WHICH DEVELOPMENT HONOURABLE SITHEMBISO NYONI?

The recent story published by Newsday about the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and co-operative Development ,Sithembiso Nyoni,who is the MP for Nkayi North ,made sad reading. She called for a political rally in her constituency disguised as a “development” meeting.

This is not only a move by a misguided and an incompetent MP, but a telling example of someone who has lost the meaning of what it means to be a leader. The story made me sympathize with the people in her constituency who had walked for long distances on foot given the shortage of transport owing to a poor road network, with the hope that they were going to get funds for income generating projects. To their surprise, it turned out to be a ZANU PF political rally campaign. What still boggles my mind is why the honourable minister is not shameful for staging such a moronic gaffe, designed to take people for granted. For how long shall the people of Kana and Gokwe be taken for granted by successive politicians?

One after the other, over the years, they have neglected, abused Constituency Development Funds (CDF) at the expense of development in their constituencies. Nothing of significance has been done in Nyoni’s respective constituency. It is no news that Matebeleland North is underdeveloped. It is shocking now that many MP’s have made a beeline in the region to try and lure voters with impending pools looming. They do so under the sickening rhetoric of developing their constituencies.

What these brown-envelope seeking MP’s should be reminded is that the electorate has been shortchanged and cheated so many times. The community leaders in Nyoni’s constituency threatened to beat Nyoni because they are now tired of her sickening blatant lies. The electoral bell of change and defeat continues to toll for MP’s such as Sithembiso Nyoni.

The time is up especially for the masters of old school tricks and deception such as Sithembiso Nyoni( Nkayi North) Flora Buka(Gokwe Nembudziya),Mpukuta Lovemore(Gokwe –Mapfungautsi),Mushore Luke(Gokwe-Gumunyu),Ngwenya Busy(Gokwe-Kana),Sai ShaddyGokwe –Sengwa) and Sindi Cephas(Gokwe Chireya ,their eleventh hour is nigh. They have failed to transform Gokwe and Kana into a modern community with at least basic amenities during their terms in office. Some have made empty promises designed to gain Machiavellian mileage aimed at deceiving the electorate but this time around, they will be fail dismally. Theirs is going to be an electoral defeat that is going to put to an end to the suffering of people in Kana and Gokwe. Nkayi today resembles an ancient community with no basic amenities, a poor road system, few schools, and two hospitals.

The story in Nkayi is sad, many people walk for many kilometers to access the only missionary hospital, Kana Mission Hospital and the one in Nkayi, where there is shortage of staff, no drugs, where patients who are admitted to the hospital are required to bring their own food. That is not all, the mortuaries are dysfunctional, and the hospitals cannot access adequate anti-retroviral drugs owing to a dilapidated and poor road network. The roads are dusty from Nkayi town all the way to Gokwe Centre. This makes it difficult for people to access schools and hospitals etc.
Gokwe Centre is the only place where there are tarred roads; from there the roads become dusty. What it means is transport operators shun the Nkayi-Gokwe or Gokwe-Manoti route because of poor road network and high operating costs. The few buses that ply the route cannot meet the transport woes that affect the people. In areas such as Kana and Gokwe, you have to wake up during midnight just to catch a bus, an ancient phenomenon whereby there was only one bus to service one route. What this means for the ordinary man in Nkayi-Gokwe is that they will have to walk on foot to access a hospital, schools, etc.

What these MP’s want are mere votes at the expense of development. For them the state of the road doesn’t bother them, because when they visit their remote, dilapidated constituencies, they will travel comfortably in their SUV’S and 4x4’s vehicles.
The need for community development such as having tarred roads does not bother them. At one point the MP for Gokwe-Kana, Ngwenya Busy, attempted to build a mortuary at Kana Mission Hospital when he won the election, but to date the development on the mortuary has since stopped.Noone has an explanation why the construction stopped. Most of the time he is seen by members of the community in his immaculate Isuzu 4x4 truck at Kana Mission Shops where he operates a grocery shop. No one, not even the revered community leaders from the headman to the chief can dare seek for an explanation from him for fear of being branded an MDC supporter and sellout.

Kana-Gokwe still lags behind in terms of real development, thanks to Econet which erected a booster at Kana Mission recently but the development in communication is not corresponded by infrastructural development.Sithembiso Nyoni can afford to abuse the people in her constituency by making false promises so as to win their support but her time of reckoning is nigh.

The false and deceptive meeting called by Nyoni reveal the deception of an incorrigible sell-out who has abandoned her constituency for the bogus luxuries that come with being an MP.So what development can she talk about when her own constituency lies in derelict? The people must vote wisely and give the boot to such tricksters. The people in Kana and Gokwe,have the power to change predicaments and circumstances, and this can be achieved by voting against such manipulative MP’s who have inflicted emotional pain and stress on them while they enjoy luxuries.

Gokwe-Kana is home for most of us, not an experimental ground for successive MP’s to carry out tests.

Rawlings Magede writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on rawedge699@gmail.com who writes from Nkayi, Matabeleland North province.

WHO ARE THE REAL YOUTHS?

Over the years the Zimbabwe has witnessed many socio-political and economic changes. These changes have a direct effect on every age group. However, the most vulnerable group is the youth who remain at the mercy of circumstances. With the scourge of unemployment running rampant, many fall unsuspectingly into the trap of being used for other selfish means by politicians.
The youth constitute the majority of the population, this entails that whenever there is any economic haemorrhage and meltdown, and they are affected the most. Despite this, over the years, the youth have played servitude and prostration at the hands of politicians who have continued to use them as barricades against leadership change and renewal.
The problem we have in Zimbabwe today is that those in positions of leadership are not prepared to relinquish their privileges so as to accommodate the plight of the suffering masses ( youths included)such as dealing with the high rate of unemployment, either because of ideological deficiency and selfishness. Such elements turn to the youth for political survival. Zimbabwe has a wanton record of political led violence. Every time the country goes for elections, violence characterizes the process and it is a morass to a peaceful political transition. All this stifles the democratic process.

Despite having many organizations that purport to advance the concerns of the youth, the majority of youth remain vulnerable to manipulation by politicians. I am not sure if I should conclude that these organizations are not doing enough to advance and raise awareness among the relevant stakeholders. The youth remain unemployed and destitute and this means that as long as the youth remain unemployed, political violence can never be eradicated.
A telling example is the OLD mutual Youth Fund that was politicized from the beginning. To date many youths still live under false hope that their projects are still being considered. Despite the Ministry of Youth and empowerment stating that the agricultural sector received the largest allocation of funds under the Old Mutual Youth Development Fund that was being administered by CABS since 2009, it remains to be seen what the so-called agricultural projects will yield.Acccording to the ministry the agricultural sector received 34% of the grant, distribution took 315%,manufacturing 23%,service 11% and mining1%.The ordinary youth still questions the opaque manner in which the fund was disbursed. The mystery of why their project proposals were turned down continues to haunt many today.
The youth ministry also allege that the fund also benefitted youths from Nyanga, Mutare, Macheke,Bulawayo,Masvingo,Hwange and Gweru. If what the ministry is saying is anything to go by, then an audit of how the youth fund was disbursed is needed to find out if the process was not done in a partisan manner. The audit should be done by an independent commission made of members from civic society, youth leaders from communities and political parties. A cursory cross checking of facts reveals that the fund was abused or diverted for other “projects”.

Recent media reports suggest that The Zimbabwe Youth council that three quarters of the youth who benefitted from the fund diverted the money meant for projects. "Some of you are now asking the reason why we are have resorted to paying for what one would have applied to get for his or her project because the money is being diverted," Livingston Dzikira Zimbabwe Youth Council Director told reporters in Nyanga at the UNICEF workshop,

"So far from the people who have benefited, 70% of them have diverted the funds. Some have taken the loans to pay lobola and those are the same people you seem at public forums denouncing the program”. This reveals serious levels of corruption and graft. In the first place why was the process done secretly? Why did the ministry of youth not do a wide consultation across the country to assess the projects? If the youth council knows as Dzikira clearly states the names of people who abused the fund, what has his office done to deal with such gross abuse of funds?
The youth fund was politicized from from the beginning when Vice president Joice Mujuru officiated the programme under the watchful eye of Kasukuwere.This they saw an opportunity to drum up support for ZANU PF and revive its waning popularity. It’s a pity that most youths not aligned to ZANU actually wasted their time and resources coming with project proposals with the hope of having their proposals approved. It’s not given that half of the youth in the country are politically affiliated to any party, there are some who are just concerned about leading normal lives.

Livingston Dzikira admitted that as far as the disbursing of funds was concerned, he had no oversight and control whatsoever. Asked by reporters at the same occasion of his affiliation to Zanu-PF which has raised concerns by the public over how deserving youths benefit from youth empowerment programme Dzikira said he follows orders given to him by Saviour Kasukuwere, the minister of Youth Empowerment Minister who is Zanu-PF.

"I am an employee, who reports to the board and when the body is not present I give reports directly to the responsible Minister and it is impossible for you to separate me from that otherwise I get fired, "he said. In other words what he was saying is that the youth fund was meant for ZANU PF youths, all he does in his capacity as director is to process finalized suggestions of names from Kasukuwere.Why then did Old mutual and the ministry of youth bother the ordinary youth to apply for the fund when they knew that the fund was meant for ZANU PF youths? The youths had to scavenge for money to prepare and photocopy the project documents when in actual fact they were not qualified for the fund before they even applied.
One startling fact is that Kasukuwere is deputized by Tongai Matutu from MDC-T, the peoples’ part and party of excellence”. What is excellent about the MDC when it cannot question such an injustice as far as the disbursing of the youth fund is concerned.Matutu and his other comrades from the MDC are still obsessed with the luxuries of being in government that come with luxurious cars and bogus allowances while neglecting their role in government? The MDC ministers should not be anyone’s tool in government; they should at least denounce such injustices from within government. The reality within the Ministry of Youth is depressing; no backbone, no drives towards empowering youth save for those affiliated to ZANU PF.
Most youth organizations that claim to stand for the plight of the youth are just lily-livered opportunists united by money and the anti-Mugabe mantra but who remain mentally and materially beholden to other people who in most cases are politicians. The real youth that they claim to represent are just imaginary and non-existent. Many of them just play “a watch and see attitude” even whenever they should advocate.
Despite Zimbabwe being a signatory of many international conventions that respect the role of the youth in economic and political issues, Zimbabwean youths remain on the sidelines in as far as issues of governance and their welfare are concerned. The Zimbabwe Peoples Charter section on youth clearly states that;
“Believing that at all given times the youth, both female and male, represent the present and the future of our country and that all those in positions of leadership nationally and locally must remain true to the fact that our country shall be passed on from one generation to the next,
The People state that, in order for each generation to bequeath to the next a country that remains the epitome of hope, democracy and sustainable livelihoods, the following principles for the youth must be adhered to and respected:
The youth shall be guaranteed the right to education at all levels until they acquire their first tertiary qualification.
The youth shall be guaranteed an equal voice in decision-making processes that not only affect them but the country as a whole in all spheres of politics, the national economy and social welfare. •
The youth shall be guaranteed access to the right to health.
The youth shall not be subject to political abuse through training regimes that connote political violence or any semblance of propaganda that will compromise their right to determine their future as both individuals and as a collective.
The youth have the right to associate and assemble and express themselves freely of their own prerogative.”
The inclusive government has fallen short in addressing any of the tenets of the people’s charter. The principles in the peoples’ charter on youth are social welfaristic that harness together all the socio-economic ills that affect youths daily. The inclusive government continues to sideline the youth in issues such constitution reform, tertiary education, social welfare and health.
I am yet to understand what it means to be a youth in Zimbabwe. Does it mean that you must be a member of a political party youth wing that is used to unleash violence against an innocent, exposed and vulnerable electorate and be given trinkets as a form of reward or be a member of a youth organization where you are allowed certain priviledges?I don’t know. May the real youth stand up!!
Rawlings Magede writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on rawedge699@gmail.com

Tracy Mutinhiri: Who is Fooling who?

                                                       

The recent media fever that gripped the nation about former ZANU PF women league political commissar, Tracy Mutinhiri, who was also a house of assembly member for Marondera East, joining MDC-T came not as a surprise to those who know the Zimbabwean political landscape very well. While many “celebrated" that  Mutinhiri had joined MDC-T, after being treated unfairly by ZANU PF ,Rugare Gumbo, the party’s spokesperson, had no kind words for her, he described her  as someone who had always worked against ZANU PF.

However, her deflection was   celebrated in the MDC-T to my utter amazement, of course her dismissal is testimony of the serious party squabbles and divisions within ZANU PF.The Zimbabwean political landscape has proved to us over and over that everyone who was once a member of ZANU PF is a suspect.Noone trusts them because even if their intentions are genuine, they remain public enemy number one.

 For example MP for Tsholotsho, Jonathan Moyo was kicked out of ZANU PF in 2004 after the infamous Tsholotsho declaration. The coming years saw Moyo turn into a fierce critic of Mugabe whom he once sang praise and worship hymns for on national television during his stint as information minister. He once compared Mugabe to a lame duck and even argued that even if Mugabe was to contest in an election, against a donkey, he would lose. He was later readmitted into the party and this time around he is now a critic of the MDC-T

This proves that politicians will never change, once a ZANU always a ZANU.The serious hero worship within Zanu on the person of Mugabe shows the gross demeaning bootlicking that is within the so-called revolutionary party. Honestly what is revolutionary about the party when it cannot deal with minor party disagreements, let alone succession? People don’t trust Moyo because of his ever changing political form. The same can be said about Simba Makoni, though unlike Moyo he hasn’t rejoined ZANU PF as yet, he remains suspect number one. Many still see his party Mavambo Kusile Dawn (MKD), as a mere ZANU PF creation meant to confuse the electorate. Though he has denied these claims, people never take him serious.

The same  can be said about  Dumiso  Dabengwa and Thenjiwe Lesabe who quit ZANU PF so that they could resuscitate PF ZAPU.For them their defection was met with hostility in matebeleland.Many still questioned why they didn’t quit ZANU earlier, why they neglected their region for so long and never brought meaningful change to matebeleland during their stay in ZANU.For many years they were in Mugabe’s government, they never  championed the concerns of Matebeleland through implementation of policies that would better their  people’s lives

.Even though PF ZAPU is revived as they say, many in Matabeleland still view them as sell-outs and heartless. Now another former Zanu PF person, Tracy Mutinhiri has been fired and maybe as a way of hitting back to her former party, decides to join their political opponents, MDC-T.While i have respect for Tracy Mutinhiri,i feel that her deflection to MDC-T leaves a lot to be desired. Is she joining the "party of excellence" because Zanu PF treated her unfairly or she has really seen Zanu PF for what it really is?.All these much ado about nothing questions remain unanswered for now, but if the truth be told what does she bring to the MDC?If she is to contest in the next election on an MDC ticket as what is being speculated, what does this mean for the MDC as a party? I strongly believe that Mutinhiri should take the bench for now while she ponders on her next political move. If she wants to join other former comrades whom she has worked with, like Makoni or Dabengwa she is most welcome to do so since they share the same concerns and identity. At least they would form a formidable force against ZANU PF which treated them "unfairly”. Why join people whom you fought against for many years and whose policies you were against?

Let us not fool each other; we have seen former ZANU people change form before us. Its just like saying that John Landa Nkomo has deflected to MDC.Honestly we are not fooled by such political games meant to confuse and misdirect people when voting. Maybe the comrades within the MDC-T can be fooled by welcoming Mutinhiri with open arms, but the people of Zimbabwe cannot. Only the politicians will be fooled since it’s a recurring game but not me, never! It is either you are with us, or you are against us! Rawlings Magede is political science student from Nkayi,Matebeleland North and can be contacted via email rawedge699@gmail.com

Unemployment and the politics of the purse

I have promised not to tell. I won’t, not even mutter a word for a single day concerning it. Never to open my mouth about it, lest I be labeled with all sorts of names. To Sum up this indecision of whether to say it or not, Joseph Goebbells,Hitler’s propaganda Minister of the time once said, “if one has to sell a lie as a factual truth to the public out there, one would have to repeat it as often as possible packaging it as truth”. Unlike Goebbels, who sold lies as truth to keep his job and please Hitler, I am going to package the truth as truth and repeat it as often as possible until those who care to listen, get involved one way or the other . I have no one to please or favour. Being called a women rights activist or feminist is of no consequence because whatever names you going to label me with, I will assume them because I believe my concerns are genuine. I won’t lose anything for telling it like it is because this is a fight that I have engaged in, voluntarily on my own, soberly. So why keep quiet to please you and safeguard the interests of those who continue to oppress and suppress people’s fundamental rights? She was raised from a well up family. The father is passed away when she was young. How she ended up what she is doing only, she can tell it better. The scourge of unemployment has pushed her to do all sorts of things. Of course one should never use that as an excuse to engage in all sorts of deviant behavior but at times the most vulnerable group to suffer from the effects of unemployment is women. Her parents divorced when she was only 12years and being raised by a single parent was tough. She managed to complete her secondary education and proceeded to University where she studied Social Work. She graduated in 2010 and getting a job since then has been a challenge. She lost her mother in a car accident during the beginning of 2011.The sole bread winner of the family was snatched from her life and getting a job was still impossible. Her mother’s relatives began to fend for her. This joy of having found a new home was short-lived as the relatives coerced with a wealthy man to marry her. As someone who had studied to university level, she refused. This was not welcomed by the relatives and they chased her away. Stranded as she was, she moved in with a friend in town and the rest is history. Today she is among those who go by street corners in the avenues areas selling their bodies for sex.She is not in this trade because she enjoys it but there is no other option. The truth of the matter however is that the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Indigenization currently being led by SaviOr Kasukuwere is aware of the rate of unemployment but there seems to be dragging of feet on taking the problem head-on. The arcane implementation of the youth funds such as the one brokered by old mutual in 2011, have further fuelled speculation that within the ministry of youth empowerment and indigenization, favouratism is rife. What does it mean to be a youth? For you to get a youth grant must you be partisan or non-partisan? Should you have a violent past that is characterized by social deviancy and delinquency? The frustration over the lack of jobs has portrayed the ministry of youth empowerment and indigenization as the “ministry of youth unemployment”. There is urgent need among the youth to start a campaign against unemployment as a wake-up call to the ministry of youth and empowerment and government at large to act swiftly towards the availing of jobs. If it is government policy that is affecting the unavailability of jobs, then it has to be reviewed. Youths from across the political divide must wake up from the fairytale experience of having to be used by politicians at the expense of their own welfare and careers. The same problems that they continue to face will still be facing them while those they would have helped to settle a political score or garner votes don’t even care about their welfare. What is the Ministry of Youth indigenization and empowerment doing to improve the scourge of unemployment? What we have witnessed so far is the noise under the pretext of indigenization and empowerment? Who is being empowered? The so-called empowerment drive has yielded nothing but panic to companies. Investors have been scared from investing in our country and this led a increase in the rate of unemployment. Honestly how can funeral palours make lots of profit from people who are dying everyday from cholera and typhoid while government watches helplessly? The ministers in government are the elite of our time. The Ministry of Finance can afford to buy top of the range cars while the issue of civil servants remain unsolved. Our Ministers are not even ashamed to lead flamboyant lives while the majority of the population struggles to make it to the next day because of hunger. At a recent workshop that I attended recently Dr Lovemore Madhuku remarked that those in the inclusive government especially the MDC comrades are under the delusion that they have brought “stability” in the economy. The use of multiple currencies has made things to look like they have changed. In reality nothing has changed, things are still even worse for the man on the street. The rate of unemployment is still high but if anything can be said about our country, those in government will go down in history as the worst ever to govern this country. Our country continues to bleed from many vices chief among them, corruption.A time will come when those who continue to abuse their offices for personal gain, but for now, they are running down the country as if they own it alone. Many university graduates continue to loiter the streets in search of employment and those in government can afford to sit and watch helplessly.

ALUTA-CONTINUA..THE NAME OF OUR STRUGGLE

Always bear in mind that people are not fighting…things in anyone’s’ head…they are fighting to live better in peace, to see heir lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children.{Amilcar Cabral in tell no lies, claim no easy victories} Towards the end of 2010 Ivoirians’ had presidential elections. It was always a desire for every Ivorian to demonstrate their rights, that of universal suffrage. It’s however a sad development to learn that although the outcome of the election declared Quartara the winner, incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo refused to respect the outcome of the election.However; he has since begun negotiating his exit package. The challenges we are or have been facing for the past century as a continent is hinged on the desire to improve welfare of our children and the quest for a better and peaceful life. That is the African cry. The beginning of 2011 marked a historic epoch in African politics as people revolted against dictatorships .First it was in Egypt then it spread across our beautiful continent. In Egypt Hosni Mubarak gave in and stepped down. One great author of all times, George .W.Cummings defines leadership as the ability to see what no one else sees, to listen when others talk and the ability to be optimistic when others are pessimistic. This definition is irrelevant when it comes to African politics. In Zimbabwe if you don’t subscribe or support a particular policy then you are an “enemy of the state”. Recent attacks on the SADC facilitator, South African president are more telling. What Zuma did was to call a spade a spade and for that he had to be humiliated in the media. He was branded a traitor and outsider for something that was brokered by another “outsider” his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki. What is going on in Libya is as a result of not seeing what everyone saw.Gaddafi ignored people’s plea for democracy. At one point he even suggested for the United Nations of Africa. His intention up to now no one knows. Today Libya is in turmoil and innocent civilians are dying everyday while he refuses to step down. During the peak of his reign Gaddafi always said that “execution is the fate of anyone who forms a political party.” Engaging in political conversations with foreigners was a crime punishable by death or 3years in prison. He removed foreign languages from school curricula. In 2011 one protester described the mediocre education system as, “none of us can speak English or French. He kept us ignorant and blindfolded.” His regime often executed dissidents publicly and executions rebroadcast on state television channels. Libya under Gaddafi was the most censored country in the Middle East and North Africa.Gaddafi trained and supported Charles Taylor, the Liberian dictator. These events are very synonymous with leaders who don’t want to pass the leadership button when time is up. The sad thing however is that the end is always disastrous for most of them. Digressing from Libya a bit, today Zimbabwe is caught between a rock and a hard place. None of the agreed Global Political Agreement (GPA) reforms have been implemented so far owing to lack of political will on the part of ZANU PF.The continued bickering over petty issues has stalled the progress of reforms. It’s really a sad development when you hear the president talking about Zimbabweans solving their own problems. To say he least we or must I say they have failed to come up with home grown ideas so as to break the “deadlock”. The continued threats of violent company seizures all in the name of “Indigenization and empowerment” have destroyed one of the core values of the inclusive government. The inclusive government came so as to resuscitate an “ailing” and failed economy which was already breathing its last. The much needed heralded investors’ confidence that the Finance Minister diagnosed as the only cure to our economy has fast faded away. There is also talk of elections this year. That only shows how selfish some leaders are. Calling for elections after a violent 2008 presidential election, defeats the whole idea of reconciliation. As we speak now, people are still nursing the wounds of a violent election where countless were killed for exercising their democratic right of voting for the candidate of their choice. Besides that all the necessary reforms conducive elections are not yet implemented and not even tabled on the table. The people of Zimbabwe are not unthinking robots not to notice how they have been taken for granted. For those who choose to defy people’s will and welfare so as to remain in political office, I say the time of reckoning is looming. When the time for change comes, it spreads like a wild fire and no one, not even the security personnel can stop it. For us in Zimbabweans its Aluta Continua, that’s the name of our struggle till we get to our desired destination. Rawlings Magede is a social commentator based in Nkayi,Matebeleland North and can be contacted via e-mail-rawedge699@gmail.com .

The African world cup that never was

Millions of men, women and children have withstood repression,depression,suffering and death in uprisings, civil wars, boarder disputes and coups all in the name of nation building and developing African states in the image and likeness of the industrialized Northern nations. It’s too high a price to pay. The object of anti-imperialist nationalism and Pan-Africanism was not the nation –state but rather justice, equity, dignity, prosperity and freedom of domination (Bunting, 2000, pp87-88). This statement appears more poignant with each passing day especially when we look at the impact of the 2010 World Cup being hosted in South Africa. This is an African moment or chance that was supposed to “benefit” especially neighbouring countries to South Africa. The subtle herald for the world cup arose hope and life especially to our resurrecting economy amid rumour that most teams participating in the world cup were going to establish bases in Zimbabwe. This brought a fairytale experience especially among the locals who were already beginning to cast their hope on this great experience that was going to change their lives forever. Apart from this fairytale experience, those in the property business were beginning to borrow loans so as to build lodges and hotels for this great event. On the other hand those in the transport sector had the temerity to buy more and more taxis which would ferry people to and from airports. On the other hand the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and its ally, the Ministry of Tourism did not spare us. From time to time we saw them on television bragging that Zimbabwe was bracing up for the World cup because they had done “enough” marketing to convince the world that Zimbabwe was a “safe “tourist destination. One thing that I thought about critically before the world cup kickoff was the state of our boarder towns. If one is to visit a town like Beitbridge today, many would see schizophrenia in the authorities. In fact they would see how unserious they were especially about the world cup.Beitbridge being close to South Africa was supposed to have an Infrastructure upgrade. What we have in Beitbridge is a sad story. Upon entrance you are welcomed by donkeys and scotchcarts.Apart from this, the roads themselves reveal a typical remote growth point in Hukuimwe.Were these small towns not supposed to be developed in the spirit of the world cup? The problem that we have is that of a country that keeps on harping on the same theme of Zimbabwe being a safe tourist destination. More emphasis has been put there and I think whoever was supposed to receive the message got it a long time ago. Little or nothing meaningful has been done in the regard of improving infrastructure in these small boarder towns. One “positive” thing we have seen as far as the world cup is concerned is the availability of large screens where people pay their hard earned dollars to watch the beautiful game of football. Those with night clubs and bottle stores have since joined the gravy train where people have no option but to watch soccer there since ZESA has failed to fulfill their part of their bargain. This is a sad story comrade. Is this the ideal African world cup that many anticipated? To say the least, there is really nothing tangible for Zimbabweans to show for after the soccer showcase. We gave so much into the World cup and yet harvested nothing. For example ZTA and the Tourism ministry paid a hefty us$ 2million dollar to the Brazilian team for taking part in a “friendly” game. What’s friendly about it if a poverty stricken country such as Zimbabwe pays that huge amount so that they play a friendly match and yet we are failing to pay our arrears to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank let alone our warriors? Maybe if that money was converted to something useful it could have been better. We have a majority of our population living under the poverty datum line. Now the ugly truth now stands before us. Surely the much awaited African world cup has come and yielded nothing to our benefit. Sadly to say, those who had borrowed loans are going to struggle repaying them while them who went on a building madness building lodges and buying taxis are going to be left in the cold having pocketed not even a cent from the world cup. Who can be blamed for this great loss of chance and opportunity? Maybe we should take solace in the fact that Ghana, an African team tried their best but i would like to believe that only South Africa benefited greatly but here in Zimbabwe it is a sad story. Blame can be attributed to those who did not do serious marketing of our country for the purpose of tourism and recreation. For us Zimbabweans, this was an African World cup that never was. Rawlings Magede is a social commentator and writes from Nkayi, Matebeleland North and can be contacted on rawedge699@gmail.com or http//no-rawedge.blogspot.com

ARE ZIMBABWEANS READY FOR ELECTIONS?

Zimbabwean Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential elections in 2008 citing political violence against his supporters. He won the first round of elections in March 2008 but failed to get the majority to be sworn into office. There has been talk or speculation in the media of elections next year in 2011.While it is a very good thing to wish for, one question that we must not ignore is whether or not the people of Zimbabwe are really ready for elections. There is truism that the people are not ready yet. I am forced to pose this question by events that unfolded on the 25th of March at a public debate hosted by the Mass Public Opinion Institute. The debate was hinged on the subject of sanctions that have continued to dog the performance of the inclusive government. The motion put in play was whether or not the sanctions debate among the political parties in the inclusive government was going to lead to the debacle of the government. Most of the parties in the inclusive government were represented.MDC-M was represented by David Coltart,ZANU PF by Cain Mathema.Also among the panelist were Mavambo Kusile president,Dr Simba Makoni and University of Zimbabwe lecturer,Dr John Makumbe. All of the panelists gave their different opinions on whether sanctions really affected the economy. In this presentation, I am not going to dwell on which opinion is correct but rather on how their different opinions incited stark criticism.Dr Makoni presented his argument and suggested that Zimbabwe was not under sanctions but the leadership of this nation has continued to take people for granted by ignoring people’s pleas for basic services such as health facilities while government Ministers waste money on useless international trips which the government argues it does not have.For example the government argues that it does not have enough money to rehabilitate the health sector but a closer examination of government’s expenditure clearly reveals a lack of political will According to him, this was a form of sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe. Some thugs only began to bring the discussion to a stand still when Dr Makumbe and Minister Coltart began to present. One is forced to ask if this was because of their skin colour.On such a day I realized that there are some people who are still living in the past and very racist. We complain about European countries being racist but we are actually ahead of them. I overheard one saying that people should not care when a white man dies. Which Zimbabwe are we living? It’s a sad development when we have some people still inclined to this kind of thinking. Where are we going as a nation if we cannot tolerate other skin colours and races? Does being white make one less Zimbabwean? We have to be honest with ourselves especially when it comes to the issue of elections. The action by these youths opened up some critical thinking especially on the readiness of the people for an election. The youths were very militant to the extent that one even charged towards Dr Makumbe and no one knows up to now what he intended to do. Of course it would be myopic to just think they were doing this out of pure frustration or disagreement. They had their handlers who obviously are politicians who just planted them there to disturb the debate especially knowing how topical the subject of sanctions is. Here was a bunch of youths being used by politicians to incite turmoil and despondency. The youths have nothing to show for the “dangerous” activities they do except for a few trinkets in the form of beer and a few Obama dollars. These youths must be reminded not to take their frustration on the people just because they skipped school because of their academic truancy and social deviancy. What might happen this time around in the 2011 elections given the scarcity of jobs in the country at present, these “useless” and destitute youths are going to be used to unleash violence like what happened in the 2008 presidential elections. The Ministry of National healing was created to deal and rehabilitate the victims of the election violence but up to the present, it has delivered nothing. People are still angry with each other and there are a lot of obstacles which might even result in vote apathy among the populace. Measures must be put in place to make sure that structures are put in place that guarantee people’s safety especially after casting their votes. What transpired at the public debate really showed that among us there are still comrades who can still be used by politicians to further their agendas? What I was thinking all along was that since the inception of the inclusive government, people have changed but I was wrong. There are some youths among us who will kill in return for a can of beer. What I thought was going to transpire at the meeting was a free expression of views and opinions. Everyone at the debate was going to contribute something that was going to give flavour and essence to the debate. I thought Zimbabwe was now at a level where we can tolerate diverging views. If our political leaders can meet every Monday and have coffee while they talk and agree on certain things, why can’t we do it as well? The approach taken by those youths at the meeting further led me to ask whether whoever their political handler was, if such a debate was so vital to them, what more of elections? If one can dedicate and plan to disrupt such a normal debate, then they can even plan even worse for an election. Comrades and friends let us not be fooled Zimbabweans are not ready for elections and let us not be deceived by politicians by trying to rush us to elections. They can’t wait to either get in power or continue being in the drivers seat. If I am wrong, I stand to be corrected but if not then, you have every reason to begin to prepare for what lies ahead. By Rawlings Magede