Zim can draw many lessons from China
IN 2001, at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the former and late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said “HIV has the face of a woman”, and for decades even up to date it still has that face!
The more the agenda is moved, the more adolescent girls, young women (AGYW) and women remain left behind with rates of HIV acquisition amounting to 390 000 and 75 percent of these from Sub-Saharan Africa (Envision for girls UNICEF Data hub).
The HIV response for women and girls in our diversity must be rooted in an integrated approach to education, gender equity, poverty eradication and economic empowerment as these all are central to whether a woman or girl will have health literacy, ability to exercise choice, capacity to refuse unwanted sex, remove the need to exchange sex “unwanted” sex for money or goods, and challenge harmful cultural norms and practices, including child marriages and female genital mutilation.
HIV and adolescent girls and young women need to be well articulated in the UHC Agenda.
What girls want and what women want as commitments to the HIV prevention Agenda in ICPD is a renewed commitment towards:
Advance safety, security, and freedom from violence, including ending stigma, discrimination, and sexual harassment, for young women and girls in all our diversity.
There must be zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment or bullying for all embedded into both organisational policy and culture.
Ensure full access to information and education, including comprehensive sexuality education, including provision of menstrual health and hygiene services, girls and women friendly quality, comprehensive healthcare services.
Comprehensive sexuality education is an intervention that promotes self-awareness: AGYW seek self- reassurance in the wrong places that puts them in harm’s way.
llSupport commitments that focus laws and policies that promote our access to sexual and reproductive health and rights without coercion, age restrictions or requirements to be accompanied by male guardians.
In this day and age, we cannot continue to tolerate the moralisation and criminalisation of our sexuality! This has to come to an end!
Strengthened investment in championing our leadership and equity so that girls and young women in all our diversity are catalysts for and meaningful partners in positive change.
We do not need more exposure we need more resources.
The agenda is about us, but resources are not for us and that needs to change.
The retraction of donors in the HIV response is real but where is the mobilisation of domestic funding in this equation?
A research agenda that is driven and led by girls and women taking account of the unique bio-medical and social context of women and girls lives.
Inclusion and meaningful engagement in research will ensure services that embrace, respect, and respond to the priorities, life-long needs, choices, and rights of adolescent girls and women in our diversity.
We are commemorating ICPD+ 25, 2020 we will be Beijing+25, we are a few months into 2020 and the targets under the 2016 Political Declaration need to be met.
In 2020, it will be five years into the SDGs. These watershed moments for sexual and reproductive health, human rights, and gender equality are vital to reflect on as we look to accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals and meeting vital targets set for the HIV response.
In my language we say “rume rimwe harikombe churu” meaning that not one man can be able to deal with a situation single-handedly.
We need to all have a collective renewed commitment, energy, and passion towards HIV and SRHR of and for girls and women.
lllNyasha Phanisa Sithole made these remarks at the Global HIV Prevention Coalition Ministerial meeting at the ICPD25 Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 11 and the Concurrent session on HIV/ SRHR and young women on November 12, 2019
lShe made the remarks on behalf of adolescent girls, young women and women from 28 Global HIV Prevention Coalition Countries and Participants of the Adolescent Girls and Young Women Technical Meeting.
lTHERE are many pleasant scents in the world, but none like petrichor. When the rains fall on dry soil, the sweet smell is like magic. It is cleansing to the soul and fulfilling to the spirit.
Petrichor often marks the start of the rainy season, new life, new beginnings and change.
All the creepy crawlies come out of the woodwork. Ants, centipedes, millipedes and who can forget flying termites — that seasonal delicacy.
Earthworms move long distances, this time above and not in the soil, in annual migration, while slimy slugs and snails come out to share the cool air.
Frogs come out to hunt the insects, snakes to hunt the frogs and owls to hunt the snakes.
One feels blessed for being at the top of the food chain.
With relief, the grass gets green once again and finally, the animals can feed.
The massive change, transformation of the world around us stimulates instinctive change in routine.
Like all creatures, the change in season ignites positive disruption.
The winds of change that accompanied the earthy scent in November 2017 could not have come at a better season.
The timing was perfect.
Events of that month will remain forever engraved in the hearts of those who took part or witnessed jubilant scenes on the streets of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, as tens of thousands of protesters marched to demand the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe.
Corruption, poor governance, polarisation and all the other ills that were threatening to reverse the gains of independence could finally be behind us.
Our lives as Zimbabweans would be changed forever.
But have we really changed? In public administration, political participation and nation building. Have we changed enough?
Last week, two important events central to the restoration of economic stability took place.
The first was the introduction of new notes and coins to ease the cash crisis, and the second was the presentation of 2020 National Budget proposals by Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube.
No sooner had the new notes and coins been disbursed by banks on Tuesday than we saw cash barons parading huge wads of the notes on social media, to the chagrin of law-abiding Zimbabweans.
OVER the years, the government of the People’s Republic of China has implemented counter-terrorism and extremism measures in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.
These measures have proven to be effective and developmental to the people of Xinjiang who had deeply suffered from terrorism and extremism for the past two decades.
Some of these measures have managed to bring peace, security and development to the region and developing countries can borrow such measures for the development of their countries.
Vocational Training Vocational training in re-education camps has proven to be developmental to the region as it has managed to bring peace and security.
Economic development can also be attributed to this initiative as the people who attend the training come out with special skills which they can use to sustain their livelihoods and develop the economy of the region.
Economic emancipation and reduction of poverty is one of President Xi Jinping’s millennial goals.
In 2015, President Xi set a deadline of 2020 to eradicate poverty in China, with 850 million Chinese taken out of extreme poverty in the past 40 years.
According to State Councillor and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi, in the past 64 years since the region was established, the local economy has grown by 80 times and tens of thousands of local people have been lifted out of poverty.
Likewise, the Zimbabwean Government, in the past, has initiated similar projects in an effort of bringing peace, security and development to the nation.
In 2001, it introduced the National Youth Service, targeting youths from the ages of 10
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Does this mean we have not changed enough to deal with corruption?
We have not changed enough to ensure public confidence in our currency? Did we learn anything from the past? The creepy crawlies have come out of the woodwork once more.
They have come to feed on the sweat of hard-working Zimbabweans who toil without functional medical aid or pension schemes, just to put clothes on the backs of their children.
At the top of the corruption “food chain” are snakes that occupy high offices and have access to cash.
Is it the season of madness? A season that should have ended in November 2017, when the Zimbabwe Defence Forces acted to restore the legacy of the liberation war.
Operation Restore Legacy did not nab all the criminals, after all.
We need to continue such operations at least not until we rid ourselves of selfish individuals who do not care that their actions have ripple effects on the livelihoods of others.
Public confidence cannot be restored as to 30.
Its stated purpose was to transform and empower youths for nation-building through life skills training and leadership development.
It also sought to inculcate national values, ethos and ethics into the youths, thereby bringing peace, security and development to the nation.
To this day, many vocational training facilities have been opened to help Zimbabweans earn a living through various skills.
Such training facilities include Msasa Vocational Training Centre, Kaguvi Vocational Training Centre and Chitungwiza Vocational Training Centre.
Religious Freedom
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is largely Muslim and because of this initiative, the region has enjoyed harmony amongst its different ethnic groups.
The Chinese government has done a good job in not marginalising any minority group and has taken further steps to help them achieve religious freedom by erecting several mosques in the region for those of Muslim faith.
According to the Foreign Ministry of China, there are now over 28 000 religious sites in Xinjiang, and close to 30 000 clerical personnel. Both figures have increased 10-fold compared with several decades ago. long as cash barons continue to flaunt their wealth on social media.
While a lot has been done in following International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations of strengthening the independence of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and improving its governance controls, a lot more still needs to be done.
Illegal money changers, wheelers and dealers, space barons and tenderpreneurs have become heroes to young people because they always have bags filled with bricks of cash and drive fancy cars which they park in the middle of the road without any repercussions.
Unless such elements are dealt with, then we will have a whole generation of criminals.
In his acceptance speech at his inauguration at the National Sports Stadium on November 24, 2017, President Mnangagwa called for collective effort in rebuilding Zimbabwe.
“For close to two decades now, this country went through many developments, he said. While we cannot change the past, there is a lot we can do in the present and future to give our Nation a different, positive direction.
“I implore you all to declare that NEVER AGAIN should the circumstances that have put Zimbabwe in an unfavourable position be allowed to recur or overshadow its prospects. We must work together, you, me, all of us who make up this Nation.”
Clearly, some public officials have chosen not to take heed of the President’s call, but
Nowadays, every 530 Muslim people in Xinjiang have a mosque on average, which is higher than many Muslim countries.
In Zimbabwe, the Muslim faith has a limited number of believers compared to other countries in Southern Africa.
The Muslim community accounts for 0.5 percent of the total population, with Christianity being the dominant religion with 84.1 percent of the total population in Zimbabwe.
However, Zimbabwe guarantees freedom of religion or belief. Section 60 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe stipulates that every person has the right to freedom of religion or belief.
The Government of Zimbabwe supports all religious sectors in any possible way. When a new city/town/residence is being planned, there is always land that is reserved for church/ mosque construction.
Zimbabwe can draw lessons from China that helps its religions to build infrastructure that is vital for them to conduct their clerical services. Allocating land alone is not enough as religious sectors rely on their congregants for funds to build the infrastructure.
Loan facilities by the Government should be put in place for the religious sector so that they can be an upward trajectory in construction of religious shrines so that citizens can exercise to remain behind in the past that we do not want to recur.
The anti-corruption stance that has been taken by the President needs support. We all have a part to play.
The starting point, if you ask me, is removing illegal dealers in Harare’s CBD.
How can we have confidence in the police when criminals take over streets in the city centre? When space barons take over parking space and collect parking fees instead of the city council?
While the recent move by the RBZ in ensuring banks stick to regulated withdrawal limits is commendable, it is not enough.
If confidence in the local currency is to be restored, a lot has to change in the RBZ, banks and streets.
The sale of cash cannot be allowed to continue. That was normal in the old Zimbabwe. In the new Zimbabwe, regulatory authorities do their work.
Ordinary Zimbabweans are not absolved from their duty in economic reconstruction. We all have contributed to the rot. We must adapt to the demands of the new season and hold public officials to account.
Without national buy in, no policy can work. Political differences can wait until the next elections.
The season for corruption is over. It ended in November 2017 and like the President said, will never be allowed “to recur or overshadow Zimbabwe’s prospects”.
Wake up and smell the falling rain, it is called petrichor; change has come. their right fully.
Citizens Learning the National Language In these training centres the residents of Xinjiang are taught Mandarin. Mandarin is the official language of the People’s Republic of China.
It is widely used across China and other regions of the World. It is fast becoming the most widely used language after English, French and Spanish.
The move by the Chinese government to teach the residents of Xinjiang Mandarin is developmental to the region as the beneficiaries of these lectures will be able to communicate better with other regions in China.
This will also be advantageous to them as they will be able to now be employed outside Xinjiang because they can now effectively communicate.
Learning a widely used language is of paramount importance as various opportunities arise by virtue of you knowing how to converse in that language.
China is taking its business to every part of the world and being able to speak Mandarin is an added advantage on one’s Curriculum Vitae.
Zimbabwe has also undertaken a similar drive in teaching Shona and Ndebele, Zimbabwe’s national local languages, to all its primary and high school students.
While English remains the official language, Shona and Ndebele remain the widely used local dialects.
The Government has implemented these measures to preserve the language and culture of the country.
This is a positive initiative as it promotes national ethos and heritage. Our language and culture determine who we are as a people and introducing it to schoolchildren makes them patriotic citizens from a tender age.
A variety of thematic issues can arise from the analysis of Xinjiang and the measures it has been implementing in the past decade to counter terrorism.
Some of these issues include the importance or disadvantage of surveillance on citizens, freedom of association, human rights, global counter-terrorism efforts and the impact of sanctions on the development of a nation.