No Poverty in Zim rant by ZANU PF legislator riles youths

By Evans Dakwa

Tempers flared at recent youth employment conference organised by the Youth Forum at a Harare Hotel after ZANU PF legislator, Tionei Melody Dziva rubbished suggestions of high unemployment and poverty in the country.

Dziva, who represents ZANU PF under the women’s quota riled participants at the Youth Forum unemployment conference by here claim that there is no poverty in Zimbabwe.

  `If there is poverty in the country we would be seeing dead bodies all over` said Dziva much to the chagrin of many of the participants who were evidently in disagreement with her sentiments.

The legislator`s sentiments attracted a barrage of disapproval responses from the delegates who clearly felt she was not in sync with the reality facing the majority of Zimbabweans.

`I would like to know Honourable Dziva, do you want to see dead bodies all over to believe that we are suffering, ` asked one riled youth among the delegates.

A tense atmosphere engulfed the conference auditorium with youth activist from various organisations taking turns to question Dziva`s utterances.

Sally Dura of the Youth Forum and conference facilitator had to interfere and calm emotions that were visibly flaring as the situation threatened to get out of hand.

Honourable Dziva seem to be reading from the same script as the party she represents and government which has been accused of falsifying unemployment figures in the country in an attempt to cover up for its failures to deliver the over two  million jobs it promised the electorate in its manifesto leading up to the July 2013 harmonised elections.

Her statements are a reflection of some of the leaders we have in the country who are out of sync with the plight of the ordinary citizens they are supposedly representing. A nation that has more than half its populace leaving below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL), youths riddled by unemployment but still has leaders who dodge responsibility by refusing to accept the suffering of the masses for their own selfish gains.

While government and statistical office put the unemployment figure officially at 11 percent, independent economist have begged to differ pegging it at a staggering 86 percent 

  

CAPACITATE YOUTHS, GOVERNMENT URGED

By Evans Dakwa

The Zimbabwe Youth Forum has called upon government and cooperating partners to come up with capacity building programmes to empower youths to come up with bankable projects that will succeed subsequently creating the much employment in the country.

The call emerged at a youth conference organised by the Youth Forum and attended by some parliamentarians.

`Some young people have failed to access money under the youth fund because they lack the requisite knowledge in coming with sustainable projects that attract funding,’ said Wellington Zindove, the Youth Forum National Coordinator.

Zindove, the added that capacity building is very important in the quest to ensure the youth fund is not abused by misappropriation and reduce the failure rate of projects undertaken.

`This is a matter that all stakeholders should take seriously to ensure that young people are informed and run projects that are sustainable, ‘continued Zindove.

One of the members of parliament who attended the conference Justice Mayor Wadyajena, the chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on youth, indigenisation and economic empowerment told delegates there is need for young people to remain focussed, come up with bankable projects and refrain from being used by political parties.

`Youth funds are revolving hence the need for beneficiaries to repay the loans and ensure that others benefit which in essence is creating employment for others.`

`You must desist from being used by political parties and together we can build our beloved Zimbabwe`

The youth revolving fund has been riddled by high failure rate with information gathered from financial institutions indicating that the majority of beneficiaries defaulted, a situation attributed to the lack of requisite knowledge on choosing profitable projects and managing them.

SPORTS TOURISM: HAS ZIMBABWE DONE ENOUGH?

 

By Evans Dakwa

 

Zimbabwe’s tourism industry has been on a recovery path after suffering a major dent largely due to the negative publicity from Western countries, which led to some going to the extent of giving travel warnings to their citizenry.

 

The recent awarding of the Best World Tourism Destination accolade to the country buy the General Assembly of the European Council and last year’s hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly, is testimony that the sector is on a resurgence and more is still to come.

 

It also explains the optimism and confidence exhibited by Tourism Minister, Walter Mzembi in boldly declaring that his Ministry is targeting a US$ 5 billion dollar tourism economy by the year 2018,an achievable fit that however requires the exploitation to the maximum, the potential, hidden in our tourism sector, like exploring sports tourism, an area that has been given little attention in our bid to have a fully functional tourism industry that will contribute significantly to the country’s economy.

 

Simply defined, sports tourism refers to travel, that by and large involves either observing or participating in a sporting event leading to people staying away from their environment. Sports tourists are those people who visit a country or city to watch and or partake in sporting events like the Olympics, African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the FIFA World Cup.

 

The short and long term benefits of sports tourism are invaluable to any nation and if completely exploited, this aspect of tourism possess a huge potential that can single handedly affect, positively, the national economic growth. In 2006 alone, Canada realised a total of US$15 billion while Australia is documented as getting US$3 billion annually, cases that rubber stamps the huge potential that sports tourism possess.

 

For hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa received over 450 000 visitors to the country effectively marketing the Southern African country’s tourist destinations and improving its image which is notoriously linked to being crime infested country. People who come sporting events end up visiting places of interest in the host nation and in terms of image building that is vital for tourism as a whole, sports tourism is a proven panacea and Zimbabwe can take a leaf from that and start to nip into the potential of this part of tourism.

 

The socio economic benefits goes without mention, from massive job creation, infrastructure-technological development and improvement, facilitation of cultural exchange to instilling a sense of national identity, encouraging coordination between different government departments and encouraging sport at grass roots level, as witnessed after the country co-hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

 

For Zimbabwe, sports tourism is that niche market that has not been exploited except for few isolated cases, like the 1995 All Africa games. After suffering negative publicity, the tourism sector need sports tourism now more than ever to facilitate total recovery and the subsequent boom that the nation hopes for that will go a long way in aiding the 5 billion dollar economy that is envisaged by the tourism ministry and contribute considerably to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

 

Tourism and sport has a symbiotic relationship as aptly identified by Minister Walter Mzembi and one hopes the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Tourism ministry and the Sports and Recreation Commission will not remain a mere document but kick start concerted efforts towards focusing on this somewhat under exploited niche to the benefit of the sector as whole and the economy at large.

 

 

EBOLA: WAS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REACTION SUFFICIENT?

By Evans Dakwa

With symptoms ranging from painful muscles, fever, sore throat and a headache followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and rush leading to decreased functionality of the liver and kidneys. Subsequent bleeding from both internal and external body parts follow and the inevitable happens; Death which occurs from a ranging period of 6 to 16 days. This is the Ebola Virus Disease for you.

Ebola as it is widely referred to is known has no cure and is documented to have first announced its arrival to mother earth in the year 1976 in the then Zaire now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the continent of Africa. Back then the virus was traced to wild animals particularly monkeys who were the host before passing the lethal virus to human beings. 284 people are recorded as having been infected initially with a mortality rate of about 53 percent, that’s just over half of the people infected dying.

The first outbreak was followed by another one a few months later were 318 people were officially recorded to have been infected with a mortality rate of about a staggering 88 percent. Several other sporadic outbreaks followed but all of them were successfully brought under control and mostly did not spread beyond the borders of the first port country of infection.

Fast track events to the year 2014, the world is faced with an unprecedented Ebola outbreak like never before with over 4000 deaths being recorded already and apparently; still counting. What started as a single nation outbreak in Guinea around March, has spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and DRC in Africa; Spain in Europe and United States in the America in the process infecting over 8000 people(most of whom in Africa) with seemingly no solution in sight to bring the disease under control. Experts are estimating we could be having as high as 10 000 new cases very soon if the situation continues unabated.

The spreading of Ebola is said by experts to thrive in overpopulated dingy surroundings; the more reason why Africa has been the most affected considering how impoverished most African countries are. Suddenly the whole world is on high alert. Ebola’s rapid spreading is largely due to the disease being highly contagious and the  virus can survive on dry surface infecting anyone who comes into contact with the contaminated surface.

Critics like me will always raise poignant questions as to why the current Ebola outbreak is proving so hard to bring under control than previous ones, this, let’s not forget coming at a time when the world is supposedly technologically advanced to levels of preserving a female egg to be used by infertile women. How could a persistently war torn, impoverished and close to failed state (if not one) nation like DRC manage to bring Ebola under control yet the whole world is seemingly struggling.

People have come up with different schools of thought to answer the above question, with some who have a wild imagination pointing to the issue of a biological war at play (which is not impossible). However even though one would be tempted to proffer that school thought l prefer to answer it in a more realistic and provable way- the international community was slow in reacting to the epidemic.

When the first cases where announced in Guinea, it appears the international community looked at it being a West African problem that was of not much interest to them. A more rapid response from the international community could have brought the disease under control. Now Ebola has spread to three continents, threatening humanity. The whole world was fully aware from the onset that the West African nations affected where in no capacity to deal with this life threatening virus on their own but was lackadaisical in offering the much needed assistance. The first Ebola world conference was held months after the first cases where reported in March.

The more economically developed nations have let the whole world down in this fight against Ebola. China and United States even have the audacity to throw jabs at each other accusing one another of not doing enough tantamount to using the now near pandemic Ebola, to score a couple of points over one another.

This is not what West Africa and the whole world need right now. We need the spirit of a global village to reign supreme over any personal interest. Massive investments have been made into Ebola screening mechanisms which experts have indicated is not the solution to bringing Ebola under control. For all we know the screening process is not reliable and people carrying the virus can evade the detection. It is a clear case of resource diversion; resources that could be put to better use in the front lines to fight the disease. It is trying to create a sense of false hope among the populace that they are safe yet that is not the case.

The whole world simply has to come together, place our priorities right, be more proactive than reactive or we risk being wiped off the face of earth by an epidemic that is threatening to surpass the levels reached by cancer and HIV/ AIDS.

Increase in primary school years for 2015 questioned

December 8th, 2014

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Lazarus Dokora

EVANS DAKWA/OLIVER MUTAFERA -

The pronouncements by the ministry of primary and secondary schools that it is going to follow recommendations of the Nziramasanga commission on education, by introducing mandatory Early Childhood Development (ECD) A and B, in primary schools has somewhat divided  public opinion, with many parents and educators castigating the ministry for introducing policies without consulting all the relevant stakeholders.

The development which will see primary school education years increasing, is already gathering momentum, with the ministry announcing that teacher training institutions  will be enrolling  more and subsequently churn out graduates specialising in ECD.

There is an old adage that says `catch them young, which seems to resonate well with the ministry`s thinking of getting children into the school system as young as possible, at a time when they are easy to nature and cultivate the necessary culture in preparation for their latter school years. The development, according to some proponents in favour of the idea, is one of the necessary measures that could be a panacea to the below par pass rate at ordinary level, for long hovering around plus or minus 20%.

Whatever pros that can be cited for the introduction of mandatory ECD A and B, it seems education has been eroded by the current economic quagmire that the nation is faced with. With most parents out of employment and lucky ones, financially hamstrung with low disposable income coupled with too many bills, this development of increasing years of learning will undoubtedly further take a portion and tightening the leash on already constrained family budgets.

`This is going to be a challenge for most parents, the economy is not functioning well at the moment and more years in school for these children means the education bill will increase, unless the government makes it free, I don`t see this as a necessity at all,’ said Molly Nyandoro, a Mtoko parent.

According to one education officer who preferred anonymity as they are not allowed to speak to the media, “introducing children into the school system at such a tender age is tantamount to surrendering them into the hands of mostly government teachers who are poorly remunerated in comparison to their counterparts in the kindergarten (crèche), bringing forth the question of whether they will be able to offer the extra care needed like wiping when they mess up, and accompanying them to the toilets”

Harare based teacher, a Murotwa, said he believed the current one year of ECD is more than enough.

‘‘Unless the measure is meant for baby sitting to help those working parents  who are being fleeced by Day Care Centres ,there is no problem ,’’ he said.

No matter what benefits the introduction of ECD A and B has, the evident scenario is that it will be difficult to implement in most schools, with the rural ones the hardest hit. A female head from Shamva who spoke on condition of anonymity said the fee approved is not adequate and developments in infrastructure had stalled as the government itself has not been forthcoming.

At Admiral Tait Primary School in Harare, Eastlea, where this news crew was part of the applicants in June, about 290 parents  jostled for only 20 ECD A places for 2015, which is a true reflection of the infrastructural challenges many schools are facing, more so in accommodating infants. Recently, a Bulawayo daily reported that Insiza education district managed to get one qualified ECD teacher of the 879 educators needed.

The lack of sufficient infrastructure has led to some schools having to do with hot sitting to accommodate all classes and quite evidently, there will be a challenge in accommodating three and half to four year olds who need special ablution facilities and related infrastructure.

The issue of ECD A and B ranks among one of raft measures introduced by the education ministry since Lazarus Dokora took over the reigns, many of which have caused discord and discontent among stakeholders in the education sector; parents and teachers included.

Politics interfering in art

When politics interfere with art.

Evans Dakwa and Misheck Shambare

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him,” once said former United States President John F Kennedy.

Art gurus have said in art there are neither boundaries nor limits; it only takes great courage from the artist to fully express themselves in an amusing way to the people consuming their products.

The just ended Harare International Festival of Arts (HIFA) was just another victim of Art not being recognised its role to the society.

The deportation of South African outfit Freshly Ground who were scheduled to be the closing act at the festival by Zimbabwean authorities has once again reignited the debate on whether Art should have limitations or boundaries.

Conflicting statements have been given for the reasons why the group could not perform with the Zimbabwean authorities highlighting that their paperwork was not order while the band has maintained the position that they had followed all requisite permit requirements.

However HIFA media on Wednesday set the record straight that they had followed proper procedures in order to bring the band to perform as their final act on Sunday the 4^th of May 2014.

With the organisers of the festival maintaining they had done everything above board, allegations are pointing to the fact that the group’s video “Chicken to change” which they did in 2010 that caricatured President Mugabe as a dictator was the reason why the group was denied entry bringing fourth the question whether art should have certain confines.

Expectant fans of Freshly Ground were left disappointed as the news broke out at the Festival a couple of hours before their sold out show was set to commence.

History has also proved to us that Zimbabwean authorities do not tolerate expression of art that shows any inclination towards the criticism of the regime.

Self-exiled Chimurenga music legend Thomas Mapfumo quickly comes to our minds as the musician had some of his songs blacklisted for allegedly mocking the Zimbabwean leadership.

Although the government of Zimbabwe denies forcing Mukanya as he is popularly known in the public circles into exile, the Chimurenga music icon whose song ‘mamvemve’ literally translated to the country’s woes have worsened was once quoted as saying he feared arrest if he returned to the country.

Leonard Zhakata, Hosiah Chipanga, and Rooftop promotions join the list of Zimbabwean artists who had some of their works banned from receiving airplay allegedly for their critical lyrics.

Artists by nature are inspired by what happens in their surroundings and their works represent what is happening in and around them be it in the social, political or economic spectrum but it seems the authorities in Zimbabwe are not open to that idea of freedom of expression to the artists.

Stand-up comedians at the just ended HIFA were clearly not at liberty to fully express themselves for fear of victimisation.

David Kibuuka, a naturalised South African stand-up comedian clearly stated during his performance at HIFA that he has been given a warning not to delve into any matter with any political inclination.

“It’s funny in South Africa you can go to the parliament and say the president is a fool and go away with it which is a different situation here in Zimbabwe as I have been tipped not to say something that involves politics’” said Kibuuka.

The same can be said of our own Carl Joshua Ncube who in his closing performance at HIFA at the Reps Theatre in Belgravia asked the audience to join him undertaking a joke about the president so that if he was to get arrested he will take his audience with him.

Ncube instructed the audiences to sing along with him saying “Mugabe, Mugabe, Mugabe” and suddenly said “can you see my president they all love you” before leaving the stage without cracking the joke.

This underlines the fact that Art in Zimbabwe is seriously censored as artists find themselves having to skate anything political in their works to avoid clashing with those in high authorities in the country.

If art is allowed to express freely it has the potential to break destructive cycles of suffering, anger, and violence that permanently disfigure the society but it seems the powers that be in the country do not see it that way as several laws like censorship and entertainment control act have been used to stifle artists.

Evidently the popular saying by art gurus that art knows no boundaries remains a pipeline dream in the country as the authorities do not seem to find humour in comicalising and the inclusion of what they term  politically sensitive issues in art leaving artist with limitations in the manner they express themself.

Recycling Art: Art with a difference

Recycling Art: Art with a difference

By Evans Dakwa and Misheck Shambare

When you open your soft drink and throw the bottle top away or when you finish drinking your beer from a can and throw it away, have you ever thought that these seemingly obsolete materials can be assets that can be used productively by other people?

In bars, cafes, restaurants and even on the streets cans and bottle tops can be seen scattered all over the place yet some people have mastered the skill of breathing life into the supposedly useless materials through Art.

Mabvuku Disability Art and Craft Centre have managed to come up with the concept that could come in handy towards achieving a cleaner environment using recycling art.

Using discarded materials like bottle tops, beer and soft drinks cans and the notorious bron cleer empty bottles, they have managed to come up with beautiful art pieces that have captured the attention of international buyers. Their innovation has brought together waste management and art, making significant strides towards a clean environment in the process creating employment for less privileged people in the society.

The eight member group which has disabled people amongst its ranks has made an array of artifacts including rubbish bins, handbags, light bulb chandeliers, kids’ toys, tables and chairs using apparently useless materials.

Royt Bisiwasi who is the Director of Mabvuku Disability Art and Craft Centre which showcased their art pieces at the just ended Harare International Festival of Arts (HIFA) said the innovation was inspired by the massive littering in the city and the desire to reduce the scourge by using litter productively.

“Initially we started our art using wire but we then merged with waste materials found scattered everywhere, an idea which received strong support from art passionate people encouraging us and from then on we never looked back,” he said.

Bisiwasi who has been actively involved in Art since 1994 said they get most of the materials they use from restaurants, bars and individuals whom they pay for bringing rubbish materials to them.

On working with disabled people, Bisiwasi said it was proper to include them as he understood their plight in society since his leg was amputated after an accident and to also prove that disability does not necessarily mean inability.

Although there are some local customers, Bisiwasi credited foreigners as the major clienteles of their products.

“The majority of our customers are from the United States of America (USA) and France as most Zimbabweans do not appreciate such type of art coupled by the liquidity crunch in the country,” he said.

He however thanked HIFA for the exposure and going out of their way to link them with new customers as they recorded brisk business during the course of the festival.

The group has taken recycling art to a new level as they have gone to make roof tiles from cans.

“We have managed to make a roof that is made up of empty soft drink and beer cans as tiles at a house in Milton Park suburb of Harare,” said Bisiwasi.

It seems recycling art is gaining popularity in Harare as more artists are coming up and incorporating the idea into their works.

Borrowdale based Jesa Arts which was also exhibiting at the just ended HIFA said they had turned to recycling art as it provided double benefits of being more viable and also keeping the environment clean especially in Harare.

“We saw it fit to turn to recycling Art as a way of keeping our environment clean by using waste material productively whilst making money from less capital by adding value to what some people call useless material,” they said.

Booker Sipeyiye who is Jesa Arts Director under a project dubbed Sunshine Zimbabwe which they are running from Sam Levy’s Village has been at the fore front of training youths as a way of empowering them with skills in the process of creating employment for young people.

“Our country at the moment is experiencing an economic meltdown and as a result many youths are jobless which made me to include them in my art as a way of empowering by training them and also to spread the idea across the country since we cannot eradicate the problem of rubbish in Harare alone.

“We need as many people as possible to come on board,” he said.

Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Public Relations Officer Steady Kangata appreciated recycling art as it goes an extra mile towards their quest to for a cleaner environment.

“We are really thrilled by the efforts of these artists in coming up with such initiatives as they go a long way in the cleaning of the environment as well as saving the resources of the country,” he said.