Zet releases album

By Melody Gwenyambira

South African based gospel singer Zet Mundhluri has released his third album titled Zvakakwana Kana Zvasvika” (In the Fullness of Time).

The nine-track album is tentatively slated for release during the next quarter of this year. Zet has previously recorded Murume Uyu (2006) and Ishe Areva (2013).

“Zvakakwana Kana Zvasvika is another highly inspiring flavor of favor which will be definitely better than my previous offerings. It feature hit tracks including ‘Seunorota’ and a Zulu jam ‘Jehovah Thelumoya. I will also rework a track from my first album,” Zet told H-Metro from his base.

“As a song writer I reach the hearts of my listeners with my relatable experiences praise and worship expressed through prophetic writing. I want listeners to be able to hear a song and reflect on how it applies to their life yet experiencing the unlimited presence of God and for believers to be drawn the knowledge of Christ leaving lives changed,” Zet added.

In 2006 Zet become a Praise & Worship Leader of AFM Revival Center which gave him the foundation of word, prayer and worship .He witnessed the power of God in every service and more from a tender age till now. Inspired by personal life experiences and encounters God, Zet exudes confidence.

"I have managed to do a video for one of my track, Ndine Zvandakaona .The same track is now on Top 20 charts in Zim. The video is been played in ZBC TV and also One gospel on DSTV."

Zet  is a singer/songwriter, psalmist and worshiper with an exceptional style to the world in inspirational/Christians music.

He is a unique powerful worshiper leader and minister set for this generation, a pace setter with skill, gifting and great talent. He serves in AFM Sunnyside Praise team at AFM Sunnyside Assembly in South Africa

Zet is working in South Africa Pretoria as an Accountant while finishing his Degree In Chartered Accounting at UNISA.

A day in the hub of South African media

 Melody Gwenyambira recently in SANDTON, South Africa

A swift breeze swept by in the car park. Soft twigs rustled softly on the ground. A squish squash sound of car wipers could be heard in the stillness of Mother Nature. The clouds were just starting to gather to organise the weather for that day.  The arrangement of the cottages at Number 30 Gill Street Observatory in Johanesburg looked like the ones in some old English Village and I loved it!
I walked to the car park to board the waiting vehicle. With each step I took I realised my curiosity levels rose.
I had the excitement of a child who eagerly awaited birthday presents.
The day I had been waiting for, for many months had finally arrived.
I was part of the 14 Zimbabwean female journalists that were on a five day tour of the South African newsrooms as part of our Women Mentoring Journalists Programme that is facilitated by the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Center and the US Embassy in Harare.
My passion as a journalist thrives on finding out new things visiting places and interaction with different people.
This particular visit was very important to me because I had always been told that South Africa has some of the best  newsrooms and conducive working environments so I wanted to discover and experience it for myself.
The drive to Number 5 Gwen Lane in Sandton where Primedia Place is located was very short for me.
I looked outside of the vehicle and got lost in my imagination.
I was trying to imagine what Primedia Place looked like.
Prior my departure from Harare I had researched on this large media group.
With more than 50 brands on offer in broadcasting, advertising, marketing, promotions, sport, entertainment and digital media, I knew I was in for a wonderful experience.
After we disembarked the vehicle we walked into the building that houses Primedia.
I waited with eagerness as Pippa Rowles the Public Relations manager of Primedia came down to meet us.
"Since 1994 we have believed that we are agents of positive change. We call out to all South Africa to be part of the action positive change. Three years ago we started LeadSA an initiative that recognises that there are millions of ordinary South Africans who continually seek to do the right thing for themselves, for their families and and for their country. We want to celebrate and support their efforts. If we all treat others the way we'd like to be treated, we're there," Pippa said.
Primedia has done campaigns with the private sectors, government and schools.
With the advantage of its mediums it uses all the multimedia platforms to pass on the message of positive change.
I twitched after Pippa announced that she was taking us to the third floor to 702 Talk Radio.
Being a multi versatile journalist with experience in both print and electronic media, I could not wait.
We followed behind Pippa as she put her identification card on the acess controlled entrance.
We all fitted into the elevator and we were on our way.
The strong aroma of cooked food in the atmosphere almost led us to think that we were in a restaurant.
"Our staff can heat their food in the kitchen on the corner over there. It 's a small canteen where they can buy food as well," Pippa added.
We made our way into the newsroom of 702 Talk Radio.
Plasma screens on the walls screened the live proceedings of the Oscar Pistorius Trial.
Microphones on different desks defined the different power positions in the newsrooms.
We later learnt that only producers uses these microphones to inform others in the newsrooms  to make announcements.
"We have very few reporters in the newsroom on any particular day. It  shows that we gave them in the field looking for stories. They are out there where the real things are happening, where all the action is happening. 702 Talk Radio was voted BBC's Africa Radio Station of the Year. We provide quality talk back radio to over half a million listeners in Gauteng. We have presenters that are experienced and well versed with the subjects that they discuss, They do not just waffle,"  Pippa said.
702 Talk Radio also shares the same newsroom with 94.7 Highveld, Joburg's number one hit music station which attracts an affluent audience of 1.3 million in the centre of South Africa's economic heartland.
The station features a mix of hot adult contemporary hits.
The news editor of 702 Talk Radio Belinda Levin came to talk to us
"We believe in breaking the news but we do not compromise on our ethics. Our news content is accurate and thoroughly checked. We do not speculate the wrong information and we pride ourselves in that. We break stories on the scene and we have created a culture of finding stories," Belinda said.
We then went on tour of the state of the art studios which are undergoing renovation.
We could only see the proceedings of what was happening in the studios through the glass doors as presenters were live on radio.
Primedia has quiet a number of women that are in leadership positions.
As we went downstairs I thought through the principles that guides the successful media hub.
I made a decision to take all of them as I develop into a better individual and journalist.
The exposure at Primedia enlightened and made me long for more in my career.
Above all the following principles that guide Primedia are now like a fire shut up in my bones;
~Do the right things always
We conduct ourselves and interact with honesty and integrity and transparency.
~Open communication
We build trust through open communication which promotes dignity, respect and compassion.
~Sustainability
We think and act long term in the pursuit of excellence.
~Innovation
As an entrepreneurial organisation we encourage thinking out of the box and new ways of doing things.
~Accountability
We deliver as promised take ownership, take ownership of our mistakes and fix them
~People
We are a learning organisation that values our people and their diversity and undertake to do everything we can to help our people to grow as individuals and team members
~Interdependence
We utilise each others skills and capacities as reams and as separate divisions to optimise our collective performance.
~Common Purpose
We keep reminding ourselves and each other mentality and verbally of our common purpose that informs our shared strategy goals direction and vision.

Melody with Kwangu Liwewe E-News Channel Senior Field Reporter and Producer

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Girls dropping out of school

By Melody Gwenyambira

Zimbabwe has managed to achieve gender parity at primary school.

The same however cannot be said of the secondary and tertiary levels.

“Girls tend to drop out of school during the key years of Form 3 and Four. At Tertiary level only 43 percent of females are enrolled in University,”The United Nations Women Representative to Zimbabwe Kemal Mustafa has said.

Mustafa noted this on the backdrop of the Commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child.

“Factors behind these disparities include poverty, unplanned teenage pregnancies, early marriage, violence perpetrated in the school and at home and absence of role models to motivate especially rural girls.’

Making incremental changes in how education is accessed, designed and delivered can strengthen girl’s participation, learning and empowerment.

This means solutions as simple as finding creative transportation for girls to get to school whether by bus, bicycle or even canoe.

“Education is everybody;s business, but business as usual is not enough to overcome the barriers to girls’ education. Efforts must be scaled up on all fronts to increase access to education and to enhance the transition from primary to secondary education,” Mustafa added.

Girls who also spoke out revealed that inadequate sanitation facilitates for girls, the burden of gender roles at home, harmful religious and traditional practices, negative attitude towards girl’s education and their vulnerability to HIV contribute to girls dropping out of school. 

“We need to create conditions where girls and young women are safe, healthy, educated and fully empowered to realize their potential to transform families, their communities, their economies and their societies,” added Mustafa.

Gender inequities

By Melody Gwenyambira

Gender inequity and gender based violence can create barriers for the uptake of health services and as a result can limit uptake of PMTCT or HIV prevention services.

This was revealed by Dr Barbra Engelsmann the Country Director for the Organisation for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID Trust)

The media breakfast meeting was hosted to place a spotlight on gender-based barriers in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission.

“Gender related issues and gender based violence are among a number of barriers affecting the number of women being tested for HIV, disclosing their status to partners, adhering to treatment regimens and seeking antenatal care.’ Dr Engelmann added.

In Zimbabwe, significant progress has been made to ensure universal access to the PMTCT services, yet if the country is to achieve its targets as set out in the National Strategic Plan to Eliminating New HIV Infections in Children and Keeping Mothers and Families Alive:2011-2015 there is need to address barriers to the uptake of these families.

“In all sectors including health, there is need to address gender barriers so as to ensure that women and their families can access quality care and lead healthy fulfilling lives. It is critical for all stakeholders to work together to end gender-based violence against women and increase access to and utilization of PMTCT services.”

End sexual harassment now!

                    By Melody Gwenyambira

Men and women from different walks of life have put their mark on the public sphere calling for an end to harassment of women in public places, in the home and in workplaces.

The first ever Women’s Arts Festival preluded to the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence unveiled a mural painted on the public toilet at Copacabana terminus.

WAFEST decided on Copacabana due to the high instances of sexual harassment of women that go on there on a daily basis.

H-Metro spent some time at the busy terminus and witnessed touts harassing women.

“These women are not dressed properly. They are showing us their legs and we can even see their panties. Isu hatidi vakadzi vanopfeka kunge pfambi. Ngavaiite zvisvinhu,” one guy identified as Thambi said

Some women have had their clothes ripped apart. Some taxi drivers have been kind enough to open their doors and let these women in and drive them to safety.

“Hativarove hedu asi tikavaseka nekusvereredza vanoiita bho and havazozviite futi,” Jephfat Makanda a kombi driver said.

Jephfat’harassment is justified by myths and misinformation. These myths create a vicious circle and they are used to excuse harassers and blame the harassed, and excuses and mislaid blame are reinforcing the idea that sexual harassment is acceptable, forgivable, manly, ‘cool’, or the fault of the harassed.

 As a result, many people who witness harassment choose not to react or intervene. And with no consequences, harassers are only encouraged to act again and again.

It does not have to be this way.

According to Wikipedia Sexual harassment is any form of unwelcome words and/or actions of a sexual nature that violate a person’s body, privacy, or feelings and make that person feel uncomfortable, threatened, insecure, scared, disrespected, startled, insulted, intimidated, abused, offended, or objectified.

Section 52 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No 20 of 2013 provides for the Right to personal security.

Sub section A states that every person has the right to freedom from all forms of violence from public or private sources.

Sexual harassment is never the fault of the harassed. To harass someone is a choice the harasser makes and regardless of what the harassed is wearing or doing, and this is never an excuse for harassment. It is easy the harassed is never, partially or fully, responsible for any sexual harassment that they are subjected to.

WAFEST on the other end has decided to reveal the real challenges faced by women that can be overcome if communities act against these atrocities.

“The initiative is based on a belief in cultural and creative expression as a means to affect deep and lasting social change.  Through art, the Festival is seeking to challenge many of society's deepest assumptions, built upon the power of artistic creation and expression to spark new ideas, catalyze critical thinking, elicit new actions, inspire individuals and create visions,” Lyneth Mtemeri the festival coordinator said.

The inaugural festival was held under the theme Challenging the visible, discovering the invisible.

The event was held at Alliance Française last Saturday before it moved to Copacabana Terminus. The festival signifies a continuation of efforts towards enhancing and empowering women and am proud to be part of the first edition” said Edith WeUtonga.

“The initiative is inspired by the belief that violence against women is a coward hiding its face in the makeup of silence and only when we begin to challenge these visible structures of violence do we truly discover the true and female parliamentarians are expected to attend. In highlighting the plight of women through the arts, the festival aims to make the campaign against gender based violence a 365 days a year campaign. Young Voices Network hopes to make this festival an annual event,” Lyneth added.