This photobook chronicles the vital role of Women’s Parliamentary Caucus in Zimbabwe by providing an overview of the constitutional obligations in promoting inclusive gender parity in all spheres of women’s lives. The Photobook does not only highlight progress, challenges and implementation gaps but also provides a roadmap to strategies to effectively implement international commitments on gender equality and to scale up and accelerate action in the integrated areas of climate change, social and economic entrepreneurial investment.
It emphasizes the move from only understanding the normative legislative frameworks and commitment to analyzing and evidencing tangible action by government in several key areas aimed at promoting novel forms of collaborative actions, partnerships and engagement by new and diverse stakeholders in ways that deepen bipartisan cooperation and consciousness.
As such, the photobook represents an embodiment of women’s capacity and capability to act as defenders and advocates for women’s rights through amplifying women’s voices as agents of transformative developmental change and ensuring the domestication of international legislative frameworks for the achievement of gender justice and women’s emancipation in Zimbabwe.
Highlighting the centrality of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus in galvanizing women’s solidarity through strengthening women’s networks and mobilization, the photobook has achieved its central objectives of advancing women’s strategic and practical needs through sensitization and claiming their spaces in leadership decision-making at all levels of societal enterprise.
The photobook makes a strong statement in making the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus a watershed platform representing a rich review and assessment tool of how Zimbabwe as a sovereign state is committed to addressing the question of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The strength of this book as a gendered process and strategic mechanism lies in how it has been able to identify success stories, lessons learned and gaps that remain to be filled in political and national development policies for the benefit of both women, men and youth and for the Caucus to serve as the Parliamentary hub for promoting and catalyzing tangible, multi-stakeholder partnerships for implementing inclusive gender equality and empowerment legislations.
Thus, through this captivating pictorial visual narrative, the photobook asserts the vital role of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus as a useful policy forum that connects the global development agenda to national development policy efforts in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment and the establishment of specific mechanisms and institutional arrangements to promote the empowerment of women, with appropriate funding, which should be considered essential to bring about sustainable solutions to gender equality and empowerment issues as mandated by the Zimbabwean Constitution. A must read for every passionate nationalistic Zimbabwean.
Professor Pamela Machakanja, (Phd), Dean – College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance Africa University, Zimbabwe
As we navigate into the realm of the new accounting standard on leases IFRS 16, we are going to take a look at the accounting specifics of Lessee and Lessor accounting as outlined in the new standard.
It wasn’t that long ago that the ability to trade shares online and through mobile phones seemed like a scary prospect to individual investors.
But thanks to a raft of technological improvements and the rise of online share trading platforms worldwide, it’s now easier than ever for ordinary Zimbabweans from all walks of life to buy and sell shares online through the C-TRADE platform. The market has become more accessible, but that doesn’t mean investors should not take precautionary measures when trading. Read on to find out how you can stay safe when trading shares online.
C-TRADE operates in a market which is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe. This means that all the activity on C-TRADE is in line with the regulatory requirements of the capital markets hence providing for investor protection. Trading using the C-TRADE platforms is very secure. The process requires authorisation through PINs only known by the account holder thereby ensuring security of shares and funds.
For further protection investors are encouraged to set a strong password and to change it regularly and avoid recycling the same password. Constantly check if personal information such as telephone number, email address and login password is the correct information that you provided. Should an account holder wish to change any details they have to request for a Change of details form which they fill, scan and return with a certified copy of their national identity card or valid passport.
Use trusted and secured computer or mobile device for online trading. It is advisable not to use public computers, or unknown and insecure network connection to access the C-TRADE online account. An investor should not share personal account information or let other people use their computer or mobile device used to access to the C-TRADE account. Avoid downloading and installing any unknown software used to access your online account. Always log out of the website or system after finishing your trades.
Moreso, investors should not disclose the login identity and password of their online account to any person or respond to any unverified request. Intermediaries do not normally contact customers for personal information by email and do not ask customers to disclose the account password. If in doubt, investors should contact the C-TRADE helpdesk for further enquiry.
Avoid storing passwords in computers, mobile phones or placed in plain sight, and avoid using a single password for all your accounts e.g. email account or banking account. Avoid logging on your online account when there are unusual pop-up screen or window, or abnormal slow computer response, and when unexpected steps or information are required.
As transparency is critical in maintaining the public’s trust in the capital markets, C-TRADE fulfills this function through enabling investors to keep track of their portfolio transactions as the summary trading information is displayed on a real time basis where investors can view various key market indicators such as the prevailing bid and offer prices, value and volume traded. it enhances the ability of investors to make informed investment decisions by giving them information faster in electronic format, as databases can be searched and financial information be analysed more readily.
In conclusion the continued growth of technology presents even greater opportunities for expansion and innovation in capital markets especially as investors become more connected and more comfortable with communication technologies the effects will be felt throughout the capital markets.
A woman was shot dead and dozens injured in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Wednesday, in clashes between opposition supporters and pro-government forces.
Tear gas and water cannon were fired by the military amid rival demonstrations.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for those responsible for the death of a 27-year-old woman to be found.
Meanwhile, Mr Guaidó called for a series of strikes to force President Nicolás Maduro to relinquish power.
He urged public employees to act on Thursday, saying the stoppages would lead to a general strike.
Mr Guaidó in January declared himself Venezuela’s interim leader, and he has been recognised by more than 50 countries including the US, UK and most Latin America nations.
But Mr Maduro – who is backed by Russia, China and the leaders of Venezuela’s military – has refused to cede power.
The president dismissed suggestions he had been ready to flee the country and accused the US of directing an attempted coup. Those involved would be punished, he said.
How did the violence unfold?
On Wednesday, both pro- and anti-government supporters held demonstrations in Caracas that were initially peaceful.
There were reports of gunfire in the city, and a local NGO, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, said a 27-year-old woman had been shot dead during a rally in the opposition stronghold of Altamira.
At least 46 people were injured in clashes between opposition supporters and the security forces.
Mr Guaidó had earlier posted a video showing him with a number of men in military uniform. He said he had the support of “brave soldiers” in Caracas.
He urged Venezuelans to join them in the streets, and appeared alongside another opposition leader, Leopoldo López, who had been under house arrest after being found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014.
Spain’s government later said that Mr López and his family had sought safety in their embassy, but said the opposition figure has not claimed political asylum.
Supporters on both sides gathered around the city throughout Tuesday, and there were clashes between Mr Guaidó’s supporters and armed military vehicles.
How significant is Guaidó’s call for strikes?
In a series of tweets (in Spanish), Mr Guaidó said the final phase of “Operation Liberty” had begun and it was the turn of public workers to join in.
He urged protesters to stay on the streets until Mr Maduro’s government would be finally forced to resign.
Mr Guaidó has been courting the public sector for weeks – but winning their support will be difficult, the BBC’s Americas editor Candace Piette says.
For years, state employees have been told that if they did not turn up at government rallies they would lose their jobs.
So if the opposition leader does win them over, it will be a huge victory against President Maduro, our editor says.
What international reaction has there been?
Tensions are rising between the US and Russia over the crisis.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US may take military action to resolve the crisis, and accused Russia and Cuba of destabilising the country through their support for Mr Maduro.
The US also reiterated its support for Mr Guaidó.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Mr Pompeo that America’s influence over Venezuela was destructive and a violation of international law.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has appealed for both sides in Venezuela to avoid violence, while the EU has called for “utmost restraint to avoid the loss of lives and an escalation in tensions”.
Governments who still back Mr Maduro – including Bolivia and Cuba – condemned Mr Guaidó’s efforts as an attempted coup.
The Mexican government expressed “concern about a possible increase in violence” while Colombian President Ivan Duque urged the Venezuelan military to stand “on the right side of history” against Mr Maduro.
An emergency meeting of the Lima Group of Latin American countries has been scheduled for Friday.
Bangkok, Thailand Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun has wed his royal consort, Gen. Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, and declared her queen just days before his coronation.
A royal statement released Wednesday said the 66-year-old monarch “has decided to promote Gen. Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, his royal consort, to become Queen Suthida and she will hold royal title and status as part of the royal family.”
The statement added that the king “performed a royal wedding ceremony with Gen. Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya in accordance to law and royal traditions in a full and righteous manner.”
The pair officially married May 1 at the Ampornsathan Throne Hall in Bangkok’s Dusit Palace. The King’s younger sister, Princess Sirindhorn, and Chairman to Privy Council, Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, signed the marriage document as witnesses.
Junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha also attended the ceremony.
Vajiralongkorn assumed the throne following the death of his father in 2016, becoming King Rama X. He is the 10th member of the Chakri dynasty, which has ruled Thailand since Rama I took the throne in 1782.
His coronation takes place on Saturday, with celebrations expected to last until the following Monday.
It is the fourth marriage for Vajiralongkorn, who has two daughters and five sons, only one of whom is officially recognized as a prince.
Queen Suthida has been a feature of the royal household for years. In 2016 Vajiralongkorn promoted her to the rank of general — and a year later made her deputy commander of the King’s Royal Guard Command.
As an important member of the royal family, she is protected by Thailand’s lese majeste laws. Thai Crown Prince takes throne as King Rama X (2016) 01:32
What’s lese majeste?
The crime of lese majeste — insulting the royal family — is enforced by monarchies around the globe. But few are stricter than Thailand, where the law makes it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the King, queen, heir-apparent or regent.
Because of these restrictions, the media — including CNN — can only report certain details about senior members of the royal family.
Those found guilty of lese majeste can be jailed for up to 15 years for each count, with some sentences stretching to 60 years.
Despite its long pedigree, there is no clear legal definition of what exactly constitutes lese majeste, and complaints can be filed by anyone, from officials to members of the public.
Cases have spiked in recent years, with reports that the military junta used the law to silence dissent.
BY CNN New Delhi, India — What is expected to be India’s strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in nearly five years is barreling towards 100 million people on the east coast, causing officials to begin emergency evacuations.
On Thursday, Tropical Cyclone Fani had winds of 190 kmph (118 mph) with gusts of 201 kmph (124 mph), making it equivalent in intensity to a Category 3 major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It is expected to hit Odisha state on Friday afternoon.
As Fani was classified as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” in India, the country’s Coast Guard and Navy deployed ships and helicopters for relief and rescue operations. Army and Air Force units have also been put on standby in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh states.
Some 900 cyclone shelters have been set up across Odisha to house evacuees and school is canceled across the state on Thursday and Friday. Teams are going door to door to warn people.
“They are being told what to take with them if they leave and the precautions they need to take if they stay,” said Ameya Patnaik, assistant commandant for the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Odisha.
Evacuations have also begun neighboring Andhra Pradesh, while those in West Begal have been told to be ready to leave, officials told CNN. Fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea due to the extreme conditions.
Fani, which is still about 270 kilometers (170 miles) off of the coast off India, strengthened rapidly on Monday and Tuesday, becoming the strongest storm to move through the Bay of Bengal this early in the year since Tropical Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
Nargis went on to strike Myanmar with winds over 200 kph (124 mph), bringing a devastating storm surge and flooding rainfall that resulted in more than 100,000 deaths in the country.
Impacts
Fani is expected to bring large storm surges and significant wind damage near the landfall location. Inland flooding will also be a major threat.
Portions of eastern India and Bangladesh can expect 150 to 300 mm (6 to 12 inches) of rain with locally higher amounts regardless of the intensity.
As Fani approaches India it will be moving nearly parallel to the coast. A slight move to the east or west would have a significant impact on the timing of landfall as well as the intensity. A more easterly track means that landfall would be farther north in India, perhaps even into Bangladesh.
If that happens, the storm would likely be a category or two weaker as it moves over cooler waters.
Cyclone season
Fani is the first tropical cyclone of the year in the northern Indian Ocean.
The season doesn’t have a defined start and end like the Atlantic basin season, but it does have two main periods of activity: late April to early June, and October to November.
These two periods are prior to, and immediately following, India’s southwest monsoon season. The southwest monsoon season lasts from June through September and provides India with the vast majority of its annual rainfall.
Tropical cyclone activity during the monsoon season is extremely rare because the monsoon is characterized by high wind shear, which makes it difficult for tropical storms to form.
Ugandan police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at scores of demonstrators who took to the streets to protest the arrest of pop star-turned-opposition MP Bobi Wine.
Crowds of people held rallies in several suburbs of the capital, Kampala, on Tuesday, a day after the latest arrest of the politician, according to an AFP reporter.
“There are clashes between the police and youths who threw stones at the advancing police, a number of people have been injured and we took some to Mulago hospital,” Kampala Red Cross Manager, Praise Turyebwa told AFP news agency.
In a statement, Ugandan police said there was a minor incident “where undisciplined youths tried to demonstrate” but that the situation had been brought under control.
Local television stations showed images of fires being lit in the middle of major roads, causing traffic jams around the Ugandan capital.
Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was arrested on Monday, barely two days after briefly being placed under house arrest after being detained on his way to a concert at his nightclub.
One of his lawyers told AFP he had been remanded to prison until May 2, over an allegedly illegal protest in 2018.
Amnesty International on Tuesday called for his immediate release.
“The Ugandan authorities must immediately free Bobi Wine and stop misusing the law in a shameless attempt to silence him for criticising the government,” said Amnesty’s regional director Seif Magango.
“It is not a crime for Bobi Wine to hold a concert or organise a protest; it is a right enshrined in Ugandan and international law.”
The singer, who entered parliament in 2017 and has emerged as a leading critic of President Yoweri Museveni, has struck a chord with young Ugandans with his songs about social justice.
Authorities have repeatedly blocked him from performing publicly.
The rapper made international headlines after an arrest last year and alleged torture by Ugandan security forces in detention. The government denies the accusations.
One of his songs contains the lyric “freedom fighters become dictators,” while others hint that Museveni has stayed in power too long.
Museveni, 74, has ruled Uganda since seizing power at the head of a rebel army in 1986. He intends to stand for re-election to a sixth term in office in 2021.
Tanzanian self-made media magnate and philanthropist Reginald Mengi has died in Dubai at the age of 75.
Mr Mengi, through his manufacturing, mining and media conglomerate IPP Group, owned newspapers and radio and TV stations. In 2014, Forbes estimated his wealth at $560m (£430m).
He was born into a poor family close to Mount Kilimanjaro and finished his education in Scotland.
President John Magufuli paid tribute to his role in the country’s development.
Mr Mengi initially worked as an accountant when he returned to Tanzania, but the origins of his business empire are in a ball-point pen assembly plant.
Starting in the early 1980s he turned the IPP Group into one of the largest private conglomerates in East Africa, employing more than 3,000 people, according to the company website.
It owns prominent local English and Swahili TV stations, ITV and Capital TV, as well as the English-language daily Guardian newspaper.
As a media mogul, Mr Mengi was accused by some, including cabinet ministers, of using his influence against them.
The IPP Group also manufactures one of Tanzania’s best-known brands of bottled water and is moving into smart-phone and tablet manufacturing.
‘I have made enough money’
The businessman felt a responsibility to help build up Tanzania.
“My personal view is that as a media owner, I have a major role to contribute to the development of my country,” he told the BBC in 2005. “Although I have been saying all the time that I’m in business to make money, but quite honestly, I have made enough money in my other businesses, I can afford to make a contribution to my country through my media.”
He also wanted to inspire younger Tanzanians, saying in his 2018 autobiography I Can, I Must, I Will that he wanted to “cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit”.
‘Changed lives’
Having amassed a large fortune, he became a noted philanthropist, including paying for the treatment of hundreds of Tanzanian children with heart conditions.
From the mid-1990s, through his media empire, Mr Mengi changed the lives of many in Tanzania, BBC Swahili’s Athuman Mtulya says.
With the country gradually changing from socialism, where media ownership was reserved for the state and ruling party, his outlets brought in a fresh approach to global news and entertainment, he says.
The cause of his death and the reason for his visit to Dubai are still unclear.
Mr Mengi is survived by his wife, former Miss Tanzania Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe, and four children.
LAST week I had two encounters with two individuals I highly love, admire and respect. People whose wisdom I treasure and find useful. The first conversation was with a comrade brother who was explaining to me that in order to survive in peace in this world, there is need to understand the concept of a ship in water.
He went on to explain that as we live through life, we are like a ship cruising on water.
The ship sails smoothly on water and never lets the water get into it, otherwise it will sink. The trick, he said, is to keep the water out. The how is what I still am exploring. The other conversation was with a feminist sister who told me that the world does not work on ideals, but that we need to be comfortable with our contradictions and work with them, so we are able to live through life with peace. I appreciated both streams of wisdom. It also got me thinking of my experiences with civil society in Zimbabwe and just the broad context of being Zimbabwean.
Polarisation
Once upon a time, I was actively involved in leading civil society and at that time, you were either a supporter of MDC or Zanu PF. This meant everything one did or did not do was defined by these parameters.
There was no grey, things were either black or white. This meant even if you thought the land reform was a brilliant idea because you well understood the politics of land tenure, you still couldn’t support the land distribution programme because it was a Zanu PF-led programme.
The same when one thought that the MDC was not leading well and that there should be a better way of being, any speaking against the MDC status quo meant you were either an agent of the State or just a traitor of the struggle for democracy. Now, not only am I slightly matured and more experienced, I have learnt that, indeed, life is so full of contradictions.
So, let me give you an example. One can be a member of civil society and have a lover occupying the high echelons of power in a political party — any political party.
The fusion of ideologies and meeting of minds can be so integrated and yet clarity of boundaries is also very much defined. However, boundaries may also be fluid and clear at the same time as one tows the line of being in the CSO sector and yet also very aware of their boundary with their family ties of having a lover in a certain political party.
Does this mean a person is compromised? Not at all and in some respects they could be because we chose to be myopic in the way we want to box people. Sad.
The idea is to unlearn being polarised in Zimbabwe. We tend to look at life with a black and white lens which does not serve us at all.
In the book. 48 Laws of Power, Law 2 speaks about bringing enemies closer. It could be strategic to get to where one wants, hence they bed the so-called enemy.
At times it is just being who someone chooses to be. The point is, life is, indeed, full of many contradictions. It is in finding our peace in those contradictions that we get to experience our growth, power and continue to explore our truth.
Our lives are not packed into some neat little boxes that are always clear. Sometimes, we might not know and that too is alright. I guess the leadership and character is in admitting our lack of clarity, and that gains us respect and activates the universe to deliver the clarity that we seek. So, yes, my sister, living comfortably with our contradictions is a healthy space to be, and not keep living in strife.
She was right in saying let us find our peace with those contradictions because life is, indeed, never black or white — there are very many fifty shades of grey that lie in between. Can you, dear reader, explore your contradictions and find peace with them, especially in this political party polarised Zimbabwe?
Being the ship on water
When one is processing their contradictions or exploring the world and life to find their truth, the process is often messy. Any form of change is never linear, it is quite complicated and messy — that too is very much okay. However, many times human beings face resistance and that stirs up emotions they do not know how best to handle. We cannot pretend that we live life isolated, no. Life is full of interactions and some of these when we are exploring possibilities, in Zimbabwe for example, when our views differ, we begin to point fingers at each other. This often results in strife and turmoil. We curse, we fight and we strife in ways that more often than not damage not only us, but those we interact with. We want to show people who we truly are and what we are made of. Just look at our roads, our interactions and the way we are choosing to show up as a people at many levels. We are fragmented, hurting and this shows in the way we choose to just be as human beings. Our work culture and family lives have become so toxic it is almost like a script playing out from a thriller movie. It is just crazy.
However, that comrade brother of mine spoke of being a ship sailing on water. Well, unless you are the Titanic and hit an iceberg, the trick is to keep the water out. The water a ship sails on is a means to an end. It is what the ship uses to get to where it ought to go. The water stays outside the ship. Once the water gets into the ship, then we do know that we will have a similar situation to the Titanic; the ship will eventually sink. The same applies to life. Unless we keep the water out of the ship, we will sink. Those negative vibes we experience daily in life should not become our source of frustration, strife and define how we show up in life.
Like the ship, we chart the unexplored waters of emotions, contradictions and remain afloat.
This does not mean we just let people trample over us or that we fail to define our boundaries. Not at all. We do speak out. In Zimbabwe, for example, many things are going wrong and have been for a while. The truth is that the socio-economic and political context will not shift in the blink of an eye, no. As responsible citizens, we point out what is not going right as things ought to; we express ourselves and if it means we peacefully protest, so be it. After all, it is constitutional. Hoping that the system will not unleash its ugly head of atrocities, and unarmed citizens end up shot at.
We do have that responsibility to know and understand our rights and a collective bargaining of what needs to be achieved is always worthwhile. However, what we cannot afford to do is to let the current rotten systems defined by corruption, lethargic workers and all sorts of negative vibes get to us. Hard as it may, we choose to stay sane and hopefully get to a point where we will, one day witness a transformation of the status quo. For the sake of our sanity and progress, we keep sailing and do the very best we can to contribute to the greater good of society in whatever form we can. That is who as human beings; hold hands so that we make the world work for each of us. We keep sailing.
Choice
Life is a matter of choices, daily choices. Honestly speaking, in this tech craze era, what we see on social media is not the life people are living; there is an in-between reality we may never, ever be aware of. Sometimes we discover things we do not know how to handle, and we still need to process them, that is life. We do learn to live with our contradictions, so we find peace and not become eruptive humans. As we live this life with the contradictions, we also choose to be like a ship; we keep sailing so we get to where we plan to be.
Zimbabwe is a very beautiful country with amazing human beings, with great potential and skill. In order to keep transforming this country for the better, we choose to become progressive and hold hands to make life work. Now is the time we get up and do something within our means despite our contractions and the status quo. We each are a ship on water, we keep sailing. Let’s do this!
MUSIC is considered to be a powerful tool and has been important with many movements. Not only in Zimbabwe is the power and influence of music seen as playing a significant role in disseminating HIV and Aids-related information.
Local music promoter Samuel “Boss Werras” Saungweme, in partnership with National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and several other musicians across genres are part of an initiative to educate people, mainly the youths, on the HIV and Aids epidemic.
Werras Entertainment has organised several concerts across the country as edutainment to raise awareness and tackle social issues affecting ghetto youths such as drug abuse, abortion and child marriages.
Top dancehall singers Seh Calaz and Killer T headline the Youth Health Awareness concert alongside Caychi, Senator Tichareva and Simross set for Saturday at Kushinga School Grounds in Hopley. NewsDay (ND) Life & Style reporter Winstone Antonio caught up with Boss Werras (BW) and below are excerpts from the interview.
ND: As Werras Entertainmen, what has led you to join hands in the fight against HIV/Aids through the arts?
BW: With an estimated HIV prevalence of 13%, Zimbabwe is among countries with the highest HIV prevalence, so as an arts promotion company, we have decided to join the cause in the fight against this deadly disease.
Werras Entertainment, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Child Care and other funding entities, we conduct HIV and Aids musical concerts in areas identified by health experts and our partners as hot spots.
We are using music as a tool to attract the youths in and out of school who are hard to reach using traditional public health systems.
As Werras Entertainment and our health service partners, we are committed to contribute towards the reduction of new HIV infections among adolescents and young people, as well as to help equip adolescents and young people with life skills.
ND: Your target group is young people. What strategies are you using to engage them?
BW: Our target group is those in and out of school, adolescents as well as youths in tertiary institutions since adolescents and young people have been prioritised in Zimbabwe’s efforts to prevent HIV infections. We are using initiatives like the HIV and Aids musical exposé that we have rolled out in all the country’s districts to enable the youth’s access friendly HIV prevention services. We have realised that musical galas can go a long way in mass education. This has proved that it can help reduce costs in this era of economic challenges.
Through music and arts, we can educate, reduce and eradicate HIV and Aids, tuberculosis, cancer, drug abuse, abortion, early marriages and sexually related health issues among the youth. This also provides an opportunity for musicians to educate and entertain their fans, which is a very rare exposure because of the number of people who will be in attendance as the shows will be free of charge.
ND: Are communities appreciating such initiatives?
BW: Communities are appreciating our creativity as they are benefiting immensely by receiving free health services, entertainment and interacting with their role models. During our musical events, health services that include, but not limited to HIV testing services, cancer screening, TB screening, condom distribution, voluntary male circumcision, one-on-one health education and CD4 count, will be offered free of charge to the youths. In our programmes, we have selected musicians who we work with for arts talent identification among the youths. The selected musician helps in the dissemination of HIV and Aids awareness campaigns using various social media platforms.
ND: This Saturday, you are set to host a free dancehall concert themed Youth Health Awareness in Hopley to educate youths on social issues affecting them. Share more details about this forthcoming event.
BW: The Hopley Youth Health Awareness concert is our first event of the year with the help of the Health and Child Care ministry, National Aids Council and other stakeholders. We have lined up a well-balanced team of young artistes to entertain and educate the youths. We are very grateful with the overwhelming support we are getting from our partners. We hope this event will open the door for us to work with many other stakeholders in the health sector.
ND: What are some of the challenges you have faced?
BW: We are not spared from the economic challenges the country is going through. Funding has been difficult to come by, but with the help of our partners and the little resources we have, we are managing. I would like to thank New Avakash International for their overwhelming support towards the cause.
ND: You have staged several concerts across the country, how has the response been so far?
BW: So far so good. The response from the communities has been encouraging. Such responses give us strength to keep pushing towards the fight against HIV/Aids, among other related health issues.
ND: Your parting words?
BW: We would want to invite the young people in Hopley and Greater Harare to join us this Saturday so that they can have access to various health services for free.They will also be entertained. This is their day; we must make it happen. As Werras Entertainment, we always say a happy and healthy soul is a tool for developing Zimbabwe.
