Friday, 15 July 2016
Back again
Feels good to be back again, pen in hand and ideas awash.
A lot has happened since 2010
And I must say I wont be able to say all of it in a rush!
Life's been fun, and it's been pain
All packed neat, a roller coaster again
Thanks be to HIM, my pleasure removed from pain
It is surely good, to be back again!!!
JG
15 July 2016
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Living out of my bag
Seems that's what I been doing these past months/years. My tent is growing old and I broke my bed the other day... would definately take better care of my place if I stayed around long enough.
Ah, the life!
Ah, the life!
Monday, 24 May 2010
Could have sworn it was you
I could have sworn it was you,
Saw the tears in the eyes and said to myself true
read the hurt on the face and the shake in the voice
felt the hate seething up and the rage fill inside
Thought of what once was, I felt so much delight
Bundle of joy and warmth all wrapped into one
Could have sworn it was you that I was holding in the rain
Then I woke up and started to caress the pain
JG
Saw the tears in the eyes and said to myself true
read the hurt on the face and the shake in the voice
felt the hate seething up and the rage fill inside
Thought of what once was, I felt so much delight
Bundle of joy and warmth all wrapped into one
Could have sworn it was you that I was holding in the rain
Then I woke up and started to caress the pain
JG
Friday, 21 May 2010
In Memory of those making life work outside Zimbabwe
Today marks one of the bloodiest days in diasporan life, when Zimbabweans and other refugees and job seekers in South Africa were deliberately sought out, beaten, got their houses and property confiscated, and were made miserable.
The story is not unique to the region. It is indicative of communities adapting to changes in their environment, which they perceive, to a great extent, as threats that must be dealt with savagely.
I ask myself whether the treatment of Zimbabweans in South Africa has changed over the two year period in question. The stories reported in the media do not say anything rosy.
There used to be a time when segregation was loosely translated to something denoting definate colours (if we can call them that) white and black, yellow and in between... now I guess there is a different kind of movement, one that says there are different shades of black.
The story is not unique to the region. It is indicative of communities adapting to changes in their environment, which they perceive, to a great extent, as threats that must be dealt with savagely.
I ask myself whether the treatment of Zimbabweans in South Africa has changed over the two year period in question. The stories reported in the media do not say anything rosy.
There used to be a time when segregation was loosely translated to something denoting definate colours (if we can call them that) white and black, yellow and in between... now I guess there is a different kind of movement, one that says there are different shades of black.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Traveller's Curse
So the diaspora,like the great choo choo train sang of by Hugh Maselekela, comes and sucks away men and women from their loved ones, drags them down deep deep deep into the bowels of the earth.
Here where you see no sun, see no light;
The lucky ones come out alive, they bring bread and food to their wives;
The unlucky ones, well, they remain unlucky,
they return as if to hives, with nothing else to come to but lies;
There is a thing that comes with working outside.
You work outside because you are working for someone, for something.
It don't matter you living in a tent, you getting stung by freaking mosquitoes, you speak English everyday, you miss the local brew... you know you will come home to someone, to something, to somebody outthere...
The heartbeat of a lonely heart working out there in the lands beyond the horizon,
Beats in unizon with the heart of the one that is out there on the other side of the horizon,
As you breathe, so shall she,
As she yawns, so shall yea,
Discord makes life vile should another disturb the rhythm,
Chaos rules rampant when foreign breath cuts across your own...
But, such is life, and such is love.
Woe to the love struck traveler who sets his foot out on the tracks to travel,
He shall not look back lest he starts to grovel,
At the nice things he has left in his roundavel,
Even though he knows other miscreants will be having it by the shovel.
Here where you see no sun, see no light;
The lucky ones come out alive, they bring bread and food to their wives;
The unlucky ones, well, they remain unlucky,
they return as if to hives, with nothing else to come to but lies;
There is a thing that comes with working outside.
You work outside because you are working for someone, for something.
It don't matter you living in a tent, you getting stung by freaking mosquitoes, you speak English everyday, you miss the local brew... you know you will come home to someone, to something, to somebody outthere...
The heartbeat of a lonely heart working out there in the lands beyond the horizon,
Beats in unizon with the heart of the one that is out there on the other side of the horizon,
As you breathe, so shall she,
As she yawns, so shall yea,
Discord makes life vile should another disturb the rhythm,
Chaos rules rampant when foreign breath cuts across your own...
But, such is life, and such is love.
Woe to the love struck traveler who sets his foot out on the tracks to travel,
He shall not look back lest he starts to grovel,
At the nice things he has left in his roundavel,
Even though he knows other miscreants will be having it by the shovel.
The Returnee
It is,
The one who suffers pain
that cherishes healing
The one who,
looses a child at birth
that leaks milk from her breasts...
It is,
The one cast out
that understands family
The one who,
sings out of tune
that glorifies singing
It is,
the heart of one bleeding
that writes poetry
Hugging feeling;
kissing misery!
JG
The one who suffers pain
that cherishes healing
The one who,
looses a child at birth
that leaks milk from her breasts...
It is,
The one cast out
that understands family
The one who,
sings out of tune
that glorifies singing
It is,
the heart of one bleeding
that writes poetry
Hugging feeling;
kissing misery!
JG
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Talking about a new constitution
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.
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.
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
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
We Will Fight On
He arches his back to welcome the billows of balm
The fine spray landing on his tortured skin, dulling
The acrid smell of his own flesh burning.
They wanted him dead but see, he is living!!
See he is living,
Our motto is all about surviving
Harassed and tortured, we will continue giving
The best of ourselves, the best of our families, the best of our worth.
Thats why we continue leaving.
Hagard looks from the privileged
Angry cat calls about a people in turmoil
Calls for our blood from home and beyond,
Ours a continous strife that's never been told.
We will fight on,
Caring for friends and family left all alone.
Telling prophets of doom that ours is a battle won
Till that fine day when we will return to the land we call our own.
You dare to burn the pride that's ours?
Forgetting we made your struggle once even ours?
Now your leaders shut their eyes; prefer to talk for hours!
While Zimbabwe burns, and he continues to harm us!
See he is still living.
Many of us will continue leaving
Don't pretend you have no feeling
This is a travesty what you are doing.
J Gadzirai
For those who are burning.
Monday, 19 May 2008
They came to him in the dead of night
He thought he heard a scream.
“What, what is going on?”
He tried to open his eyes to see, and would have loved to shout out. The operation was futile.
His eyes managed a flicker and the throat went terribly dry.
“I should stop drinking. By my ancestors I should definitely stop!” His inner man repeated the chant it had long since imprinted in his brain. How long had he told himself not to drink?
His mind ran to the foul words the mother of his children had hurled at him that day… ‘Disgrace’ was her new catchphrase.
“You drink till you do not know where your member lies! You pour urine in your trousers and it runs down your legs like an infant. Do you want me to take the goat skin and tie it round your loins like a baby, so that you stop embarrassing me, father of my children? You are a disgrace who will not accept that his blood cannot take alcohol!”
He still felt the sting of her words, especially now as the pain of last night’s drink continued to sing in his head.
The sound of drums and heavy screams became even more audible as his mind slowly made its way towards consciousness. Chipo was sitting bolt upright beside him, clutching at all the blankets and shivering.
In the semi darkness he could make out the gleam in her eyes as she gawked at the door. Those eyes, those eyes big and inviting that had made his member stand in the market when he first saw her where now flickering on artificial light, illuminated by a terror on the outside which made him sober at once.
“What is going on, Chipo?”
“What, what is going on?”
He tried to open his eyes to see, and would have loved to shout out. The operation was futile.
His eyes managed a flicker and the throat went terribly dry.
“I should stop drinking. By my ancestors I should definitely stop!” His inner man repeated the chant it had long since imprinted in his brain. How long had he told himself not to drink?
His mind ran to the foul words the mother of his children had hurled at him that day… ‘Disgrace’ was her new catchphrase.
“You drink till you do not know where your member lies! You pour urine in your trousers and it runs down your legs like an infant. Do you want me to take the goat skin and tie it round your loins like a baby, so that you stop embarrassing me, father of my children? You are a disgrace who will not accept that his blood cannot take alcohol!”
He still felt the sting of her words, especially now as the pain of last night’s drink continued to sing in his head.
The sound of drums and heavy screams became even more audible as his mind slowly made its way towards consciousness. Chipo was sitting bolt upright beside him, clutching at all the blankets and shivering.
In the semi darkness he could make out the gleam in her eyes as she gawked at the door. Those eyes, those eyes big and inviting that had made his member stand in the market when he first saw her where now flickering on artificial light, illuminated by a terror on the outside which made him sober at once.
“What is going on, Chipo?”
Friday, 11 April 2008
Thuraya to expand services in Nigerian market
By: Jonah Iboma
-----------------------------------------------------------
Article summary:
New services will especially target firms operating in deep oceans as well as people living in rural areas.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications says it is ready to offer more services in Nigeria, especially in the light of government's desire to increase access to more users in the country.Mr. Peder Seldelman, the Chairman of Danisat Nigeria Limited Thuraya's Nigeria sole representative' said the firm has solutions today that can effectively address Nigeria's rural telephony and tracking challenges. According to him, Thuraya's satellite covers all of Nigeria effectively and this has made the firm to have the resources to offer a range of services.
He added that the firm has also introduced more customer friendly tariff that made the service more affordable for local use in the country.Seldelman added that Thuraya provided a good back up service especially in the light of challenges that often keep services of mobile operators at less-than optimal requirement.
This, he noted, would greatly benefit firms operating in the deep oceans and people in rural areas where mobile phone coverage does not exist.He also said a great advantage of the phone is the fact that it can be carried by users across borders without having to bother with the issues of roaming. He added that Thuraya had also introduced a Vehicle Tracking Service in the country, which offers a far wider coverage than what is offered by localized mobile phone firms.The Vehicle Tracking Service, he added, is very easy to monitor and comes with various options to users. On the rural telephony service, Thuraya country Senior Manager for Nigeria, Mr. Ahmed Ali, said the firm was ready to discuss with anyone who was interested in offering such a service, adding that various models that can be adapted to local needs were available.ENDS
/ends
Monday, 7 April 2008
He is Waiting - Out of it 2
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More stuff from Former-Councillor Laban - 7 April 2008
A sometime bulletin of events and happenings pertaining to Ward 7
(Avondale, Alex Park, Strathaven, KG6 Barracks, etc.)
Should anyone else wish to receive this, please send a full email
address to mlaban@mango.zw
Should you wish to be removed from the list, please let me know.
For further information, use either this address or consult the telephone book
-
there is still only one Laban in Harare.
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Hello
So, now what is happening? He is waiting.
I mentioned, perhaps not in this forum, that in four days the mood would be
lost. Four days have gone (maybe I got the time wrong) but he is waiting for
attention to leave Zimbabwe, then he will steal the election. Again. And the
opposition (led by the MDC, or not led as the case may be) will sit around and
do nothing. Lots of talks, going to the courts, and all that excuse for
inactivity, but they will do nothing.
But does he have a choice? On one level you feel sorry for him. Although in the
real world it is impossible to feel sorry. He cannot step down. He is riding the
tiger. And many are on that tiger with him (the military and the corrupt elite).
How can he step down? He cannot trust any local persons - any more than they
could trust him. He stands the very real risk of 'next stop, the Hague'. Him and
many others in power (on the tiger).
He cannot trust the neighbours. (Any more than they can trust him). Charles
Taylor going to 'exile' in Nigeria is a glaring factor in that equation. Off
goes Charlie for a nice little corruptly and bloodily earned rest in a place
where he is guaranteed safety, and suddenly, he is behind bars in Europe!
So what choice does he have? Stay in power (he and his gang), where the means
of violence are readily available (and they do have degrees in violence, the
University of Edinburgh cannot take those degrees from him), or shuffle off
defeated (even if a 'dignified' defeat), and wait for violence to be done to you
(not that the ICC will ever sentence anyone to death)? So what choice - use
power (in the rawest sense of the word) from a position of power, where you can
mete it out with a limited chance it will come back and bite you, or leave, to a
place where there is a good chance that it will come along and bite you? And
this is not a question he is asking alone.
So a run-off. Note the difference between the vote and the count.
There is every indication that the vote will go against him. It was an
apathetic turnout at the real elections. The run off will not be apathetic. And
there was a large number of pro-incumbent votes out from loyalty (a term used
loosely to indicate those riding the same tiger as the incumbent) at the real
election. This will not be a vote that can be relied on again. Makoni has
survived this long, it shows you can leave the party without being hammered into
the ground.
And then the count. There is massive experience amongst those with the degrees
in violence with this. The ground work is being laid. The War Vets are being
called out. The ZEC is being accused of irregularities (a cover story). A
recount of 16 constituencies is being called for (again, a smoke screen). And a
recount of the Presidential vote is being called for (how you can have a recount
before you 'know' what the count is???) All ground work for a 'better' result
being warranted.
However, as I also said, a change has happened.
My Masters paper was on Banda leaving Malawi. I noticed that Banda used party
secretary-generals as scapegoats. He would 'allow' them to do his bidding (i.e.
suppress all revolt, dissent, etc) and then 'discover' that they were 'mean evil
people', and, for his beloved people he would credit the Secretary-General with
all the blame and have them removed. Eventually (after years and Dick Mutenje)
people stopped wanting to be the party Secretary-General, and those who
unfortunately were just did not seem to be able to do his bidding. So Banda lost
a tool. A method. A mechanism to stay in power. But it had worked in the
meantime. Banda stayed in power until he was 94 (approximately) and had a brain
tumor.
I think he has done the same with Zanu PF. While he has retained power, he has
now lost, or is losing, the party. The military coup that we have been subjected
to (I use 'military' to define those who were the old ZANLA High Command) is
very near the surface now. Since 1997 (or even 1996), the minister in charge of
every uniformed and armed ministry (Army, Air Force, Police, Prison Services,
National Parks) was a 'retired' soldier. Since sometime in the 2000s (possibly
2004) every single Permanent Secretary in every single ministry was a 'retired'
soldier. And more recently (2006 or 7?) the Joint Operations Command (JOC) has
been meeting regularly with our president. Who tells who what to do in these
meetings? We are controlled (maybe not ruled) by a military junta.
So what is the solution?
I do not know. That is joy of being an 'activist. You can say what is wrong,
without having to say (or do) what will make it right. Having said that, at
least I have had my say. Getting the 'facts' out into the open, and discussing
them, will at least lead to an understanding of the problem. And only if we
understand the problem, can we come up with a 'correct' (or best) solution.
Zvakanaka
Michael
More stuff from Former-Councillor Laban - 7 April 2008
A sometime bulletin of events and happenings pertaining to Ward 7
(Avondale, Alex Park, Strathaven, KG6 Barracks, etc.)
Should anyone else wish to receive this, please send a full email
address to mlaban@mango.zw
Should you wish to be removed from the list, please let me know.
For further information, use either this address or consult the telephone book
-
there is still only one Laban in Harare.
?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?>?
Hello
So, now what is happening? He is waiting.
I mentioned, perhaps not in this forum, that in four days the mood would be
lost. Four days have gone (maybe I got the time wrong) but he is waiting for
attention to leave Zimbabwe, then he will steal the election. Again. And the
opposition (led by the MDC, or not led as the case may be) will sit around and
do nothing. Lots of talks, going to the courts, and all that excuse for
inactivity, but they will do nothing.
But does he have a choice? On one level you feel sorry for him. Although in the
real world it is impossible to feel sorry. He cannot step down. He is riding the
tiger. And many are on that tiger with him (the military and the corrupt elite).
How can he step down? He cannot trust any local persons - any more than they
could trust him. He stands the very real risk of 'next stop, the Hague'. Him and
many others in power (on the tiger).
He cannot trust the neighbours. (Any more than they can trust him). Charles
Taylor going to 'exile' in Nigeria is a glaring factor in that equation. Off
goes Charlie for a nice little corruptly and bloodily earned rest in a place
where he is guaranteed safety, and suddenly, he is behind bars in Europe!
So what choice does he have? Stay in power (he and his gang), where the means
of violence are readily available (and they do have degrees in violence, the
University of Edinburgh cannot take those degrees from him), or shuffle off
defeated (even if a 'dignified' defeat), and wait for violence to be done to you
(not that the ICC will ever sentence anyone to death)? So what choice - use
power (in the rawest sense of the word) from a position of power, where you can
mete it out with a limited chance it will come back and bite you, or leave, to a
place where there is a good chance that it will come along and bite you? And
this is not a question he is asking alone.
So a run-off. Note the difference between the vote and the count.
There is every indication that the vote will go against him. It was an
apathetic turnout at the real elections. The run off will not be apathetic. And
there was a large number of pro-incumbent votes out from loyalty (a term used
loosely to indicate those riding the same tiger as the incumbent) at the real
election. This will not be a vote that can be relied on again. Makoni has
survived this long, it shows you can leave the party without being hammered into
the ground.
And then the count. There is massive experience amongst those with the degrees
in violence with this. The ground work is being laid. The War Vets are being
called out. The ZEC is being accused of irregularities (a cover story). A
recount of 16 constituencies is being called for (again, a smoke screen). And a
recount of the Presidential vote is being called for (how you can have a recount
before you 'know' what the count is???) All ground work for a 'better' result
being warranted.
However, as I also said, a change has happened.
My Masters paper was on Banda leaving Malawi. I noticed that Banda used party
secretary-generals as scapegoats. He would 'allow' them to do his bidding (i.e.
suppress all revolt, dissent, etc) and then 'discover' that they were 'mean evil
people', and, for his beloved people he would credit the Secretary-General with
all the blame and have them removed. Eventually (after years and Dick Mutenje)
people stopped wanting to be the party Secretary-General, and those who
unfortunately were just did not seem to be able to do his bidding. So Banda lost
a tool. A method. A mechanism to stay in power. But it had worked in the
meantime. Banda stayed in power until he was 94 (approximately) and had a brain
tumor.
I think he has done the same with Zanu PF. While he has retained power, he has
now lost, or is losing, the party. The military coup that we have been subjected
to (I use 'military' to define those who were the old ZANLA High Command) is
very near the surface now. Since 1997 (or even 1996), the minister in charge of
every uniformed and armed ministry (Army, Air Force, Police, Prison Services,
National Parks) was a 'retired' soldier. Since sometime in the 2000s (possibly
2004) every single Permanent Secretary in every single ministry was a 'retired'
soldier. And more recently (2006 or 7?) the Joint Operations Command (JOC) has
been meeting regularly with our president. Who tells who what to do in these
meetings? We are controlled (maybe not ruled) by a military junta.
So what is the solution?
I do not know. That is joy of being an 'activist. You can say what is wrong,
without having to say (or do) what will make it right. Having said that, at
least I have had my say. Getting the 'facts' out into the open, and discussing
them, will at least lead to an understanding of the problem. And only if we
understand the problem, can we come up with a 'correct' (or best) solution.
Zvakanaka
Michael
Our Lives are in Limbo
So, you ask why I have not been writing from then till now?
Who has, tell me? What is there to write?
That we are sitting by our huts, following the movement of the sun like Lizards? That we are clutching to our radios, waiting to hear how the elections did in fact turn out?
Are you waiting to hear me say if we had not split our votes we could have made a big difference in the parliamentaries, that the MDC, by hook or by crook is the voice of change?
Are you waiting for me to tell you that we will be forced to eat the dispeakable because our mouths, forever hungry, have respected custom and failed to talk?
Will I write about the man from up the hill, who, hearing things aclutter, thought it best to mobilize hoards of people to terrorize communities.
We will not grow out of our bane by hoarding empty rhetoric. Mugabe spoke, Mugabe continues to speak.
All we can do is watch him kill our very dreams in our sleep... :-(
Friday, 28 March 2008
Makoni tips scales
Having been away from home for a long time, attending Simba Makoni’s rally was something to look forward to. It was the best way to celebrate Good Friday.
My intention was to see for myself whether he had indeed tipped the scales, cut the sacred cow, and provided the community with the hope for a better morrow.
The atmosphere was exuberant at Kamunhu shopping center. Always the hive of agitated activity; the little space behind the gigantic Spar shops provided the community with yet another opportunity to ponder on whom they will vote for.
Makoni piped the tunes of a new beginning and the crowd hummed in time with him. A new beginning means distancing himself from Zanu PF.
“When a couple exchanges the vows of marriage, the congregation is called upon to be witness to the event” he began in the vernacular, “Today, I am calling on the people of Mabvuku to bear witness to my disengagement from ZANU PF. I declared myself independent of ZANU PF on 5 February 2008.” With this Makoni dispelled rumors that he was being fronted by Mugabe in the hopes of luring the young and disenchanted back into the fold.
‘ZANU PF has failed to meet the needs of its people. It is found wanting on solutions to end the current political and economic malaise’ said Makoni. He sighted the debacle with the diesel n’anga; who took entire Ministries for a ride with her ‘promise of diesel flowing from a flat rock-bed in Chinhoyi some months ago.
Makoni did not need to remind people about the travails in Zimbabwe. Earlier in the rally, school children sung dirges on the failing education system, the appalling health delivery, the current political malaise, and indeed, the need for power in the mold of Simba.
His insistence is that the problems will be solved together with the community. Every individual counts. Whether we are to read this as a call to participatory democracy is an issue for another day. Suffice to say that it is a call that is different from the “Morgan is More!” provided by Morgan Tsvangirai and the “Rule by the Fist” as propounded by Mugabe.
It must set Mugabe’s heart thudding to imagine how his own cabinet minister can turn on him the way Simba has. Simba is not the first, and neither will he be the last. The elections may very well be the death knell on ZANU PF as a regime.
Interesting that children should recite heart wrenching poetry at Makoni’s rally. Young girls and boys decried the lack of teachers, the economic hurdles; the pain of living in a country where the leader holds on to power with an iron fist. One little girl fought back tears as she narrated a poem on what life has become for her and kin…The rally captured hearts and minds.
The MDC Mutambara faction made a good show of support with Trudy Stevenson in attendance. Democratic processes can only have true meaning in Zimbabwe if they are to be united.
Winds of change are upon Zimbabwe, and people are getting ready.
One gets a sense that there will be a lot more tolerance this time. The television station is flighting adverts from all contesting parties, and attempts are being made to provide adequate space for discussion through the same.
Thursday, 27 March 2008
A Decade of Suffering in Zimbabwe: Economic Collapse and Political Repression under Robert Mugabe
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