InfocusNews 27 June - 01 July 2022
most of which lack ramps particularly for people on wheelchairs to easily access the facility. “It’s been more than 10 years without an effort by the city council to put ramps on this community building. We are not able to access services being offered on this building particularly the documentation blitz which is currently rolling” said the participant.
PWDs call for improved access to documentation
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ersons living with disabilities (PWDs) are grappling with systematic barriers emanating from lack of access to documentation which hinders their participation in key electoral processes, access to education and starting formal businesses. While Sections 83 of the Constitution upholds fundamental Rights of persons with disabilities, lack of awareness, ignorance and prejudice in society has been a contributing factor to the discrimination against PWDs. Against this background Women’s Institute For Leadership Development (WILD)’s Ward-coordinator, Lezina Mohammed, conducted a community engagement in Thorngrove Bulawayo with the aim to provide a platform for PWDs to discuss the challenges they are facing in an effort to practice their facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
civic rights.
To kickstart the discussion, Lezina focused on how persons with disabilities in Thorngrove continue to face barriers that prevent them from enjoying their full civil, political, economic, social, cultural and developmental rights due to a number of challenges particularly access to documentation. Speaking during the engagement, one of the participants expressed concern over a number of challenges faced in accessing IDs and births during the ongoing Civil Registry Blitz running till September 2022. “A huge majority of PWDs remains undocumented owing to accessibility challenges which include access to PWDs friendly information on the ongoing process and secondly access to the Civil Registry Centres
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With the 2023 elections looming, PWDs are concerned that if the challenges they are facing are not addressed, this key population will not be included in important developments within the electoral cycle. “We hope that our concerns are handled at Parliamentary level following the appointment of Nasper Manyau as a Member of the Senate for PWDs earlier this month. We hope our concerns will be addressed accordingly,” said a participant. Another participant also added: “Its worrying to note that most organisations purporting to be representing PWDs are actually led by able bodied persons who are not in sync with our lived realities. We need more PWDs in leadership positions so that they can represent us well particularly now as we are grappling with accessing documentation ahead of the 2023 elections,” said the participant. According to Deaf Zimbabwe Trust
InfocusNews there are specific challenges PWDs face in electoral processes and these range from pre-election technical assessments that do not address election access issues, discriminatory election Law, poll workers not trained on disability management, voter education and information on political party candidates not distributed in PWDs friendly formats. Participants also emphasised the need for changing societal attitudes through awareness raising and advocacy. “There is need for changing soci-
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etal attitudes against PWDs. People need to unlearn and relearn perceptions about PWDs. This is a very important step towards demystifying myths about disability as well as the broader challenges we are facing as a people. In essence inclusion is an attitude. “So let’s include the concerns and experiences of persons with disabilities within the design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes on all political, social and economic spheres so that persons with disabilities benefit equally” said one of the participants.
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Mainstreaming and universal access for persons with disabilities are the ultimate goals of the disability movement. This means the removal of all cultural, physical, social and other barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from equally accessing opportunities and participating fully in all aspects of life in Zimbabwe. According to a report conducted by Amnesty International titled “We Are Like Stray Animals” over 300 000 Zimbabweans are in danger of being rendered stateless due to lack of documentation.
InfocusNews
Bulawayo joins Green Cities Initiative
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ULAWAYO City Council has become the first city in the country and seventh in Africa to sign the green cities initiative contract with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The city will receive funding from FAO to conduct assessment of areas of intervention in the city aimed at improving food security, nutrition, and quality of life in urban and peri-urban areas. A smart city uses information and communication technology (ICT) to improve operational efficiency, share information with the public and provide a better quality of government service and citizen welfare. These projects would generate employment and improve the economy of Bulawayo. Sources within the local authority say the former ascot race course and an industrial site in Cowdray Park have been identified for the establishment of the smart cities.
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The green cities initiative which was introduced in 2020 by FAO focuses on improving the urban environment, strengthening urban-rural linkages, and resilience of urban systems, services, and population to external shocks. Speaking during a signing ceremony on Monday, Patrice Talla Takoukam FAO subregional coordinator said it was aimed at improving the well-being of people living in urban areas. “The green city initiative is aimed at improving the city’s wealth through increase and availability of and access to product and services provided by sustainable urban agriculture, forestry systems. The green city initiative is in line with FAO global strategy to support the transformation of more efficient, inclusive and resilient sustainable systems for better production, better environment and a better life. Bulawayo mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni said the initiative will
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help the city address some of its challenges relating to livelihoods. “Its water scarcity due to droughts, poor tillage and bad water infrastructure. We need to take advantage of ICTS in shaping our cities and finding our destiny in Bulawayo and revive our industry which will create jobs.” Also present during the ceremony was the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Judith Ncube who emphasized that the initiative will help reduce greenhouse emissions. “We need to address greenhouse emissions which contribute to environmental degradation. Escalating greenhouse emissions from landfills due to the city’s poor waste disposal methods need to be addressed. Greenhouse gases contributed to global warming which then brought out climate change. There is therefore a need to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from the waste management activities and to come up with measures to mitigate this,” said Ncube.
InfocusNews
Multi-currency system will leave many Zimbabweans stranded
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he recent gazetting of the Statutory Instrument 118A of 2022, entrenching the multi-currency system will see many shops demanding cash payment for their goods, leaving many Zimbabweans stranded as they do not earn in the much sought after USD. The announcement was made by Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube to the misery of many locals who still earn the depreciating local currency. In an interview, Bulawayo resident Monica Sebele said the move was welcome as it was long overdue but may worsen the plight of many Zimbabweans who currently cannot afford basics. “Our economy dollarised a while ago just that our leaders were in denial but we already saw this coming. Now that things are official some shops now want USD payments and are refusing the local currency which many of us have
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access to. The same government should ensure that at least we start earning in USD even partially so that we are able to buy basics which are out of reach for many,” said Sebele. The measures will run for the duration of National Development Strategy 1 (January 2021-December 2025). Among other measures, the regulations empower registered lenders, banks or any financial institution that lends foreign currency to receive repayment of the loan or credit in that foreign currency. For Siphiwe Sibanda, the announcement did not change anything for the better as thousands of Zimbabweans continue suffering as prices for basic commodities are inflated. “His announcement has not in any way improved our miserable lives, we are still suffering since inflation continues to soar. We always have a multi-currency in place and now that it’s official we need to start earning in USD like in the olden days maybe we will be able to buy
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food and pay rates like responsible citizens,” said Sibanda. In a statement, the Citizens Coalition for Change spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said although efforts are being made to rescue the economy, much should be done to restore confidence in Government monetary systems. “The purported entrenchment of the multi-currency system and interbank market in law is not new. The legal framework for these old systems already exists. It will require more, including the building of confidence and addressing the macro-economic fundamentals, than changing the wording of legislation to address hyperinflation and stabilize prices,” she said. “The main policy interventions announced by Ncube are a reiteration of policies that already exist and have failed to curb hyperinflation and stabilize prices. Unfortunately, the measures announced today have no capacity to transform the ailing fortunes of the Zimbabwean economy.”
Electoral Information Blitz
ZEC evaluates voter education partners
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HE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is in the process of checking if voter education partners are in compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act ahead of 2023 general elections whose date is set to be announced. This precedes inspection of the voter’s roll which is set for the end of July. According to ZEC, the Commission is mandated to monitor all voter education partners to ensure there is no bias or misinformation. In a statement ZEC said the process
is ongoing and once its complete, the commission will communicate findings and take action against those who will be found wanting. “The Commission is in the process of checking compliance of its Voter Education Partners as prescribed in the Electoral Act which provides for adequate accurate gender sensitive and unbiased voter education. ZEC should ensure that voter education provided by other persons is adequate and not misleading or biased in favour of any political party and complies with the electoral code of conduct for political parties and candidates,” said ZEC. “We should ensure that persons
and organizations permitted to conduct voter education comply with the law which mandates the commission to monitor voter education conducted by other persons and organizations. We will also monitor to see if the materials and voter education programmes being used on the ground are not false, misleading and skewed in favor of or against a political party or candidate contesting the election and that the programme is likely to prevent a substantial number of voters from making an informed political choice in an election. “ ZEC spokesperson Commissioner Mangwana said this monitoring will run concurrently with other pre-delimitation programmes until the end of June. He said the commission had managed to cover a number of key stakeholders in engagements and will soon share the roadmap with members of the public based on findings from these engagements. ZEC also called for alteration of the voters’ rolls for the Constituencies and wards to correct errors contained according to recently published Government Gazette.
“The Commission is in the process of checking compliance of its Voter Education Partners as prescribed in the Electoral Act...” facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
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Electoral Information Blitz
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