South Sudan is scheduled to have a referendum in January 2011 to decide whether they want to remain part of Sudan, or become a separate nation.

According to Elizabeth Dickson, writing for the Foreign Policy Blog:

South Sudan is utterly unprepared for independence. . . Many Sudan watchers are already labeling it a “pre-failed state.”

But the South Sudan National Anthem Committee has already launched a competition for submissions for its national anthem. Hip Hop artist K Deng is among those preparing an anthem.

Zimbabwe auctioned about 900,000 carats of diamonds, worth more than $72 million from the controversial Marange / Chiadzwa diamond fields yesterday.

According to Mining Minister Obert Mpofu, the 4.5 million carats of diamonds currently in Zimbabwe’s stocks could sell for up to $1.7 billion – over half Zimbabwe’s annual budget. In fact, according to the mid-year fiscal policy review by the Minister of Finance, Zimbabwe’s expenditure from January to June 2010 was US$813.4 million – so that estimated $1.7 billion would cover the whole year’s expenditure.

But there are fears that ordinary Zimbabweans won’t benefit from the country’s diamond wealth, and that the violence and corruption which have characterised the Marange fields since diamonds were discovered there will continue. What do Zimbabweans want to see the country’s diamond revenue spent on? Civil servants, education, health, and job creation primarily.

Today we sent our subscribers this text message:

Kubatana! Zimbabwe sells diamonds worth about $72 mill yesterday. More sales to come. Will the people benefit? What should govt’s priorities be for this money?

Below we share some of their responses:

Civil servants pay

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Civil servants salary.

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Education + industries

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Education health and housing Anne

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Give civil servants an increment

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Govt must direct diamonds funds towards resuscitating ailing industries to boost employment

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Gvt workers salary, health and industry devt.

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Health and education

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Health, infrastructure and salaries for civil servants

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Hope we will have more drugs, equipment and machinery in hospitals and subsidised tertiary education

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I think gvt shld prioritise industry

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I think the most important things to do is to address the health and education issues and also the poverty issue

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Infrastructure development

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Infrastructure development, upgrading of power stations and recapitalisation of ZISCO

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It should develop Masvingo road, health, water and sanitation, Hwange and Kariba power stations, then Civil servants to attract professionals abroad to come back.

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Look into the affairs of the civil service and revitalise production in industry

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More $ to civil servants who are ‘moving dead’.

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Pay civil who are caring home 165 dollars, whom they claim to want to uplift.

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Payment of civil servant salaries and building of bridges where necessary.

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Recapitalise our industries

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Revive manufacturing industry and health and education

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Some people will benefit no doubt – the same people that have always been selfishly & corruptly “benefiting” on behalf of the rest of the suffering nation.

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To make masvingo road first, byo rd to reduce carnage and hospitals

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Wages for civil servants and health care

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We hope it is going to increase salaries for workers without delay

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Zim will benefit a lot. I think a small percentage to the hospitals for medicines will be fair.

The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation.
~ James Fenton

Sokwanele has launched an online Constitution survey that aims to gather views from Zimbabweans everywhere, including the millions of Zimbabweans who live in the Diaspora and who have been largely excluded from the constitution-making process.

The constitution survey features a mix of questions. Some questions directly address content usually included in a constitution, while others seek to survey opinions on issues of concern to Zimbabweans. These issues, and Zimbabwean opinions on them, should guide those who are tasked to draft the new document and our views should be honoured in the detail making up a new constitution.

Spread the word, and complete the survey here

Zimbabwe’s Parliament is currently on leave until October. In its recent Bill Watch (Review of Last Session of Parliament), Veritas noted that in the recently ended second session of the seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Senate sat on 16 occasions, and the House of Assembly on 30 occasions. Parliament passed only six bills during this legislative year. Even when Parliament did meet, it was never for very long:

Normally sittings are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, commencing at 2.15 pm for the House of Assembly and 2.30 for the Senate.  Standing Orders envisage work continuing until 7 pm, but very seldom did either House sit after 5 pm.  There were a significant number of short sittings, when one or other of the Houses met only to adjourn after sitting for less than an hour  and sometimes after 10 minutes.   The Session was also marked by long adjournments – six weeks over the Christmas-New Year period, and a premature adjournment for more than three months from March onwards to allow legislators to take part in the Constitution outreach programme – which eventually only started at the end of June.

What hope do we have in a Parliament-led Constitutional reform process when these are the same politicians who don’t take their elected responsibilities?