Gandri Maramba

WASHINGTON DC—Scores of Masvingo residents are struggling to make ends meet and have cut the number of normal meals per day due to lack of income to buy food as a family of six living in an urban area now needs $500 per month.

Some residents say they have since cut their meals from three to two a day due to lack of money.

One of the affected people is Enderance Takaedza of Majange high density suburb, who says they are living from hand to mouth.

“ It’s now difficult to live in town, we delay to have tea and have it in the afternoon and we have our second meal in the evening,” says Takaedza.

Another resident, Joyce Chiwara, says her family is surviving on less than $2 a day.

Chiwara says she used to generate money through selling various goods on the streets of Masvingo, which was blocked by the city council following a directive from the government ordering people to stop selling wares without permission from local authorities.

“I cannot afford to buy food for more than $2, this is because of the shrinking economy. I can’t afford to pay fees for my children, health and water bills because I only get a $1 a day,” says Chiwara.

Most residents say they are failing to get jobs due to the current harsh economic situation in Zimbabwe.

Poverty Eradication Forum Trust (PEFT), a Harare-based non-governmental organization, says it carried a survey in Masvingo which revealed that 80 percent of local people cannot afford to buy adequate food for their families.

PEFT Programmes Coordinator, Tafara Cheremba, says urban poverty has reached alarming proportions in most cities and towns.

“Poverty is going up. There is a challenge of getting the income to buy basic needs,” she says.

Local people say government should find a solution to the country’s economic woes before the situation gets out of hand.

Report by Gandri Maramba On Rise Of Urban Poverty

The on-going El Nino event, officially declared in March, will remain active throughout 2015 and is very likely to extend into the first quarter of 2016.

The event is now strengthening towards its peak intensity which should be reached in late 2015. There is a significant chance that this event could be close or even exceed the strongest levels on record.

The event is being influencing all growing seasons of the northern hemisphere, as well as those of equatorial regions (Horn of Africa, Indonesia) of late 2015, and will be influencing those of southern Africa and South America from late 2015 to early 2016.

The impacts are wide ranging and generally negative in countries facing food insecurity.

Tatenda Gumbo

WASHINGTON—The Ministry of Health and Child Care will in October embark on a national door to door HIV and AIDS survey to assess the state of the pandemic in Zimbabwe.

The $3 million survey known as Zimbabwe Population Based HIV Impact Assessment (ZIMPHIA) will target 15,000 households in the country’s 10 provinces and districts.

The survey, apart from measuring the prevalence rate of HIV in the country, will provide testing for HIV and syphilis, CD4 count testing for those living with HIV, direct counseling, treatment and referral care for people who may test positive for HIV.

The funds for the program fall under the American governments’ President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Dr. Mutsa Mhangara, the strategic information coordinator for the HIV program in the Ministry of Health, said this survey will be more comprehensive than some other HIV surveys.

“One thing which is very unique about this survey is that we are going to measure the HIV status in households and we are also going to give the results at the same time, which is very unique in the sense that most surveys they take that sample but however the participants never get the results,” said Mhangara.

Upon arrival at the randomly selected households, enumerators will be tasked to explain the purpose of the survey before seeking consent from household members.

The survey expects all household members over the age of 7 to be tested. Those under the age of 18 will be required to be given consent from a parent or guardian, while anyone over the age of 18 can give a person consent for testing.

“For those who would participate in this survey, number one is to know their HIV status and then number two, if they are HIV positive, they’ll be referred for treatment and care if they are eligible. And to those who are HIV negative they will be also empowered with information so that we encourage them to remain negative,” said Mhangara.

The Health Ministry will continue programing which Dr. Mhangara said is geared at prevention. Zimbabwe, like other countries, is pushing the goal of “90, 90, 90,” by 2020.

According to this target, 90% of all people living with HIV should know their status, 90% of all those who are diagnosed HIV positive to be on sustained antiretroviral treatment (ART) and 90% of those on ART are expected to have an undetectable viral load.

The Zimbabwe Population Based HIV Impact Assessment survey is expected to commence October 5th.

Meanwhile, the government is also embarking on a National Measles, Rubella Vaccination and Vitamin A supplement Campaign from September 28 to October 2.

The national campaign is targeting 5 million children from the ages of 9 months to 15 years.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A partnership between the Government of Zimbabwe and a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, has been working to decontaminate drinking water, improve the water treatment and delivery infrastructure, and stop the spread of cholera which has claimed thousands of lives

• As a result of the intervention, there have been no new cases of cholera in Beitbridge, and residents have access to safe, clean water

• Since improvements were made to the sanitation infrastructure and water supply, there have been no new cases of cholera in Beitbridge since 2009

BEITBRIDGE, September 21, 2015– In 2008 and 2009, Zimbabwe’s poor sanitation and water treatment facilities became a public health catastrophe that claimed the lives of 4,300 people and infected more than 100,000 people nationwide.

In the border town of Beitbridge alone, nearly 25,000 people became infected with the waterborne disease. Poor sanitation infrastructure was only the tipping point of the causes of the cholera epidemic.

“We lost a lot of people,” said Rumbidzai Ribombo, the chairperson of the Beitbridge Residents Association. “A lot of people died because they did not have access to clean water.”

The spread of the disease was further exacerbated by inadequate treatment of drinking water, shortage of stored treated water, and erratic power supply causing businesses to suffer.

“Our biggest problem in Beitbridge at the time was burst sewer lines, which made the town dirty all the time,” said F. Gumbo, owner of Beitbridge Pay Toilets. “We didn’t have water, we were losing a lot of money.”

These conditions combined to create an epidemic that took two years to recover.

In response to the epidemic, the Government of Zimbabwe and the World Bank (WB) created the Beitbridge Emergency Water Supply and Sanitation Project with the goal to address the town’s serious water and sanitation issues.

This project’s first order of business was to make physical investments in the water supply system, wastewater treatment, and solid waste management, while also strengthening the capacity of the Beitbridge Town Council. These activities were supported through a US$2.65 million multi-donor trust fund (MDTF), financed by the State and Peace Building Fund and administered by the WB.

Simon Muleya, Beitbridge district administrator, says the upgrades to the town’s water treatment facility have played a big part in containing the contamination.

“They upgraded the water drain in the plant and also re-trenched our sewer pipes one kilometer to the sewage treatment plant and also our ponds were redone because we had a problem with our ponds where we were polluting the international river,” Muleya said.

The three components of the project focused on: •Treatment and supply rehabilitation •Sewerage treatment rehabilitation and the improvement of solid waste management •Strengthening the institutional capacity of both the Beitbridge Town Council and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority

Muleya said these improvements, especially the improvement of solid waste collection from homes and businesses, has helped Beitbridge become markedly cleaner.

“We now have refuse collection and one compacted truck which really went a long way giving us capacity to collect solid waste regularly,” he said.

The partnership between the WB and the MTDF lead to a feasibility study for the council, so that “at least we have a proper landfill where we can deposit our solid waste,” Muleya said.

The improvements have also led to healthier residents. There have been no new cholera incidents, and the town has demonstrated greater willingness to pay for the improvement in service.

“We are drinking clean water, we are using clean water to bath, and we are getting water each and every day so we are no longer suffering from cholera,” Ribombo said.

By Elizabeth B. Mupfumira

The Government of Zimbabwe has stepped up its fight against infant and child mortality by embarking on a National Measles and Rubella campaign, alongside Vitamin A supplementation drive across the country.

Starting September 28, 2015 until October 2, 2015, the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will conduct the campaign at all clinics and hospitals, pre-schools, primary and secondary schools; churches; outreach points and select markets across the country.

“We have a responsibility to protect the future generation by ensuring that they are protected from preventable diseases through immunization,” said Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr. David Parirenyatwa. “If we work together collectively, Zimbabwe can eradicate measles in the same way that we have eradicated polio.”

This year’s National Immunization Day will see the Government, in partnership with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, GAVI, and USAID’s Maternal and Child Health Integrated Programmes (MCHIP) vaccinating up to 5 million children aged 9 months to 16 years with the Measles and Rubella vaccine for the first time, while babies aged between 6 months and 5 years will be given the Vitamin A supplement.

“Our Ministry provides a very strategic entry point to conduct these vaccinations, as many children will be in school during this time,” said Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Professor Paul Mavhima. “I am calling upon parents, guardians, and teachers to assist in ensuring that children are vaccinated in schools.”

In 2010, Zimbabwe experience its worst outbreak of measles which resulted in over 10 000 confirmed cases and over 500 deaths. This year, the Government of Zimbabwe aims to create nationwide immunity against measles, while introducing the rubella vaccine for the first time to reduce rubella infection in children.

“Over the past 5 years we have seen a remarkable decline in infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe, a large contributor being immunization drives such as this,” said UNICEF Representative Reza Hossaini. “If we are to continue to see this downward trajectory, we must ensure that all children are vaccinated no matter what part of the country they are from.”

The rubella vaccine, which is being introduced for the first time in Zimbabwe, prevents children being infected with the rubella virus. If women become infected during early pregnancy, they risk giving birth to babies with Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) as well as other adverse conditions such as fetal deaths and congenital defects including deafness, blindness as well as heart defects.

“The effects of Rubella are largely unknown in most parts of the population,” said WHO Representative, Dr. David Okello. “However, we should not allow our children to suffer – Rubella is a virus that can have long term consequences for children.”

The Government has also called on Chiefs, religious leaders – especially objectors from some Apostolic Sects, and traditional leaders to become advocates for immunization.

By Elizabeth B. Mupfumira

The Government of Zimbabwe has stepped up its fight against infant and child mortality by embarking on a National Measles and Rubella campaign, alongside Vitamin A supplementation drive across the country.

Starting September 28, 2015 until October 2, 2015, the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will conduct the campaign at all clinics and hospitals, pre-schools, primary and secondary schools; churches; outreach points and select markets across the country.

“We have a responsibility to protect the future generation by ensuring that they are protected from preventable diseases through immunization,” said Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr. David Parirenyatwa. “If we work together collectively, Zimbabwe can eradicate measles in the same way that we have eradicated polio.”

This year’s National Immunization Day will see the Government, in partnership with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, GAVI, and USAID’s Maternal and Child Health Integrated Programmes (MCHIP) vaccinating up to 5 million children aged 9 months to 16 years with the Measles and Rubella vaccine for the first time, while babies aged between 6 months and 5 years will be given the Vitamin A supplement.

“Our Ministry provides a very strategic entry point to conduct these vaccinations, as many children will be in school during this time,” said Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Professor Paul Mavhima. “I am calling upon parents, guardians, and teachers to assist in ensuring that children are vaccinated in schools.”

In 2010, Zimbabwe experience its worst outbreak of measles which resulted in over 10 000 confirmed cases and over 500 deaths. This year, the Government of Zimbabwe aims to create nationwide immunity against measles, while introducing the rubella vaccine for the first time to reduce rubella infection in children.

“Over the past 5 years we have seen a remarkable decline in infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe, a large contributor being immunization drives such as this,” said UNICEF Representative Reza Hossaini. “If we are to continue to see this downward trajectory, we must ensure that all children are vaccinated no matter what part of the country they are from.”

The rubella vaccine, which is being introduced for the first time in Zimbabwe, prevents children being infected with the rubella virus. If women become infected during early pregnancy, they risk giving birth to babies with Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) as well as other adverse conditions such as fetal deaths and congenital defects including deafness, blindness as well as heart defects.

“The effects of Rubella are largely unknown in most parts of the population,” said WHO Representative, Dr. David Okello. “However, we should not allow our children to suffer – Rubella is a virus that can have long term consequences for children.”

The Government has also called on Chiefs, religious leaders – especially objectors from some Apostolic Sects, and traditional leaders to become advocates for immunization.

The on-going El Nino event, officially declared in March, will remain active throughout 2015 and is very likely to extend into the first quarter of 2016.
The event is now strengthening towards its peak intensity which should be reached in late 2015. There is a significant chance that this event could be close or even exceed the strongest levels on record. The event is being influencing all growing seasons of the northern hemisphere, as well as those of equatorial regions (Horn of Africa, Indonesia) of late 2015, and will be influencing those of southern Africa and South America from late 2015 to early 2016.
The impacts are wide ranging and generally negative in countries facing food insecurity.

SARCOF forecast

From October to December 2015, the entire region is expected to receive normal to below-normal rainfall. For the remainder of the season - December 2015 to March 2016 - the southern half of the region is expected to receive normal to below-normal rainfall, while the northern half is expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall. Northern and central Madagascar is expected to receive above-normal rainfall, the great south is expected to receive normal to below-normal rainfall.

Bindura, Zimbabwe | AFP | Thursday 9/24/2015 - 04:01 GMT

by Fanuel JONGWE

Villagers in Zimbabwe are skipping meals and foraging for wild fruit as food stocks run out after a poor harvest blamed on drought and controversial land reforms.

"Even if the children complain of hunger there is nothing we can do about it," says Rabian Chidamba, 40, a mother of four who lives in Musana district northwest of the capital Harare.

She has cut the family's meals to two a day as she ekes out her small stock of the staple food, corn.

Breakfast is tea with home-baked cornmeal bread, while supper is cornmeal and fried kale, occasionally supplemented with a small portion of meat.

"When the children get hungry between meals they go and look for wild fruit," Chidamba says.

She still has some corn in her makeshift granary, unlike many of her compatriots in other districts whose food stores are empty, but the next harvest is not due until April or May next year.

"Our harvest came to 10 bags of maize instead of the 30 bags we usually get," she said.

Chidamba usually sells surplus corn to raise money for her children's school fees and other necessities, but this year's harvest is not enough even to feed her own family.

At least 1.5 million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid, according to the United Nations World Food Programme and other aid agencies.

Once a major producer of corn, Zimbabwe has become a perennial importer of food following a slump in agricultural production blamed on President Robert Mugabe’s land reforms, which saw the seizure of land from white commercial farmers for redistribution to landless blacks.

This year, drought has played a major role in reducing harvests in many southern African countries, with Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana among the worst-hit.

An estimated 27.4 million people out of the region's combined population of 292 million -- or nearly one in 10 people -- will be depending on food handouts by the end of the year.

• Desperate villagers -

World Food Programme spokesman David Orr told AFP Zimbabwe and Malawi were facing their "worst food security crisis" in a decade.

Mugabe says the low yields are due to erratic rains caused by climate change, along with a lack of fertilizer, seed and farming equipment for the beneficiaries of his land reforms, most of whom lacked the means to run farms.

To alleviate hunger this year, the government has relaxed import regulations to allow individuals and private companies to import grain to supplement local supplies.

So far imports consist of maize grain from Zambia and maize meal from South Africa, according to the agriculture ministry.

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appealed for cash from "development agencies and the private sector" to ensure that the vulnerable are not "exposed to hunger and starvation".

However, the USAid-funded Famine Early Warning System Network has warned that "the lean season humanitarian assistance is expected to be lower than average due to a challenging funding situation".

WFP said it will start distributing food at the end of September to recipients who will work on projects including building small dams, repairing roads and starting vegetable gardens.

"Because of the poor harvest this year, food security levels are deteriorating earlier during the lean season than usual," said WFP information officer Tinashe Mubaira.

"Consumption coping strategies at the moment are reduction of portion sizes and eating fewer meals. Communities in districts bordering neighbouring countries are crossing over to Mozambique and Zambia for casual labour," he said.

Zvidzai Nyakudirwa, a storekeeper in Chinamhora communal lands, said desperate villagers were bartering their livestock for maize, often getting a bad deal.

They were also selling their livestock "at very low prices", he said.

"It's tough for many families here," said Nyakudirwa, noting that most of his customers were now travellers passing through, rather than the villagers themselves.

Among the worst affected areas are the southern province of Matabeleland North, Masvingo and Matabeleland South, according to government figures.

South Africa, the regional breadbasket, has also been hard hit by drought, recording a 31 percent decline in output this year.

The current maize harvest in South Africa is "the lowest yield since 2007," the country's agriculture department told AFP, adding that the country will have to import around 600,000 tonnes of maize to cover the deficit and meet its contractual export obligations.

fj/lb/ns

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

The on-going El Niño event, officially declared in March, will remain active throughout 2015 and is very likely to extend into the first quarter of 2016.

The event is now strengthening towards its peak intensity which should be reached in late 2015. There is a significant chance that this event could be close or even exceed the strongest levels on record.

The event is influencing all growing seasons of the northern hemisphere, as well as those of equatorial regions (Horn of Africa, Indonesia) of late 2015, and will be influencing those of southern Africa and South America from late 2015 to early 2016.

The impacts are wide ranging and generally negative in countries facing food insecurity.

SARCOF forecast

From October to December 2015, the entire region is expected to receive normal to below-normal rainfall. For the remainder of the season - December 2015 to March 2016 - the southern half of the region is expected to receive normal to below-normal rainfall, while the northern half is expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall. Northern and central Madagascar is expected to receive above-normal rainfall, the great south is expected to receive normal to below-normal rainfall.

Blessing Zulu

WASHINGTON DC— UNICEF has assured victims of last year’s Tokwe-Mukosi floods that they will get the much-needed assistance as the rainy season fast approaches with most of them still living in poor conditions.

Most of the victims have been complaining that the bulk of funds being donated in their name have not been reaching them.

The Japanese government on Wednesday donated over a million dollars through UNICEF to Local Government Minister Saviour Kasukuwere to support women and children displaced by the 2014 floods around the Tokwe Mukosi Dam in Masvingo province.

Blessing Zindi, who works with UNICEF’s emergency department in Harare, told VOA Studio 7 the funds would be used to reduce the risk of malnutrition, diarrhea diseases and the prevention of abuse and sexual violence, especially among women and children.

More than 20,000 villagers were displaced by the floods and then moved to a makeshift camp before being finally “dumped” at Nuanetsi Ranch in Masvingo province.

Interview with Blessing Zindi, UNICEF

PROJECTED FOOD ASSISTANCE NEEDS FOR MARCH 2016

This brief summarizes FEWS NET’s most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries. The projected size of each country’s acutely food insecure population (IPC Phase 3 and higher) is compared to last year and the recent five-year average and categorized as Higher ( p), Similar ( u), or Lower ( q). Countries where external emergency food assistance needs are anticipated are identified. Projected lean season months highlighted in red indicate either an early start or an extension to the typical lean season. Additional information is provided for countries with large food insecure populations, an expectation of high severity, or where other key issues warrant additional discussion. Analytical confidence is lower in remote monitoring countries, denoted by “RM”. Visit www.fews.net for detailed country reports.

Maize grain and maize flour are the main foods consumed by all households in Zimbabwe. These food items are both produced locally and imported from neighboring countries particularly in the south western provinces of the country. The markets monitored are the main markets that offer both wholesale and retail supply in the respective regions of the country. Mbare in Harare is the largest market for the country which also supplies other markets, and representative of Mashonaland Central, West and East which are surplus producing areas; Kombayi in Gweru represents markets in central Zimbabwe covering Midlands province, Sakubva in Mutare is the main link market in the eastern part of the country mainly along the border with Mozambique. Mucheke in Masvingo, Renkini in Bulawayo, and Gwanda markets are the main supply markets in the south western provinces of Masvingo,
Matebeleland North and South provinces.

DREAMS is an ambitious partnership to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries.

The goal of DREAMS is to help girls develop into Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women.

Girls and young women account for 71 percent of new HIV infections among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

The 10 DREAMS countries (Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) account for nearly half of all the new HIV infections that occurred among adolescent girls and young women globally in 2014. This must change.

DREAMS is about multiple solutions surrounding one problem. With support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Girl Effect, DREAMS is delivering a core package that combines evidence-based approaches that go beyond the health sector, addressing the structural drivers that directly and indirectly increase girls’ HIV risk, including poverty, gender inequality, sexual violence, and a lack of education.

Many adolescent girls and young women lack a full range of opportunities and are too often devalued because of gender bias, leading them to be seen as unworthy of investment or protection. Social isolation, economic disadvantage, discriminatory cultural norms, orphanhood, gender-based violence, and school drop-out all contribute to girls’ vulnerability to HIV. DREAMS has the potential to change how we work together to ensure an AIDS-free future for adolescent girls and young women.

WFP's Food for Asset and Productive Asset Creation programmes are strengthening communities’ resilience to climactic shocks by rehabilitating 114 dams across the country

It’s half past five on a cool summer morning in Mwenezi, Zimbabwe and Zvodai Ndambakuwa, aged 23, is sitting impatiently on the 20-litre container she uses to haul water. Every five minutes, she glances down at the one-metre deep well, hoping the water level will be high enough for her to haul it. She has been at the well since 4 o’clock in the morning.

“Ever since I was born, water has been a problem in this area. Now I’m married, have two kids, and we are still facing the same problem,” says Ndambakuwa. “Everyone’s hopes are now pinned on the weir dam the World Food Programme is building. It will bring life to not only my family and our livestock, but to the six villages that surround us.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) is promoting the creation and rehabilitation of small dams including weir dams in arid parts of the country. The dams are part of WFP’s Food for Asset programme aimed at strengthening communities’ resilience to climactic shocks. Funded under a joint initiative by the United States and Japan, 114 dams are being created or rehabilitated across 10 districts in 2015.

“Japan’s contribution not only helps WFP meet people’s immediate food needs but also helps provide the most vulnerable with a means to cope with shocks, such as drought,” says WFP Country Director of Zimbabwe Eddie Rowe. “Building resilience is the key to achieving sustainable development and creating a future free from hunger.”

In the districts of Zvishavane and Mwenezi, some 83,000 people are likely to face hunger during the height of the 2015/16 lean season. WFP established its Productive Asset Creation programme to help vulnerable communities move away from dependency on food assistance by creating assets that increase their resilience to future food security shocks. The Tsvimborume dam, for example, located 150 kilometres from Zimbabwe’s oldest town, Masvingo, and created under WFP’s Productive Asset Creation programme, will benefit more than 2,000 people and some 8,000 livestock.

Zvishavane and Mwenezi are among a number of districts in southern Zimbabwe that have suffered as a result of consecutive bad harvests caused by poor rains during the growing season. It is estimated that at least 1.5 million people across the country will be food insecure during the height of the lean season after a 50 percent decrease in crop production this year.

The construction of the weir dam was implemented by WFP, in partnership with the Mwenezi Development Training Centre and with support from the Government of Japan. Able-bodied, food-insecure people receive food rations to meet their immediate needs while they work on the project. Work at the construction site resumed early this year after it went on hold in 2013.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE political landscape of Zimbabwe continues to be awash with intolerance and bias. While members of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) are seen on the offensive in a few of the recorded instances, in the majority of reported incidences in August the ruling Zanu PF is the dominant perpetrator, a situation that continues to repeat itself.

Farm invasions reared their ugly head in areas across the country in incidences that displayed the impunity with which some members of the ruling party, including chiefs, who are supposed to be custodians of law and order in villages, take liberties with no apparent repercussions. Illegal parcelling out of land continues to be a thorn in the side of local authorities who appear helpless in the face of Zanu PF ‘political privilege’ in claiming land to do as they please regardless of governing by-laws. In an incident in Nyatsime, a council surveyor going about his work looking for pegs which demarcate land, was hounded out of the space he was working by a group of Zanu PF members who obviously acted as if they are above the law and that land is a private preserve of theirs to do with as they wish.

Both the farm invasions in areas such as Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West, among a few other areas; and the biased allocation of parcelled out pieces of land as residential stands to members of Zanu PF ahead of those from other parties reek of a misplaced perception of ‘political privilege’.

Invaded farms were taken over by members or cronies of members of the ruling party. By the same token, the illegal parcelling out of land going on through cooperatives and other unions, outside of councils’ provisions and sanction, in Mufakose and Kuwadzana, among other areas, also portrays how members of the ruling Zanu PF feel they have the ‘privilege’ to access land ahead of, and at the exclusion of, others who are at their mercy in efforts to secure land for themselves.

Some residents of Hatcliffe, Budiriro, among other areas, had their homes demolished, leaving them homeless. The repeated demolitions of homes, which is leaving hundreds of individuals stranded, continues to be a major concern in the country. It robs affected families of their socio-economic rights.

A significant number of incidences documented for August show the right most denied to citizens as the one to personal integrity and human dignity. This was expressed through various forms of intimidation and harassment including verbal abuse, physical violence or the destruction of one’s possessions. In one instance of intra-party violence a woman who was seen wearing a wrap cloth with the face of former vice president, Joice Mujuru, was slapped in the face and had her wrap cloth torn up by a fellow Zanu PF member who took offence at the woman’s perceived loyalty to the vice president who has since fallen out of favour within the rank and file of the revolutionary party. In yet another incident in Viko Village in Nyanga North, a perceived MDC-T supporter was cut on the lip with a knife by a member of Zanu PF who was irked by the victim’s comment that he was a member of the party, which had “destroyed the country”. The accused was identified as Tatenda Mapani.

In an incident in Muzarabani, a Zanu PF supporter Kudakwashe Chifamba acting in apparent cahoots with his father, one Norman Chifamba, allegedly uprooted a fellow villager’s vegetables from his garden on the accusation that the villager did not attend ruling party meetings.

Not only does violence get pride of place on the political landscape, but it also gets rewarded. This report gives an account of an instance in Glen View South, where constituency legislator, Hon. Pius Madzinga, allegedly rewarded acts of violence during recent by-elections. Madzinga is said to have and sidelined those youths who had supposedly not campaigned for him. Such acts grant and perpetuate the same misguided sense of ‘political privilege’ to land which is denied others.

Yet another disturbing incident in August was the intimidation of and threats against community members in Marondera in order to coerce them into voting for the Zanu PF candidate for the byelection scheduled for September, Lawrence Katsiru. Katsiru allegedly sent youths and other party members to check on numbers of who had registered to vote. Katsiru vowed to ‘deal’ with those who would not support his bid for office.

A high number of incidences in August centred around Heroes’ Day celebrations where considerable conflict came about in the collections of co-erced cash contributions towards the festivities. Over the years, some members of the opposition parties have become reluctant to partake in the celebrations of Heroes’ Day and other related holidays on the grounds that the ruling party has taken “ownership” of the days making them partisan instead of national for all. Against that background, the forced contributions and the harassment and bias that comes with the exercise against perceived “enemies of the state” creates bad blood and altercations amongst parties. In a couple of reported instances some people who had contributed in cash, were forced out of the celebrations on political grounds and when they claimed their monies back, they were threatened with unspecified action.

By and large, Zanu PF acts of harassment, discrimination and other types of violations continue to be perpetrated at three distinct “enemies”. These are the white farmers, MDC-T, MDC-N and since last year those perceived to be ‘gamatox’1. Incidences throughout the month confirmed hostile sentiments towards the groups of enemies.

Of particular interest in the wave of intra-party violence is the targeting of former Zanu PF political godfather for the Manicaland province, Didymus Mutasa, who having been a perpetrator in several instances of violence against political opponents during his heyday before being expelled from the ruling party, has of late been finding himself on the receiving end of intolerance. This report documents an incident where a school under his wing was usurped from him. Efforts are underway to dispossess him of a house he has owned for years. Several others, who had been identified as sympathetic to him, have also suffered alongside him.

This report also carries an incident in Mpopoma and Pelandaba, where residents accused the MDC-T councillors of corruptly allocating residential stands, and petitioned party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai to look into the matter. Tsvangirai tasked the party legislator for the area, Eddie Cross to look into the matter. This investigation is underway.

The Government of Zimbabwe and the European Union today signed five financial agreements amounting to EUR 89 million under 11th European Development Fund (EDF) 2014 - 2020 National Indicative Programme (NIP) of Euro 234 million.

Embargo: 28 September 2015, 10am

Among the Financial Agreements signed today, the health sector is the biggest recipient with EUR 55 million as support to the Health Transition Fund 2015 and the Health Development Fund 2016-2020, administered by UNICEF. The programmes are aimed at protecting the population against the most important health threats, in particular those at the root of maternal and child mortality; strengthening national health systems at provincial and district levels; and promoting equal access to health services by supporting the necessary reforms on health financing and governance.

A total of EUR 15 million has been set aside for Resilience Building in the food and nutrition security sector. The programme, being administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aims at enhancing the food and nutrition status and the overall resilience of vulnerable communities to better cope with challenges posed by changing climatic conditions.

Public Finance Management reforms will be supported with EUR 10 million through Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund (ZIMREF), administered by the World Bank. This programme will improve control, transparency and accountability, and oversight in the use of public resources in Zimbabwe. The project will, in particular, focus on enhancing fiscal discipline, strategic allocation of resources, and service delivery efficiency through strengthened systems, procedures and targeted capacity-building.

The promotion of migration governance will be supported with EUR 3 million, administered by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The main objective is to develop a migrant policy based on the respect of the fundamental rights of the migrants as enshrined in international conventions. Another EUR 6 million is set aside for capacity-building in the National Authorising Office (NAO) at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and for technical assistance, studies or consultancies in support of the formulation and implementation of the programmes approved under the NIP.

In his remarks, the Secretary for Finance & Economic Development and National Authorising Officer, Mr. Willard L. Manungo, explained: “The signature of these five financial agreements confirms the continuing normalisation of the relations in terms of development cooperation between the EU and Zimbabwe. The different programmes have been designed jointly by the respective line ministries and the EU Delegation and will effectively contribute to the implementation of the national priorities outlined in the ZIM-ASSET. Government remains committed to full re-engagement with the EU and to the implementation of the NIP”

"Since the lifting of the Article 96 Appropriate Measures in November 2014, the EU has intensified its policy dialogue with the Government of Zimbabwe. The programmes we signed today are the direct result of this renewed partnership and should lead to more efficient and effective use of development funding in helping address the reform agenda of the Government and promoting the structural reforms required for the inclusive and sustainable development of Zimbabwe", said Philippe Van Damme, Head of the EU Delegation, during the signing ceremony.

The National Indicative Programme is a joint cooperation strategy developed by the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) and the European Union (EU) and was signed on 16 February 2015. The NIP framework, which is within the 11th European Development Fund [11th EDF] (2014-2020), will provide development assistance amounting to EUR 234 million to Zimbabwe.Before the end of the year, about EUR 160 million of this amount will be committed.

The support targets areas of health, agriculture and institution building jointly identified by the Government of Zimbabwe and the European Union, and responds to some of the National priorities outlined in ZIM-ASSET and the 10 Point Plan for Economic Growth.