InfocusNews 21 - 25 March 2022
passports etc. it will run from April to September,” he said. Sibusiso Munandi from Mpopoma welcomed the move by the Government saying many youths had even missed out on registering to vote during by-election because of the issue.
Nationwide Blitz on access to IDs to be rolled out
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HE Registrar General’s office will on next Friday embark on a nationwide blitz to help ease the backlog on national identity cards which have been scarce to a majority ever since COVID-19 broke out in 2020. Government is targeting to issue at least two million national identity cards (IDs) and birth certificates during the mobile registration blitz. The blitz precedes the second leg of the Mobile Biometric Voter Registration Blitz by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) expected to begin on April 10. Civil Registry Offices across the country have been saddled with a backlog of documents for some time as Zimbabweans try to get identification documents.
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Birth certificates and National IDs are crucial for Zimbabweans to obtain other documents such as passports and driver’s licenses. With the country set to go for general elections next year, the identity documents are crucial for one to register as a voter. Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe recently told journalists that the program will run until September where everyone is expected to be having their national identity documents including passports without challenges. “The department of Civil Registry is riddled by a backlog of identity cards which has seen long queues being common at its offices. But we have a programme that is starting on the 1st of April, where we intend to give more than two million people IDs, birth certificates,
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“We turned 16 in 2020 but we have struggled to access the document as offices have been limiting numbers and sometimes, we are told that production machines are down. The situation was getting out of hand. I have friends from Pumula who wanted to vote for the first-time during by-elections but could not as they are yet to acquire identity cards,” she said. “We hope that we will all benefit from the upcoming blitz as we cannot continue using money to get into town and be told different dates. We have rights as youths to these cards and they will enable us to go and register to vote in 2023 as we cannot wait to exercise that right.” Nomthandazo Siwela from Gwanda said the issue of IDs has been a problem for people from Matabeleland as others do not have birth certificates and the problem has been passed onto their children who also do not have any form of identity. “Even before COVID-19 many of us struggled to have identity
InfocusNews cards simply because our parents do not have birth certificates. This tends to be a disadvantage for one especially when it comes to school,
job prospects and even getting a passport. We hope that the blitz will not only clear the backlog but will also address problems in the
region as it is public knowledge that many of our births are not registered and that a majority have no ID cards.” and with business programs. Hustlers Summit will represent a collective approach to coping with uncertain social, cultural and economic environments and processes of creativity and innovation,” said Mazibisa.
Hustlers Summit brings together Bulawayo’s Entrepreneurs
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MERGING entrepreneurs including informal traders have the potential to turn around the economic landscape in Bulawayo and beyond if they act on their ideas which can be easily turned into high impact startups. This came during the Hustlers Summit held from Thursday in Bulawayo where entrepreneurs convened to discuss how best to change their financial circumstances by engagement, mentorship and use of technology. One of the esteemed guests, renowned South African business man and DJ Sibusiso Leope emphasized the need for Africans to act on their ideas as these can be easily turned into wealth if accompanied by action. “There are a lot of people that we look up to, they are rich and successful but are not free. I am facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
here to serve hence I am responsible with my funds, how I teach people who help my business grow and how I even use the words wherever I go. Every little idea that goes into building my hustle I take seriously because all of us here no matter how small our businesses can change the narrative just by putting these little dreams into action,” he said.
“The summit will spark open access collaboration across creative business disciplines enabling them to meet up, conceptualize, use technology to create content, iterate projects with novel solutions and new approaches to global economic problems which influence change and comment on our society. We wanted to inspire young people, entrepreneurs and the business community to take action on important issues from business and economics to arts and entertainment through indepth progressive conversations.
The organizer, Nkosana Mazibisa said the summit gave every resident in Bulawayo and beyond a chance to bring their idea into action for economic development.
One of the attendees, Priscilla Moyo, said the summit was relevant as it came at a time when many youths, especially women, were struggling to find their feet after COVID-19 left them out of jobs.
“The Hustlers Summit seeks to change the landscape of Bulawayo by fostering the growth of high-impact start-ups within the region, engage with internal and external parties to help identify the interests and needs of start-ups, including their financing, educational, and mentoring/advising needs;
“I am not a business person yet but attending the summit has given me a lot of enthusiasm to work on my ideas because I know that everyone who made it started small. I am grateful for such engagements and I know that it will birth hard working entrepreneurs in Bulawayo.”
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#GetTheBalanceRight “Don’t be left behind,” says Sibonginkosi Netha, a young woman who is based in Bulawayo. She believes that political parties should get the 50/50 equal representation right as communities need a correct balance of leadership. Young women need to be represented in political parties as they are apart of the demographic that political parties are leading. #GetTheBalanceRight
Click on the picture to watch the video Margaret Moyo is a Community Leader and women’s rights activist from Esigodini. In the video she is challenging youths and women to make it a priority that they contest for political in leadership positions. She states that youths shouldn’t rely on the elderly to advocate for issues that affect them, but should be active in advocacy. #GetTheBalanceRight
Click on the picture to watch the video Moreblessing Chere is a student at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo. In the video, she is urging youths to take up space and participate in electoral processes not as voters but as candidates too. She highlights that matters that affect young people are better represented by their peers. #GetTheBalanceRight
Click on the picture to watch the video
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Meet Makara Alice Masawi, a gender activist from Gwanda. She is highlighting the importance of having equal representation of women in politics and how poor representation tends to affect women. Masawi is encouraging political parties to ensure that women are fully represented be it at Local Authorities and/or National Assembly. #GetTheBalanceRight
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UPR40 was conducted from the 20th of January to the 4th of February 2022 and Zimbabwe was reviewed on the 26th of January 2022. The Zimbabwean delegation was led by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Honorable Ziyambi Ziyambi. The key recommendations were:
CSOs convene over Universal Periodic Review session 40
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omen’s Institute for Leadership Development was invited to attend the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) presentation that was hosted by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). The presentation was aimed at discussing the just ended UPR session 40 as well as highlight the role NGOs, Media institutions and key stakeholders can take in advocating for the UPR findings and recommendations. facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
The presentation was done by Nompilo Simanje, the Legal and ICT Policy Officer from MISA-Zimbabwe. She defined the UPR process as a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. This process provides an opportunity for all States to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to overcome challenges to the enjoyment of human rights.
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Immediately halt the practice of implementing internet shutdowns and any other arbitrary actions that limit access to the internet. Reduce the cost of Internet access and facilitate affordable access for under-served groups like women and school children. Zimbabwe should continue steps to protect children online and increase the rate of issuance of birth certificates. NGO’s can submit information which can be added to the “other stakeholders” report which is considered during the review. According to Simanje, the Government should have consulted with CSOs before finalizing and submitting the National Report. Whilst awaiting the final outcome
InfocusNews document, NGOs can lobby the Government to accept recommen-
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dations on key human rights that it had previously rejected as well as
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push the Government to adopt the recommendations it accepted.
Electoral Information Blitz
Election observers in Bulawayo undergo training ahead of the by-elections
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imbabwe will have its much-anticipated by-elections on the 26th of March 2022 following the recalls and deaths of some Members of Parliament and Councillors throughout the country. There are 28 National Assembly and more than 100 Local Government Council seats that are vacant. Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) in collaboration with the Elections Resource Center, conducted a training for election observers to equip them with the skills they will need to observe the by-elections. Petronella Nyathi who was facilfacebook.com/wildtrustzim |
itating the training highlighted that the election observers play a pivotal role in elections hence there is need for them to know what it is they have to observe. “Observers also play a key role in the electoral process, and they have to be knowledgeable about what it is they need to observe and the stage of the ballot process,” she said. She went on to highlight some of the stages that one goes through at the polling to help give the observers a rough picture of the polling stages. “During the polls, there are stages that the voter goes through. The first being going through the
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check-up point where they will be asked to produce their IDs or valid passport; then going to the voter’s roll officer to check to see if their name is there on the voter’s roll; after that, going to the statistics officer, then marking their finger with ink; and finally going to the ballot booth where he/she marks the ballot, casts the vote, and exits the polling station,” added Nyathi. Nyathi also emphasised the need for them to be neutral and not interrupt the process. “As an observer, you have to have ethics and not interrupt the process because yours, on the day, is just to observe.”
Electoral Information Blitz campaigning for Council seats in Wards they do not reside in.
Ward Coordinators Roundtable executed to assess socioeconomic environment
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s the country is gearing up for the March 26 by-elections, Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) convened a Ward Coordinators Roundtable that enabled women to discuss about their expectations in light of the soon to be held March 26 by-elections. Ward Coordinators cited that despite the low turnout that was recorded from the Mobile Biometric Voter Registration Blitz, citizens should go out in their numbers and cast their ballots on the 26th of March in their respective Wards and Constituencies. Some highlighted irregularities that came with the by-elections with other contesting candidates facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
“Other aspiring candidates are contesting for seats in Wards they do not reside in, which is a cause for concern,” said one Ward Coordinator. “I am a Ward 8 voter and I am fighting for imposed candidates who come from other wards to contest in our Ward.” Lezina Mohammed, a Ward Coordinator from Bulawayo’s Ward 8 said: “I agree with you and this is a very good lesson to us as women. Let us learn to be our sisters’ keepers to avoid such misfortunes.” Thandiwe Moyo, a Ward Coordinator from Bulawayo’s Ward 8 stated that political parties ought to desist from encouraging such behaviours as these hardly benefit residents to be represented by a leader who does not have his/ her residents’ need at heart due to place of residence. Ward Coordinators also discussed about the Mobile BVR Blitz exercise that commenced between 1 February – 28 February. Mohammed cited the challenge that she encountered as most people had no idea of the voter registration blitz. I think in the future we should have teams on the ground, maybe a week before to educate people.
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Sikhuphukile Dube, a Ward Coordinator from Bulawayo’s Ward 15 said: “A lot of people were and are still eager to register to vote, but the challenge is with documentation. People, especially youths, do not have IDs, which hinders them from exercising their civic rights.” Moyo cited how citizens think it is of limited value for one to vote, and a few have registered to vote on the basis of poor service provision. Ward Coordinators encouraged people to go out in their numbers and vote for their preferred candidates on the 26th of March by-elections.
“A lot of people were and are still eager to register to vote...”
Electoral Information Blitz against eight males for four vacant seats.
ZEC calls upon the public to uphold peaceful conduct during by-elections
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HE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has called on members of the public to promote a conducive political environment that will result in peaceful electoral processes during by-elections tomorrow. In total, 28 National Assembly and 122 Local Authority by-elections will be held countrywide with seven Provinces participating in the National Assembly while all the 10 provinces have Local Authority elections. Only 72 female candidates will be on the ballots out of the 364 candidates contesting for the 119 Councils this Saturday. In Bulawayo Province, 13 female candidates will compete against 28 male politicians for the eight vacant seats while Matabeleland North Province has only one female candidate contesting facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
For Matabeleland South Province, three female candidates are contesting against 14 male contenders for six vacant seats, while Midlands Province has four females and 27 male candidates vying for 13 seats. In a statement, ZEC said election agents may not be present at a polling station, Constituency centre or ward or Council centre located in a Constituency or Ward or Council area for which his or her candidate was not nominated. Members of the public were also reminded to carry identity documents and inspect the availability of their names at the polling stations where they would cast their votes at least three days before the election. “Campaigning within 300m radius of the polling station is not permissible by law and it is an electoral offense. All polling stations will be open from 7 am to 7 pm and those who will be in the queue by 7pm will be allowed to cast their vote,” said ZEC. “It is critical for stakeholders to disseminate accurate and correct information to their supporters and we call on all stakeholders to promote a conducive political environment that will result in peaceful electoral processes.”
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On the other hand, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) reinforced the need to build confidence in the electoral process sustaining the credibility and legitimacy of elections. “When citizens have confidence in the electoral process, they are more likely to participate in elections. Likewise, contesting parties are more likely to accept the results of elections which reduce the risk of disputes that often undermine the legitimacy of outcomes. In addition, confidence in the electoral process facilitates the peaceful transfer of power, which is an important constitutional principle,” said ZESN in a statement. In separate interviews, Bulawayo Ward 17 Councillor Sikhulekile Moyo called on all registered voters who qualify to go out in numbers and cast their votes during the by-elections. “We have been awaiting this day and we hope that registered voters, especially youth and young women, will go and vote so that we bring about change in our communities and city. We all have to make an effort towards that and by simply casting votes we contribute to the affairs and welfare of our communities,” she said. Local Gender Activist, Sibusisiwe Bhebhe also called on women to rise and be counted given that only a few females made it as
Electoral Information Blitz contestants. “We need to invest a lot in nurturing female candidates and we
continue to call on every woman to do all they can to become competent as we know that we have lots of women who can
contest, win and bring about the much-needed change in our communities,” said Bhebhe.
“Campaigning within 300m radius of the polling station is not permissible by law and it is an electoral offense.
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Electoral Information Blitz
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Electoral Information Blitz
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Electoral Information Blitz
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