One of the resolutions of the Victoria Falls Retreat was the reform and liberalisation of the media in Zimbabwe.

Freeing the airwaves should be a lot quicker than tackling the outrageous levels of unemployment or other infrastructural problems.

Perhaps the irony inherent in this BBC report doesn’t register in the minds of our reform promising politicians.

Inside the bars, the politicians mingled and cracked jokes. As the retreat drew to a close, a musical show was staged by a popular local Sungura musician, Tongayi Moyo. After feasting on a buffet, the ministers took to the dance floor, outside the elegant pool gardens of the hotel, next to the golf course. And Tongayi Moyo belted out his song “Things Must Change / Political Violence”, which is banned by the state broadcaster. The lyrics say: “You can’t continue practising violence for long, it will come to haunt you.” “The most decorated of military officers have their time, they won’t be saluted forever,” the song goes, adding “violence has its time, things must change”. Zanu PF ministers may not have been paying much attention to the lyrics. But they danced along anyway. Read more

Clearly its a case of It’s My Party and I’ll Dance If I Want To, because c’mon, we should all be able to turn the volume up on our radios and dance to Tongayi.

Media freedom, which is also one of the promises of the Global Political Agreement, is not being delivered on.

What other promises do you want to make sure are kept? Keep the politicians accountable. Contact JOMIC, the body responsible for monitoring adherence to the agreement on wncube (at) africaonline (dot) co (dot) zw  and cc funsthole (at) yahoo (dot) com

Congratulations to Zimbabwean writer Brian Chikwava on the publishing of his new book, Harare North. The Kubatana team are Fans of Brian; clearly we’re more into artists than politicians! Sometime ago, okay a few years back, we interviewed Brian and in so doing launched our series of Inside/Out interviews. Go on, they’re worth a read!

Anyway, here’s Brian from way back when; I’m reminded that we both have the same favourite journey.

Inside/Out with author Brian Chikwava
Kubatana.net
January 16, 2006

Describe yourself in five words?
Short, stained teeth, highly strung

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
To use witchcraft against the state

What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever done?
Search for a n’anga who could show me how to strike someone with lightning

What is your most treasured possession?
Empathy

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Mental illness

Do you have any strange hobbies?
Counting pigeons after a good drink

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Teeth

What is your greatest extravagance?
Fanta and a rock bun

What have you got in your fridge?
1 beer and rotten milk

What is your greatest fear?
Not waking up in the morning

What have you got in your pockets right now?
Nothing

What is your favourite journey?
To the bar

Who are your heroes in real life?
The man on the street (in Zim)

When and where were you happiest?
This memory has faded away

What’s your biggest vice?
Sleeping all day when I know I have work to do

What were you like at school?
Reticent

What are you doing next?
Running away from the landlord before he comes to collect his rent

*Brian Chikwava is a Zimbabwean writer and musician. He won the fifth annual Caine Prize for African writing in 2004

Statements making a whole lot of sense have just come in from a grassroots meeting held in Shamva and organised by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition. Maybe these demands go without saying but just in case cabinet ministers are fuzzy headed from their Vic Falls shindig here’s a reminder of what people on the ground are expecting from the inclusive government.

- People should be resettled after their displacement during the elections in 2008
- An autonomous compensation fund should be established to assist those affected by political violence
- The Shamva mine should be reopened as the people of Shamva depend on it for their livelihoods
- All perpetrators of political violence must be brought before the law
- David Coltart, the newly appointed Education Minister must review schools fees because most people cannot afford them
- Politicians must be held accountable for their actions and we must avoid the immediate post independence complacency
- The constitutional reform process must be participatory and people driven
- The airwaves must be opened to allow diversity of expression
- There must be a transparent difference between political party activities and state activities

When they torture your mother
plant a tree
When they torture your father
plant a tree
When they torture your brother
and your sister
plant a tree
When they assassinate
your leaders
and lovers
plant a tree
When they torture you
too bad
to talk
plant a tree.

When they begin to torture
the trees
and cut down the forest
they have made
start another.

- Alice Walker, from Horses Make A Landscape Look More Beautiful

Some media reports state that the unity government has been successful so far. Morgan Tsvangirai thinks so too.

We all have a different view of what successful looks like, but lets look at a couple of things:

1) The unity government has gotten teachers, nurses and doctors back to work on the unlivable, and therefore unsustainable, allowance of US$100/per month.

2) Because civil servants are back at work doesn’t mean that the actual institutions are functioning. Hospitals don’t have light bulbs let alone medicines.

3) Tsvangirai states that the resuscitation of the agricultural sector is at the heart of Zimbabwe’s recovery, and that ongoing land invasions are responsible for donors withholding funding. Tsvangirai promises to arrest land invaders; he fails to act.

4) The bonding and what to do for the next 100 days retreat resolves that prisoners must be fed following the shocking expose of appalling conditions in Zimbabwe’s prisons. I’m looking forward to seeing the plan and the actual implementation, not just the Victoria Falls Declaration.

5) In just about any other country, the head of a prison service that presides over a system of starvation would be fired. Why has Tsvangirai not called for Zimondi’s dismissal?

6) Recent reports have exposed the fact that there are thousands of “ghosts” on various payrolls. For example Zanu PF youth militia. They are being subsidised by the unity government. This means that legitimate civil servants who actually turn up for work, like teachers, are paid less. What will Tsvangirai do about this?

Does Tsvangirai have any real influence or power in this political arrangement? Because it looks like he’s all about rhetoric rather than the ability to act.

I spoke with someone today who has an inside track into the MDC. She said that one of the reasons why it was good that the politicians went retreating to Victoria Falls is that they would have been interrupted, or not bothered enough to turn up to sessions in Harare. Makes you shudder doesn’t it? That our politicians need to be flown and put up at great expense because they aren’t professional or serious enough to do their jobs properly in Harare.

Meanwhile there is gathering outrage over the speedy profligacy of the new Government.

Robert, a Kubatana subscriber had this to say:

I am equally angered about the issue of Mercs. How many teachers can we pay from just saving on 1 Merc. Those beasts cost at least US$40 000 and that would be 40 000 teachers on US$100 allowance, can you imagine at least 50 of those machines….shame! I am really not impressed with the insensitivity especially of MDC Ministers. I am also not impressed by what I seem to see as the mindset of MDC as shown by the rhetoric coming from Minister Biti. I know the government is broke but I also don’t understand this issue of flying all over the world trying to borrow money we know we are not going to be able to pay back. Since independence our government did not borrow anything close a billion USS$ at once and we are going for at least $5B, who is going to pay for it? Why are we running to borrow from others when we have not tried to make sure that the money we have is allocated and used effectively. Why can’t we for example reduce the size of the cabinet and executive as a starting sacrifice for the people of Zimbabwe. Until and unless the cabinet is trimmed to suit our pocket, I will not take MDC, Biti and the unity governement seriously.

And an interesting article by Tanonoka Joseph Whande with the amusing title of Victoria Falls, here comes your Prime Minister with extra baggage! is worth reading in full but here’s an excerpt:

The Government of National Unity (GNU) has been in existence for less than two months now. Since February the main actors in this government have been contradicting each other at almost every turn. We have three unnecessary presidents, along with three Prime Ministers who are superfluous to our requirements; all complemented by more than 71 cabinet ministers and countless permanent secretaries. It appears that they are tired already and needed to seek renewal. They all descended on Victoria Falls over the weekend. As a Catholic I am familiar with retreats. When priests are under pressure and need invigoration and renewal they go on a retreat. Listening to and carrying the transgressions of all the sinners can leave any priest drained and powerless. The Oxford dictionary says a retreat is “withdrawing from confrontation with enemy forces”. It is also “a withdrawal to a quiet or secluded place” or just “a period or place of seclusion for prayer and meditation”. Which one of these descriptions best fits Zanu-PF and the MDC in Victoria Falls? Was it prayer and meditation; withdrawing from confrontation with enemy forces or simply the first stop of the GNU gravy train? Less than sixty days into office, the work horses of Zimbabwe’s government of national unity are so tired that they need to go on a retreat. And they are did it at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe’s most expensive tourist destination.