Sex workers in Checheche bemoans lack of confidentiality at St Peters hospital

Artwel Chingwara

Speaking at a focus group discussion at Checheche organised by the Platform for Youth and Community Development (PYCD) Gender desk; Sex workers complained of the publication of their health status which lead them to lose customers and even reluctant to seek medical help

“The medical staff at the local hospital (name supplied) doesn't respect our privacy and confidentiality when we go to seek medical help on sexual transmitted infections. This has made many of us not to seek urgent treatment making the infections get into serious stage" Said Chipo,who is one of the familiar and regular visitors to the PYCD Drop In centre in Checheche.

She went on to say her friend nearly died of genital watts as she feared to go to the local hospital and ended up resorting to traditional remedies which could not help.

PYCD Gender Wellness and Advocacy Officer Ms Cynthia Gwenzi urged the sex workers not to delay seeking medical attention. She went on to suggest to them to continue visiting the nearest clinics since her organisation would come to their help by engaging with the hospital staff. Despite this assurance, the sex workers complained that the treatment they were getting was inhumane in addition to the fact that the charges are expensive and unaffordable considering the little they get after providing services.

"We don't have money to seek medical help at other centres since we charge smaller amounts moreover customers are now low because of the economic situation. We beg PYCD to talk with the local hospital staff to respect patients’ privacy and confidentiality; if that is sorted we will feel free to be treated”.

Said one of the vocal participants identified only as Mai Tee.

This important discussion came at a time when PYCD has joined the international community in celebrating 16 days of activism against Gender based violence under the theme "ORANGE THE WORLD: GENDERATION EQUALITY STANDS AGAINST RAPE"

This year's theme resonates with the efforts PYCD have been making in undertaking its endeavour to empower young women and girls against harmful cultural practices.

The achievement of Goal 5 on Gender Equality by 2030 requires urgent action to eliminate the many root causes of discrimination that still curtail women’s rights in private and public spheres. Eliminating gender-based violence is a priority, given that this is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world today.

Vheneka village welcomes the message to speak out against violence

Cheriel Dzobo

There was consensus by the women who were participants to a women hearing in Vheneka village, that speaking out about their experiences of abuse and violence was one of the surest ways of eliminating violence against women and girls in Chipinge district.

Ms Cynthia Gwenzi who was the guest visitor for the hearing, encouraged the women to speak out and fight the tendency of suffering in silence. She went on to say that tolerating gender based violence and rape is tantamount to violence as this lead to more people falling victims. The women who attended the hearing session were notified of the existence of a drop in centre at the PYCD Offices. The main purpose of the drop in centre is to receive and document all cases of violence against women including harmful cultural practices that hinder women’s positive contribution to the development of our community. Women who come to the centre are offered counselling and other relevant skills to institute the process of apprehending perpetrators of gender based violence.

The women hearing attracted 25 women from Vheneka who were mobilised to speak out about their personal experiences in response to the various challenges in the ward which includes early child marriages, school drop outs, wife beating and high cases of divorce.

Women who attended appreciated the role of PYCD for enlightening them to understand that they have a voice and were equal partners for development together with their male counterparts.

“Women hearing has been part of our response to afford women an environment and platform that is free of men so that the participants can freely reflect and plan on the best way to end GBV and early child marriages” Cynthia Gwenzi , PYCD Gender Wellness and Advocacy Officer reiterated

The Women Hearing in Vheneka was organised as part of PYCD’s commemoration of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence that is being held under the theme: Orange the World: Generation Equality stands against Rape. Vheneka village is found in ward 27 of Chipinge South constituency. There has been numerous reports of gender based violence in the ward, and it becomes imperative to hold a women hearing session. The women hearing in Vheneka village aimed to prevent gender-based violence through a consultative approach.

The women hearing in Vheneka brought to the fore the main challenge for violence prevention as the absence of health or social services. The absence of health and social services expose the village with little support with which to intervene in cases of gender based violence. There is little police intervention, and the village is left to police the situation themselves. On the other hand, there is also little social services support for women victims, and therefore, the priority for the village then becomes the maintenance of the status quo rather than protection of the woman experiencing abuse or violence.

The Platform for Youth and Community Development (PYCD) joins the rest of the international community in commemorating the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence under the theme; “ORANGE THE WORLD: GENERATION EQUALITY STANDS AGAINST RAPE.” This year’s theme resonates with the efforts that we have been undertaking in our endeavour to empower young women and girls against harmful cultural practices in Chipinge. We will have varied activities in Chipinge district that will start from the 25th of November 2019 and ends on 10^th of December 2019.

Chipinge district is a conservative community that has strong patriarchal beliefs, power and control that have created social environment for the perpetuation of gender inequalities.  Through our #NdirimunthuNgeanthu campaign, PYCD has put the issue of sexual violence, rape and abuse of young women and girls on the spotlight. We have increased awareness on violence and rape against young women and girls through women hearings, door to door campaigns and interface meetings with traditional leaders among key community stakeholders.

The 2019 activities are configured around the narrative of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as it has been realised that gender discrimination is still woven into the fabric of social norms. PYCD is of the belief that gender equality, quality education, good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, peace, justice and strong institutions will bring impetus to the elimination of violence and rape against young women and girls.

PYCD will officially launch the commemorations on the 2nd of December 2019 at Checheche growth point, through a march that will fold into a mobile clinic to afford the community at large to interact with free legal aid through one of our partner, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).From the 25^th there will be various activities in selected wards of Chipinge Rural District Council. These activities will include women hearings, men’s forums, interface meetings with traditional leaders as well as understanding the plight of sex workers, door to door campaigns and sensitisation meetings with key community stakeholders. The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence will also address the unequal economic relations between Mutema banana farmers and a large scale investment company. The unequal relations have exposed the vulnerability of young women in areas of entrepreneurship and land justice.

Young women have suffered violence and discrimination in Chipinge district in the on-going evictions that both the central government and local government have undertaken to pursue. Currently, young women have borne the brunt of the exercises to evict villagers from their area of residence. Women and girls are left stranded and exposed to sexual violence and rape, just like what happened during the Cyclone Idai disaster. Young women and girls suffered abuse, sexual violence and abuse as the distribution of relief aid was heavily gender insensitive.

Another major highlight of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence will be a family fun day to be held at Chibuwe Primary school aimed at providing psycho-social support to the victims and survivors of Cyclone Idai disaster.

Can the new currency ease cash shortages?

By Success Majaramhepo

Zimbabwe is trying to bring back its “Zimdollar” currency and not for the first time. Ten years since the troubled national currency was essentially destroyed by years of hyperinflation, central bank officials and a few strategic government insiders have been hinting or openly discussing the need for its return.

Last week the government moved a step ahead in its currency reforms when the central bank announced new notes will be introduced in two weeks to fight transactional challenges emanating from over-reliance on digital and mobile money exacerbated by cash shortages.

Mobile money, an area in which Econet spin-off, EcoCash is the dominant player has often been helpful for ordinary Zimbabweans in alleviating the cash shortages they have been experiencing. However, mobile money has also become problematic as wallet holders have had to pay premiums of up to 50% to access their funds in cash and this is why the Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank is moving to introduce new currency notes under the banner of the Zim dollar.

But to understand the Zimbabwean currency changes and reforms and the resultant crisis, one needs to go back to 2009 when the country—ravaged by hyper-inflation—abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar and adopted multiple currencies including the US dollar and South African rand.

In 2015, the foreign currency notes dried up at the banks, leading to cash shortages in the economy. Then in 2016, Zimbabwe introduced bond notes as a surrogate currency which initially had an equal value to the US dollar but today it trades at 1:15 with the greenback.

The currency crisis worsened even after longtime ruler Robert Mugabe was deposed by Emmerson Mnangagwa in November 2017. He appointed Mthuli Ncube as finance minister in 2018 leading to the adoption of a monetary policy pivoted around currency reforms which have in turn led to the removal of foreign currencies and re-introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar in 2019.

This November Zimbabwe will inject more cash into the economy in the form of new ZWL $2 coins, ZWL $2 and ZWL $5 notes and these will be legal tender alongside the bond notes introduced in 2016 pending their gradual phasing out from the market.

According to the monetary policy committee of the Zimbabwean central bank, “the level of physical cash in the economy is inadequate to meet transactional demand” hence its decision to “boost the domestic availability of cash for transactional purposes through a gradual increase in cash supply over the next six months” and starting with the new notes coming up this month.

With Zimbabweans having to pay premiums for their own money in their mobile wallets, economists including Oxlink Capital’s Brains Muchemwa have described the situation as a reflection of failures but some Zimbabwean economists believe the introduction of new notes under the Zim dollar banner will help address cash shortages in the economy, mainly because of fears that further injection of money will drive up inflation. It may be too late, the economy recently officially sunk into hyper inflation despite the government stopping publication of yearly inflation data.

Cash shortages have been pushing up transaction fees for digital money, leaving analysts divided over the role of mobile money in abetting or worsening the monetary crisis. Authorities in Zimbabwe have recently ordered mobile money operators to stop cash in and cash out functionalities, apparently because of the premiums some agents were charging and has only re-instatement of these functions after imposing limits of about ZWL100 per transaction. On the parallel market, ZWL100 is equal to $5 while on the official interbank market, ZWL100 is about $6.60

Apart from the pricing distortions and premiums on cash, Zimbabweans are having to cope with sharp price rises, the most recent of which has been fuel prices and data tariffs. Econet Wireless this week hiked mobile voice call and mobile data tariffs while fuel has also gone up by about 12% after the removal of subsidies on petroleum products this year. This is expected to provide further room for inflation increases. Re-Invent Zimbabwe chair and economist Vince Musewe says “increasing liquidity through hard cash will be like giving more chips to the gambler” as prices will likely shoot over the roof.

Apart from the skepticism and divided opinions over the new notes to be introduced and their impact on the economy, some analysts such as independent economist Jeffrey Kasirori say the government still has to do more to clear the way for the new currency notes to have a positive impact. Zimbabwean businesses have long complained about the high costs of doing business and a placid regulatory framework.

“If we don’t address fundamentals especially around the cost of production then the new currency might not work. We are waiting to see what else the government will do to address the business operating framework because as things stand, accessing foreign currency is still problematic for many companies and this makes their production difficult,” says Kasirori.

Success Majaramhepo is a 22 year old young woman who strongly believes in social justice and equality. She is a third year student at the University of Zimbabwe studying Journalism and Media Studies. Success is a contributor to PYCD's Social Media platforms.

Chipinge town residents run amok, as they reject increment of water rates

By Allan Murozvi

Residents of Chipinge town have caused a stir  by accusing the local authority of mismanagement and incompetence,  which are responsible in the eventual decision by  ZESA to disconnect the water source for residence.

ZESA was forced to disconnect water for residence over non-payment of a bill amounting to over I million dollars. The local Council is now in a catch 22 situation since the on-going budget consultation to increase the rates are now in limbo.

The budget consultation meetings are scheduled in terms of the Urban Council Act, to prepare the 2020 budget. The exercise which  started on Monday the 21st of October 2019,is now uncertain as residents  are refusing to budge as they demand to understand what led to the bill ballooning to  I million dollars when water had not been efficiently distributed by authority .

 Residents suspect that if the rates are increased, this will continue to give the local authority uninterrupted access to Council funds without accountability. They are not ready to approve the proposals as they view the proposed figures of an interbank equivalent of USD 8 is beyond the reach of the majority. This proposal to increase water rates for Chipinge town residence is failing to find takers and now raising emotions.

 Ward 4 residents have already disrupted a consultation meeting at Gaza Town Hall. The Council management had to call police after the residents became agitated. They are threatening to expose unethical operations of council which might eventually need the Anti-Corruption Commission to intervene.

 The Chipinge district Edition of the Cyclone Idai Sport Tournament, a huge success

Chimanimani and Chipinge districts are in distress following the Cyclone Idai that ravaged their communities in March of this year. Most survivors are still narrating the traumatic horrors of seeing visions of people being swept away in the muddy floods. This is a reflection of a community that is still in deep shock. On 19 October 2019, PYCD in collaboration with Sports for Excellence Trust staged a successful sports tournament in Chipinge District.

The sport tournament brought different walks of life together and it improved the self-esteem of Cyclone Idai survivors and prevented them from physically and mentally disintegrating. It was refreshing to see the community getting closer during the sport tournament, despite the sweltering and blistering heat.

Cyclone Idai survivors and other people who graced the tournament acknowledged the fact that sport has proven to be an extremely beneficial tool in re-establishing normalcy, providing space for people to laugh and interact with others, free of guilt and fear. This has been identified as a crucial factor in rebuilding their lives and communities, and thus sport becomes an effective tool to rebuild dignity and faith in life, to overcome trauma and build resilience.

The sport tournament took place in two venues in Chipinge district. The venues chosen for the tournament were Takwirira High School and Checheche Primary School who were hosting teams from Chipinge South Constituency and Musikavanhu Constituency respectively. The sport tournament was configured around proffering psychosocial support to Cyclone Idai survivors. Therefore, participating teams were drawn from the community and surrounding schools and numbered 16 teams in total.

In Musikavanhu Constituency, Manzvire Secondary School and Manzvire community team emerged together with Rimbi High School and their community counterpart. These four will now progress to the next stage of the tournament. On the other hand, Takwirira High School and Katanga High School made it for school teams while One One FC and Mkukuzi FC community teams managed to progress to the next stage of the tournament. The finals for the tournament will be held on the 1^st and 2^nd of November 2019 at Takwirira High school where more firework is expected. ZIFA has confirmed attendance to come and scout talents through the vice chairperson of the soccer legends Mr Harlington Shereni.

The sport tournament enabled survivors to cope with traumatic experiences and return to their daily activities, helped in restoring and maintaining the social functioning of the affected Chipinge and Chimanimani districts as well as in creating an emotional balance of survivors at the level of their social environment.

According to the sponsors, the 1^st and 2^nd of November 2019 will be big events in Chipinge district where the public is invited to show solidarity with the victims and survivors of the disaster. Mr Claris Madhuku, the Director of Platform for Youth and Community Development has extended his invitation to well-wishers and the corporate world to also play a part.

“As a community based organisation we have been doing so much since March to contain this sad loss both in Chipinge and Chimanimani. We have reconstruction projects in schools where we have been involved in repairing classes, libraries and toilets for schools including paying for school fees to affected kids. We also expect other more serious players to join our plea in the spirit of Ubuntu” Madhuku pleaded.

PYCD Rallies the Community to Denounce Gender Based Violence in Chipinge

Hordes of people converged at Takwirira High School, Chipinge on the 28th of September 2019 to raise their voice against the increased statistics of women who are losing life due to the occurrence of gender based violence targeted at young women and girls.

The more than 200 marchers were coordinated by the Platform for Youth and Community Development together with Vemuganga Community Radio Initiative who were commemorating the International day of Peace in Chisumbanje. The day which was running under the theme "Climate Action for Peace” lived up to expectation.

This theme is a realisation that climate change is an indisputable challenge to human rights, security and socio -economic development in our local communities.

The march was organised in the view that climate change poses far greater challenges especially to vulnerable members of our society, as it has the potential to aggravate existing fragile situations as has become the case in Chipinge and Chimanimani districts due to the impact of Cyclone Idai. The advent of tropical storms like the recent devastating Cyclone Idai is expected to increase further due to climate change.

The socio – economic impact of Cyclone Idai did not discriminate but it was experienced differently by women and girls. Women and girls were affected more significantly than men due to gender inequalities and power imbalances in access to resources and information in the district.  Chipinge is the most climate change vulnerable districts in Zimbabwe which makes women and girls more susceptible to the adversities that result from climate change.

The march against domestic gender based violence took an hour, and raised awareness on the vulnerability of women and girls to climate change. The song s ".....Isu taramba bongozozo…” (We are against violence) punctuated the March and filtered through the community. Stakeholders graced the event whose main purpose was to raise awareness and recommend action against gender based violence in Chipinge and Chimanimani districts. PYCD Gender wellness and advocacy officer addressed the marchers and encouraged them to coexist by involving closer relations and family networks to mediate disputes before they escalate into violence.

The theme for the International Day of Peace for 2019 allowed the organisers of the event to provide statistics on how women suffered due to the effects of climate change that led to many people perishing and houses destroyed as a result of Cyclone Idai that struck Chimanimani and Chipinge district the most. The most affected are women and children who remain vulnerable today 6 months later.

After the March, there was a tournament that featured 8 soccer teams and 6 netball teams as part of the activities for the day. Sport has always been used as the best symbol of working together,  co-existence and peace.