Isn’t that what the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Regulations are supposed to do? Give back the means of production the dispossessed and economically disempowered to its rightful owners? So why does this Act sound like a fraud? In a recent article Dr Alex Magaisa points out the fallacies of this Bill.

Much like the Land Redistribution Programme which after ten years of inane political rhetoric and ‘bumper’ harvests that left supermarket shelves empty, I predict this bill will fall into that pile of so-so ideas that are poorly executed. Or rather bad ideas that only benefit the politically powerful/able/active. While this Bill follows after the fashion of the Foreign Equity policies used in Asia; it falls short of the checks and balances used to encourage foreign investment while at the same time following their principle of indigenisation. This Bill is nothing more than a myopic ‘Look East’ policy. It will not change the lot of the ordinary man on the street. As it is, all three parties constituting the Government of National Unity have failed to correctly administer the resources that we do have. We even have Ministers who are not ashamed enough to at least loot those resources in secret.

Moreover, why plunder the few companies remaining that are gingerly limping towards recovery? Why not ease the current draconian legislation? and, in the event that our Legislature is feeling particularly energetic, why not create laws that encourage innovation and the creation of new businesses and industries in Zimbabwe if for no other reason than to have a bigger pool of companies to steal from…I mean regulate. I’m no economist but it seems to me that if there are more businesses to tax, there will be more revenue collected by Zimra. Then our politicians can make their money the old fashioned way, by looting Government coffers.

I’ve used the Fourth Street combi rank in my comings and goings around Harare for almost five years. In all that time I’ve watched as piles of trash accumulated on the pavement around the taxis. It was a terrible place to be especially during the rainy season, when humidity and moisture combined with metre high mounds of rubbish resulted in the most unholy smells (odour is too good a word to use to describe it!). I had resigned myself to it, as I sure had most other commuters. So imagine my surprise when today as I approached the rank I spotted a City of Harare Refuse collection crew . . . WORKING. It seems that the Harare City Council may be doing something useful with the ratepayers money after all . . . ok at least what was left over after they bought themselves cars and things.

Shona is a term that was introduced in the 1920’s and was originally used to refer to the Karanga by people who didn’t know any better. The term evolved over time and was used to refer to the various Bantu groups who had settled on the Zimbabwe Plateau and whose languages belonged to the Shona group of languages.

Standardized Shona, based on the Karanga and Zezuru dialects only came into existence in the 1950s. Taught in schools throughout Zimbabwe Standardized Shona while preserving the shona language has managed to cause the death of major and minor dialects. Those spoken by handfuls of people like the Tonga or Kalanga are quickly disappearing. Even the major dialects of Karanga and Zezuru are not what they were, say twenty years ago, parts of speech and the various subtle nuances that made them unique are dying with each passing generation. Worse still Standardized Shona is being diluted by English.

A people’s cultural identity is deeply rooted in their language and its use. Arabs speak their Arabic with pride, and have even adapted the format of the printed word to their own needs with books, newspapers and even computer keyboards made to suit. The French have a reputation for the zeal with which they preserve the way their language is spoken, right down to the accent. And in the US of A the very minimum requirement for having a satisfactory sojourn there is that you must at the very least ‘speak American!’

We, however, appear to have lost ourselves. Our primary language of communication is English, for business, at home, in school and even sometimes in art, we insist that to be heard one must speak a language that doesn’t belong to us. Academics and pseudo-intellectuals have devoted long hours to research and debate over how colonialism is to blame for our loss of language, passing the blame to another. Yes it happened, and in many ways our minds are still colonised. But that doesn’t mean that we are helpless. At some point, we have to take responsibility as a group and as individuals. More than that we have to own our identities. The histories of our various peoples, our languages and even cultures are being lost to time. The relevance of what is passed down from parent to child through oral tradition is lost to a generation that has assimilated foreign cultures and values. The education given to that generation so that they will find their place in a globalized world comes at the cost of their language and culture. The world as seen on television appears to be moving towards a sort of cultural uniformity. How will we live with ourselves without that which makes us, by our own tradition people?

The trouble with trying to be clever is that you run the risk of idiocy. This maybe complete nonsense, or it could be a good blog. Let me know.

A very long time ago, before I was born anyway, Bob Marley came to Zimbabwe and sang ‘Get up stand up’ in front of thousands of Zimbabweans. Locks bouncing, his backing band doing their very best to keep up with his energy, Mr. Marley gave our country a soundtrack. The atmosphere was electric. Anything was possible. We had gone from telling all the mothers ‘No Woman No Cry’ to ‘Stirring it Up’ in the ‘Uprising’. But the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ had returned and this was a new beginning. This, after-all, was the new Zimbabwe. For a few hours that night, there was no black, no white, no man, no woman, no child, just Zimbabweans. For a little while that night, and even after that, we were all one, united in singing ‘Songs of Freedom’.

Independence came, and went, but we were ‘Jammin’ together. Our President was hailed as a one of the great African Statesmen, a ‘Legend’. Zimbabwe couldn’t be prouder. Some of us had settled into a wonderful way of life. The ‘Sun is Shining’ we thought, as we happily braaied and drank Castles. Then the cracks began to show. All of a sudden the people started murmuring that we needed to ‘Stir it Up’ once again. The ‘Exodus’ of the best and brightest began in earnest, the word ‘Survival’ on their lips.

They left; the skilled, and the unskilled. Going to ‘Babylon by Bus’. And we who remained ‘Caught a Fire’ and became ‘Soul Rebels’. They resisted the lies, the bribery and finally the violence, quietly. ‘Time Will Tell’ we said. Those who dared rise up, ended up in the ‘Jailhouse’, while more and more people began to hum the notes to ‘Trenchtown Rock’. Abroad, the Diaspora yearned to know the ‘Real Situation’ and often they were told it was ‘War’.

‘So Much Trouble in our World’, quasi-fiscal became another word for instant impoverishment. Zimbabwe was weary, and hopeless, until the Global Political Agreement was signed. Until then we thought we had been ‘Waiting in Vain’, but, our ‘Redemption Song’ seemed to have been written at last.

Bob Marley died in 1981, a few months after we celebrated the first anniversary of Zimbabwe’s Independence. His music still lives, as do the people of Zimbabwe.

When I was offered the opportunity to work on Inzwa I was excited. I believe that using mobile technology to disseminate information, civic or otherwise is ingenious. With its high usage among people in general, the mobile phone is the easiest and cheapest way to reach any target audience. More than that it meant that I could go out and do what I enjoy: listening to people talk about what’s important to them.

I learnt a lot interviewing the various activists for Everyday Heroes. My favourite interview was with Eleanor Alfred, from whom I learnt that you don’t have to have done anything extraordinary to be extraordinary in yourself. I think she set the bar as far as interviewees go, and while I did enjoy the ones that followed she helped to change my perception of the world. Many of my interviewees helped to dispel my misconceptions about government and the way in which it, and civic organizations, work. One of these was George Makoni. He showed me that politicians are not just found in politics, but everywhere. While he raised the question of activists for hire, it occurred to me during my interview with him that, like those he criticized, he wasn’t doing his work for the Youth Forum because he believed in the cause, or the values of the organization. It was more because he hoped someday to be in the same position as the politicians that are currently in government.

There were two interviews that gave me insight into who I am. The first was Tsitsi Dangarembga. I’ve been a fan of hers since I picked up Nervous Conditions and couldn’t put it down until the last page, ten years ago. She creates with such relative ease, something that I labour to do, that I find myself awed by her. I also enjoyed that she was honest in her appraisal of her self as a woman with many roles. I wouldn’t call Charity Maruta unorthodox, but she has a way of looking at the relationships in her life, and life in general, that I found refreshing. My insight was that neither of these women’s view of themselves was coloured by what was expected of them by anyone. Since I’m trying to get there myself, I think it very admirable.

I don’t think there were very many challenges associated with gathering content for Inzwa. Although at first, it was hard to wrap my mind around packaging detailed news items into sixty seconds. In doing the interviews for Everyday Heroes, getting change from the whindi on a combi was the biggest and most frustrating issue.

From helping out with the survey, I think Inzwa will face a challenge in being accessible to people. The most frequent criticism of the project was the money spent in listening to the programmes. I’m not certain if there was a target audience for this pilot, but in future it will have to be defined. From that, issues of giving free access or paid access can then be addressed. Further to that, if Inzwa were a paid access service, then it could be made to be self-sustaining.

I really hope Inzwa out lives these three experimental months. Unlike any form of media that is currently available to the public, it provides an alternative source of unbiased information, which is becoming increasingly important to people. From the very beginning I expected that Inzwa would take a lot of time and energy. I will admit to having underestimated exactly how much energy was required. As time went on, I found that I had to suspend my other projects so I could dedicate more energy towards it. I feel that it was time well spent.

The Mass Public Opinion Institute conducted round 4 of the Afrobarometer survey in Zimbabwe in May 2009. The purpose of the survey is to compare public opinion about various economic civic and social issues across African countries.

The survey was supposed to have been undertaken in 2008, but the political instability prevalent in the country at the time made this impossible. Further, the sample size is based on 2002 Census figures, which are projected to 2008 figures with consideration being given to issues such as mass migration and displacement.

Despite many criticisms at its formation the majority of respondents expressed a belief that the Inclusive Government was the best way forward. Added to that 57% of respondents said that they would vote for MDC–T in the next election, as compared to 10% for ZANU PF. The popularity of the MDC is also mirrored in the high approval rating for Morgan Tsvangirai and his work in the Inclusive Government. Interestingly, Mr. Tsvangirai’s job performance is viewed positively by members of both parties.

It may be inferred that hope was restored to the public because 71% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the way government was managing the economy. Despite this, day to day issues were also seen in the survey, with the majority of respondents ranking management of the economy as the most important problem facing the country. Second to this were the issues of unemployment and education. Interestingly, a majority of respondents expressed greater satisfaction with the current state of the economy as compared with other years including 2004, 2005 and most notably 1999.

Issues of contention which arose during the survey presentation included the survey sample being based on 2002 census data; the fact that more respondents expressed greater satisfaction with the economy in 2009 as compared to 1999 and what the terms ‘economic policies’ and ‘economic management’ meant to the respondents.

What is most evident from the survey is that the formation of the inclusive government has restored hope in people. While many acknowledge the challenges in their own lives, they are optimistic that the country’s fortunes are on their way up.

Only time will tell if this hope is well founded.