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Source: Outrage over lowering sexual health services consent age | Daily News

The parliamentary portfolio committee on Health and Child Care is advocating for the lowering of age reproductive health services consent to 12 years as a way of curbing the rise of new STI and HIV infections and unplanned pregnancies among minors.

This comes after reports emerged that the committee has suggested lowering the age of sexual consent to 12 years during their meeting in Kadoma, sparking outrage from parents and guardians who felt children are being stripped away of their rights to be children, thus such was not supposed to be discussed in the first place.

Responding to the outrage and confusion surrounding the matter yesterday, Child care and committee chairperson Ruth Labode said the committee did not make suggestion to the effect of reducing the age of consent from 16 to 12, but discussed about minors’ access to health services, while maintaining and pushing for the age of sexual consent to be pushed up from 16 to 18 years.

“ln pursuit of full realisation of the right to health provided in section 76 of the supreme law, the members in the committee were of the view that the access to medical attention for sexually active minors be reduced from 16 to 12,” Labode said. “The intention is to allow access to sexual reproductive health to minors without hindrance of the condition of being accompanied by an adult.

“We want to assure the nation that discussions will always focus on methods of protecting children as opposed to exposing them.”
The explanation by the committee has however left others confused on how they plan to implement the policy whereby a 12year old can access reproductive health services yet legally, they are deemed to be under age to consent to sex.

“Of interest in what Labode is saying is the implementation of that policy suppose it’s passed. Will they realign the Sexual Offences Act as well?” said one parent, Lucy Moyo. Social commentator Rebbecca Chisamba said there is nothing wrong with equipping minors with sex education as it will inform them to act wisely, but said 12-year olds are still too young to be subjected to family planning methods decisions.

“I have nothing against sex education in schools since this is not  new, as back in the days girls and boys used to be taken and taught about issues surrounding their sexual health,” Chisamba said.
“However it remains cumbersome for us to expose these minors to complex issues like family planning decisions, the most important thing is to equip them with education that they are informed about health problems that are likely to surface when they indulge in sex before maturity age.”

Meanwhile, the government is in a fix on how to address child marriages as existing laws permit sex at 16 while the Constitution prohibits the marrying of children under 18 years of age.

The post Outrage over lowering sexual health services consent age appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

HARARE – The government has revealed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the two percent electronic transaction tax will realise over US$600 million this year as authorities forge ahead with economic reforms. This was [...]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, pictured, arrives in the country today to co-chair the Bi-National Commission (BNC) with President Emmerson Mnangagwa whose administration is desperate for a cash injection to jump-start the country’s stuttering economy. Those close to the South African presidency told the Daily News yesterday that Harare should not expect a bailout from its northern

Source: Crisis at Rufaro Marketing . . . board not constituting a quorum | Daily News

Rufaro Marketing (Private) Limited is in serious breach of international best practices and corporate governance rules after it emerged that the Harare City Council (HCC)’s liquor business is technically operating without a board.

Minutes of HCC’s finance and development committee indicate that the company is only operating with three people on its board who do not constitute a quorum.

A quorum is the minimum number of members that must be present at a meeting.

A meeting of an organisation cannot take place unless the required quorum is in attendance.
Any decision passed without a quorum is null and void, which means that, technically, Rufaro Marketing is operating without a board.

It therefore requires two more board members to be fully functional.
However, engaging additional board members would result in additional financial burden to the company whose profitability has been vacillating like a yo-yo.

In 2016, Rufaro Marketing made a profit of $299 000, with profitability dipping the following year to $14 000 in 2017.

Last year, the business was up on the previous year with profits reaching $110 000.
According to the HCC, Rufaro Marketing’s debts have been reduced from $12 million to $5 million after key payments were made to banks and other creditors, among them the National Social Security Authority, African Distillers and BDO.

Significant payments were also made towards human resources matters with $2,7 million going towards retrenchments from a total of $3 million owed.

A total of $826 000 was paid in pensions against a total of $1,698 million.
“Payment on the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority debt was yet to be paid as priority was given to employee-related benefits,” read part of the minutes.

While a decision has been made to venture into real estate on property investments and turn former beer halls and gardens into students accommodation, leisure and children play centres, this is yet to be implemented as the company’s focus was to retire the legacy debts.

Rufaro Marketing’s chief executive officer told the finance committee that there were still four employees at the company who had taken them to court over salary disputes.
Acting human capital director Matthew Marara said some employees had been retrenched while others had been absorbed by HCC.

“Those employed by council had been vetted for their suitability and had been engaged with the understanding that the city would be responsible for their welfare from the date of engagement into council services. The salaries that they were owed by Rufaro Marketing would be resolved there,” Marara said.

The post Crisis at Rufaro Marketing . . . board not constituting a quorum appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

A member of MDC-Alliance party Mr David Coltart has said the opposition party has a problem of labeling members that show ambition to contest for posts Zanu-PF agents. Mr Coltart last week told CBNC Africa that the fake infiltration narrative has been commonly used in the MDC to suppress those harbouring ambitions. MDC-Alliance secretary general […]