On Friday morning as people were rushing to work I paid a visit to the barbershop. After spending almost a month without getting my hair cut, and also missing the city gossip from my barber man, I made my booking early.

As I was sitting on the bench waiting my turn I could hear whispering coming from two men sitting next to me. So I moved closer so that I could hear their discussion. I remember when I was growing up my mom used to tell me that men should not gossip but here I was eavesdropping and pretending to be reading the newspaper. I was staring at the COPAC draft Constitution summary published in the state-controlled newspaper.  Still trying to position my ears like a satellite receiver, my turn arrived and I grabbed the chair with my ears still attached to the conversation.

“Haa unonyepa haihwine” meaning you lie its not going to win. At first I thought it was a soccer match but later I heard names of political parties being mentioned. Why are these men whispering I asked my barber man?  He replied with a smile and said they are talking politics. They are arguing over the draft constitution, he added. The two gentlemen were in a debate on who will claim victory if the ‘YES” vote prevails in the referendum and does it also mean a certain party can triumph in the coming elections based on the referendum outcome. All I could hear were arguments – not many facts – maybe this was due to self-censorship, or maybe they hadn’t read a copy of the draft constitution.

Since this barbershop is also frequented by Members of Parliament (MPs),  I was told the debate started a week ago when one MP was saying that after the “YES” he predicts a win for his party in the harmonized elections in July. I asked for an opinion from my barber man and all he could say was that it depends on the situation.

Since it was a public place he was self-censoring his opinion.

“It doesn’t matter how many months you give,” Tsvangirai told reporters. “If you have not already made a decision, I am sure that even if you are given 10 months you will never arrive at any decision. One month is sufficient.”

These are words of the Honorable Prime Minister himself. Its plain and simple, time doesn’t matter. The undecided mentioned by the Prime Minister need not worry because due to time constraints decision making is a waste of resources so just grab the draft copy being distributed and prepare to join the queue to surrender your vote.

Happy 89th birthday President Robert Mugabe. Wish you many more years  of good health.

As the nation gears up for a constitutional referendum, approximately seven in every ten people claim to have heard about the COPA process and 59% claim to be aware of the draft Constitution of Zimbabwe published in July 2012. The figure drops to 30% of adult Zimbabweans reported to have heard about the Second National All-Stakeholders’ Conference.

The Mass Public Opinion Institute revealed these results yesterday at a dissemination meeting on the State of the Economy and People’s Survival Strategies survey. The survey covered the period from 2009 to 2012 and had a national sample size of 1200 randomly selected participants, above 18 years of age.

Politics still dominate the economic turn-around of the country. The survey revealed that 16% of people interviewed think the Inclusive Government should seek external aid and create a more conducive environment for investment. According to public opinion, state organs and institutions were performing badly regarding the Global Peace Agreement. A majority (57%) of the respondents were not in favour of increasing the term of office for the Inclusive Government. The survey data shows the general impression that Zimbabweans will vote YES in the referendum but a substantial proportion said they do not know how they will vote since some claim not to have ever heard about the draft Constitution and the COPAC process.

Perceptions on the death penalty in Zimbabwe show a contrasting view to that published in the COPAC report. The MPOI survey shows 53 % of people interviewed to be in support of the abolishment of the death penalty. The support mainly came from female respondents.

On the issue of national elections this year, Zimbabweans of voting age feel the nation is ready to hold the election. Only a small portion (25%) disagrees as compared to 68% who are in favor of elections this year. Much emphasis on the need to engage international observers from SADC, EU and UN was suggested to ensure free and fair elections. The survey projected a closely fought race between ZANU PF and MDC-T with the latter still commanding a large support base in urban areas, especially among the male electorate.

On the economic state of the nation, 58% of the people interviewed felt that availability of consumer goods had become better over a period of one year but 59% of the urban respondents lamented the worsening employment crisis. The multi-currency system adopted by the nation continues to receive nationwide support with 68% supporting the dollarization of the economy.

The survey also noted high incidences of poverty as 61% of Zimbabweans indicated that they have sometimes gone without clean water, 62% say that they have not had enough to eat, and 70% lacking adequate medicine.

The source of income for many Zimbabweans is still agriculture with a few depending on a regular salary. Others have engaged in income generating activities like cross border trading.

Well on a day like Valentine’s it’s almost everyone’s wish to be remembered by that special someone in your life unless, of course, you don’t believe on love. Walking through town on my way to work I felt that it’s the ladies who are the ones who are well prepared for the day than men. Call it color blocking or whatever, all I saw were red tops to spice up the occasion. The worst case scenario is to get shot at by your loved one on Valentine’s Day. I was disturbed to read that South African Paralymbian blade runner Oscar Pistorious allegedly shot dead his girlfriend after mistaking her for a burglar. Instead of hearing words like “Happy Valentine to you too” and a bunch of flowers as a better gift, it was a bullet in the head. Who knows, maybe Oscar’s girlfriend tried breaking into the house with a bunch of roses for an early morning surprise but little did she know she was going to end up in a body bag on Valentine’s Day. Valentines Day will forever be the worst day of Oscar’s life.

Lessons and challenges from the coalition government of Zimbabwe and Kenya brought together civil society representatives from the two nations under the weeklong Utetezi exchange visit in Zimbabwe. Kenya’s civil society members are in Zimbabwe to share experiences particularly in areas of national healing and reconciliation, governments of national unity and the constitution making process. The similarities between the two nations are just too many to ignore as the social, political and economic challenges experienced by both nations depict a similar picture. The two nations were once colonised by Britain and they both inherited badly written constitutions, which failed to address marginalization and injustices perpetrated during the pre and post-colonial era. The failed promises of independence saw further marginalisation of people and alienation of fertile land as the political elite amended and manipulated the constitution for personal gain.

Political power is now being used as a gateway to riches as the majority continue to wallow in poverty.

One can easily describe these coalition governments currently running both nations as initiatives brought about not out of good faith, but out of frustration. Zimbabwe, just like Kenya shares the same history of rejected constitutions. In  2000 Zimbabwe passed a “NO” vote over a constitution, which they regarded as not people driven and the same happened in Kenya in 2005 when President Mwai Kibaki tried to fast track a constitution, which had no input from the people. The same debatable issue around executive powers of the president, land, devolution of power, accountability, the re-structuring of the political system, the rule of law characterise the constitution making history of the two nations.

The exchange visit also focused on the role of civil society in shaping political discourse. The recent crack down of dissenting voices in Zimbabwe, particularly the politicisation of the work of civil society indicates the growing concern over the urgent need for reforms. Zimbabwe’s civil society was urged not to lie dormant but take its rightful place in society.

The journey to national healing and reconciliation resulted in the formation of the Organ on National Healing in Zimbabwe and the adoption of the Human Rights Commission, which recently came under fire for lack of independence and capacity. One speaker said that “change is not an activity but a process”, the current transitional period, which Zimbabwe is currently going through, could be compared to the situation where Kenya was ten to fifteen years ago. A constitution can remain a piece of paper unless it is put to use to solve the social, political and economic problems facing the nation. And if the nation is to progress political leaders need to drop self-aspirations and question the status quo.

Pocket sized printed versions of the Constitution are distributed in Kenya.