Francis Mupazviriho

Zimbabwe has undergone profound socio-economic changes, which have inadvertently impacted on the previously thriving traditional care facilities for older persons.The traditional household care was, of course, primary, with medical facilities being “referral” institutions especially for routine medical checks or serious conditions warranting the doctor’s attention.

This system, which provided care and support to older persons, was a by-product of embedded cultural and religious values.All religions attach a sentimental value to the care of older persons, which presumably brings blessings and rewards in the fullness of time.Psalms 71 verse 9 reads: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.”But I digress.

It is trite that the changing socio-economic conditions, which have a bearing on the household care of older persons, has not only impacted on the Zimbabwean society alone, but generally the African circumstances in general.

Before the advent of colonialism, our people lived communally and were organised as polities, led by chiefs, whose subjects were essentially closely knit families, which were often large, extended and quite often organised on tribal lines.

Then came colonialism which disrupted this family organisation, with African working males being forced to toil in industries in towns.

Wives remained behind in rural areas with the children, in what constituted an egregious racial system which had a bearing on the family’s traditional organisation.

Despite these threats, the African family unit remained intact. It was bound to the values of love, peace and co-existence despite the magnanimity of the disruptions it was going through under colonialism.

Then the advent of independence brought glorious opportunities for the previously marginalised. So our people left rural areas, chasing one opportunity after another in the thriving industries servicing the local and foreign markets. In turn, high-density suburbs were quickly populated, as the labour force engaged in various economic activities. Some went on to start new lives in low-density suburbs which had been the preserve of the whites, or simply the “few Africans” who had made the “cut”.

It is trite that the overwhelming social and economic changes, which have had a bearing on the care of the older persons, can be traced back to post-independence era.

The rural-urban migration marked a genesis of this social mobility which has continued to reinvent itself with passage of time. And older persons have borne the brunt of these changes.

Further to the characteristic internal movements, it has, however, been the outbound migration of young people which has severely affected the social organisation of the family unit, despite the mass connectivity brought by the internet and social media.

Zimbabwe’s “born free generation” is largely cosmopolitan. Today our young people are searching for jobs and educational opportunities regionally and internationally. Without doubt, this diaspora-based contingent has played an incisive role sending remittances back home, and assuming critical social functions in the process.

But that is part of the story: The family unit and its ties have been severely weakened.

But how did we get there?

In the past, polygamy was a thriving system, whose unions led to the “strong family” unit which primarily served economic purposes for subsistence farming. Even monogamous entities also bore several children who would assist in farming and other such economic activities.

While both practices of monogamy and polygamy sought a “strong family unit”, the patriarchal society, however, largely framed women’s roles as child bearers.
Notwithstanding these realities, there is no doubt that this system provided essential care to senior citizens, especially during the times of advanced years, requiring undivided social and medical attention.

Nowadays, we are witnessing some unfortunate individualism, neglect and rampant selfishness as our society neglects its primary care responsibility which defined our societal organisation. Notwithstanding the numerous causes of older people’s neglect, there is no doubt that our society has become a pure shadow of its past.

In the past, our society was loving, value-based and the attached sentimentality to older persons, who were revered as bastions of wisdom, churning out one lifelong nugget after another, while grandchildren carefully listened. An inter-generational link was built. In times of sickness, with the family and society each having a responsibility to take care of older persons, or at least render some form of support.In the past, the family unit was quite strong unlike nowadays.

This writer’s late paternal grandmother, Mbuya Majecha spent most her last days in the custody of her sons and daughters-in-law. This writer’s mother, who was unemployed then (however, engaging in economic activities), assumed the full time responsibility of taking care of grandma, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

So did her sisters-in-law, with grandma having the privilege of choosing whose house she wanted to go to next. Our society has now changed, women are no longer domiciled to the housewife status, as was the case before and after independence, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.

While independence came with unprecedented opportunities, these were largely the preserve of males working in light and heavy industries. Formally, the civil service was no doubt the biggest absorber of women especially, as part of a scheme to equalise opportunities regardless of gender.

While the enjoyment of employment opportunities has positively brought empowerment and relief to men, who were the primary “breadwinners”, it has, however, disrupted the primary care functions which women ordinarily assumed especially regarding the care for order persons, who were largely resident in rural areas.

In the olden times, the daughter-in-law needed strong attributes to take care of her mother-in-law, domiciled in the rural area. Of course, this has largely changed due to the changing socio-economic changes which have affected the family’s organisation.

Then there is the growing informal sector, as well. The reorganisation of the economy over the years has greatly led to the “dominance” of the formal sector which employs young people, women and men of various ages.

The unpredictable working hours have cast a spell on the social ties needed in rendering moral and physical support to seniors.When this writer’s mother assumed a teaching job, she would often assume a care role, when she returned from work. Today’s typical family now needs to cope up with the demands of surviving in an urban setting.

There is no doubt that this has put severe pressure on young families, some who have sadly abdicated their responsibilities.This pressure has even been quite stronger especially for young people in the diaspora. While some have lived up to their role as “benefactors”, literally carrying the responsibilities of the entire family on their shoulders at young ages, some have, however, left their parents (who are older citizens), assuming parental responsibilities for the second if not the third time, with very little support, if any.
There is no doubt that Zimbabwean families can generally relate with such.

In some situations, some older persons have had to assume the burden of taking care of children, especially those orphaned by HIV and Aids or other such causes accounting for mortality.

While migration has brought a positive contribution especially in terms of sending remittances back at home, which are used for household recurrent expenditure in health, education and other such needs, it has however rattled the organised family unit of the past.

That the fortunes of our young people have been mixed is however no excuse for the neglect of older persons. For the greater part of the year, this writer has been staying with his grandfather. Sometime in June, this writer’s mother simply decided to go to Mutoko to pick her father, whose health was severely deteriorating.

Officially his year of birth is 1918 and obviously has dozens of children with his first wife, now late after having developed schizophrenia in the early 2000s, leading to her death in her seventies.

Her mental breakdown of course emerged after grandpa had taken another wife whom he relocated with within Mutoko.There is no doubt that old age is generally a time of increased vulnerability with little recourse, even medically. Yet in this time of need, older persons need much support from their families.

Yours truly has gotten to understand old age much, out of the daily interaction with grandpa.While my grandfather exhibits some fitness in his age and is able to talk, it is however his bony structure which evidenced his advanced state. Despite having ability to cobble conversations here and there, he is however confounded by some dementia. His skin is extremely tender while his feet are often swollen. A myriad of health problems evidently.

Due to old age, he can’t walk and remains bedridden for the greater part of the day. While age comes with wisdom, it however comes with so many health challenges especially in advanced years.

Grandpa had a dozen of children with his first wife, most who have now departed leaving behind just two “remaining girls”. Most of his grandchildren are resident in South Africa with few remaining locally.

Only a few grandchildren have bothered to extend their moral and financial support. This has been sad. There is no doubt that most families can relate with such circumstances, which have inherently depicted the fissures within the traditional family unit.

Evidently, social and economic conditions have brought a bearing on the traditional family structure which now undergoes inadvertent changes brought by the search for opportunities both at home and abroad.

While this search for opportunities has positively contributed towards raising families, it has however led to the weakening of family ties and social care systems which were primarily responsible for the upkeep of older persons, both in times of happiness and need.

Emmanuel Zvada

Did you know that today’s business environment is actually becoming ever more Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (Vuca). A Vuca business environment poses many challenges to organisations and only the prepared and agile will survive such an environment. Truth be told, HR practitioners need to attend to how your organisations respond to issues of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, because the world is getting more and more Vuca every single day.

What does Vuca means?

The acronym Vuca was first introduced by the US Army, as a military and geopolitical term, to define the world after the collapse of the communist bloc at the beginning of the 1990s.

Such collapse affected performance of organisations, employees and employers to such an extent that organisations with no proper strategies could not survive. Nowadays, it is used in the field of business strategy and management, since the environment has become less predictable and full of changes, doubts and conflicts. The Vuca economy best describes the Zimbabwean economy.

Is Zimbabwe becoming a Vuca economy?

This term Vuca, concisely describes our situation in Zimbabwe today which is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. The country moves through all four of the letters on a daily basis. Most businesses are getting frustrated and there is uncertainty, there is volatility, complexity and ambiguity. Business is finding it difficult to pay staff and the staff is finding it difficult to come to work as the cost of living is overtaken by cost of labour. Below are some instances in Zimbabwe that just prove the turbulence that the country is experiencing on a daily basis.

During the beginning of the year, there was an outcry and a complete fear that prices of goods would go up and surely, they did go up.

The price of fuel which is also the enabler to many activities in the country has also gone up and is continuously being reviewed every week or two. It is difficult to imagine the chaos it causes to a business that is trying to budget or plan anything. The price constantly changes and yet there is no guaranteed availability. Business and citizens are uncertain of the next steps that the government will take and that only serves to create volatility and a very ambiguous business environment. It’s good to plan, but nowadays you plan and the next thing you adjust your plan.

Planning has become a foreign concept simply because change is moving more frequently and faster than one can imagine.

Electronic money and mobile wallets now dominate daily transactions because of the shortage of cash. On the same note, exchange rates are changing daily, weekly and sometimes hourly, creating an uncertain environment. The question is how then will the employers match these changes to capacitate their employees to continue coming to work.

The gaps between the employees being paid in forex is widening more than those being paid in local currency even if they have the same qualifications and experience.

Antidotes against Vuca world

Make no mistake, Vuca times are real, painful, challenging and tough. What needs to be done is to be willing to face the brutal facts and challenges of the present and see possibilities beyond your current challenges. Business leaders and CEOs are indeed struggling to lead in a Vuca environment. No wonder many people see change as the only constant, and HR professionals find themselves constantly re-organising so as to fit in the volatile environment.

Agility mentality

In a Vuca world, learning agile HR leaders are better equipped to be successful. They are open to learning from experience. They can quickly recognise better ways to get things accomplished. If we hold on to the way we always do things — stay in our comfort zones — we cease to grow intellectually and behaviourally. These are the kind of managers who are flexible and open to change and thrive on new experiences. This means those individuals who are quick to learning from experience and move forward with new ideas will be better prepared to succeed in tomorrow’s world and survive the volatility.

Multi-tasking abilities

In the Vuca world, managing change will be a continuous process and one will have to invest in it to build the capabilities in him/herself to adapt to this changing environment.

Continuous learning, upgrading of skill sets will be the key to overcome the challenges.

+HR leaders need to develop training programmes at every level which will help in building the desired skill sets in its people. HR must also be able to identify the right talent and promote such talent for critical projects and assignments. Ability to manage multifarious roles will also be the key to survive in extreme conditions.

Adaptability and flexibility skills

Being adaptive to change in the workplace is the first and foremost trait that HR people need to have. Flexibility is the idea that your plans can change very quickly, sometimes with or without notice. We can not always predict when changes like these are going to happen. That is why flexibility is so important. When you are flexible, you are versatile, resilient and responsive to change. You can adapt to unexpected demands in sudden workplace surges. The HR team should be able to understand when it’s time to modify old policies, create new ones and how to help employees embrace change.

Substitue “volatility” with clear vision

A vision statement is a statement of an organisation’s over-arching aspirations of what it hopes to achieve or to become. Here are some examples of vision statements: In volatile situations, the knowledge of facts and opinions is important, separating facts and opinion, precise and objective communication is the key in this situation. Volatility can only be combated with clear vision. When changes are rapid, employees need to know what’s happening and where they are heading to.

A clear-cut vision and fact-based knowledge of the situation helps creating a pathway. A clear sense of vision helps to keep people focused and distinguish between what is essential to do and what are the priorities amongst the myriad of activities. This will also help them understand the demands and opportunities emerging.

Substitute “uncertainty” with understanding

Employees should know what is happening, what the organisation is planning. In fact, there should be constant communication between the employees and the employers. It should be known that rapid changes in the environment requires faster communication, ensuring everyone has the same level of understanding. The pretext of performance in such a period is the ability of leaders to build trust; this has to be done during a calmer period.

When uncertainty hits the organisation, all have faith in the leadership that they will do their best in the interest of the people they lead.

Coping with the complexity of today’s business environment is not about predicting the future or reducing risk. It’s about building capability of people and the organisation; to adapt continuously and learn speedily, in order to maximise the chances of seizing fleeting opportunities. Surviving in a hostile world seems to be a very big challenge.

Vuca forces will present businesses with the need to move from opportunities that are necessary for survival and sustainability. To survive in a Vuca world, your business needs to be agile, so replace Vuca (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguity) with Vuca (Vision, understanding, clarity and agility.

 Emmanuel Zvada is a human capital consultant and an international recruitment expert. He writes in his personal capacity.

BY JAMES MUONWA

THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has raised grave concern over rampant corruption, dereliction of duty and arrogance by staffers at the Registrar-General’s (RG) Office.

The RG’s Office is responsible for issuing birth certificates, national identity cards, passports, citizenships and death certificates.

ZHRC commissioner Joseph Kurebwa yesterday blasted officials from the RG’s Office for being corrupt and rude.

Kurebwa’s tongue-lashing followed complaints by witnesses giving oral evidence before a commission of inquiry on access to documentation in Zimbabwe in Chinhoyi yesterday.

He said there was widespread resentment for registry employees and warned of impending spontaneous public attacks on them.

“This is not the first time we are receiving complaints against the officers’ conduct which dampens citizens’ will to get documentation,” he said.

“Corruption and arrogance should not be tolerated and culprits should not go unpunished. There is resentment and bitterness and citizens might resort to unconstitutional means if they feel culprits are not being punished,” Kurebwa said, adding that decisive punitive measures must be meted against offenders.

A witness, Gwinyai Malunga of Trelawney, about 14km south-west of Banket, alleged that registry officials conducting a mobile registration exercise in his area had demanded a goat and chicken for them to facilitate his acquisition of a birth certificate and national identity card.

Mashonaland West provincial registrar, Kevin Maturi admitted there were cases of corruption that were reported against some officials.

He, however, said in most cases perpetrators go unpunished due to lack of co-operation by complainants.

“In most instances, clients do not co-operate when you ask them to identify culprits. It is a challenge to us as heads of departments and supervisors,” Maturi said.

ZHRC commissioner Kwanele Jirira urged the RG’s Office to embrace technology and install closed circuit television (CCTV) systems in order to nail corrupt officials.

“If cases of corruption are rife, why not ask for CCTVs to monitor your workers? This is a recommendation you can make,” Jirira said.

Meanwhile, ZHRC deputy chairperson Ellen Sithole, following concerns by witnesses, took pot-shots at the RG’s Office for failing to embrace mobile money platforms for payment of services.

The ZHRC is conducting an inquiry on access to documentation in Zimbabwe in Chinhoyi. Similar exercises have been held in eight other provinces.

BY VANESSA GONYE

STAKEHOLDERS have called on responsible authorities to formulate legislation and fund mechanisms to support the research and eradication of invasive plant species, vernonanthura polyanthes (sprengel) vega and dematteis (bee bush), posing a danger to edible plants, vegetation and livestock in the Eastern Highlands.

Vernonathura polyanthes is a shrub indigenous to Bolivia and Brazil.

Research indicates that it was introduced as a nectar plant for bees, possibly in the early 1990s in areas around Sussundenga, Mozambique, and has spread to the eastern parts of the country through wind action.

The bee bush is an erect shrub of up to three metres tall with striate and tomentose stems.

Although the plant has established and naturalised itself in Chipinge and Chimanimani, it has also shown characteristics of being invasive.

Speaking at a stakeholder consultative meeting in Harare yesterday, Environmental Management Agency spokesperson Liberty Mugadza said there was need to put in place measures to deal with the invasive plant.

“Our call is for it to be given national attention for management, including legislation and funding mechanisms to support awareness raising research and eradication,” he said.

The plant is said to be affecting indigenous plant populations depriving communities of the benefits they have been getting from flora, including medicines and food.

“There is evidence that it has more potential of spreading into the entire country through wind action. It is a serious weed also affecting livelihoods in the Eastern Highlands where we have our tea plantations, fruit orchards, timber plantations and tourism,” he said.

“The plant has been spreading fast since 2000 when it was first identified and is now affecting Chipinge, Chimanimani, Mutare and Mutasa districts.”

Forestry Commission acting deputy general manager (research and training) Joyce Gombe said the plant was affecting forestry business.

“It is really a problem for us interested in forestry and bio-diversity. It has proven to be a serious challenge in silvicultural operations in the plantations and that has increased our costs and we really look forward to a solution to the problem,” she said.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

CIVIL society organisations (CSOs) in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn) have come up with a draft Electoral Amendment Bill, which will give the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) a wide range of powers including postponing elections.

The draft Bill, which was commissioned and handed over to House of Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda by Zesn, proposes a raft of changes to the current electoral laws to ensure smooth running of polls and an end to contested elections.

“Electoral outcomes have, in the past, been highly contested in Zimbabwe due to the gaps in the existing legal framework that does not embrace principles for the conducting of democratic elections,” said Zesn, which believes the Bill will cure the ills.

The Bill seeks to give Zec powers to postpone elections even after the President has proclaimed the polls if, in their view, conditions do not allow for the conducting of free and fair elections.

“Clause 27 will introduce a new section 39B, which empowers the Commission to postpone an election at any polling station if it reasonably determined that it is not possible to conduct a free and fair election at the polling station. Any postponement should be to a time within the period prescribed for holding elections by section 38 (1) of the Constitution,” part of the Bill reads.

Currently, once the President has proclaimed an election date by Executive Order unless by an act of God or in the event of an earthquake, the polls will go ahead regardless of the prevailing conditions.

The Bill seeks to also remove the role placed on the Justice minister over Zec, which observers felt gave the Executive control over the independent commission.

Zec cannot hire and fire the chief elections officer without the approval of the minister and the electoral management body cannot make its own regulations on running the elections, leaving such powers to the minister who is also a player.

“Section 9 of the Electoral Act states that the commission can dismiss it’s chief elections officer for breach of any of his or her conditions of service and obliges the commission to obtain the minister’s approval for any such dismissal. The amendment made of this section will remove the need for ministerial approval to underscore the independence of the commission.

“Section 18 … the section gives power to the minister to make regulations regarding automatic and electronic voter registration … the amendment will transfer power to the commission to make regulations regarding automatic and electronic voter registration as provided for in the amendment to section 192 of the Act under clause 86,” reads notes to the Bill.

The draft Bill was commissioned by Mudenda, who asked Zesn to lead CSOs in coming up with an alternative law which could lead to meaningful electoral reforms ahead of the 2023 general elections.