Greenwood Park is just a stone’s throw away from State House where Mugabe lavishly welcomes an array of visiting dignitaries, albeit a dwindling one and most often the usual suspects. For many years Greenwood Park represented respite for kids and adults living in Harare’s central Avenues district where living a life in apartment buildings can bring on claustrophobic misery. I know this because I spent most of my adolescence growing up in a flat on Montague Avenue, which later became Josiah Chinamano.

Lately I’ve been spending some time in the Avenues again. The gorgeous, sequined skirted commercial sex workers that trawl the Avenues at night brighten up the place and provide a welcome distraction to the piles of garbage mounting in alleyways, street corners and even in some of the front gardens of apartment buildings. A small exaggeration perhaps, but thinking of the “dinosaur” sized shark that recently made short work of the Zimbabwean in the sea in Cape Town, last night I saw a dog sized rat sprint across the road in front of my car.

I don’t brake for rats.

My tour of the Avenues has also taken in Greenwood Park. The other day I included it on a run I was doing. The grass is knee high, rubbish litters the place, the swings and other pieces of playground equipment are broken. But still, irrepressibly playful kids try and find some fun messing around on what’s left. There are still a few worse for wear park benches around and about but their occupants are a mixture of the unemployed, the hungry, the  sad and those that are just plain scary. How safe are these kids I wonder?

Mugabe’s motorcade regularly sweeps by this playground whipping up very little dust in its wake because 7th Street is one of the few well maintained and groomed streets in our capital. Go figure – it leads to the little man’s mansion. Mugabe would do well to ask the battalion of street sweepers who keep his immediate periphery neat and tidy to expand their mandate and make good this park that was meant to provide a safe solace for the people of the Avenues.

But the majority of Zimbabweans, myself included, don’t expect much from Mugabe besides more misery while he and his cabal of chefs continue to look the other way.

Presidential Motorcade

Masi, Jamu and I
wave our hands to the President.
The windows of his limo are tinted
and are always closed.
The motorcade travels fast
but Masi and Jamu say
the President waves back.

We wave our hands
every time the motorcade passes
in the hope it will stop
to drop a coin.

But we hear
the chauffeur does not know
the ‘Give-way’ sign
nor the ‘Stop’ sign.

- Julius Chingono, Zimbabwean poet

So the Government of National Unity can’t pay Zimbabwe’s teachers and other civil servants decently but they can pay those who guard the elite quite lavishly. Enough!

Members of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIO) team assigned to Mugabe during a visit to an international telecommunications summit last October were each paid a total of US$50 000 (US$5 000 a day) over Mugabe’s 10-day stay. On another trip to Rome in November, his security detail was paid the same. In Zimbabwe, most of the population lives on less than US$1 per day. – Published on the Zimbabwe Democracy Now web site

Also, on the same web site

The Zimbabwe government spent nearly R86m (US$11.6m) in one year in fees for children and relatives of mostly top Zanu PF officials who are studying in South African universities while local universities struggle to function.

Amnesty International has just published a press release on Zimbabwe:

Abuse of human rights continues under unity government

Amnesty International today called on President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai to fulfil their promise to reform state institutions, in a bid to end human rights violations that have continued in the country since the formation of the unity government one year ago.

Torture, harassment and politically motivated prosecutions of human rights defenders and perceived opponents have persisted, while villagers in parts of Zimbabwe have suffered ceaseless intimidation by supporters of former ruling party ZANU-PF.

“The Attorney General’s office, police and army have been left to freely violate human rights in pursuit of a political agenda,” said Erwin van der Borght, Africa Director at Amnesty International.

“By delaying reform, the situation in Zimbabwe remains fragile as perpetrators continue to escape justice and are instead effectively given the all clear to continue violating human rights.”

Amnesty International called on the unity government to end on-going harassment of human rights defenders. Several peaceful protests organized by civic movement Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were violently broken up by police in 2009.

Seventeen human rights and political activists who were abducted by state security agents in 2008 continue to face charges that are widely believed to be trumped up. One of them, Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, had her prosecution permanently stayed by the Supreme Court in September 2009 because of overwhelming evidence that she had been tortured.

“The government must end the incessant harassment of human rights activists and take steps to seriously protect rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” said Erwin van der Borght.

The Zimbabwean army and intelligence services, as well as the Attorney General’s office, have remained under ZANU-PF control, following an agreement brokered by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in 2008. The police are co-chaired by ZANU-PF and MDC-T ministers.

“The onus is on President Mugabe and ZANU-PF to ensure that key institutions under their control are reformed to end the culture of impunity that still threatens stability in the country,” said Erwin van der Borght .

Amnesty International’s call for reform comes amid reports that villagers in parts of Zimbabwe are being threatened with violence by army backed supporters of ZANU-PF, in an attempt to force them to endorse the heavily criticized Kariba draft constitution.

The Kariba draft constitution, agreed by unity government parties in September 2007, has been strongly criticized by some civil society organizations as an attempt by the parties to impose a constitution without consultation.

Villagers in Mutoko, Muzarabani and MT. Darwin are reportedly being warned that they will face beatings unless they support the ZANU-PF position. Similar threats were made and materialised in the run up to the June 2008 presidential elections..

“These are early warning signs that the situation could deteriorate if no urgent measures are taken to stop state security agents from carrying out violent political campaigns.”

“Past involvement on their part has resulted in gross human rights violations, including deaths and torture of perceived opponents.”

The government has so far failed to investigate gross human rights violations allegedly carried out by security forces during the run-up to the second round of the 2008 presidential elections, which left at least 200 people dead, over 9,000 injured and tens of thousands displaced.

“The unity government must investigate past and present allegations of human rights violations by state security agents, including torture and ill treatment of detainees,” said Erwin van der Borght.

Gross human rights violations have also been taking place within the army.

At least two soldiers were tortured to death in October 2009 while being interrogated by intelligence and military police officials in Harare. Another soldier was reported to have committed suicide while in solitary confinement and several others are still receiving medical treatment for injuries caused by torture.

The victims had been arrested along with at least 95 others, on suspicion of breaking into an armoury at Pomona barracks and stealing 21 guns.

“Zimbabwean state bodies are riddled with human rights abusers that in many cases carry out violations with impunity,” said Erwin van der Borght.

“Without genuine reform of institutions this abuse is very likely to persist.”

When any section of the Zimbabwe civil service goes on strike, the usual retort from the long-suffering public is:  “How do you tell the difference?” A year after the heady inauguration of the country’s power-sharing government between autocratic President Robert Mugabe, 85, and his former opposition opponent, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabweans want to know: “How do you tell the difference? (between this government and Mugabe’s previous regime).” – Comment from Sapa

Raymond Majongwe, head of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe clearly has the right idea when he says that the striking civil servants should not return to work and that the government should “sell diamonds and we share that wealth instead of it being enjoyed by few individuals.” It is completely unacceptable that members of Zanu PF and the MDC exploit the resources of Zimbabwe whilst citizens struggle to survive on the crumbs that are thrown to them from the chefs tables.

Monocle Magazine describes itself as a briefing on global affairs, business, culture and design. It’s one of the most interesting reads that I’ve come across. In the February issue Steve Bloomfield interviews Tendai Biti – “Mister Fix-it” as described by Monocle.

In the interview Tendai likens repairing Zimbabwe’s economic ruin to “drowning in a sewer” but remains “confident that he can make a difference”.

A few of Tendai’s responses are a bit curious . . .

Monocle: What’s your relationship with President Mugabe like? Do you work closely with him?
Tendai Biti: He’s the President of the country so on key issues you have to go to him. I’m fixing his mess. I’ve no problem with him. I find him very receptive. He listens. We debate. He has got a mind. It’s refreshing to go there and argue a case. He is open to persuasion.

[ Hmmm. I wonder why there's still such a stalemate then? ]

Monocle: How much are you paid?
Tendai Biti: It was US$100 [a month] until June. I think it’s now . . . [he turns to his permanent secretary]. How much do you give me? US$150. I’m eating into my savings from 18 years as a lawyer.

[ Yeah right. And how big is your expense account Tendai? ]