VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION

As we celebrate the 16 days of activism against gender based violence, ABAMMELI posted a video on social media of a lady whose access to education was violated by a lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology.

Thembelihle Zulu was in her final year when a lecturer in her department asked for sex and in exchange he would offer her a dissertation project.  According to Zulu she refused and life at the university turned to be hell. The lecturer was now shouting at her to the extent that she had to avoid school because of him, change her cell number. Her marks took a dramatic turn for the worst.

“I approached a female assistant lecturer, told her everything on a person note. She advised me on how to report the matter to the relevant authorities in the department. I reported the issue and papers were said to be pushed until now nothing has been done. It’s nearly two years now and there is nothing has ever been done. Too many people came in into the situation. There were lawyers, NGO and Human rights and as l stand right now l didn’t graduate when l was supposed to,” said Zulu.

“I didn’t want to go back but now l have enrolled because l have done 99.5 %. But l feel unsettled because l need to go back to that same place where he was.  I feel like the whole system is just mocking me like that girl, what were you trying; did you accomplish what you wanted to accomplish. Am very disappointed in the university system.”

According to Female Students Network, there has been a significant rise in the number of female students being abused and they do not report the issues. Most students are afraid to speak out because they are afraid of failing.  

According to a source that could not be revealed, Zulu was the one who seduced the lecturer. “The lecturer actually has WhatsApp messages that show that she was the one who wanted a favour from the lecturer.”

“How can she put the blame on the department? She was given another supervisor and she failed the dissertation.”

Another source said what the lady is saying is true as the issue was pushed forward to the relevant offices at the institution.

He said, “This issue is a very difficult one because it’s Thembelihle’s word against the lecturer’s word. What really happened will only be known when the hearing is conducted.”

Zulu is said to be a lesbian and she was once involved in a fight with her former colleague over a girl in the same class.

STRIPPER PLUS PROSTITUTE

Picture courtsey of iHarare

Young girls are now strippers plus prostitutes at the same time due to the prevailing economic situation in the country.

The economy has left many people jobless and most families are finding it hard to sustain themselves.   Most people are now diverting into other ways just to have a meal on their tables.

A visit to Private Lounge will prove to you how hard things are in the country. Young girls are stripping until they are in their birthday suits because they are in need of money since there are no jobs.

Two of the strippers are girls from Bulawayo aged 21 and 20 respectively. These young women migrated from Bulawayo to Harare in search of greener pastures in the city of Sunshine.  Life in Harare is not that rosy like what most people out of the town think.  The two had to join the strippers community because it is the only way one can make money in the city.

Firstly they used to strip at the Airport Lounge but it closed down now they are at Private Lounge where there is a lot of competition.  Sometimes they do not get to strip which means they are not pocketing any money home. This leads to the young women selling their bodies in the club just to pocket money.

According to the two, it’s a stiff competition and it needs one to be clever and strong because you won’t be able to make money if you are dull and weak willed. After stripping these women make sure that they get hired as prostitutes as the money they get there is peanuts.

However, some people think these women are hiding behind the fact that there is no employment in doing illicit things. These women enjoy what they are doing because it’s in them ‘kushama.’

Chido Musodza said, “Why can’t they sell tomatoes or be maids rather than do what they are doing. What example are they setting to the younger generations? ”

This week some pictures of old women stripping in a bar went viral on the social media. Boys as young as ten years were part of the crowd at the stripping show. This act was  condemned by many people as children were exposed to illicit stuff.

AFRICA UNIVERSITIES DAY

Picture courtsey of  www.aau.org

This year, Association of African Universities (AAU) celebrates 48 years under the theme “Internationalisation of higher education.” Internationalisation of Higher education is the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of postsecondary. The main components of internationalization of higher education are global competition for talents, recruitment of international students, development of international branch campuses, students, staff and scholars exchange programs, internationalization of the curriculum, and research and education partnerships between institutions regionally and internationally. The Association of African Universities was established in 1967 to facilitate co-operation between its members and with the international academic community. It is based in Accra, Ghana

Zimbabwe universities are also members of the AAU. These include National University Science and Technology, University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University, Africa University only to mentions a few.  As we celebrate, our universities are facing a lot of challenges in their day to day functioning.

Universities, in common with other social institutions, face a set of constraints. These consist of substantial accountability demands placed on them by a variety of internal and external constituents and stakeholders. In the case of universities these range from government, the main funder, demanding more stringent accounting for resource use and a bigger say in the agenda of universities – from access standards and numbers to curricular relevance and income-generation – to politicians, civil society and business groups, donors and external partners, each pushing sectional interests on the universities.

  

Harsh economic climate facing tends to impact negatively on quality in our education.Most universities rely on government funding but funding of universities by the state has reflected a negative trend, funding has been left to individuals pay for their education. This year the government stopped funding the state universities and this has a negative bearing on the universities themselves in a dead economy like this. It actually means that if students were complaining of poor service delivery by the university it would be worse than what it was last year. This actually means that Zimbabwean universities need to be able to generate income and realize profit where possible. Moreover, this

University education has now become a preserve for the elite people especially with our economic situation in Zimbabwe. Very few students are able to pay for their education, worse still barely a few months ago more than 20 000 workers were retrenched from their work places. Government is unable to provide sponsorship and bursaries for education yet the Cadetship scheme is no longer accessible to students.

Lecturers are poorly remunerated as such their morale is low as higher education is underfunded. The economy has also caused many lectures to leave the country in search of greener pastures. This means that the ratio of student to lecturer is now very high. Most lecturers are leaving institutions of higher learning into the private sector. This is so because most institutions which are state funded are suffering the same economic conditions as the government of the day. Most Universities lacks enough capital and infrastructure to carry out its work.

Lack of funds to acquire resources, bring external assessors as well as put in place quality assurance committees and panels by universities is one of the challenges faced by these institutions. The failure by these institutions to rehabilitate buildings, libraries and laboratories students will not have access to them while conducting their studies. For example National University of Science and Technology has a block of buildings that were last worked on ten years ago and this has left students without a proper library were at least half of the students can go there and read. The current one is so small that most students cannot access it especially during exam time.

 Zimbabwe Universities need to generate income and become self-sufficient.

WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT MUJURU'S MANIFESTO 'BUILD'

 A month ago, former Vice President Joice Mujuru broke her silence and unveiled  her yet to be launched party's manifesto dubbed Blueprint to unlocking investment and leverage for development  'BUILD' which sparked a lot of controversy.

The manifesto received mixed reactions among Zimbabweans from all works of life.  Blessing Jona, a lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology said the manifesto carried a "bold" statement.

 "I can't but help to admire Mai Mujuru and her ousted colleagues for taking a bold step to rise up against Zanu PF, its excesses, and its flagrant miscarriages of justice.  Their manifesto provides bold positions on various political, economic and socio-cultural ailments which the country is suffering from".

  

He added that he believed the manifesto was crafted by people who knew the social ills in the country.'It is very tempting to believe that these are the same people who can therefore be trusted to reverse ills and retrogressive policies that they were one part of."

 However, Jona said   Mujuru and her former Zanu PF cronies in People First were still holding on to properties they acquired through Zanu PF and had to surrender them if they were sincere about putting "people first."

  "Once they do this, we will be sure that if we support them and vote them into government they will certainly follow through and honour promises that they have written in their published manifesto. Otherwise at the present moment Zimbabweans should regard them with  the same contempt that they regard the very system and party that has been disempowering and disenfranchising Zimbabweans from the vast wealth and resources that Zimbabwe has to offer."

  

Mujuru and other ZANU-PF officials were expelled from the party after the 2014 December Congress,  and since then the former vice president has denied sowing seeds of division in the party and plotting to over President Mugabe.

Former ZAPU spokesperson, Methuseli Moyo said Mujuru's manifesto got everyone talking and it was a  sign of her effectiveness in the politics of the country.

"She has articulated exactly what the people yearn for; an orderly society with a functioning economy, peace and economy."

"Mujuru's manifesto is investor-friendly and seems to be the solution to Zimbabwean crisis especially for us students who hold tomorrow's future in our hands," said Tamuka Charakupa, a student at Midlands State University.

He added," Most students when they finish school are jobless because of the economic situation that is not sustainable. With her manifesto there seems to be a light ahead."

 

 

MISA ZIM TO HOLD INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM

Media Institute of Southern Africa, Zimbabwe Chapter will be hosting a Internet Governance Forum tomorrow at the Jameson Hotel in Harare.

The conference will be running under the theme ‘Supporting Free & Secure Online Expression and Access to Information in Zimbabwe’. The motive behind this initiative is to promote free and secure online expression  access to information in Zimbabwe.

Invited guest speakers include the Minister of ICT,Postal and Courier Services, Hon. Supa Mandiwanza, who will present on the topic: The future of Zimbabwe’s Internet Ecosystem-Plans for Reach, Sustainability & Governance.

Speaker from MISA-Zimbabwe will present on ‘Zimbabwe’s cyber sphere-Why a multi-stakeholder approach’ where issues to do with development and challenges in the internet sector relating to freedom of expression, freedom of association and access to information.Reuben Gwatidzo from the Information Society Initiatives Trust will present on the Internet and its socio, economic and political impact on Zimbabwe and the region.

Chairman of  the Zimbabwe Internet Governance Forum (ZIGF), Dr Hapanyengwi will clarify on the topic: Zimbabwe’s plan on Internet Governance.  experienced blogger, Takura Zhangazha will present on the issues related to Experiences of ‘working’ online under the headline Content creation, Dissemination and use. 

Members from other MISA Chapters in the region are expected to attend the conference. Prominent figures in the ICT sector will also attended. These include Limbikani Makani, and Natasha Msonza.

 MISA Zim is also running some conversation on their website.

For more information visit www.misazim.com

Should we expect anything at the Innovation Africa Digital Summit.

image credit: vicfallscarnival.com

These are some of the concerns that are supposed to be addressed over the next few days at the Innovation Africa Digital Summit 2015 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Starting tomorrow and leading up to the 16th of April 2015, a number of decision-makers in the public and private sector from 50 countries will be meeting to compare notes and listen to the presentations related to these issues.

The Ministry of ICT, as the Summit’s key partner, has thrown its full weight behind Zimbabwe’s hosting of this summit and as can be expected,  its core objective will be showcasing local ICT. There’s a lot that will be touched including, cloud computing realities, Rural Telephony and its impact in the African tech space, Fibre to the Home (FTTH), iInfrastructure Outsourcing Policy and LTE.

Will there be any productive dialogue from all of this? It’s hard to say actually. The skeptic in me doesn’t want to see this is anything more than just a huge networking opportunity (you know, the one benefit always slapped onto any gathering) at an awesome tourist destination.

Like any other public/private sector indaba, there’s a lot laid out on the menu. Issues that have a direct impact on the industry are always brought up and very impressive presentations are made to give everyone an idea of where we are and in some sense where we should be going.

Whether this formula will translate into direct problem-solving is another matter altogether. Like any other Zimbabwean (and indeed African) who’s heard about this Summit, I’m really interested in knowing how it will have a tangible contribution to what we hope to see ICT doing for our economies.

Who knows, maybe this innovation Africa Digital Summit and the knowledge sharing there might go a long way in helping add clarity to the formulation of the National ICT Policy that we are waiting for earnestly.

For more info visit: www.techzim.co.zw

TelOne launches its $36 Fibre to the Home service along with WiFi hotspots

picture courtesy of TelOne website

A few days ago  l spoke about TelOne’s new corporate identity and how the telecoms operator would be launching a couple of new products at an official corporate event.

TelOne Fibre To The Home (FTTH)

The star product has been the new TelOne Fibre to The Home offering. Initial deployment will be in Harare in areas like Mt Pleasnt Heights, Westgate, Madokero, Ruwa and Zimre Park. According to TelOne these areas have the capacity to connect over 15,000 homes. The TelOne FTTH has also been crossed over to Norton, Zvishavane and Ngezi.

What’s the cost?

picture courtesy of TechZim website

There are 3 packages available. The entry package, dubbed the

 Starter Package,

 priced at $36 with speeds of up to 5 Mbps and a download cap of 20 GB. This

goes head to head with the ZOL Fibroniks package set at $39.

The Boost Package

is set at $70 for speeds of up to 10 Mbps and a download cap of 50 GB.

The Intense Package

  is the leader of the pack with unlimited downloads and is pegged at $118 with speeds of up to 20 Mbps. Installation of fibre will set you back $50.

TelOne Metro City WiFi Hotspots

TelOne has introduced WiFi hotspots around the city of Harare and 10 sites have been cited as being online already. These sites are

• Mupedzanhamo
• TelOne Centre for Learning
• Julius Nyerere Way
• Runhare House
• Cleveland House
• Roadport/ Amtec
• Montagu Heights
• TelOne Shop Harare Showgrounds
• TelOne Shop Joina City
• TelOne Shop Borrowdale

The Metro City WiFi project is being rolled to other parts of Zimbabwe, but, just like the FTTH we are yet to get definitive dates on when this will show up in other corners of Zimbabwe.

For more info visit: www.techzim.co.zw

                                www.telone.co.zw

Telone-to-launch-new-identity-citywide-wifi-and-fibre-packages-tomorrow

picture courtesy of TelOne website

This is a bit of a challenge for an operator like TelOne that has the distinction of being the Number 1 only local provider of ADSL broadband in an environment where the internet is experienced through mobile phones first, and fixed internet also means WiMAX solutions from every other competitor.

To its credit, TelOne has been trying a lot to adapt to everything around it. The highlight of all this will be showcased tomorrow evening. TelOne is unveiling two new products along with a new corporate identity.

According to information from reliable sources, TelOne is introducing its network of WiFi hot spots around Harare, dubbed Metro City WiFi. These WiFi hot spots are meant to give TelOne an access point to mobile broadband subscribers that already form a clear majority of internet users in Zimbabwe.

The second new product will be the TelOne Fibre to the Home (FTTH) service that has been a major focus of TelOne’s efforts of being an Internet-First operator.

picture courtesy of TechZim website

The new brand identity is what TelOne has been teasing in print adverts this past week and will be represented by a new logo that we will see for the first time tomorrow night.

No doubt all of this sounds exciting for a host of reasons. The Fibre to the Home product is coming into a market that is being led by Liquid and ZOL, the force behind the ZOL Fibroniks package that is meant to make Fibre a reality for Zimbabweans with a $39 entry package as well as the most extensive fibre network in the country whose density is remarkable when compared to other countries in Africa.

TelOne currently sits on the second largest fibre network in Zimbabwe and has been offering somewhat reasonable pricing for its ADSL package. The hope is that this same competitiveness will extend to its fibre service.

At the same time, the Metro City WiFi service gives TelOne a shot at competing with mobile telecoms operators, something that it hasn’t been able to execute with a mobile network operator licence that it never used.

Hopefully TelOne will compete aggressively in terms of service delivery and not just pricing.

See more at: http://www.techzim.co.zw

                   http://www.telone.co.zw

PAYMENTS VIA ECOCASH AND TELECASH SUSPENDED

picture courtesy of MultiChoice Zim

DStv Zimbabwe has just announced that it has suspended payments through mobile money serviceEcoCash, something that ought to put a damper on any attempts at beating holiday queues through m-commerce convenience.

According to a post published on the DStv Facebook page, this temporary disruption has been caused by technical challenges and it is indefinite. In responses to questions asked in the comments section of the Facebook post, DStv Zimbabwe also pointed out that payments through Telecash are also suspended. This means that payment through the Telecash GoldCard and the EcoCash Master Card aren’t possible as well.

The only mobile money option that is still working is financial institution CABS’ Textacash, an option that might provide relief to its 300,000 plus subscriber base but still leaves the bulk of mobile money subscribers who use EcoCash and Telecash in a fix.

The traditional payment options, that is the financial institutions like CBZ Bank, NMB Bank, ZB Bank, Stanbic, Standard Chartered, Steward Bank, FBC Bank, Met Bank, CABS and POSB (and are now ironically becoming the alternative solutions) are still available. The biggest frustration there is the fact that banks aren’t as flexible in terms of operating hours, something that rules out payment over the holidays like Easter that starts tomorrow.

Still, if you have made a payment via Textacash and want to follow up n it this holiday, DStvZimbabwe walk-ins will be open on Saturday until 2pm and there is the call centre option that you can access until 5pm.

For more info visit: www.multichoicezimbabwe.co.zw

                                    www.techzim.co.zw

UNLIMITED IS BACK!

picture courtesy of powertel website

Remember how local InternetService Provider, Powertel, made the biggest pricing mistake in telecoms last year when it scrapped its superstar unlimited package and opted to introduce a usage-based system instead. Well, the ISP seems to be fighting for customers’ attention with its new unlimited package.

There’s a bit of a monish to this new unlimited package which has been dubbed the Weekly Fiesta Mobile Broadband Promo. First, it’s not as spectacular as the old unlimited package.

It only allows you unlimited browsing during off-peak hours (8pm to 6am), like the off-peak unlimited browsing option introduced by uMax last year. There is also a set number of days you get this unlimited window, based on which data plan you choose. The table below gives a breakdown.

Search:

DATA PLAN COST ($USD) UNLIMITED BROWSING DURATION

100 MB 2.50 1 day

500 MB 12.50 3 days

1 GB 23.00 7 days

2 GB 39.00 14 days

Showing 1 to 4 of 4 entries

According to Powertel, downloads will be enabled for the unlimited browsing window, and even if you burn through your actual data during peak periods you will still have access to the unlimited browsing window.

Apparently Powertel is trying to increase its value proposition to its subscriber base that felt cheated when it killed its unlimited offering that, for a while, stood out as the most cost efficient access to unlimited internet.

While it’s too late to say whether this is going to be huge hit with Powertel subscribers that stayed on or if it will be enough to lure back the ones that deflected to other ISPs, it does seem like a step in the right direction.

However, with services like ZOL Fibroniks coming in at $39, the market is changing rapidly and Powertel has to really ramp up its value offering. It still has to compete on aspects like the amount of data offered, coverage and the speeds, so solving the price puzzle is just one aspect to consider.

For more info visit www.powertel.co.zw

                                   www.techzim.co.zw

MULTI-CHOICE REDUCES PRICES

picture courtesy of TechZim

With effect from the 1st of May 2015, the prices of all DStv packages will be drastically reduced. Some packages like HD PVR Premium, DStv Premium and DStv Compact Plus have been reduced by 40% while DStv Access, DStv Family and DStv Compact have been reduced by 15%. This means that you can access SuperSport for only $33 a month! The Xtra View Access Fee remains unchanged.

It’s a climb down from the price increases that were announced last month and have been put into effect today. The new price structure is reflected in the table below.

Bouquet	Current Monthly Price($US)	New Monthly Price ($US)
Access	11	9
Family	21	18
Compact	32	27
Compact Plus	55	33
Premium	81	48
HD PVR Premium	92	55
Xtra View Access Fee	11	11

In a press statement, MultiChoice has mentioned how this action was a response to the massive backlash that the Naspers owned entity received from its consumers throughout Africa when it effected its annual price increase.

Locally, Zimbabwean consumers weren’t amused, and there was an avalanche of complaints from affected parties. In countries like Zambia, thousands of DStv subscribers even went as far as signing a petition, and in West Africa, some governments were called on by their citizens to reign in MultiChoice for monopolistic behaviour.

While this seems like a logical reason for the price reduction, it looks like MultiChoice is actually preparing for a more competitive environment. A lot of entertainment options have popped up in the past few years but have failed to really disrupt the dominance DStv has in Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa.

Now, the landscape is changing. The rapid rollout of fibre, coupled with entrants like VOD providers in the form of Aflix TV and iROKO has meant that people are relying less and less on one provider of entertainment. In the case of Zimbabwe, we have Econet at advanced stages of the launch of its ipidi service and with digital migration all but complete, there’s going to be an improvement in entertainment from state broadcaster ZBC, with its 6 channels and Web TV.

The good news about this is that while MultiChoice braces itself for competition, DStv has just gotten so much more affordable.

 And this turned out to be a lie....HAPPY FOOLS DAY! 

For more info visit www.techzim.co.zw

TELECEL DEAL COLLAPSES

picture courtesy of Telecel website

After the talks of a $20 million offer for a significant slice of Telecel Zimbabwe  surfaced in January this year, we all thought this was the definitive moment in the mobile network operator’s ownership structure.

Instead, it turned into something of a sideshow that was a display of greed and the tough lessons that are learnt from building any business under opaque circumstances.

Last week it was reported that Brainworks Capital, the investment outfit that had offered to buy 40% of Telecel Zimbabwe was withdrawing its offer. The reasons cited included the continued legal tussles that have been focused on contesting the deal and put Brainworks under public onslaught and the failure of the Empowerment Corporation to respond to the offer made.

Rather than an acceptance or refusal of the offer, Brainworks was instead invited to a bidding process for the 40% share that it thought it had secured.  The inevitable happened, and Brainworks pulled out.

Now, Brainworks has made the news for securing $35 million in capital that will be directed to bolstering of its existing stakes in local businesses and more significantly in local telecoms. Brainworks will, however, not be making those telecoms investments into Telecel.

That last bit on staying away from Telecel hasn’t surprised anyone really. Empowerment Corporation and its ownership of Telecel Zimbabwe is one huge mess, and any investor having to untangle that just to buy into an aggressively competitive industry would be frustrated and move away.

What has happened with Telecel and the “soft intervention” from the Ministry of ICT ought to serve as a lesson to corporate raiders or the investors in Telecel Zimbabwe. With Brainworks out of the picture, finding another local investor willing to shore up an 8 figure investment for the telecoms operator isn’t going to be easy. This creates a frustrating situation for the mobile operator and drives away other local and international investors that might want to buy Vimpelcom out of the remaining stake in Telecel that it holds.

No investors mean stunted growth for Telecel which, has, in better days, proved to be a formidable competitor to the dominance that Econet has in the industry. The Empowerment Corporation is also left holding 40% of a mobile operator that is underperforming and cannot attract additional investment that it (the Empowerment Corporation) cannot raise.

For more info: www.telecel.co.zw

                      www.techzim.co.zw