An Easter Saturday 42k (marathon) walk around Harare. On Kent Road, approaching home with 2ks to go.

From over speeding and exceeding their maximum speed limits to running away from police in a ‘movie style’ way to getting really nasty and urinating on pedestrians. These are kombi drivers in Harare. My worst encounter is when I board a kombi and the driver begins to move his vehicle before I can even take a seat and the the free seats are available only at the back.

Such inconsiderate acts by kombi drivers can be attributed to immaturity. Imagine a lady or man old enough to be their own parent being made to fiddle her way to a seat just because the driver is rushing to beat the kombi behind him to get passengers? That is lack of respect at its highest degree. The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) through its information campaign in the press is sharing the Road Traffic Act regulations with road users.  In a statement, ‘How legal are Public Service Vehicle drivers?’ published in the Herald of Monday 26 March, 2012 by TSCZ interprets regulations in the Statutory Instrument 168 of 2006 which a driver should adhere to before driving a public service vehicle.

A Public Service Vehicle driver:
- must have proof of five (5) years continuous experience before driving a public service vehicle thus those who obtained their driver’s licences in March 2007 and before (at the time of writing this article)
-  must undergo a re-testing exercise after each period of 5 years
- must be a holder of a Defensive Driving Certificate issued only by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe which is valid for a period of four (4) years
- must be examined by a Government Medical Officer and be issued wit a medical certificate which is valid for a period of one (1) year -    must display at all time, while driving a PSV: a valid defensive driving certificate and a valid medical certificate

Drivers are to charged accordingly under the various sections depending on the crime committed. Drivers who fail to produce any of the above requirements will either be fined or face imprisonment for six months or both. Those who are convicted of negligence driving or driving without due care in the first offence shall be prohibited from driving for six months and in the second offence with a period of 5 years have their licence cancelled. Operators who employ under-qualified drivers are also liable to prosecution under the Road Motor Transportation Act.

The TSCZ should now get this message to the kombi drivers. They should hold awareness campaigns, for example road shows at kombi ranks like Copacabana or Fourth Street rank to get the message out there.

We have to put an end to accidents on our roads caused be negligent driving. If you would like to get more clarity on any issue related to road safety contact the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) on marketing [at] trafficsafety [dot] co [dot] zw or 04-751203/8.

Sharing more feedback from Kubatana’s fix this.please campaign…

I placed the stickers on open electricity pipes in Mutengeni lane. These wires were left open by Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) people in 2011 until now they did not repair. They dug holes and put wires out and left. People might fall and get electrified. I put some on a sewage pipe which was broken six months ago in Mazai area and sewage keeps coming out on roads. I put the other at a dumped NRZ wagon near Unilever. These wagons are used by prostitutes and street kids to do dirty works. People are raped, handbags stolen and they run to these wagons. (Mufakose, Harare)

I put stickers in Glen View 3 shopping centre public where toilets are blocked. Tichagarika shopping centre in Glen View 8 public toilets closed need to opened and cleaned. Traffic lights at the junction of Willovale road and Glen View Way not working.
Glen View 3 shopping centre public toilets closed 5 years ago. Need to be cleaned and opened. (Glen View, Harare)

Stickers are at Nyamhuka turn off junction distance posters broken. Nyanga Rural District Council bin has been dropped off for more than two months. (Nyamuka, Nyanga)

Stickers at Glen Norah A Chitubu under structured market. The flushing system of the toilet is not working and the asbestos of the structure market is broken. Apart from that there is no electricity, no water. (Glen Norah, Harare)

I placed the stickers at corner Bank Street and Cameroon street robots and corner Mbuya Nehanda Street and Bank street robots, which are not working. During peak hours it is difficult for motorists to cross there, as they do not give way to each other. I also placed a sticker at robots near OK Julius Nyerere. At these robots I have seen a pedestrian being run over by car as they were crossing because some motorists don’t give way to pedestrians when robots are not functioning. (CBD, Harare)

I placed the stickers at Chikanga Shopping Centre where everyone got the information. (Chikanga, Mutare)

I placed stickers at the traffic light along Aerodrome Road, which has not been working for seven years. Many accidents have been occurring at the point. So there is need to get this fixed. (CBD, Mutare)

Wake at first light with much scratching and scrabbling in the ceiling above our bed
(there has been a lot of ceiling and roof bouncing activity in the last few days)
is it rats – or is it?
is it … the bushbabies coming home?
(they moved out of Mel’s ceiling some weeks ago as it has become a nesting site for the wood hoopoes)
waking with a feeling of hopeful gratitude

AND

There is ZESA! (Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority)
–it has been in even more limited supply lately
bills to Mozambique not paid/ bills of officials not paid/whatever
I scurry outside to the washing machine
(so placed to access 3 different water supplies)
but all will be well
there is ZESA – and that runs the community borehole
(the Municipality water is still leaking into the vlei – we haven’t had that for months)

but no

for some other reason the borehole pump is not working
(water supply 1 and 2 not available!)

I scurry through the morning  ferns to switch on the Green Tank
(our backup supply – access 3)
all is well

Boil pot of tea with a great plan
the satellite supplying our daily dose of BBC delivered through the battery radio
seems to have dropped out of the sky in the last few days
but …
this morning there is ZESA – which means that the internet will be working
grab my laptop
fumble around in growing light to set up the World Radio news
aah – the familiar well-modulated, dulcet tones of BBC filter through the bedroom
with all the latest disasters, killings, outrage
pour cups of tea and settle into bed

but no
it is streaming and buffering and b****ing around and we catch an occasional word or two

ahh well, think about today

- have to pick up a tire being repaired at the garage (pot-hole puncture)
- Tony’s car dropped a something from the steering into something else in the engine
that also needs repairing
- then there is the invitation from yet another funder to apply for funding for they are very interested in what we do
just fill in the form and read the online 360 page – or alternatively a more detailed 1000 page – explanation
juggling
will this be another exercise in futility?
to get a one liner 3 weeks late inviting you to apply again next time as you didn’t make it this time

check the washing machine
the water pressure is so low it didn’t even wash the soap into bowl
its rinsed anyway

The light in the kitchen dims and wavers
perhaps the ZESA supply is so low that it merely switches things on
just doesn’t get them to work?

Its 9.30am
cloudy day
cold wind
at the traffic light my friend the newspaper vendor rushes to the car window
eyes on stalks
‘look at the headlines Gogo’ he instructs
President and Prime Minister agree to elections in June
the ugly specter of renewed violence floats in a dark cloud above our heads

April 3rd 2012
riding the waves

It’s always refreshing to discover that there are Members of Parliament who take their obligations to their constituencies seriously. The Parliamentary Monitoring Trust’s publication, the Parliamentary Monitor, took this from their Facebook group page

Honourable Engineer Elias Mudzuri, the Member of Parliament for Warren Park says he used his CDF towards the following; Building of 22 people’s market stalls (broken down as labour and building materials- US$15 456; six Bore-holes and bush pump drilling and installation- US$25 750; all public toilets repairs in Ward 15- US$4 721; Warren Park Polyclinic- Pur-chase Of Generator & Capri Top Freezer US 2 100, and total toilet repairs US$1 304 bringing his total expenditure on the project US$51 229, 59 including bank charges)

And in the comments:

If all MPs were to, @ least show us this, then we will know some-thing was done. This is the first step towards transparency. If one doubts, then it will be possible to check. Unlike buying trucks!

And to imagine that some of the MPs in Harare used hate language when confronted on the usage of the CDF.

Very impressive achievements. I hope the constituents participated in these projects right from the planning stage. Trans-parency begins from planning and choosing of projects right through to the reporting stage! That is what is known as participatory ap-proach in community development parlance. If the participatory approach was used I would give Honourable Mudzuri’s performance a triple A rating!