InfocusNews 13 - 18 Sept 2021
ment (WILD) the screening of the short GBV films sought to increase awareness of gender-based violence and its different forms among women in Umzingwane as well as provide a platform for them to engage as a community and proffer possible solutions to address the scourge of GBV. “Parents are contributing to gender based violence among adolescents as they sometimes tend to cover up or protect relatives and perpetrators involved impregnating young women particularly those still at school.”
Residents encouraged to desist from covering up GBV and rape by family members
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ASES involving Sexual Gender Based violence among teenagers residing in Umzingwane are being exacerbated by lack of reportage to Victim Friendly Units by parents or guardians under the pretext of protecting families’ reputation or getting money from perpetrators, Esigodini Residents Association Representative Faith Mangena has said.
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Mangena was speaking during the screening of two Gender Based Violence short films produced by Magamba Network’s Film Fellowship Fellows. Screened films include Her – A Disintegrated notion by @SkaSebata and Cruel Joke by Cannon Zephien. The film screening was hosted by Esigodini Residents Association in collaboration with Women’s Institute for Leadership Develop-
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“Poverty has been a major contributor as well and this can be typified by how the abuse of young adolescents, girls and young women is often unreported as parents or guardians are silenced by money or other beneficiaries,” Mangena said. The Adolescent Girls and Young Women’s Rights advocate also said parents and guardians should desist from engaging in sexual activities in the presence of adolescent girls or young women as this may affect them emotionally. “In households where big families share two or three rooms, it is difficult to be discreet during sexual intercourse. However, this has serious repercussions particularly on adolescent girls and young women as it affects them emotionally and
InfocusNews leaves them vulnerable to rape,” said Mangena. A plenary session was conducted following the screening of the two films and some of the key highlights speak to how patriarchal attitudes within diverse communities continue to affect and impact
negatively on Women. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Victim-Friendly Unit representative urged citizens to report cases of gender-based violence so that they are able to assist those faced with Gender Based Violence.
“We started small and we would do door to door sales and deliveries just to make a living. With the outbreak of Covid-19 we found ourselves with orders that helped us grow and I am proud to announce that next week we will be at the ZITF under the Ministry of Women Affairs.”
Small businesses to benefit from access to markets during upcoming international fair
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OVID-19 left a trail of destruction for many small businesses but the coming of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) will allow at least 356 small to medium enterprises to access markets despite the cost of participating in the annual international fair. Bulawayo Chamber of SMEs coordinator Nketa Dlamini says a majority of small scale businesses failed to exhibit this year due to the high cost of participating which range from US$200 at a time when most business are refacebook.com/wildtrustzim |
medium enterprise with her husband, Amanda Nyathi highlighted that during the COVID-19 period, her company, Chemical Technology Africa, faced a lot of challenges which saw her business resorting to door to door marketing just to make profit.
covering from loss of sales during the COVID-19 era. “This year only a handful will exhibit their products simply because costs were beyond the reach of many who suffered a great loss due to Covid -19. We however hope that they will attend this event and make contacts which will boost their sales so that next time they are well prepared and ready to join others in exhibiting their work,” says Dlamini. In an interview with one of the exhibitors who co-runs a small to
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“The journey has been full of obstacles but we know that this exhibition will help grow the business which will create employment for other women. So far we specialise in producing hand sanitisers, dish washing liquid, pine gel and other detergents and these products will be available on the stand,” said Nyathi For Sibusisiwe Chitewe who owns Datsfield Enterprises, ZITF will expose her organic products to export markets which will be a dream come true. “We specialise in producing organic condiments and spreads which include jam, sauces, dried fruits and nutritional porridges. All our goods are organic including the packaging we try and give the best there is in terms of quality.” “I am very excited and I look forward to the exhibition as we will be under ZimTrade and we know
InfocusNews that this will help us increase our exports. Locally our products are found in a few supermarkets and we grow from there,” says Chitewe. The ZITF board chair Busisa Moyo said 62 % of confirmed local exhibitors are from Harare, 25 percent are from Bulawayo, 10% from other towns and 3 % are foreign. “At least 10 countries are participating namely Botswana, DRC,
Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. About 357 direct exhibitors have booked and confirmed participation on 40 109 square metres of exhibition space,” says Moyo. Moyo also said 11 percent are first time exhibitors displaying a wide range of products and services including automobile and automotive equipment, industrial hemp,
financial services and fintech, medical equipment, real estate and property development consultancy and advocacy, mining equipment, toiletries clothing and textile. The ZITF is set to take place from the 21st to the 24th of September in Bulawayo. In 2020, the fair failed to kick off due to incessant COVID-19 regulations which prohibited large gatherings. consensus on operationalisation of the Policy and adoption of tools that will be used to measure implementation and translating the Policy into action.
Capacity building of women key for effective implementation of Gender Policy
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uilding the capacity of women and women’s civic organisations to actively participate and influence the administrative and political decision-making processes within communities and local government is key to the realisation of the Kusile Rural District Council (KRDC) Gender Action Plan. This was said by Dorica Zulu, the facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
Gender Focal Person at Kusile RDC during a Gender Policy Institutionalisation meeting conducted by Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) with Kusile RDC personnel. The meeting was aimed at unpacking and discussing the implementation mechanisms for the Kusile RDC Gender Policy. The meeting was also a platform for generating
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Leading the exercise, Siphilisiwe Ncube a consultant and gender practitioner highlighted that the Kusile RDC Gender Policy responds to the gender equality provisions in the Constitution, the National Gender Policy and other international and regional gender equality framework needs. “Adoption of the Gender Policy is good practice as gender mainstreaming is key for the attainment of gender equality. Gender mainstreaming is also important in the creation of an environment that is non-discriminatory with regards to access to resources, programs and information.” “The Kusile RDC Policy is meant to promote gender responsiveness and equality in council administration as well as to ensure that line departments adopt a gendered approach to the planning and implementation of programs and
InfocusNews projects,” highlighted Ncube. Presenting on gender mainstreaming in the infrastructure development thematic area, Kelly Sibanda highlighted that only a few women are employed in construction as men are the ones who are mostly preferred as they possess the requisite qualifications and skill. “Most women do not possess the requisite qualifications and skills when it comes to infrastructure development. There is need for capacity building in terms of trainings and short courses so that women can also obtain the requisite qualifications to qualify for these opportunities,” said Sibanda. Presenting on gender mainstreaming in the thematic area on implementation of national projects, Gyson Mandikutse highlighted that the department is committed to creating a gender sensitive working environment especially
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by ensuring that the procurement processes are gender aware in order to ensure that women benefit equally from value contracts. “The challenge that we are facing is that women are still side-lined due to attitudes that deem them not capable of contributing to national development projects. As a department we are working on implementing training programs that aim to change perceptions, attitudes and behaviours so that the status of women can be improved and gender equality can be achieved,” said Mandikutse. The Acting CEO of Kusile RDC, Wellington Mthembo presenting on gender mainstreaming in the governance thematic area bemoaned the low representation of women in council as he highlighted that out of 28 councillors in Lupane district only 5 are women.
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“Currently there are very few women in council but as council we have adopted a policy whereby, we ensure that whether the council chairperson is male or female, the vice council chairperson is a woman. We also ensure that women are chairpersons of council committees in a bid to ensure that inclusion of women in policy making processes becomes an integral part of planning, service delivery and development of policies,” said Mthembo. In conclusion, the meeting delegates identified implementation plans on operationalisation of the Kusile RDC Gender Policy which include ensuring that gender issues are routinely considered in planning sessions as well as sensitisation meetings with other relevant stakeholders including community structures.
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Victim of medical mishap receives assistance
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hen Mongiwethu Mathe (27) went to Mpilo Central Hospital to deliver her first child in December 2019, she did not anticipate that she would have major health complications. However, since then she has been experiencing leakages from her private parts as a result of poor maternal health care services. Mathe’s predicament will soon come to an end as she has undergone an operation and is expected to show signs of recovery in the next three weeks. Her rectum was cut during childbirth as an episiotomy was conducted on her and resultantly, she has been using colostomy bags to relieve herself. Episiotomy is an incision made in the perineum- the tissue between the vaginal opening and the anusduring childbirth. “I was operated on Tuesday in Harare. Although the doctor notified me that my healing chances may be low as I had been operated on several times without success, I want to remain hopeful and positive that in three weeks I will be better and able to use my normal system,” said Mathe. Mathe received referrals to Amnesty International where she has
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since received the assistance that she required. Mathe is a student at United College of Education (UCE) in Bulawayo and says the health complications that she is faced with are a major setback for her career and personal life.
Mathe says she cannot recall the number of times that she sought medical assistance at Mpilo Hospital and other health institutions since her ordeal, as her medical records have filled at least two 32 page counter books.
“I have to study and this is holding me back. When I went for my temporary teaching stint at Mawaba Primary school, I would on several occasions excuse myself so that I change the colostomy bag but when I am at UCE I do not have this opportunity as I am a non-res student and this becomes difficult,” she said.
“When I gave birth, nurses were on strike and they repeatedly said they were not getting enough money for the work they are doing, now I do not know if this was a mistake or it was done deliberately,” she elaborated.
Mathe is disappointed by the treatment she received from Mpilo Central Hospital as she says they were negligent and she was unfairly treated. “At Mpilo Hospital they made me a fool. They later admitted that they made a mistake but when I went there to seek assistance, they did not give me the help that I needed. They operated on me but did not finish what they started and I continued to experience leakages,” she said.
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In July this year, Women’s Institute for Leadership Development released a statement condemning the poor-quality of health service provision for expectant mothers which holds back progress on improving access to quality Maternal Care in Zimbabwe as the organisation was particularly taken aback by Mathe’s experience. WILD is of the belief that Government should create channels for reporting health mishaps and enable citizens to get proper treatment and compensation. WILD calls upon healthcare centres to provide quality healthcare services for all women.
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Corporate social responsibility deemed important for community development
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ocal companies in Gwanda have been commended for their Corporate Social Responsibility programs which allow them to engage with their communities at all levels of society. Speaking at a stakeholder engagement meeting that was conducted by WILD in partnership with Gwanda Community Economic Justice Trust, Deputy Mayor of Gwanda, Ponalo Maphala commended the efforts that have been made by some companies in Gwanda that give back to the
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community. “There are companies within Gwanda that are working hard to ensure that they give back to their communities. We have seen Blanket Mine take great strides in giving back to the community through construction of the Phakama Clinic Isolation Centre. I really commend this move as it addresses the urgent needs of the community, considering that we were and still are faced with a COVID-19 pandemic which we were not prepared for,” he said.
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Siduduzile Masilela a Ward Advocacy Committee (WAC) member posed a question on whether there is any legislation that compels mining companies to give back to their communities. In responding to this question, Mr. Masango from Gwanda RDC said there is no legislation that compels companies to give back to the community and explained the challenges the council has been going through with regards to revenue collection and expenditure. “It is unfortunate that there is no
InfocusNews legislation that compels companies to give back to the community. This means that companies do this out of their own volition. Another issue is that while the mines may generate revenue, the funds are diverted to more pressing needs at the time. You will notice that the pandemic also tempered with a lot of sectors, and some mining companies were not spared hence are unable to pay,”
added Masango Community members who attended the meeting expressed gratitude to the few companies that give back to the community citing that this has contributed to the improved state of service delivery. However, they also expressed dissatisfaction on the fact that companies are not legally compelled to give back to the community while making immense gains from the local natural resources.
a student at the Bulawayo United College of Education (UCE). Jodo also said security officers were demanding vaccination cards from students daily and turning away all those without vaccination cards. “We have no choice but to get vaccinated because soon we will be writing our exams and we cannot afford to miss lectures. I wish this issue was handled differently so that it doesn’t appear as if we are forced to receive this vaccination which comes with a lot of controversies.” For Katherine Marewa a student at Bulawayo Polytechnic, students were only allowed to reside at the institution on condiction that they were vaccinated.
Students slam government over mandatory covid-19 vaccination
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Professor Fanuel Tagwira told state media that unvaccinated students should be turned away from attending lectures.
This comes after the secretary of Tertiary and Higher Education
“The situation is really bad as I feel this stance is forcing people to get vaccinated against their will. The guards are only allowing those with PCR test results but those are only valid for 48 hours which is not sustainable for students like us,” says Khethelitsha Jodo who is
TUDENTS have slammed the Government over its decision to enforce mandatory Covid-19 vaccination as a prerequisite for accessing lectures at tertiary institutions, saying the drive is a violation of their right to education and is merely a stance to increase the number of those who have been inoculated.
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“We were told that for us to access the school residential area, we had to be vaccinated and they are not accepting those who would rather test after every two days. They know we have been missing out on studies and we are so desperate to continue so we will dance to their tune and push the numbers of those who have been vaccinated. It’s an agenda which may seem good but it’s a violation to our right to choose. We wonder why we should be forced when they claim the whole process is voluntary,” said Marewa. Shelter Khumalo from the Lupane State University said the institution had communicated before opening that everyone would be expected to vaccinate before lectures re-
InfocusNews sume. “It seems we are stuck. We just have to get vaccinated so that the country reaches herd immunity once otherwise we won’t complete our studies. They should have conducted awareness campaigns to encourage us to be vaccinated rather than impose it on us because we will still be highly exposed to Covid considering the mode of transport we use and how the lectures are conducted,” she adds. Another student, Andiswa Moyo
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from the National University of Science and Technology said imposing vaccination without addressing public transport challenges would not yield any results. “We may be forced to get vaccinated but after lectures we use overcrowded buses and mingle with people from all over who may not be vaccinated. There should be another way to help curb the spread of the disease besides getting vaccinated,” said Moyo. Meanwhile, Government has also
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announced that civil servants who prefer not to be vaccinated against Covid-19 should resign. So far 2 873 839 people have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and the Government aims to have vaccinated at least 10 million people by the end of 2021. As at 14 September 2021, Zimbabwe had 126 817 confirmed cases, including 119 216 recoveries and 4 550 deaths.
Community Voices Simingenkosi Sibindi
My name is Simingenkosi Sibindi from Mpopoma, ward 9. I am 22 years old. I have realized a few issues in our community that I believe should be addressed. One of them being the sewage water flooding the area. The community has pleaded with the council to attend to broken sewer systems in the area in order to avoid the outbreak of water borne diseases and besides that, the smell is unbearable. The environment is no longer conducive for us because as we speak there is a burst out sewer system at the back of our house and sewage water is flooding the area. It is no longer pleasant to stay in the area. We have tried to reach out to our councillor and they reported that they will forward our grievances to the engineering department that is responsible for the sewer system. However, there have been other problems that we have managed to address as the community such as the problem of illegal dumping sites, whereby we conducted a clean-up campaign in April to address the litter challenge and clear illegal dumping sites. Therefore, I can say that after the clean-up facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
campaign there has been a reduction in littering in the community.
Nontokozo Khumalo
My name is Nontokozo Khumalo I am a 35-yearold mother of 2 and my major concern in our community is our children’s future. Ever since the closure of schools during the long lockdown we have observed an increase in drug abuse in the area mostly by teenage boys and even some primary school children. Mkokoba is an old suburb and it has since been categorised with all malicious behaviours and as the community we had normalized that behaviour. However, of late the situation has worsened because since the schools reopened, most children did not return to school and they spend the whole day idling around the township doing mischief, this includes smoking dagga and passing insults on passers-by. My worry is also that some of these children are the ones who are selling the dagga and it makes me wonder as to where they get their supplies from. Therefore, I just wish there was something we could do about these children as a community.
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In order to change it for the better because as a mother I feel we need to do something because clearly our community is no longer a safe place for our young children as there is a likelihood that they also adopt these behaviours by interacting with these children.
Thandiwe Moyo
I am Thandiwe Moyo from Makokoba, ward 7. I am a mother and woman aged fifty-seven. I am a registered voter and I have voted since 1980. As I have registered to vote I encourage every woman to register to vote. It is important that a larger population of people register to vote because every vote counts and a single vote can make a difference. People should let go of the ideology of that voting is of no use, as I have mentioned above that a single voice counts and it can make a difference in our communities and the society at large. On that note I urge all the women old and young to go and register to vote because if we vote for efficient leaders in our communities it will help us solve the problems that we face as women in our communities.
Community Voices Bekezela Nyathi
My name is Bekezela Nyathi from ward 14. I can safely say that I have registered to vote because I even went to the ZEC offices to confirm that my name is on the voter’s roll. Therefore, I urge all women and girls to go and register to vote because failure to do that, all the challenges we face as women will never be addressed if we do not take it upon ourselves to go and register to vote. Voting gives us an opportunity to design the future that we desire, voting is the only way we can liberate ourselves from all the hardships we face as women in our societies. It is important that we register so that
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when the time comes, we elect the people whom we think can make a difference in our communities.
Andile Moyo
My name is Andile Moyo I am a 22-year-old from Pumula North and unfortunately I have not registered to vote. This does not mean that I do not think voting is unnecessary but it is because there are limited voter registration centres in Bulawayo. I say this because I only know of the one at Windsor Park but it is far away from where I stay and with our current economic status some of us cannot afford to go that far just to register to vote. If I have to do it means
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I will have to board the bus twice in order to get there and it is too costly since I have to go from Pumula to town then another one from town to the Centre as it is not a walkable distance. Therefore, I think it would be better if there were more voter registration centres especially near the locations, I believe that way there would be a lot of people registering to vote. I believe this would help because if people do not register it means Bulawayo Metropolitan will lose some constituencies and this will result in reduced national budget for Bulawayo and also representation.
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Informal Traders share their experiences
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We are asking to be assisted, so that we go back to our stands... We expect our leader to restore everything for us...
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