Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa recently interviewed Farai Muguwu a Zimbabwean activist working in the area of natural resource extraction and its effect on local communities. Here’s an excerpt from the interview but please visit this link to read and listen to more.

What do you foresee in the future for Marange and by extension Zimbabwe’s natural resources and their extraction?

I think Marange diamonds are the tip of the iceberg. It’s revealing the secretive nature of the extractive sector in Zimbabwe whereby you have the political elites getting into some dirty partnerships with some foreign business people to milk these resources under the guise of black empowerment. There is really no transparency, no accountability and no political will to ensure that these resources have downstream effects on the ordinary Zimbabwean. It’s not just about diamonds. There are many funny companies, which just arrive in these rural areas and start mining. There is no consultation with the local leadership, there is no participation of the local population, and there is no tangible benefit to the local community. It’s something that our government has allowed and they have participated in this corruption. We can’t expect Zimbabweans to benefit from these natural resources. They have been corruptly acquired by individuals and groups and they are not willing to let go, and therefore there is a need to see this natural resource extraction as a serious human rights issue which is contributing to further impoverishment of rural communities

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.

Area Development Programme Learning and Development Coordinator – World Vision
Deadline: 8 April 2011 (5pm)

Southern Africa Regional Office
Location: South Africa – Johannesburg

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values, we are dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people. We serve all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

Purpose:

To coordinate and manage the Pan-African delivery of a suite of inter-related learning and professional development programs linked to strengthening overall Program and Project Management in the field, particularly of World Vision staff (ADPs and grant-funded projects) and key Partner organizations.

Key responsibilities:

- Conduct periodic consultations of learning and development needs of customers through job analysis and regular consultations with national offices in collaboration with the Capacity & Leadership Advisor.
- Coordinate the design and development of learning and development activities and programs using WV staff competency frameworks (incl. asynchronous courses) and project manage its implementation, including outsourcing of activities and training of trainers/ learning facilitators.
- Manage the development and production of training materials for in-house courses (i.e. ADP Leadership & Program Mgt Course, Volunteer Management).
- Provide periodic project and management reports to the PMU Director and work with Finance and Logistics staff concerned for overall management and coordination of training activities (including the UNISA enrolments) as well as consider cost effective means for program delivery (blended approaches, including e-learning), budget development and management, and assessing the return on investment to the learner and the organization.
- Provide input to the Capacity and Leadership Development Advisor in devising the learning and capacity development strategy for WV-SAR.
- Administer the WVSAR Learning Management System and provide monitoring and review support on the progress of learners and facilitating discussions/change measurement with managers/supervisors, as needed.
- Ensure that statutory training requirements are met.
- Supervise the conduct of periodic evaluations of in-house learning programs, provide recommendations for revisions (as appropriate) to adapt to changes that occur in the work environment.
- Participate in communities of practice (internal and external) and network with peers/fellow practitioners, subscribe to relevant journals, etc.

Education/Knowledge/Technical Skills and Expertise:

- University Degree in Social Sciences or equivalent degree with specialization in Project Management or Adult Learning
- Minimum 5 years experience in developing, managing, and delivering training and learning programs, especially in an Adult Learning environment and specifically to the Not-for-profit and NGO sectors
- Minimum 5 years experience in training and proven track record in managing successful learning and development programs/projects with international participants/learners
- Minimum 5 years experience in instructional design, research and course development
- Strong learning facilitation and presentation skills
- Experience working in multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary and multi-faith environments
- Good organizational and planning skills specific to learning programs, ability to meet deadlines/objectives
- Excellent computer and Internet skills

Competencies and attributes:

- Ability to lead projects and activities under his/her portfolio
- Must be a committed Christian, able to stand above denominational diversities
- Highly self-motivated
- Able to work well with little or no supervision
- Ability to motivate others and change people’s attitudes when necessary
- An understanding of and appreciation for Community Development, collaboration with partners, and approaches to Capacity Building.

For further details and how to apply please visit our website at www.wvi.org and go to International Employment. No late applications will be accepted. Only suitable candidates will be contacted.

2 Junior Consultants (Harare and Mutare) – SNV
Deadline: 10 April 2011

Background

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is an international capacity development organisation working in Zimbabwe. The organisation has a number of Agriculture programmes aimed at increasing production, incomes and employment.

SNV seeks 2 suitable Junior Consultants based in Harare and Mutare with frequent travel to the field.

Major responsibilities:

- To develop a monitoring and evaluation system for value chains that includes tea, coffee, vegetables and bananas
- To organise training activities for clients, partners and Local Capacity Builders
- To assist wholesalers in expanding their network of rural agro-dealers n the following areas: Mutare (Manicaland and Masvingo Provinces) and Harare (Mashonaland East, West and Central provinces)
- To Assist in value chain and market studies
- To contribute to the development and quality of SNV economic development training products
- To write reports
- To monitor field activities, evaluate reports from local capacity builders and submit well-written reports.

Knowledge, skills and abilities:

- University degree in Agriculture or Agribusiness
- At least two years of professional experience with a strong background in Monitoring and Evaluation
- Good analytical skills
- Ability to produce quality results
- Ability to use MS Office and email
- Ability to work independently
- Proactively identify and solve problems

Duration of contract: 1 year

Application: Qualified and interested candidates can submit a statement of interest along with Curriculum Vitae to Zimbabwe [at] snvworld [dot] org

Health Adviser (Consultancy Post): Merlin
Deadline: 14 April 2011

Starting Date: ASAP

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer this post before the closing date.

Overall Objectives (scope)
- Ensure the qualitative implementation of Merlin health programming in line with approved program proposals and budgets
- Provide technical support to the program
- Represent Merlin to national Health authorities

Responsibilities
- Monitor the health and humanitarian situation in the region and advise the Country Director and London based staff, on appropriate course(s) of action
- Coordinate/undertake needs assessment in line with evolving humanitarian priorities in coordination with Country Management Team, Regional Health Advisor and Regional Program Manager / Officer and formulate future plans for possible program extension
- Develop and implement appropriate health care program in close consultation and coordination with the Country Management Team (CMT) and HQ based Health Advisor
- Assist in preparing accurate and timely proposals in collaboration with CMT, relevant field teams and Regional Health Advisor
- Support Country Director in designing, drafting and negotiating new programs with the representatives of existing and new financial donors
- Liaise closely with the Merlin London Health Department on policy/strategy development when required
- Play an active role in the development and maintenance of a coherent program strategy that contributes to Merlin’s aims in collaboration with the operational field staff and technical teams
- Coordinate and technically manage the overall planning and direction of Merlin’s health activities
- Ensure effective communication with and information exchange between the medical team members
- Play a leading role in the creation of a shared vision among all staff of Merlin’s program staff and their role in achieving these
- Maintain constructive working relationships with MoH counterparts and senior members of the MoHCW District Health Executives in the Districts of operation
- Ensure appropriate systems and plans are in place for dealing with health emergencies and provide leadership for staff during emergencies
- Represent Merlin’s work to the MoH (at all levels) and coordination with Country Director to international donors, UN agencies and (I)NGOs, through formal and informal contacts/meetings
- Contribute towards the dissemination of Merlin’s work through publications (general, health sector, academic) in consultation with the field technical teams, the London Health Department and the London PR Department
- Advocate at District, Provincial and National level for adequate responses towards unmet health needs in Zimbabwe
- Assume the technical lead in drafting monthly reports and periodic reports to donors in collaboration with field teams, CMT and regional desk
- Ensure that communication and updates to MoH and other health partners are timely and accurate

Person Specification

Qualifications, experience and competences
- Medical doctor or qualified nurse with Master in Public Health or equivalent degree
- Substantial post qualification experience in managing public health services within developing countries with proven knowledge of HIV AIDS interventions, and MCH services
- Previous responsibility for health project management in emergency and transitional / development settings
- Strong experience of Primary Health Care, Epidemiology, HIV and AIDS and Reproductive Health and Strengthening of Rural Health programs
- Successful experience of representation at national and local levels
- Ability to analyse and write clear and concise reports/proposals
- Substantial experience of training staff and a commitment to national  staff capacity development
- Strong communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English
- Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures and an ability to work well with local authorities and other humanitarian actors
- Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines
- Experience of proactively identifying and addressing issues
- Experience in epidemiological data analysis, interpretation and qualitative/quantitative assessments and program development

Application form should be emailed to vacancy.merlin.zw [at] gmail [dot] com

Please check our website www.merlin.org.uk  for more information

Outreach Worker: Zimbabwe AIDS Prevention Project Department Of Community Medicine University Of Zimbabwe
Deadline: 15 April 2011

Location: Bulawayo

The Zimbabwe AIDS Prevention Project, a Department of Community Medicine University of Zimbabwe project has funding to expand a Sex Worker programme aimed at improving the reduction of HIV acquisition among sex workers thereby reducing HIV transmission to their clients. Sex workers are included in the main population currently being targeted through the National Behavior Change Strategy. Targeting sex workers is in line with the recommendations of the Zimbabwe National HIV Strategic Plan.

We are looking for a community outreach worker to start working with the team immediately. The person will be based in Bulawayo with a lot of extensive travel to rural communities along the, Beitbridge, Victoria Falls and Ngundu highway. The position is funded by UNFPA and it’s expected to last on 31st December 2011 with possibility of extension.

Reporting to the Programme Coordinator, the outreach worker’s main duties will include: Communication with communities:  The post holder will be responsible for ensuring good communication with rural programme communities.  This will involve working closely with the communities, district and provincial officials to introduce the programme and keeping them well informed about the programme’s progress.

Assist in coordinating the programme intervention: The outreach worker will assist the Programme Coordinator in working with the communities to identify, recruit and train suitable Sex workers as peer educators.  The outreach worker will also be directly working with groups of peer educators from various communities. Dissemination of programme related information.

Qualifications

The applicant must have demonstrable experience and interest in community outreach work, ability to do community mobilization, create rapport with personnel from collaborating or associate institutions and work independently but within a team framework. The applicant must have 5 “O” Levels, a counseling qualification and at least a professional Diploma in a relevant field, preferably teaching, social sciences or nursing. They should be mature, well organized and be fluent in English, Ndebele and Shona. Experience working with vulnerable populations (sex workers), training experience; clean class four driver’s license and experience working in a reproductive research environment is an added advantage.

Please send your application including detailed CV, copies of qualifications to the Zimbabwe Aids Prevention Project-University of Zimbabwe, by post, e-mail or hand delivery using the following contact details:

The Programme Coordinator (The Sex Worker Programme) ZAPP-UZ
21 Rowland Square Milton Park Harare
Email: admin.rds [at] gmail [dot] com

Please note that only short listed candidates will be notified.

Programme Analyst: Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Linkages: UNFPA
Deadline: 15 April 2011 (12 noon)

Vacancy No.: VA-2011-03-05
Duty Station: Harare, Zimbabwe
Service Contract Post (SCB4)

Under the direct supervision of the Reproductive Health programme Specialist, and in close collaboration with the HIV Programme Specialist, the incumbent will provide technical support to national institutions and civil society in integrating SRH and HIV programme delivery wherever possible.

Major duties and responsibilities
- Develop in consultation with MOHCW, ZNFPC, NAC and other partner practical approaches for strengthening SRH/HIV integration in the context of existing programmes on PMTCT, family planning, condom promotion, STI control, maternal health, HIV prevention, treatment and care
- Facilitate implementation of the identified approaches contributing to more integrated service delivery
- Participate in capacity development of health service providers in delivering integrated SRH/HIV services
- Support the mainstreaming of SRH and HIV linkages in national health and development plans, systems and service delivery
- Collaborate with the One UN HIV team and other agencies involved in SRH in operationalizing SRH/HIV linkages
- Communicate with partners and provide appropriate support to overcome bottlenecks, support exchange of information and joint learning among others
- Support government to mobilize resources and dialogue with major funding organizations and development partners
- Carry out monitoring and donor reporting activities in accordance with set procedures as required
- Facilitate documentation of best practices and approaches

Only candidates satisfying all the following should apply
- Advanced university degree in public health, medicine, demography, social sciences or related field
- 7 years’ experience in development, design, and implementation of HIV and AIDS and/or sexual reproductive health (SRH) programmes in developing countries
- Experience in working with international donor and the UN system is an asset
- Fluency in English and Shona or Ndebele
- Good writing, analysis and communication skills

Please send your CV and cover letter to: The UNFPA Representative, Ref: NPO SRH and HIV Linkages, Block 7, 1st Floor, Arundel Office Park, Mount Pleasant, P. O. Box 4775, Harare.

Or by email to mailzwe [at] unfpa [dot] org

Applicants are requested to also fill out and submit a Personal History form (P11) available at http://mirror.undp.org/angola/LinkRtf/p11.doc or from the Operations Unit, UNFPA, Arundel Office Park, Mt Pleasant, Harare along with their applications.

Notice: there is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process. UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status. UNFPA offers attractive compensation package commensurate with experience but reserves the right to appoint at the indicated or lower grade. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

N.B. UNFPA Zimbabwe reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying for this post for other positions within UNFPA Zimbabwe at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and education requirements.

Administrator: Rokpa Trust of Zimbabwe (RTZ)
Deadline: 30 April 2011

RTZ is a registered charitable trust and is run according to the Buddhist principles of compassion and respect for all beings.

RTZ operates under a Board of Trustees and has four main activity areas:

* Spiritual practice
* Charitable works
* A self help therapy programme; and
* Care for the environment

We are looking for an Administrator, reporting to the Chairperson of the Management Committee, to carry out the following functions:

a) Organising member services and managing member relationships
b) Office management, electronic backups, virus updates, filing, paying bills, supplies purchases, etc
c) Bookkeeping and accounting: receipts cash, prepares reconciliations, does banking, Pastel accounting, pays salaries, collects property rentals, maintains petty cash, prepares monthly income and expenditure accounts
d) Staff supervision of 6 staff; contract renewals, performance management, etc
e) Arranges and organises events: publicity, venues, refreshments, logistics
f) Building management: safety, oversees repairs and maintenance; liaison with tenants and municipal and other suppliers
g) Maintains and updates membership database
h) Manages the library.
i) Takes minutes at meetings and submits monthly reports

The ideal candidate will have:

a) A minimum of 5 O Levels including passes in English Language and Maths or Accounts
b) Computer skills – excellent skills in Word, Excel, Pastel, Outlook, Internet
c) A secretarial or administrative qualification
d) A bookkeeping qualification
e) 5 years or more experience in running an office, supervising staff, keeping accounts,
f) Experience in organising functions and events
g) Excellent communication skills and able to work in different cultural environments, be self motivated and able to work with little supervision
h) The following values and attitudes: people person, service orientated, ‘can do’ approach, trustworthy and responsible, meets deadlines, honest.

Salary: $500/month

To apply, send a cover letter outlining how you meet the above criteria a) to i), what you will bring to the position and your CV with three contactable references of previous employers to: Rokpazimbabwe [at] gmail [dot] com

The first time I heard about sanctions, back in 2005, I thought it was a lie fabricated by Gono et al to justify his heavy handed printing of currency and the resultant inflation as a necessary evil.

No one can deny that this worked in the favour of those with connections and in high office to profiteer off the situation without regard for the plight of the general mass of Zimbabweans. My resentment was always especially directed at ministers and such who casually drove past me in their government issue air conditioned Benz as I stood in a round-the-block queue waiting to get my money from the bank for the Kombi home.

Later in the evening, they would be on ZBC news, well dressed and rotund, emphatically telling a ragged, sinewy audience just in from their drought-stricken fields that ‘we live in poverty because of sanctions”… some of us more than others.

Last week a newsreader on radio was saying that hospitals and are ill-equipped because of sanctions and let loose a diatribe about the effects of poor health care on Zimbabweans. There was little mention of the facts: diagnostic machinery has fallen into disrepair because the companies that sold it to us cannot or will not honour their service agreements because their home countries either make no effort to encourage trade with Zimbabwe, or at worst actively discourage it. A little while ago Natpharm declared that they had run out of stocks for the Malaria TB programme in the height of the malaria season. Again without reference to the fact that the programme is largely funded by the Global Fund, which is heavily influenced by the US government and has for several years rejected applications by Zimbabwe for funding of this and other programmes because of mismanagement by the government and the effects of ZIDERA.

Much has been made by the government of ZIDERA. But the strategy of speaking the name of its demon possessor fails government again. They do not explain that while the act does makes provision for targeted sanctions against individuals, it also empowers the US to use its voting rights and influence (as the main donor) in multilateral lending agencies, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the African Development Bank to veto any applications by Zimbabwe for finance, credit facilities, loan rescheduling, and international debt cancellation. This basically means that the Government of Zimbabwe is not only broke but it is in massive debt, following not only from the governments own over expenditure, corruption and mismanagement but also from the structural adjustment programmes it was ‘encouraged’ to implement by the IMF and the World Bank in the 1990s.

For the ordinary Zimbabwean this means that the government is unable to carry out it’s essential services. It is unable to bring electricity to rural houses, fix potholes in the roads, supply clinics and hospitals with drugs, build dams or increase the capacity of the water delivery system. This in turn means that we have places in Zimbabwe that saw better times in the stone age, and health crises such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and cholera will always be a rainy season away.

Land reform may have been successful, but there is no way to protect people from random acts of nature. In times of drought, such as this year, sanctions mean that the government cannot buy maize to feed its own population. Even without an act of nature the government is unable to fully support farmers as is the policy in more developed countries.

The anti sanctions propaganda fails to explain how exactly sanctions affect the average person living an ordinary life. Our government in its poor application of propaganda fails to understand that they have educated their population beyond their simplistic reasoning, and the contradictions and omissions in the information they liberally propagate on the state broadcaster are not lost on us. Reading Marko Phiri’s blog on the views of the people in Gwanda, I am not surprised to find that many people understand the sanctions to be merely about travel bans.

I was in Gwanda the weekend when the anti-petitions roadshow was in town with “party youths” in full swing enjoying alfresco rides in party trucks busy risking life and limb. I found long distance commuter omnibus drivers mad as hell as they had been forcibly removed by police from their usual pick-up points because – the drivers were told – they were interfering with people who were heading to the open space where the signatures were being collected. As we sat in the kombi impatiently waiting for it to fill up, the irascible driver could not stop complaining about “how unfree” Zimbabweans still are despite independence. Siyahawula elizweni leli. Abantu laba bafuna senzeni nxa singafuni ukuyasayina? Akusamelanga sisebenze? (We are suffering in this country. What do these people want us to do if we do not want to go and sign? Are we not supposed to work?) . . . the driver complained and it went and on and on. Then one chap who had been silently sitting, lost in his reverie suddenly said: Ungatshiswa lilanga usiyasayinela ukuthi omunye umuntu ahambe amzweni? (How can anyone stand the scorching sun just to sign something so that someone may travel overseas). That was how he understood all the ruckus about petitioning America and Britain to lift sanctions “that are hurting ordinary Zimbabweans.” It somewhat captured the mood among some people about this latest crusade to garner the support of ordinary folk ahead of elections. And obviously it would be asked if the people of Matebeleland who have suddenly become favourites of Newsnet vox pox understand the gibberish they are made to utter on national television about how sanctions are affecting their lives. The other day a bloke in Plumtree speaking in SiNdebele spoke about the removal of sanctions as if they were something that had been left at the border that needed urgent removal and one couldn’t help laugh out loud but still be ashamed at how the intelligence of rural folk was being mocked by the anti-sanctions lobby. It suspiciously looks like these Newsnet hacks simply persuade these obviously unsophisticated folks to stand in front of the camera “and say anything against sanctions” but the result is clumsy propaganda. You come to understand that old cynicism that if you tell a lie for a long time you sure end up believing it to be true, and many wish to be around to see the anti-sanctions propaganda turned against its sponsors.

This moving statement from ZINASU for International Women’s Day shares some of the challenges facing women in tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe:

It is now common knowledge that in Zimbabwe there is an upsurge in enrolment. Which is not bad in itself but the problem comes when the welfare of the students is forsaken, to be particular the female students who are the most vulnerable as compared to their male counter parts. When I say the welfare of students I refer to issues relating to accommodation, availability of food, a conducive learning environment, access to sanitary wear etc

Since 2007 the halls of residence at the University of Zimbabwe have been closed despite the high court ruling to open. Accommodation therefore is a nightmare for all students at the oldest University. The undergraduates have been reduced to live like rats in off campus residence where they pay full rentals per head.

As a female you will never escape paying with sex, the lecturers will be waiting for you. Abusive lecturers demand sexual favors for you to pass your courses. As you move to industrial attachment the bosses will be waiting for you no attachment without sex, no report without sex, no assessment without sex. If only we can go back to the era where industries would bid to get a student on attachment the incidences of sexual abuse will be reduced. How do we get there when only a few people own the means of production and we have a corrupt government.

Read more

Here’s a statement from the Harare Residents Trust. This is just one example of the City of Harare’s incompetence:

The City of Harare has let down the residents of Sunningdale and nearby Hatfield by failing to deal decisively with the problem of a seriously damaged water reservoir in the Old Mutual (Truworths) complex, commonly known as the Prospect Industrial Park, located at corner Seke Road and Cranborne West Road.

HRT officials on Monday 14 March 2011 visited the scene of the burst and it was established that the reservoir burst out on Tuesday 8 March 2011 in the morning. A report was made to the City of Harare by the services department at Truworths complex. The City of Harare is said to have visited the spot on Tuesday in the afternoon and failed to stop the water link. The burst worsened to the extent that the residents of Sunningdale and Hatfield started experienced serious water shortages. Water supplies for the residents of Sunningdale were cut on Saturday 12 March 2011 in the afternoon. On Sunday the water cut continued which saw most residents fetching water from strange water sources.

Many residents walked a distance of about a kilometer to fetch water from the damaged reservoir which has developed into a deep pool. Millions of treated water liters have been lost and up to now water is still flowing along Cranborne West Road. Truworths workers claimed they had to divert the water from continuing to flood their premises into the road. This is treated water that is being lost, the same water that the City of Harare is claiming to be costing them millions of dollars to purify and treat for human consumption. The engineers who came to the site of the burst failed to repair the burst and left without indicating when they would return. Officials at the complex stated that the reservoir is losing out so much water and that a three follow-up reports have been made but nothing has been done.

Who pays for all this lost water?