News briefs: Rotary award for SPCA’s Harrison

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HARARE – The SPCA’s Meryl Harrison has been honoured by Borrowdale Brooke Rotary Club for her work to help alleviate the suffering experienced by animals during the farm invasions.
Farm animals in Zimbabwe were subject to the most horrific suffering during the invasions. There were reports of men cutting off the legs of every cow on the farm, locking horses in corrals and lighting them on fire and farmers’ pet dogs being hung alive on their former properties. Meryl Harrison and her team at the SPCA went on to farms often at great personal risk to rescue and minister to animals suffering from neglect and abuse.
“Some of the sights I saw on the farms involving the animals, I will never forget,” said Harrison. “But we had a job to do so we just had to get on with it.”
She believes the animals “bore the brunt of the viciousness of the land invasions - they were the silent victims - innocent and uncomprehending.”
This is the second time Harrison has been awarded The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship, which is almost unheard of. It is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a non-Rotarian.
Harrison, who moved to the UK recently, said: “I feel very honoured to have been made a Paul Harris fellow twice.” She has had “a few heart problems” which her cardiologist has told her are due to the stress of the last few years. - KJW


HR Foundation targets Zim refugees

JOHANNESBURG - The Human Rights Foundation of South Africa, in conjunction with the Aids Consortium, has poured several thousands of rands into training Zimbabwe refugees about the dangers of HIV/AIDS.
The disease claims over 800 lives per day in SA. Among other issues, the Aids Consortium said they targeted refugees from Zimbabwe simply because they were being neglected, and many had been forced to embark on unprotected sex in order to earn a living.
In an interview after the workshop held at Braamfontein this week, Aids Consortium Media and Communications Manager, Rhulani Lehloka, said the workshop was to encourage responsible behaviour among Zimbabwean refugees.
She said the workshop was necessitated by the need to make Zimbabweans aware of how they could access Anti-Retrovial Drugs (ARVs) and how best they could access self-sustaining projects for their livelihood whilst in exile in South Africa.
"We have targetted the Zimbabwe group of refugees because are the ones so vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. We are also conducting another workshop on women, who don't have access to ARVs. We really know that the South African government is not doing anything to the Zimbabwe refugees but we have to address that because HIV/AIDS knows no boundaries," said Lehloka. - CAJ News


Zim$ continues to dive

JOHANNESBURG - As importers struggle to raise the much-needed foreign currency to continue their business operations, the Zimbabwean dollar continues tumbling downwards on the parallel market.
A foreign currency dealer, Scott Philips, speaking to CAJ News from Johannesburg where he was attending an Economic Forum Workshop, pointed out that there was no serious business and activity on the official exchange market in Zimbabwe.
He said this was a result of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe directive, which demanded that movements had to be volume-linked.
”The past few weeks have witnessed insignificant transactions to move the rate on the official exchange market, prompting exporters to hold on to their receipts,” said Philips.
The British Pound made significant gains against the Zimbabwe dollar and is now fetching way above Z$3 000 up from Z$2 700, and the US$ is now trading at Z$2 000 up from Z$1 500.
The official rate remained fixed at Z$250 against the US$ and Z$474 to the British pound.
Last year the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced the auction system, which was meant to restore stability in the foreign exchange market.
However, this was soon overtaken by the parallel market.The exchange rate on the auction system is adjusted periodically, but critics argue that this is of little benefit to exporters because the adjustments are not realistic and do not allow exporters to break even.
RBZ governor Gideon Gono said the move behind the re-introduction of the interbank trading system was to promote the “allocative efficiencies in the foreign exchange market”. - CAJ News