I have kept half an eye (and ear) on the power sharing talks between the two MDC formations and ZANU PF.  I would have loved to have kept my full attention on the talks, but l have a living to earn and needs must. In an earlier piece, l spoke about the need for us to draw lessons from history. Now amid rumours that claim that MDC Mutambara has cut a deal with ZANU PF and with Mutambara calling Tsvangirai “indecisive”, l find l must once again refer to history to draw some very necessary lessons for the negotiators. There was a leader of a party called UANC. He went by the name Bishop Abel Muzorewa. During the years that he was most influential, the country that is now Zimbabwe was then called Rhodesia. Rhodesia was reeling under stiff sanctions imposed on the country (as opposed to individual Zim sanctions) as well as an insurgency by Africans determined to secure black majority rule. The then leader of Rhodesia, one Mr Ian Douglas Smith, decided to come to an agreement with Bishop Abel Muzorewa as well as other nationalists who were then viewed as a “moderate” (as opposed to the “hardliners” Nkomo and Mugabe).  The result was the Internal Settlement and a country with a double barrelled moniker- Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The Bishop was made a Prime Minister while the real power remained in the hands of Smith and his merry band of renegades who retained control of the country’s civil service, judiciary, police and armed forces.

I will pause here to draw (somewhat simplified) parallels between our dear Bishop and Mr Mutambara. Over the short history of his party, he has carefully cultivated the demeanour as the cultured, reasonable and educated one. He has tried to sell us the image of one who is leading a group of rational beings (as opposed to the militant and irrational (he would now have us believe) Tsvangirai). I am sure these and other reasons are also why Bishop Muzorewa was perceived as a moderate by Smith and Co. The Bishop spoke the same language that Mr. Mutambara speaks now; broad and lofty phrases that are an attempt by that faction of the MDC to sell the image of a visionary leader who can rise above petty party differences. “All parties must work together and put national interests above petty and personal interests”

Now l am not sure l can believe everything that the Herald says, but if the agreements that were publicised in the Herald of the 14th August are anything to go by, then l am not sure that the public is buying what Mr. Mutambara is trying to sell.  The Internal Settlement was rejected by all and sundry. It was not a legitimate reflection of the will of the majority of the people. I am willing to bet my last dollar (revalued) that any settlement between Mutambara and ZANU PF that does not reflect the will of the people will also be rejected. I am certain that just as Mugabe in his previous incarnation as a nationalist found the prospect of a Smith-controlled army and police force unpalatable, we will also find the continued occupation by Chihuri, Chiwenga et al of their present posts similarly distasteful. If the then nationalist leaders could not stomach the idea of Smith holding the strings while Muzorewa danced like a puppet, then why should they expect Tsvangirai to bend over backwards to  accommodate ZANU PF?

Smith’s deal with Muzorewa was also an attempt to divide and conquer the nationalists. I am also certain that the reason why ZANU PF and the Herald have been speaking so glowingly of Mutambara and his faction’s co-operation and decisiveness in the talks is an attempt to divide and thereby conquer the opposition. With the Internal Settlement the two major leaders of the nationalist movement Nkomo and Mugabe were united in their rejection of the settlement. Muzorewa accepted the offer that was dangled in front of him. We all know what happened to him. If Mr. Mutambara wants to go ahead and cut deals and secure positions for himself and his team within a Mugabe-controlled government, then l have three words for him; “Josiah Zion Gumede.” He was the President in Muzorewa’s ill-fated government. He held that office from 1st June 1979-12 December 1979. Good luck Mr. Mutambara. Really.

“Fucking bastards, fucking bastards” my colleague shouts in my ear as we read the latest bullshit proposal coming out of those who mismanage this failed state.

Get this: the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) cannot supply enough power to homes and businesses on a regular basis. This means incessant power cuts. It also means that many people have had to go out and buy generators at great expense. These generators also need to be serviced (often) and they need fuel. Not a cheap endeavour.

However this is now seen as a way for the authorities to make some money. According to The Zimbabwe Independent, “the government has introduced a legal instrument which now makes it an offence to own a generator either for domestic or industrial purposes without the approval of the Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission (ZERC).”

Apparently ZERC will charge US$ fees for the “verification and inspection” of generators.

Come on Zimbabweans . . . go tell the government where to shove their levies, preferably in a place where the sun doesn’t shine.

I believe that men and women of integrity and high moral standards still exist in our police force in Zimbabwe but there are some certain unruly elements in it as is the case in any part of life.

I can no longer trust the police because they don’t deal with the situation how they are supposed to. African police always need bribes instead of helping and saving the lives of those who need help.

The police have the constitutional mandate to provide security for the ordinary citizens of the country. However, they extort, intimidate and rob the same people they are mandated to protect. People no longer feel safe or have the patience to wait for the police to arrive at the scene of accident. Instead they settle on their own after an exchange of harsh words and sometimes fisticuffs.

The taxis that ply our roads hardly ever have all their papers so the drivers resort to tipping the officers at police road blocks to escape prosecution. My neighbour owns a Tuck-shop and sells bread. Instead of fining him for overpricing, the police take the bread away and share it amongst themselves.

And how can the police be trusted when drugs/mbanje kept in their custody goes missing among the police force itself?

To increase the effectiveness of the police force in Africa the conditions under which they do their duties must be improved, for example, transport to and from work, accommodation, and protection from physical, social, political and mental harm. Incentives and performance-based rewards can also be introduced.

The police force urgently needs to be policed by another independent body.

I’ve taken an interest in a couple recent rulings in the halls of justice.  They have led me to think about the layers in understanding what women’s rights are about.  What I mean by layers is that it’s not just about the surface layer.  Being a woman is not necessarily the organizing principle around an assertion.  The woman part can be irrelevant.  It’s the rights part where the argument rests.  Yet when women assert their rights, often courts, the press, and donors play the “woman card” whether or not that’s the heart of matter.

The first person of note who had a day in court is a South African sex worker who made a claim to the Labour Court that a brothel-owning boss unlawfully terminated employment on the grounds of failing to give clients blow jobs. No doubt in South Africa and everywhere in the world it’s an important endeavor to critically examine the conditions around the degree sex work is by choice.  Definitely with an open mind that by choice is possible.  But in this case, why is the choice aspect of this sex worker’s history relevant?  After 18 years of service, she chose to take her claim of unlawful dismissal to court.  She lost and she’s heading to a higher court.  This is a labour issue.

The second person of note who had a day in court is a Kenyan claiming unlawful termination based on being HIV-positive.  The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff and awarded US$35,000.  I was impressed the headline of the story read:  Kenyan wins landmark HIV ruling.  Because really the woman part is irrelevant.  This is a labour issue.  But then I was disappointed when the first sentence read: A HIV-positive Kenyan woman has won… Why? Why is it relevant to insert woman into that first sentence?  What seems all too often systemically (sometimes subtly) embedded in knowledge production is over-reliance on highlighting womanhood as driving assertion of rights.  Whether it be knowledge generated through the press or donor dollars often there is too quick a leap to assume sex is relevant merely because the key voice is from a woman.  Moves in this direction potentially play a role in troublesome representations of women as poor, powerless victims without agency to think and act on their own behalf.

And since I touched on landmark HIV-related rulings.  The US has lifted the 21-year ban which prohibits HIV-positive foreigners from visiting the US.  I’m a firm believer that former US President Ronald Reagan’s religious right stance on HIV/AIDS from day one has had a devastating ripple effect across the globe.  This ban was his doing and I’m encouraged to see one of the many bad legacies of the Reagan years fading away.

As we now approach the rainy season people are preparing their small pieces of land, or A3s as I heard someone saying, around the suburbs of our cities.

I think this is the right time for the Harare City Council to address this – the earlier the better. The council must have a clear-cut policy on urban agriculture that takes into consideration the need to conserve the environment while acknowledging the contribution urban farming makes towards household food security.

Haphazard urban farming has negatively impacted on the environment and in some instances has affected protected conservancies, forests and wetlands. For example, along Mutare road just after Jaggers or 11 months as it is popularly known, the Cleveland Dam is now exposed and the whole plantation of gum trees and the indigenous trees through to Mabvuku turn-off is now history. So it is time for the city fathers to act and protect this area before it is turned into these A3s again.

Urban agriculture, as part of a poverty reduction strategy, needs to be regulated and areas where it should take place should be well defined according to boundaries. There have been cases where the local authority has clashed with residents over urban agriculture, especially where it concerns maize growing. Some residents have had their maize crop slashed because it was grown on unauthorised land.

The Harare City Council should recognise the role urban farming plays in providing food to families and, as such, it should be promoted and not discouraged as long as it is conducted in a manner that does not impact negatively on the environment.

Therefore the council should put big sign boards up advising that the practice of urban agriculture is not illegal and that it only becomes illegal when it is not authorised, or when it is implemented along stream banks and in protected wetlands. This is the best time for the City Council to make this announcement since people are starting to prepare their fields and clearing their small pieces of land.

Zimbabwe’s negotiations feel like they’re coming off a Beckett script – going from the ridiculous to the absurd. A recent sketch by Alex Magaisa sums it up better than any news report could – not that you can believe news reports anyway . . .

Prudence: Karigamombe has fallen! Did you hear?

Funny: Are you sure? Who said that?

Reason: You are so yesterday, my friend! It’s everywhere! Everyone is saying Karigamombe fell last night. You are the only one in Jerusalem who does not know what has happened!

Funny: You talk too much, guys. But tell me, where are we right now?

Prudence: Is that not obvious? I thought you are the one who called and said let’s meet paKarigamombe? That’s why we are here and now you ask where are we? Trying to run away from the issue, are we?

Funny: So, tell me my friends, if Karigamombe fell last night, as you say you have seen everywhere, on TV, on the Internet, from friends and impeccable sources, when exactly did Karigamombe rise again? Because, as you yourself have just said, we are here at Karigamombe. Or is it a modern-day miracle, that Karigamombe fell just last night and has now risen so swiftly?

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