The plot continues to unfold as the Gvt. of National Unity goes the next step and starts consultations on establishing a new constitution for the country.
Many fear that Mugabe will use a September 2007 agreement as the basis of the new constitution. (read more about it in The Zimbabwe Standard)
The Zimbabwe Standard this week quoted Mugabe as saying there was no need for popular consultation in the constitution making process. Rather, the adoption or not of the constitution would be done by way of referendum..."...people must vote!" was his line.
Sends chills down one's spine to think of people going back to the polls in a country whose electoral systems have never been functioning. We might as well forget about getting a fair representation of people's views if we go it that way.
For what it's worth, parliament is making steps to ensure that there is popular consulation. These are the assurances coming from Paul Mangwana. Whether the consultations will take effect is another matter.
Madhuku, Chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly, has commented that politicians cannot make a constitution, and it appears that civil society will shun the prospects of participating in the "consultative" process being engaged in by parliament...
It will be worth our while to revive the zeal with which we initiated the constitutional reform process some years back. Zimbabwe can function better if it has rules and laws that curtail greed for power and make it sensible for people to trust in the various arms of government, and there is concerted effort to respect the rule of law.
Saturday 27 June 2009
They won't be returning home
Tsvangirai's appeal to Zimbabweans in the diaspora to come home last week was a bit of a damp squib. His appeals were met with disdain. The crowd geered and shouted "Chinja!" "Chinja" invoking the words of the Movement of Democratic Change's moto at its own leader, who appears to have been swallowed wholesale by the ruling regime's antics.
It must have brought an embarrassing after-taste to what has been a rather promising campaign for Tsvangirai. His recent bout of travel brought a fraction of the 200million that he intended to bring back home. Embarrassing, because people in the diaspora have seen through the placid talks of better economic and political conditions back home. Embarrassing, because Mugabe has vowed to get more than 200m from friends in China.
Begs the question, what was the purpose of Tsvangirai's visit?
The words he expressed to the diasporan community in UK would have sounded logical to the uninitiated. A return home will mean fellow comrades in the diaspora going to meet family members and re-establishing ties before their names are forgotten. Whole hoards of professionals can aspire to come back home to find fresh jobs that pay well.
The elderly can stop stressing over speaking bad english and put rest to the routine of practicing etiquette behind closed doors; they will return to homes where there is still dignity in being old and Zimbabwean... ( I think) I bet they will finally stop dreaming in English and fight off the pain of knowing that no one, not even the little ones, will care to listen to them...
Parents of children born and raised in the UK, among other places can afford to go back home and take pride in their children speaking foreign tongues to a hoard of locals; UK would have afforded them a one easy jump up the social ladder! :)
That's the ideal, specially packaged for the uninitiated!
Yet what is becoming abundantly clear for the Zimbo living anywhere else on the planet is that it is still early days yet!
Lest we forget, elders speak of "kusakurumidza kumedza kutsenga huchada..."Take it slow, be unsassuming yet wise, measure twice, cut once; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...lores that are internationally relevant.
Confidence on local politics an economic development is still at its embryonic stage. There are a myriad of pre-conditions for many. Security of employment and security of investment is just but one of them. What guarantee is there that the young nurse who has invested for 5 years in heavy toil in the UK can come home, invest in a grinding mill, and see profits grow while he goes about looking for a job?
What guarantee is there that persecuted teachers, fleeing the country for a better life can return back home, continue from where they left off, and still find regular employment?
60 year old Zimbabwean teachers now living in foreign lands must reminisce on a time when they held their heads up high in villages across rural Zimbabwe. Now their peers cannot even afford to replace the clothes covering their behinds!
No. Zimbos in the diaspora will not be returning home anytime soon. The land of their birth appears more foreign than the land of their work. Trudging along, missing home, starved of love, bereft of affection, hoarding commodities; they continue looking out the door to an ashen environment, proof that others have eaten at the fire already. What's left now are the ashes and traces of bone picked clean.
..We worship the toothless men and women who discarded few bits of bone and meat, after sucking them grey, and enriching their stomachs with the succulent juices and tastes...
It must have brought an embarrassing after-taste to what has been a rather promising campaign for Tsvangirai. His recent bout of travel brought a fraction of the 200million that he intended to bring back home. Embarrassing, because people in the diaspora have seen through the placid talks of better economic and political conditions back home. Embarrassing, because Mugabe has vowed to get more than 200m from friends in China.
Begs the question, what was the purpose of Tsvangirai's visit?
The words he expressed to the diasporan community in UK would have sounded logical to the uninitiated. A return home will mean fellow comrades in the diaspora going to meet family members and re-establishing ties before their names are forgotten. Whole hoards of professionals can aspire to come back home to find fresh jobs that pay well.
The elderly can stop stressing over speaking bad english and put rest to the routine of practicing etiquette behind closed doors; they will return to homes where there is still dignity in being old and Zimbabwean... ( I think) I bet they will finally stop dreaming in English and fight off the pain of knowing that no one, not even the little ones, will care to listen to them...
Parents of children born and raised in the UK, among other places can afford to go back home and take pride in their children speaking foreign tongues to a hoard of locals; UK would have afforded them a one easy jump up the social ladder! :)
That's the ideal, specially packaged for the uninitiated!
Yet what is becoming abundantly clear for the Zimbo living anywhere else on the planet is that it is still early days yet!
Lest we forget, elders speak of "kusakurumidza kumedza kutsenga huchada..."Take it slow, be unsassuming yet wise, measure twice, cut once; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...lores that are internationally relevant.
Confidence on local politics an economic development is still at its embryonic stage. There are a myriad of pre-conditions for many. Security of employment and security of investment is just but one of them. What guarantee is there that the young nurse who has invested for 5 years in heavy toil in the UK can come home, invest in a grinding mill, and see profits grow while he goes about looking for a job?
What guarantee is there that persecuted teachers, fleeing the country for a better life can return back home, continue from where they left off, and still find regular employment?
60 year old Zimbabwean teachers now living in foreign lands must reminisce on a time when they held their heads up high in villages across rural Zimbabwe. Now their peers cannot even afford to replace the clothes covering their behinds!
No. Zimbos in the diaspora will not be returning home anytime soon. The land of their birth appears more foreign than the land of their work. Trudging along, missing home, starved of love, bereft of affection, hoarding commodities; they continue looking out the door to an ashen environment, proof that others have eaten at the fire already. What's left now are the ashes and traces of bone picked clean.
..We worship the toothless men and women who discarded few bits of bone and meat, after sucking them grey, and enriching their stomachs with the succulent juices and tastes...
Wednesday 24 June 2009
Estranged
….Strange hands
Taking care of that one bout of joy in far away lands
…Strange friends
Keeping company to the passions I hold dear
…Strange faces
Playing cousin to the comforts I once held near
…Strange lives
Being played out in this world of demise…
Taking care of that one bout of joy in far away lands
…Strange friends
Keeping company to the passions I hold dear
…Strange faces
Playing cousin to the comforts I once held near
…Strange lives
Being played out in this world of demise…
Tuesday 23 June 2009
The Gvt is Like a locomotive
Spoke to a close relative and friend yesterday. We were both excited, it had been a while. We spoke about projects at home, the weather, and of course, the political situation.
He ventured a metaphor about the current government.
"Its like a locomotive," he said, matter of factly, "How so?", I asked. He paused, and answered, "Well, from a distance, you can never tell whether its coming or going, can you?" made sense, come to think of it, "You can't tell whether its moving or not..."
I began to talk to him about the hopes that have been raised with all the travels abroad and the meetings with Obama and the talks with the British, in fact, the shaking hands with the British and promises of good times to come... "Eish, these people overseas have really got kind and caring hearts, they must be bringing in the money, we have been promised the money!" I say to him, excited at the prospects of more resources for the nation.
He says there is no money, he is as blunt as that...
The mirage is waning, and an all too dreary picture is forming in the distance... Soon we will see the locomotive for what it is... Stalled and stagnant... only had enough fuel to get up the mountain, roll down, and now it has stalled right there on the vlei... victory within sight...
There is still that sense of hope which is all too common among our people. Somehow things will in fact move on, its just a matter of time!
So sad.
He ventured a metaphor about the current government.
"Its like a locomotive," he said, matter of factly, "How so?", I asked. He paused, and answered, "Well, from a distance, you can never tell whether its coming or going, can you?" made sense, come to think of it, "You can't tell whether its moving or not..."
I began to talk to him about the hopes that have been raised with all the travels abroad and the meetings with Obama and the talks with the British, in fact, the shaking hands with the British and promises of good times to come... "Eish, these people overseas have really got kind and caring hearts, they must be bringing in the money, we have been promised the money!" I say to him, excited at the prospects of more resources for the nation.
He says there is no money, he is as blunt as that...
The mirage is waning, and an all too dreary picture is forming in the distance... Soon we will see the locomotive for what it is... Stalled and stagnant... only had enough fuel to get up the mountain, roll down, and now it has stalled right there on the vlei... victory within sight...
There is still that sense of hope which is all too common among our people. Somehow things will in fact move on, its just a matter of time!
So sad.
Saturday 13 June 2009
I look into your eyes
I look into your eyes and they tell me the joy that in them resides.
I look into them and I wonder why you sometimes cry?
Tell me there wont be any darker days between us any more...
Promise me there shall always be fun and laughter
When I look into your eyes
I look into them and I wonder why you sometimes cry?
Tell me there wont be any darker days between us any more...
Promise me there shall always be fun and laughter
When I look into your eyes
Tsvangirai Speaks
It has been a heart warming feeling to see the good old Chematama speaking on Aljazeera and being captured live on CNN. He is a man on a mission, Tsvangson to the rescue, Zimbabwe is saved!
They asked him what the unity government has achieved to date. He talked about the change in economic circumstances. Inflation has dropped from 500bn% to a paltry 3%. Zimbabwe is well on its way to economic recovery. (or so it would seem)
Prices have been going down. When I was home last, I could purchase a decent number of things (groceries to fit in two plastic bags at Arundel) for USD 35... awesome, no? In december, I could not get anything for the same amount, had to go down to Botswana and fill up the baby spacio to the rim...
They asked him about whether human rights issues had been resolved. Here I have a strong feeling that Tsvangirai was true to the age old adage of son of a king on your turf, groveler and serf in another man's land. He said that "the situation has improved, right now there are no political prisoners detained in Zimbabwe's prisons"
An attempt to paint a good record? to say that things are ok and Bob is making the sun rise and set on a harpy mazimbabwe?
I am not sure, I would need to hear about the situation back home. We are still to get out of the woods I think. there is a tonne to be done.
We need closure on a lot of issues back home. The meager allowances that our teacher parents are getting; the extended stay of the Reserve bank Govenor, now holding the whole nation at ransom because he is the chief's favorite...; the travails of community leaders and activists that have been forced to shut up because of politics...; the farmers losing land and property to new invasions...
Unless there is confidence restored in our people again, the shops awash with commodities will mean very little; the hospitals open now might just be until december 2009, and the grumbling stomachs of communities in travail will continue to sound.
I applaud Tsvangirai's efforts... the walls of Jericho were struck down with song and pomp, Samson hit the enemy with a donkey jawbone...
Our efforts, meager as they are, shall count on something.
They asked him what the unity government has achieved to date. He talked about the change in economic circumstances. Inflation has dropped from 500bn% to a paltry 3%. Zimbabwe is well on its way to economic recovery. (or so it would seem)
Prices have been going down. When I was home last, I could purchase a decent number of things (groceries to fit in two plastic bags at Arundel) for USD 35... awesome, no? In december, I could not get anything for the same amount, had to go down to Botswana and fill up the baby spacio to the rim...
They asked him about whether human rights issues had been resolved. Here I have a strong feeling that Tsvangirai was true to the age old adage of son of a king on your turf, groveler and serf in another man's land. He said that "the situation has improved, right now there are no political prisoners detained in Zimbabwe's prisons"
An attempt to paint a good record? to say that things are ok and Bob is making the sun rise and set on a harpy mazimbabwe?
I am not sure, I would need to hear about the situation back home. We are still to get out of the woods I think. there is a tonne to be done.
We need closure on a lot of issues back home. The meager allowances that our teacher parents are getting; the extended stay of the Reserve bank Govenor, now holding the whole nation at ransom because he is the chief's favorite...; the travails of community leaders and activists that have been forced to shut up because of politics...; the farmers losing land and property to new invasions...
Unless there is confidence restored in our people again, the shops awash with commodities will mean very little; the hospitals open now might just be until december 2009, and the grumbling stomachs of communities in travail will continue to sound.
I applaud Tsvangirai's efforts... the walls of Jericho were struck down with song and pomp, Samson hit the enemy with a donkey jawbone...
Our efforts, meager as they are, shall count on something.
Sunday 7 June 2009
Trepidation
Love fell into waiting
Hopping on a something that chance just brought in
Eyes loving and eager, longing and needing
Looking up into the moment , defining time and meaning
It promised love in an hour,
So for an hour must love wait wanting
longing and hoping, tears almost streaming.
Seconds not moving,
Tension,
Passion,
Hunger,
Devotion;
All come to cause a lot of commotion.
Five minutes to the hour and the heart starts pumping.
Seconds ring loud, the heart beat so alarming
If, only if, this time was passing
Then, only then Love and lust would feed.
Time passes fast and love sees ten minutes past.
Hope comes in and the next five minutes breeze fast
Devotion, then comfort nurse the next two minutes
Sweat breaks at exactly twenty - seven past.
Desire for greed gorges at the mind
churning hurt and guilt and spitting commotion.
No,
No love and fun to last an hour
It would have been heaven had desire been granted the power.
Torn down and sullen, love continues the day.
Two and a half hours have gone by in trepidation
Hopping on a something that chance just brought in
Eyes loving and eager, longing and needing
Looking up into the moment , defining time and meaning
It promised love in an hour,
So for an hour must love wait wanting
longing and hoping, tears almost streaming.
Seconds not moving,
Tension,
Passion,
Hunger,
Devotion;
All come to cause a lot of commotion.
Five minutes to the hour and the heart starts pumping.
Seconds ring loud, the heart beat so alarming
If, only if, this time was passing
Then, only then Love and lust would feed.
Time passes fast and love sees ten minutes past.
Hope comes in and the next five minutes breeze fast
Devotion, then comfort nurse the next two minutes
Sweat breaks at exactly twenty - seven past.
Desire for greed gorges at the mind
churning hurt and guilt and spitting commotion.
No,
No love and fun to last an hour
It would have been heaven had desire been granted the power.
Torn down and sullen, love continues the day.
Two and a half hours have gone by in trepidation
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