According to IRIN (humanitarian news and analysis) one third of Zimbabwe’s children are chronically malnourished, and Zimbabwe is in a perpetual state of humanitarian need. While Mugabe tells the US and Britain to go to hell, these countries feed the people that Zanu PF have failed.

Journalist Jan Raath tells us that “Chiadzwa, is regarded as the richest diamond find of the century. Over the past nine months, rudimentary mining only in one small area of the field has reportedly yielded 4 million carats, worth around 2 billion US dollars.” Read more

Where is this money going?

In a Kubatana newsletter in June we asked our subscribers to state what they believe to be the most serious political issue in Zimbabwe today, and suggest a solution. Please read the submissions below and let us know which one tops Your list.

1. Inability to consider the impact of one’s actions and how this affects others, the environment and future generations.
2. Consider the impact of my actions on a daily basis and to teach this by living it out in my life.

1. The social or political issue in Zimbabwe is that leaders stay in power too long. They know that they have cases to answer to and that the law will catch up with them.
2. To have new broom and have all new leaders and I am sure from this you will have a country with actual laws.

1. The only serious or critical issue in Zimbabwe is governance. Once this country is properly governed all the shortages of everything required for a person to live a common life will disappear.
2. What is required is not only the change of government but a democratically elected government with a democratically minded leadership. All I can say is that the shambles we are in at the moment is caused by mismanagement. Zimbabwe is rich but where our natural resources are channelled is a mystery. All the government arms are corrupt so unless we appoint dedicated and dynamic leaders in all government institutions we will become poorer and poorer when our country is rich with natural resources which require committed people to manage.

1. I am convinced that the most serious political issue in Zimbabwe is greed. All our political leaders tend to forget their past promises in pursuit of self aggrandisement. Had it not been for greed, our dear comrades from the MDC could nave quit this malfunctioning inclusive government. But because they still have porous backgrounds to fill the Mudzuris are being quite bitter about being called under performers.
2. I think the most practical solution is to have a leadership code that determines what those in power should own and how much money they earn.

1. I consider the Constitution Making Process to be the most serious social or political issue in Zimbabwe. We can only come up with a meaningful constitution if it really represents the needs of the people of Zimbabwe. However, one is bound to question its credibility if the outreach phase is marred by violence.
2. The three principals should facilitate campaign awareness programmes to stop violence during the outreach programmes. In addition, the legislators should not stifle the process by demanding exorbitant allowances. Finally, the sample should be representative for validity and to avoid bias.

1. Zanu-PF
2. Trials

1. The most serious political issue is the Dictatorship of Zanu-PF.
2. This can be solved through the unity of the people standing up and speaking with one voice.

1. I think the most serious political issue in Zimbabwe is the probability of having free and fair elections.
2. The only major step to solve the problem is coming up with a constitution that that gives a platform for free and fair elections.

1. The most serious social or political issue in Zimbabwe is leaders who cling to power regardless of their failures to rule the country.
2. The practical steps I would take to address the issue is to highlight to them the areas in which they have failed.

“If you’re going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use two feet.” Keith Richards

Zimbabwean activists and journalists should explore using the much talked about WikiLeaks web site as a conduit for exposing the corruption and profiteering of those in power in Zimbabwe. Apparently WikiLeaks receives an average of 30 classified documents every day from sources around the world. Read this extensive interview with Julian Assange, the inspiration behind WikiLeaks.

Many prisoners incarcerated in Zimbabwe’s prison cells are suffering from a lack of food, clothing and medical attention. A recent meeting with a community activist who visits a central Harare prison each week made it clear that prisoners need our help.

Here are two requests:

1.    Old ice cream or any other plastic containers are desperately needed as makeshift plates.
2.    Many prisoners do not have any shoes. If you have old shoes, especially size 7 and up, please consider giving them a new home.

If you can donate one, or both of these items your help will be very gratefully received. Please contact Kubatana via our web site to find out more and get details on a drop off point.

Read community activist Theresa Wilson’s account of assisting Zimbabwean prisoners here

If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.
~ Bob Hope

A new title is now available from Weaver Press:

Narratives of Hope: It Starts with us
Full-colour illustrations
pp.128; 180 x 235 mm
Price US20

Documenting Development through Stories of Change

It Starts Within Us is the product of a group of Zimbabwean NGOs who sought to discover their relevance in promoting development. They named this exercise ‘Makadii-Linjani’, or ‘How are you doing?’ and engaged with communities to discover if their development partners had benefited from their intervention – or not.

This important book not only documents stories of change but interrogates the process of evaluation, allowing members of marginalized communities to speak for themselves, and providing the reader with a ‘narrative of hope’. We discover how the need to change and develop begins with the harsh realities of poverty – exacerbated in Zimbabwe in the past decade by the effects of an economic, social, and political crisis of debilitating proportions.

Insights about how a people-centred approach to development can be sustained, even in difficult operating environments, will be of interest to any development practitioner, researcher or academic as well as to the general public interested in restoring development to a country that has seen much that has undermined the process.

The Makadini-Linjani project and this publication is supported by the Church Development Service (Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst – EED), an association of protestant churches in Germany.

‘Poverty was screaming in my household, at one time I ended up thinking that poverty was mine.’ Sarah Matongo

For more information and to buy a copy of Narratives of Hope contact Weaver Press via their web site

A couple of weeks ago I published a blog about Africa’s Old Men and how they insist in staying in power for so long. In a print publication we re-published this blog and asked Zimbabweans to text us their suggestions as to why these old men don’t, or won’t, take early retirement.

Here are some of the text messages that we received:

Dictatorship keeps african leader in power for so long. They use guns and the army to put fear in people.

African leaders stay in power due to undemocratic methods they use to rule their states.

They kip in pwer 4 so long becoz they are 2 greedy and ful of coruption.

Afraid to be arrested greedy cruel uneducated etc

AFRICAN LEADERS FEAR THAT ONCE OUT OF POWER ICJ WIL AREST THEM THEY KILED TORTURED IMAGINE HOUSES DEMOLISHED ZIMBABWE

African leaders keep in power for so long because of (i) Power hungury & (ii) they don’t respect the voice of us unpriviledged poor and the majorite.

African leaders keep in power for so long becaz they are all dictators and they fear to answer cases if the leave the office.

Many afrcn leaders abuse public offce and as a result they fear to resgne and wil hold on to power even if it means starving or killng their people they d.nt mind.

African leaders stay in power coz they are all dictators. Most of them comited crimes of genocide so they hang on 2 power 4 fear of possible persecution.