WAS THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR THE VICE PRESIDENCY FAIR?

To nominate Nkomo and Mujuru is something that a lot of people within ZANU PF never liked.Who do you think deserved the posts.You can leave your comments.

IS THIS THE MDC WE KNOW?

When the MDC was formed in 1999 it received unflinching support from supporters who were frustrated by Mugabe's rule characterised by human rights abuses,looming poverty and the absence of the rule of law.This was an opportune time for people to voice out their concerns through a swift and democratic vehicle called the MDC.The MDC became such a formidable force to reckon with through extolling efforts and support from its supporters.Tsvangirai did not rise to power simply because he had any political clout but because the people were frustrated by void and null promises made by Mugabe that have not been fulfilled after independence.The inclusive government has offered  the MDC a platform where they can fulfill their democratic struggle of improving the lives of many people who have sufferered political and economic neglect by the self enriching regime of Mugabe and his cronies.Pulling out of the inclusive govenrment is an ill-advised step and a gaffe.Morgan Tsvangirai was harangued by some of his members at their party's 10th annivessary who wanted the MDC to pull out of the Inclusive government.The MDC must realise that this is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime especially when dealing with ZANU PF which carefully calculates its every move.There is need for a paradigm shift in MDC's "tactics and strategies" this time when dealing with ZANU PF.MDC's main prognosis has been its failure to speak  in harmony and with one voice.ZANU PF has identified the Achilles Heel of the MDC and has capitalised on it.Whenever there is unneccessary confusion within the MDC camp ZANU PF apologists and loyalists always take a scorn on MDC.What the MDC needs right now is to get its house in order and revert back to its old self where it was tough,thorough and informed.The people of Zimbabwe are pinning their hopes on MDC if a democratic,peaceful and free Zimbabwe is to be achieved.This is also their time to represent the people,speak for the people and act for the people.Pulling out of the deal is a slap in the face to the people of Zimbabwe and really shows a lack of foresight coupled by tunnel vision.They must put structures in place in their party so that whenever they release statements they wont be any contradiction among themselves.The people who have suffererd torment,hunger,violence death and abductions are waiting on the MDC to take them out of  these dire conditions that have stood firmly against them for 29 years

ZIMBABWEANS DESERVE A BETTER LIFE.

Since independence there has not been tangible or evident peace of mind in any Zimbabwean's mind.Right from independence abductions,torture and murder embraced people who had just thought were free from white minority.The Gukurahundi atrocities caused a major dent on the image of the new government.For the first time blacks were now governing themselves.The fissure on the new government horizon was far from being mended.The 1987 unity accord never did justice  in that it never addressed the issue of reconciling  opposing groups.So it was just a an agreement that overlooked a lot of unresolved issues and the new government never offered some form of assistance to the victims of this genocide.Given the fact that Matebeleland is a semi-arid region,the people there continued to live under dire conditions because  the government never sought to address the isssue of food and water in that region.Zimbabweans never enjoyed the taste of true independence that most of them have dreamt of.The new government quickly overlooked unresolved issues.Then came the compensation for the "gallant sons" in the form of Z$50000 .At the centre of this acrimonious move was the  transparency of the whole "compensation" issue.The whole process was marred by cheating and faking on who the real ex-combatants were.Most of the real mbuyas and sekurus in the back of beyond never got any money because they didn't have someone in high office despite the fact that they participated in the liberation war.Any honest Zimbabwean would agree with me that if you  travel to the rural areas you will meet your old relative who would tell you about how bad the war was but never received any form of compensation and might be living in sheer poverty.Then the year 2000 saw the controvesial  land reform which was characterised by Mugabe's diatribe against the former colonisers who were keeping the  Agricultural sector productive.He went on to sing his new song of "blacks being landless".Well, what must be understood is the definition of the "landless blacks" he referred to..There was never any black empowerment but ZANU PF empowerment.Most of the few who claim to have been empowered actually have unproductive land with most of them having been resettled in plains.Most of these stalwart supporters of the land reform are actually ZANU PF loyalists and apologists.Mugabe even tried to impose and extend his rule in this same year which the people refused through a referendum.With the 2002 presidential elections in sharp focus,Mugabe had to act quickly.He had to hire the services of a new kid on the block,a spin doctor,Jonathan Moyo, who went on violent campaign against the independent media.With the legislation of draconian laws such as AIPPA and POSA,many publications were closed down.Who was going to give the innocent Zimbabweans a voice in voicing out their concerns.The attrition of the independent media was now at full scale.The furore over the closure of the Daily News reached critical levels but still the spin doctor continued his violent campaign against the independent media.Now it is the same political chameleon Jonathan Moyo who is back in the the ZANU PF fold.One question now haunts the mind of innocent Zimbabweans who had found new hope in the form of the inclusive government, as to what the spin doctor has  up his sleeves this time.After perfoming dismally in the 2005 parliamentary elections, Mugabe was determined to punish the urban folk for voting against him.He unleashed Murambatsvina especially in Harare where thousands if not millions lost their homes and  left destitute.The MDC's victory in the 2005 parliamentary and 2002and 2008 presidential elections was not because it had any political clout  but because ZANU PF's promises after independence were null and void.It seems as if every time people's hopes begin to gather momentum,ZANU PF always takes away that hope.For example the strict stance taken by Mugabe that his party wants the Kariba Draft adopted as the basis of the new constitution proves this.So evil and cunning and calculating is Mugabe.He allows people to raise their hopes and before their hopes materialises into reality,he takes it away.He has reunited with his protege and servant, Jonathan Moyo once again and the peace,hope and optimism the people now had in the inclusive government is starting to fade away every day. What a life we Zimbabweans have.The issue of national healing  needs a holistic approach and therefore the inclusive government is not giving it due attention.All the instigators of violence in the past have to be aprehended so that society dwells in true peace and harmony.When are we going to have a peace of mind and peace in the back of our minds?Would it not be a good thing to be at peace knowing that on the political arena, all is well.

JUDICIARY "AT SIXES AND SEVENS"

On Tuesday 11 November i was shocked to see a headline that said that Kwekwe Central Legislator,Blessing Chebundo was found guilty of raping  a 13 year old minor.The story went on to say that Magistrate William Bhila cleared him of the charges after the complainant was found to have been an unreliable witness in the case.The reason for his acquital was because the young girl took 5 months to report the matter to the police.Chebundo dismissed  the rape charges saying that they had been "manufactured" by his political opponents.This whole drama that transpired forces one question the efficiency of our judiciary system today.The fact of the matter however is Chebundo slept with someone young enough to be his own daughter.That alone is a form of abuse since the girl is way below the age of 18.This same incident also makes one want to question the role of Non governmental Organisations that deal with women and chidren's rights.I thought  the following morning,i was going to see a furore over the injustice that had prevailed but there was surreal silence.For once,satire has disappeared from these organisations that claim to deal issues that affect vulnerable children and women.These organisations become so vocal when it is just gender issues.When you claim to serve the interest of girls it is not only confined to equal rights.Sexual abuse is also a serious issue to advocate for even if it means challenging court rulings.Chebundo took advantage of this minor in the sense that he might have used his position or money to lure the girl.Either way it was a violation of the rights of girl in question.NGO's that deal with children must not just be vocal when it comes to politics and gender issues but they should adhere to their core business of protecting children's rights.Girl Child Network where are you?Should you not have at least condemned the ruling or challenged it.Which girl child are you protecting?Should you neglect your duties while you are being paid hefty salaries?This injustice in our judiciary is going to encourage more men to sexually abuse young girls because they know that stiffer penalties have not been put in place.Our own judiciary noew is in a serious state of confusion and a lot of people have since stopped taking their cases to court because failure to get a lawyer will result in them loosing the case.Does that mean that the rich or privileged in society can now pounce on the poor just because they can get lawyers who can argue their cases out?What manner of injustice is this?There are a lot of stories that i have seen in newspapers especially the Herald where one person is granted bail or acquited even if he committed a crime just  because he has enough money to hire a lawyer to defend him.Organisations that deal with women issues,you have let the "girl child" down.Whose interests are you serving or should i say which girls and women are you protecting?

MEDIA,CIVIC SOCIETY :IMPROVE THE SHINING HOUR

When i received the news that the constitutin making process has finaally resurrected,i began to question why the constitution making process had become an anathema to the top echelons in the ZANU PF camp and why it was met with stiff opposition among Mp's.The answer to this is not hardfind.When you have a senior member of the Parliamentary Select Committee Paul Mangwana,reiterating every time that he doesn't want to cut his term of office short because the new constitution will have ushered in a time for new elections,it prevaricates and contradicts the Committees commitment to the constitution making process.There is a high posibility that he will not dedicate himself fully to the success of the process because of his own parochial interests.For several months the arcane maneuvres of the committtee has left the population in the dark in terms of full comprehension of the process which has roared back into life.Many people still have a hard time defining Machiavellian terms such as "thematic sub committee" and their function in the constitutional making process.Honestly who is going to break it down for the ordinary person what a constitution entails,its contents,what a draft bill is and what voting a yes would mean.There is a lot of obfuscation surrounding the constitution making process itself and a lot of people are not informed.The same applies to the sycomphantic retort by the Parliamentary Select Committee that the outreach teams will be deployed in the next 2weeks to "educate" the populace on the process.History has taught us never to trust politicians to lead the educational process.Of course the Parliamentary Committee has reassured the population that the teams will comprise of members from churches,farmers,youth,women,human rights,traditional leadersetc.The question however is that are these groups autonomous from political interference?Zimbabweans are still in the throes of struggling and the untimely process gas offered the media and civic society a chance to wake up to the blowing of the trumpet and take their positions.Gone are the days when they were always engrossed in petty issues such as more workshops that at times are crippled by absenteeism of politicians.They must now rechannel their focus and resources on the constitution making process,educating people and sell the content of the bills and not names.The time for living in a fool's paradise is over.A simple mistake especially especially in choosing a favourable constitution might plunge the country back into the abyss because the media together with the civic society would not have neglected their role.The truth of the matter however is that an arduous task lies ahead of the media and civic society and in their bid to educate people on the constitution,they are going to be labelled agents of regime change.ZANU PF has made it clear that the independent media and civic society remain a whimsical western proxy for regime change so they must expect harassment,detention but this is all part of the struggle.Political power is an extreme aphrodisiac and most of what ZANU PF has rolled up on its sleeves boarders on inanity because the time for people to decide has come and there is nothing that they can do about it because in the end it is the people who are going to vote.The rhetoric by ZANU PF that they want to adopt the Kariba Draft as the basis for the new constitution is rather escapist and misleading.Political parties are also going to use their rallies to propagate their own gospel of what a suitable bill is.There is going to be a lot of polarisation among the population especially when it comes to suitable bills and the media and civic society have to work on efficient strategies on how best they can educate people.The whole process of the constitution process will involve training of outreach teams for a week and the second week will see the trained teams being deployed.The outreach teams willl be comprised of 8 people who will work closely with Councillors and District Councils.The public will also have a represantation of 3people and the other five will come from civic society.No peace loving Zimbabwean wants to see the debacle of the constitution process but the pyrrhic victory that the media and civic society are yet to bring,is no easy task.The media and civic society must educate people to choose a draft bill that at least represents their views and opinions on how they want to be governed.The opaque that lies ahead of the constitutional making process is a caveat of the high levels of polarization where once people's perception on the bills is biased,it really becomes difficult to get them back to their soberly habits.One wonders the next step that the media and civic society is going to take.Is the surreal silence of the media and civic society going to continue or come to an end?We just have to wait and see.BY Rawlings Magede

ARE WE THERE YET?

The recent visit by SADC mission really raised hopes and optimism in every peace loving Zimbabwean but what a lot of people dont understand is that their happness and expectations are shortlived because as already proven ijn the past,SADC is a toothless dog that is incapable of monitoring the regions peace.It's chairmanship is currently being hold by the inept and youthful Kabila who is  heavily indebted to Mugaber in terms of loyalty after his father was helped by Mugabe to consolidate power.Mugabe might surely agree that the communique has a bounding effect but him granting concessions to the MDC that are likely to secure the MDC's victory in the next elections is a lie.He will always manouvre his way out knowing that SADC can do nothing even if he defies their ruling