s notice, who are you to complain about a last minute public holiday. Besides, this year Zimbabwe has held a Constitutional Referendum with one month’s notice, and Harmonised Elections with six weeks’ notice. What’s a bit of last minute inauguration party planning?

But is it really that last minute? As this Kubatana subscriber comments, the timing of all of this makes it clear that petition withdrawal or not, there was only one possible outcome of the election petition before the Constitutional Court – Mugabe’s inauguration on Thursday. The “last minute” notion is just to add to the sense of theatre:

Claims that in Zimbabwe there is no rule of the law have been vindicated. How can a judiciary rubber stamp a ruling from Mugabe on Sunday 18 August that he will be sworn in on Thursday 22 August. Chidyausiku reiterated the same in his constitutional judgement on 20 August as if he was something new but a pre-determined statement. What a mockery of justice system in Zimbabwe? On the other hand Bhunu was delivering a judgement to order arrest of MDC lawyers for saying the courts are an appendage of Zanupf, a thing they the mdc lawyers where not supposed to say to the sacred Courts, infringing on freedom of speech as allowed in the constitution of Zimbabwe. Why are the courts not prone to criticism. The courts are above the law. I thought if they were not an appendage of Zanupf they should have simply proved that and not to abuse their powers infringing the constitutional rights of citizens and lawyers doing their job. Why should lawyers be intimidated in a free Zimbabwe? It a shame? What will the international and not sadc say about the rule of law in Zimbabwe and more on sanctions? What are we trying to prove to the superpowers? That we are dictators. That we do not reason? That courts are there to punish voices of reason? And not to protect or remedy from injustice amongst ourselves? Why oppress ourselves in the name of protecting one person over millions of God fearing people? Protect the ruling elite (Zanupf members only). The courts have failed this nation, proving there is no rule of law? They are biased. And the country expects foreign investment?  Hey God forbid! Ndanyara lusvika pekupedzesera. Ko kungoti yave one party state vanhu voziva ka, zvinei, than to pretend and wasting people’s time!