Expand the conversation: If you could ask your councillor, MP, presidential candidate One Question, what would it be? We’ll get your voice heard. Please email your question and where you live to: products [at] kubatana [dot] net

You add, we multiply!

After the signal blackout by the South African Broadcasting Corporation the free to air decoders acquired by most Zimbabweans are now symbolic and a reminder of what used to be an alternative source of entertainment. Recently I was watching a debate on ZBC’s “Melting Pot” and I expected to see a pot really melting with some lively debate but my expectations were a bit high. The debate turned out to be a rehearsed and a one sided event with in-between citation of a certain political party’s manifesto which I am sure by now viewers can now sing every word by heart. The show anchor actually did not even shy away from showing his party allegiance to an extent that one would have mistook him for a campaign manager of a certain political party. My previous dealing with shows like these would be remote in hand, flipping channels on my free to air decoder or settling my dollar for two movies from the streets.

I am not alone in this fix. The signal cut off by SABC has affected Zimbabwe’s generation of young viewers who had fallen in love with dramas and soaps from down south. Our own local production companies tried to lure young audiences with locally produced dramas and soap operas but the story line ended up getting tired and boring like the actors. The recycling of the usual actors was a big turn off to young viewers especially when our local television is competing with the youth targeted and fast paced programming from SABC and other digital satellite broadcasting stations. The reason why most Zimbabweans preferred to invest in the free to air decoders is they got tired of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s programming and monopoly of the airwaves. Also DSTV subscriptions are just too exorbitant.  How to do you expect to compete for viewers when programs like “Madzinza eZimbabwe” and some Korean documentaries with subtitles are aired during prime time viewing when SABC offers programs like Isidingo and Generations? Neither would one expect to watch a repeat of  ‘Talking Farming” after a long day at work.

But since I’m still searching for an the alternative here is my Friday prime time fix from ZBC-TV & Channel 2:

1730-1830 – NHAU/INDABA
1830-1930 – WOZA FRIDAY
1930-1931 – NEWS HEADLINES
1931-2000 – REVELATIONS
2000-2100 – NEWS HOUR
2100-2115 – ZANU PF – THE MANIFESTO
2115-2145 – MA 1 EP 03
2145-2300 – FRIDAY NIGHT ACTION MOVIE:
2300-2315 – LATE NIGHT NEWS
2315-2330 – ACTION MOVIE  (CONTINUATION)
2330-0000 – MY WIFE AND KIDS
0000-0100 – DOCUMENTARY
0100-0400 – IN CONCERT
0400-0530 – MOVIE:  PLEASURE PALACE
0530-0555 – SINJALO EP 11

With just 15 days to go until Zimbabwe’s harmonised election 31 July, Kubatana subscribers are sharing their on-the-ground observations and citizen reports. In the words of our subscribers:

Chiredzi North Zanu PF winner for MP primary elections yesterday failed to campaign since he gave everything to women at Buffalo Range. Nothing was given to any male attender there.

Please tell Elliot Pfebve to be serious if the party is to win Bindura North. We haven’t seen him while Zanu PF is busy campaigning. Is he still in UK? Please Pfebve prove that you a strong man.

At the MDC-T rallies, the MDC-T leader should take advantage to counter the utterances by ZANU PF to resuscitate the Zim-dollar currency. The Zim-dollar era still brings sad memories of the hard times we underwent through eg inflation, queues for anything everywhere, shortages of goods, cash,etc. The MDC-T should also be careful to handle the question of devolution of power esp in Matebeleland so as to counter utterances by the Ncube/Dabengwa coalition.

I’m in Mufakose. We are being forced to attend Zanu PF rallies and to know who to vote for.

if the rig we do not want to let them do what they want.if they want to kill,they are going to kill everyone.we are going to street as much as every zimbabwean to oust these frogs.change will rule and this is the time.kana vachifunga kuti vacharambirapo regai mazuva akwane varavire zvatakavagadzirira.tirikunopinda mustate house next month masikati.toita zvekumubvisa isisu povho.hakuna mupuriss kana musoja anokwanisa kucontrolla.it will be unstopable.takatsamwa kudarika ivo.tell every mdct suppoter out there kuti ngatisimuke kana vafunga kupenga tichapenga kuvadarika.kana vachifunga kuti vakapenga regai tivaratidze kunonzi kupenga.tazotsamwa manje.tell everyone that revolution is coming.togeyher we will remove mugabe and his thieves. we are tired of this noncense

Aspiring candidate for Wedza North constituency Engineer Musanhi with his Toyota Hilux is seen mobilising some youths to go and attend and listen the  octagenerian leader who is around the country to lure people to vote for him.But not many are willing to attend bt i can see that maybe in the long run many are going to be forced in a bid to break the record made by the long rival of Mugabe,the Premier Morgan Richard Tsvangirai during the launch of the Party Manifesto in the same town.

I wonder if the Sadac Observers have noted it that many Mdc-T posters in Wedza Centre have been all torn,ask them what they think about that.Is there any fair ground to these elections.Im saying things that even a blind man can see.

The chaos of special voting for Zimbabwe’s 31 July harmonised election continued yesterday, and even into this morning.

Updates from Nehanda Radio suggested voting stretching into the early hours of this morning in some locations, due to delays in the opening of polling stations because voting materials came late.

• 16 July – 01:20 “Still at the polling station at Gweru D.A. only 333 ballots came to add to yesterday’s 107 out of 1700, now cops were threatening to lock in polling officers and were turning rowdy and the district commanding officer had to be called. Polling agents and election officers are just sitting inside awaiting further instructions from ZEC. I think today its Pungwe.” ‪#‎NehandaCitizenReports‬

• 16 July -  01:07 “At Rusununguko Polling station, only 13 were able to cast their votes. 2 regular police details and 2 constabulary members. As I am talking now we are in the ZUPCO bus no ballot papers until now. Female police members crying foul and promised not 2 return 2morrow. A ZANU-PF MP Mr Matangaidze for Shurugwi south intended to give food to the police officers @ around 0100hours but they refused. Ndizvowo here izvi!” ‪#‎NehandaCitizenReports‬

Feedback from our SMS subscribers told a similar story, for example:

• 16 July – 9am – My brother managed to vote this morning at Mabvuku Hall, Harare East
• 15 July – 8:30pm – Voting is too slow in Bindura. At Kambira polling station only 3 people have voted. Most ovters have never seen their envelopes. ZEC is just weak. People are seeing it as a way of delaying voters.
• 15 July – 6pm – Voting yet to start at Mberengwa East polling station.

It’s illegal to place bets on the outcome of the election. But anyone willing to place bets on whether the special voting chaos influences the AU summit on Friday – and gets them to push for a postponement of the election?

The latest episode of the farce which is Zimbabwe’s 31 July election aired this weekend. 14-15 July were the designated dates for “special voting,” in which members of the police and armed forces, who will be on duty on election day and thus unable to go to their regular polling station to vote, are given an opportunity to vote.

As a tweet from @SirNige aptly summed it up, “The special vote currently taking place in Zimbabwe is definitely very special #ZimElections.”

Ever since the Constitution Court said Zimbabwe’s Harmonised Election was to be held as soon as possible, and should be before 31 July, Zimbabwe’s election – which was never going to be without its eyebrow raising moments – has reached new lows.

The fact that the president’s proclamation of the election date was announced and scheduled in an illegal and unconstitutional manner was conveniently swept under the carpet when the same Constitutional Court postponed arguments against the election date, and then waited until after Nomination Court had sat to dismiss the cases.

Add to that, the Constitutionally mandated ward-based mobile voter registration process was reduced to a district-based process, with the government claiming it didn’t have sufficient funds to follow the directive of its own constitution. The voters’ roll coming out of this process is equally problematic, with the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) noting serious irregularities with the voters’ roll, particularly the under-registration of urban and young voters. This is consistent with criticisms from organisations like the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), Election Resource Centre (ERC) and Youth Forum on the mobile voter registration exercise.

Meanwhile, a court case on the weekend’s special voting process was meant to be heard today – but was postponed until Wednesday, rendering the court case largely academic as Nehanda Radio points out, since special voting is scheduled to be wrapped up by then.

A 31 July election date meant that special voting had to be held no later than this weekend. As human rights lawyer @tzhuwarara helpfully explained via Twitter, “In terms of Sec 81A(1)(a) of Zim electoral law ZEC MUST set two days only 4 special vote, the last day hz 2 b at least 16 days frm Jul 31.”

But this special voting – which many thought would be a non-event, with police officers lining up to vote as their commanding officers instructed them to – has proved a farce. According to the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, many polling stations around the country received material late yesterday, or even today, compromising the polling at these locations. ZESN also noted that some polling stations in Harare were using informal hand-written lists of voters.

These irregularities highlight the inability of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to prepare the necessary logistics for the special vote. But from the beginning, Zimbabwe’s 31 July election has been compromised. It might not be marred by the violence witnessed in 2008, or even experience the types of human rights violations the RFK Centre and Amnesty International note it is vulnerable to.

Napoleon allegedly once said “never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence.” Whether through malice or incompetence, Zimbabwe’s 2013 election has been subjected to an illegal process and unprocedural time frame which undermine the legitimacy of this election, and thus the country’s prospects of democratic governance.

Diamonds are a Chef’s Best Friend
(With apologies to Marilyn Monroe)

The poor are glad to share their food,
They love to sing and dance;
But I prefer a man who’s good
For an interest-free advance.
A shake of the hand
May be quite sentimental
But diamonds are a Chef’s best friend.

A view may be grand
But it doesn’t squeeze the rental
From the sick and lame,
And sanctions – sanctions are to blame.

Comrades cry,
Comrades die -
There is nothing for them in the end;
But these rocks infernal
Will give me life eternal;
Diamonds are a Chef’s best friend.

Marange!
Chiadzwa!
Chimanimani!
Kimberly Process!
Talk to me, Cecil John Rhodes -
Tell me about your lodes.

There may come a time
When a dude needs to borrow,
But diamonds are a Chef’s best friend.
There may come a time which some fools call ‘tomorrow’,
Try to stop the clock…
But get those rocks or lose your socks.

Fools will fly
When stocks are high,
With nowhere to go when stocks are low.

It’s then that they panic
And become quite manic;
Diamonds are a Chef’s best friend.

I’ve heard of teachers
Who come out on their wages,
But diamonds are a Chef’s best friend;
And I think that preachers
Who enrich themselves by stages
Are better bets
If they let it get bigger yet.

Time goes by,
The people cry
All the same – sanctions are to blame.

Diamonds!  Diamonds!
Pear cut or square cut -
Diamonds are a Chef’s best friend.