The Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) process has been praised by many as the ultimate answer to the country’s perennial electoral problems originating from a discredited voters’ role which was being used all along.
While the BVR as a system is good, people with disabilities have criticised the process of its implementation saying it is not friendly to them.
Complaints raised by people with disabilities or organisations that represent their interests include lack of mechanisms that support the easy registration of those, for example, who are blind as well as those who are speech impaired.
Attempts to get exact figures of people with disabilities who have managed to register as voters so far were unsuccessful with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chief inspector Jane Chigidji saying she was not at liberty to comment because the elections body was still collating and uploading the data.
It is however understood that the number of people with disabilities who have registered in the ongoing exercise is far below the national average of any other demographic group.
When one goes to the registration centre, he/she is given a VR1 form to fill personal information about themselves. The form has a section that allows people with disabilities to state the nature of their disability.
That, sources in Zec say, will enable the electoral body to meet the special needs of people with disabilities on election day for example by providing adjustable voting booths that are convenient to those who use wheelchairs.
Biometrics also allows amputees who have lost both their arms in accidents or who are born with such disabilities to register to vote because the system is not dependent on fingerprints alone, but on photographs and other exterior biological features of a person too.
Lincoln Matongo, a Sign Language teacher at Morgan Zintec Collage in Harare said he did not have many problems registering to vote because he can lip-read.
Lip-reading is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue when normal sound is not available or cannot be heard.
“I am quite fortunate because I can lip-read so I did not face any challenges when I went to register to vote but there are others who are in a less fortunate situation such that they find the registration process cumbersome and not friendly to them,” said Matongo.
He said his own wife had not yet registered to vote because she feared that the personnel manning the registration centres will not be able to understand her.
“She cannot lip-read so she is afraid she will face communication challenges if she goes to register to vote. I understand those who do the registration process are either scantily equipped or not equipped at all to deal with people with speech and hearing difficulties. Most people in our country cannot use Sign Language,” said Matongo.
Tapiwa Tsikai, an activist who advocates for the rights of people with disabilities, said BVR is not fully accessible to people with disabilities and much still needed to be done to ensure that an important section of the population is not left behind.
“The BVR, like others other systems and processes in our society, perpetuates the existing flaws we have in our country because not all centres have ramps and wide doors to improve their accessibility to people using wheelchairs, crutches and others.
“All systems and processes in the country are never designed with people with disabilities in mind. In most cases, issues of disabilities are only given secondary thoughts and they never form the basis of any initial planning process.
“It is also difficult for people to communicate because most of the people doing the registration work do not understand Sign Language. How then can we possibly say BVR is friendly to us? Very few people with disabilities have managed to register and my worry is that these citizens, who form 15 percent of the population, are being let down in this critical exercise,” said Tsikai.
He also criticised authorities for not printing material on BVR in Braille, saying many potential registrants are being left out because voter education information is accessible mostly to people who can see printed text.
This was echoed by Masvingo provincial youth spokesperson for the National Council for the Disabled Persons in Zimbabwe Vengai Kurunzirwa who said lack of information in Braille was perhaps the biggest error of omission on the part of Zec.
“We held a meeting with local Zec officials and members of our community raised a number of issues including the prohibitive distances that some of our people have to travel to get to the registration centres. Many people said they would prefer mobile registration booths serving people in all residential areas.
“It was, however, the issue of the lack of Braille reading material that disappointed may people. As you may know, the voting cycle is incomplete without adequate voter education and what it means is that the visually-impaired people are getting a raw deal,” said Kurunzirwa.
He also said complaints about the lack of Sign Language capacity at registration centres continue to recur although Zec promised to engage the Henry Murray School for the Deaf at Morgenster Mission to help ease communication challenges between registration officials and speech-impaired prospective registrants.
Others complained that although Zec was heavily investing in its information and publicity drive on TV, no advert specially designed for people with disabilities by people with disabilities had ever been seen on national television.
Zec is understood to be planning to flight the first TV advert on BVR for people with disabilities thanks to sustained lobbying from such civic groups as Deaf Zimbabwe Trust (DZT).
Marble Shangwa, another disability activist based in Masvingo said she was concerned with the ease or lack thereof with which people with disabilities are able to register to vote.
She said she was particularly worried about deaf people who have not had the opportunity to learn Sign Language because theirs is probably the most difficult position.
“People tend to believe that when you have somebody who is proficient in Sign Language, then all the problems of every deaf person has disappeared. That is a misconception because we also have illiterate deaf people; those who have not had a chance to study Sign language.
“Theirs is a predicament we would like the government to pay special attention to by making sure that all deaf children are taught the language so that they don’t suffer a double disadvantage. Being born deaf puts a child at a disadvantage and being denied the chance to learn because of poverty or lack of facilities increases the problem since there would no longer be any formal language of communication with whoever the child meets even later in life as an adult who should enjoy his/her rights like everybody else. There are indeed schools that teach children with those challenges but they are few and expensive,” said Shangwa.
Her opinion comes after some reports that Zec is finding it extra-ordinarily hard to help such people register to vote even when Sign Language experts are available.
“That is a big challenge for us. There are some voluntary organisations that are seconding their personnel to come and improve communication between deaf people who want to register and our own registration officials. The problem comes when you have those who can neither write nor use Sign Language. We have encountered many situations of that nature and, unfortunately, many of the prospective registrants were not successful,” said one Zec official who preferred not to be named.local

Nyasha Marumbi

MASVINGO – Hilda Kandemire, who is wife to a police sergeant at Zimuto Camp, was on Monday brought before magistrate Peter Madiba facing fraud charges of duping Tichaona Zimunya of US$450 and Miriam Mhlanga of 80 chickens and vegetables worth US$486 on the same day.
Kandemire was asked to restitute both parties by January 31, 2018 or face 90 days imprisonment.
It was the State’s case that on January 27, 2017, Kandemire approached Zimunya, who resides at 20466 Bandwe Street, Rujeko and told him that she was selling tomatoes.
She was given US$300 and 50 empty creates of tomatoes.
On the same day, the accused demanded a top up of US$450 so that she could buy the tomatoes that Zimunya had requested and ran away.
The complainant checked on the accused person several times and he only received US$120 through EcoCash.
Kandemire allegedly gave US$180 to Mike Muduma to give to Zimunya before going away to an unknown destination.
Zimunya later recovered his empty crates at Zimuto camp.
On the very same day, Kandemire approached Mhlanga and advised her that she had found a buyer for her 80 chickens and six vegetables at Continental Restaurant.
They both went to Continental Restaurant to deliver the chickens and vegetables to the said buyer Celine Debock.
They however failed to locate Debock and the accused persuaded Mhlanga to leave the chickens in her custody waiting for the buyer.
She later diverted from the original plan and sold the chickens and vegetables to an unknown buyer.
The matter came to light when the Mhlanga approached Debock for payment only to be told that Kandemire did not sell the chickens to her.
Investigations were made leading to the arrest of Kandemire who had recently returned home.
Polite Chikiwa represented the State.local

NYIKA – “People need to be appreciated for the hard work and commitment they give to the organisation.”
These were the words of Bikita Rural District Council (RDC) chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Chibi during a long serving awards ceremony held at council offices last week in honour of staff members who served between 15 and 30 years.
Councillors who served two consecutive terms were also given a token of appreciation. Councillor Makuvaza of Ward 5 was named the longest serving councillor, having consistently held onto his position since 1980.
“Today we are honouring people who have been with us for more than 15 years and we are happy with the work and dedication given. Some have given about 30 years to the council and this needs to be appreciated,” said Chibi.
Chibi said due to financial constraints, they have not been able to go out of their way to get fancy gifts for the long-serving staff but only managed to buy suits for them.
“A suit is a symbol of respect and we say thank you to those who have dedicated their lives to make Bikita the place to be in as far as service delivery and ease of doing business is concerned,” said Chibi.
Councillors who served two consecutive terms also got suits while every member of staff will be treated to a special Christmas present of about 5 kg of game meat.local

MWENEZI – Some A1 farmers in Mufula area under Chief Chitanga in Ward 13 are reportedly selling inputs they received under the Command Agriculture programme, TellZim News has learnt.
Sources said buyers from all over the district and elsewhere were flocking to the area to grab the fertiliser that is reportedly going for a song.
“Farmers were given fertilisers and cotton seeds to plant under the Command Agriculture scheme. Due to desperation, farmers are only planting the cotton seeds and selling the fertilisers that must be used to nurture the crop. Some are even selling a 50 kg bag of fertiliser for US$6. This has attracted a lot of prospective buyers,” said a source.
TellZim News has also learnt that some buyers were recently intercepted by Mwenezi police detectives and the culprits were due to appear in court by the time of going to print.
It is illegal to use inputs obtained through the programme for any other purposes other than what they are meant for.
Ward 13 councillor Takura Mudavose confirmed having received reports that people were abusing the inputs and said he will continue to tell people not to sell the inputs.
“I have heard reports that some farmers are selling the fertiliser to third parties and that is totally unacceptable. I will have to do my own investigation to establish if that is true.
“I will also embark on a sensitisation programme to warn farmers that they will face the full wrath of the law if they engage in such actions,” said Mudavose.
Many people have already been prosecuted across the country for offenses involving the theft and/or abuse of Command Agriculture inputs.local

CHIVHU – Two young Zimbabweans in South Africa, Admire Makarichi (22) and Andrew Tsuro (21), are set to launch a television show in Kempton Park, Johannesburg.
The show, which will be called The Entrepreneurship Hub, will have a 24 hour online service and is a brainchild of the two young men who are all motivational speakers.
Makarich is also an author and entrepreneur who is eager to spread whatever knowledge he has and he shares with Tsuro the goal of connecting aspiring entrepreneurs around the globe.
“The core vision of this initiative is to lead a reliable and value-adding entrepreneurship forum where we connect aspiring business people while expanding start-ups horizons with expert guidance and mentorship from industry leaders,” said Makarichi.
The television show is set to start programming its first episode on January 27 and it will host an online 24 hour service where people outside South Africa can follow or access it through liking their Facebook page @ehubco.
“Our first episode will be on January 27, 2018 and will be streamed online. We urge people around the globe to tune in and have a taste of this well-informed television business programme from where entrepreneurs will gain valuable information,” said Makarichi.
Makarichi has published a motivational book called Success by Association by which he highlights vision and persistence as the key ingredients of success.local

MWENEZI – Austin Mukwazukwazu, of Ramubhudha village under Chief Maranda, who allegedly murdered his wife Gladys Shoko after suspecting she was having an extramarital affair, was last week remanded in custody pending trial.
Mukwazukwazu (24) was not formally charged for contravening section 47 of the Criminal Law Act Chapter 9:23, ‘murder’ when he appeared before magistrate Langton Ndokera last week but was remanded in custody.
The court heard that sometime in October this year, Mukwazukwazu and Shoko, who lived together in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, had a misunderstanding after Shoko could not explain the source of money she had in her possession.
Mukwazukwazu then accused her of having extramarital affairs. He allegedly took a log and struck Shoko all over her head resulting in her falling unconscious.
Shoko was rushed to Mapongwane Hospital where she died upon being admitted. After committing the offence, Mukwazukwazu fled to Zimbabwe but was arrested recently after a manhunt by Mwenezi police.
According to State papers, the accused paid compensation in the form of cattle to the deceased’s family.
Willard Chasi appeared for the State.local

Elliot Jinjika

CHIVHU – A 30-year-old man from Dartmore Farm in Beatrice appeared before magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni on allegations that he robbed and raped a form one pupil who attends Constellation Christian College in Harare.
Richard Madanhire denied the charges.
The State’s case, as presented by Nicholas Mabvongodze, is that on September 24 at around 09:00 hrs, Madanhire met the complainant and her little sister who were selling vegetables.
He told them that he was passing through their homestead where he will buy vegetables but he later returned, produced a silver knife and ordered the complainant to give him all the money before seizing a dollar from her.
He grabbed the complainant’s hands, lifted her dress up and lowered her undergarments to the knees, forced her to bend down and raped her while threatening her younger sister to stay away lest he kills them both.
After the act, the accused went away with the complainant’s maize cobs, a maroon Zambia, grey jacket and her bag. The two sisters went home and reported the mater to their mother who accompanied them to file a report at Beatrice police station.
The complainant was later referred to Beatrice and Chitungwiza hospitals for medical attention.
The matter was due to continue in court in the time of going to the press.local

Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – A man from Village Beperi 1 under Chief Maranda collapsed and fell unconscious in court on two separate occasions soiling his trousers with urine when the magistrate was about to give a verdict on his rape case.
Tawanda Mukwasha (29) was in court facing charges of having sexual intercourse with a minor. He pleaded guilty to the charge.
On December 5, Mukwasha collapsed and fell unconscious, soiling his trousers with urine while he was still in the dock during the mitigating stage. He was carried outside and the court adjourned and postponed his trial to December 12.
On December 12, when magistrate Langton Ndokera was about to pass judgement, Mukwasha again collapsed and fell unconscious while in the dock and was carried out of the court.
Ndokera expressed dissatisfaction over Mukwasha’s conduct, saying though he might have health problems, his conduct seemed premeditated.
He said when one knows that they are on medication, they should follow the prescription and not to wilfully default so as to get a way out.
State facts as argued by prosecutor Angelinah Makonya were that sometime in May this year, Mukwasha proposed love to a 14-year-old pupil who was doing form one at Maranda High School.
Mukwasha persisted with his proposal until the minor accepted before agreeing to have sex with him.
The court heard that the matter came to light after two organisations, the Justice for Children and the Department of Social Welfare were carrying out an awareness campaign at Maranda Clinic.
A police report was made at Maranda police base leading to Mukwasha’s arrest. Mukwasha’s verdict was postponed to a later date.local