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)

Controversial and reckless statements have hounded the Zambian president ever since he came into office. Like his nickname ‘King Cobra” the president really spit venom especially when it comes to making informal speeches. After his inauguration Sata demanded an apology from Malawi for an incident which happened sometime back during a visit to that country when he was still in opposition. During that same time he once questioned the health of the former Zambian president Levi Mwanawasa arguing that the president should make public issues related to his health.

In a turn of events recently the Zambian leader was secretly flown out of the country on a private jet to India for a medical check and this has prompted a public outcry. Just like Zimbabwe, Zambia experienced an economic down turn a few years ago and many people left that country for a better living outside and some decided to settle in Botswana. In an address to Zambians living in Botswana the Zambian president was really blunt and venomous with his words at the same time insulting his fellow countrymen and Botswana.

Responding to questions from the people who attended the meeting Sata said, “All of you who are here with fake questions am very disappointed with you and embarrassed, are you not even ashamed of yourselves? You ran away from Zambia and thought we couldn’t find you and now today we have caught you. You are refugees in Botswana being exploited by the Botswana Government. You left Zambia to come and work here for an extra K1?” Maybe Sata had forgotten that he had mentioned that he was the first Zambian expatriate in United Kingdom in 1970. One wonders whether Michael Sata had already created jobs in this short space in office for these people he was insulting on the very day. And if Zambia had the best medical facilities and qualified personnel why would he sneak out of the country to seek help in foreign countries in the Far East? I guess power is sweet just like what his predecessor Fredrick Chiluba said after an election victory in 1991.

In the midst of their plushy government offices and state houses, most African politicians have a tendency to easily forget where they come from. Here in Zimbabwe parliamentarians promised people that they would develop communities once they were voted into office but years down the line we are now reading that some of them stand accused of gross mismanagement of public funds. Some went on to implement projects without even consulting the people. What is more surprising is that the legislators are complaining that the $50 000 allocated to each of the constituencies they represent is very little and they are lobbying for more, but at the same time they are abusing the same fund.

Education is a very powerful tool in life. We all seek and need education with the hope that we would find employment. Countless people are not been given the opportunity to utilize this powerful resource because of the deprived economy in Zimbabwe. Thousands of graduates and postgraduates are seated in their homes with nothing to do. Where are the jobs? Jobs must be created.

There are so many universities in Zimbabwe. But can Zimbabwe’s economy sustain this? It’s like adding harm to injury. It is a fact that Zimbabwe is one of the best countries in Africa in quality of education. I for one agree with that because I am a result of this good edification. Despite lack of resources, Zimbabwe still maintains that standard. What worries me is whether being educated is still worth it in our country anymore. The rate of unemployment is so high and keeps soaring. I was amused when I read an article in the Herald about auditions for a radio talk show where thousands of people turned up in hope. The director of this radio talk show insinuated that people were enthusiastic about the auditions. I should think that these were just unemployed people with a hope of just getting a job and being able to earn a living. The next batch of graduates are yet to be released adding to the already high rate of unemployment.

Economists with their jargon talk about the demand and supply curve. It does not tally at all. There are not enough jobs to meet the number of educated people in this country. Thus people resort to leaving the country to what they have termed “greener pastures”. But is it all green and rosy out there? I know of many Zimbabweans who would die to come back home, but to what?  They would rather sacrifice to be out there to earn the little they can and send some back home, with their professional and academic certificates safely tucked away in the hope that one day an opportunity will arise that would best suit their qualifications. Hoping that the dust would not have settled on them too…

I do wish that our economy will one day improve, and if possible the sooner the better. People cannot hustle forever, and if hustling wont work then what? Crime?

To those graduating this year and the years to come, I say brace yourselves for the reality, they call the Industry.

On the big issues, just say for example, stimulating the manufacturing industry, reducing the levels of unemployment in Zimbabwe, not to mention a generally repressive human rights environment, the Unity Government, (those fellows the MDC and Zanu PF cuddling together in the same bed), are also right, royally, screwing things up on a local level too.

Where I live, in Greendale, there hasn’t been rubbish collection for three weeks. In the hope of catching a City of Harare refuse collection vehicle (a rare and uplifting sight) home owners have taken to leaving their rubbish, and adding to it, out on the street. Rubbish is piling up. It smells. Its ugly. Its a health hazard.

Then there’s the trickle of municipal water sporadically dripping out of our taps. A common sight on our neighbourhood streets is men and women heaving under the weight of water, being carried either on their heads, or pushed in wheelbarrows. The water having come from friendly and helpful homes that have boreholes.

Then there’s the issue of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and their inability to deliver power. During the past week we’ve had power between 9pm and 5am. While we’re sleeping, ya dig.

Oh. And then there are the pot holes, or craters, as people like to call them. They are  getting deeper, and deeper, and wider and wider.

Meanwhile along Borrowdale Road, the President’s drive-way, we have minions cutting the grass on the island, with … wait for it: hand held grass cutters. Whoa. Of course, why be surprised by both the inequity and the stupidity of initiatives like this?

However, nothing would be more stupid than all of us voting in (again) or letting our vote be stolen (again) these people who treat us like dirt.

I don’t trust Gideon Gono with my money. I lived through enough of his quasi-fiscal policies not to trust him at the helm of the Reserve Bank. My other thinks I protest too much, but I will not open a bank account until he is removed from office. Why should I trust a man who authored a book titled “Casino Economy” whilst in the midst of playing Russian roulette with the nation’s livelihoods?

I’m no fan of former Gono Advisor Munyaradzi Kereke either. Given that he was a senior Reserve Bank official during that chaotic decade he is just as culpable. Kereke also allegedly raped his 11 year old niece.  The Harare rumour mill purports that the rape was for ritual purposes, not that it has helped him in his present predicament.  Rape of a minor is an egregious offence, more so at gunpoint. It is curious that despite evidence and charges being filed on behalf of the minor, the police and Attorney General have apparently refused to investigate and prosecute.

Once thick as thieves, it seems that Gono and Kereke have had a falling out, one which the local media, both private and public refuse to give coverage. Curious, considering the nature and scope of allegations made by both parties against each other.  Kereke’s most recent letter, published in the Zimbabwe Mail reveals that Gono was willing to betray his paymasters. This is not anything new – the Wiki Leak cables concerning him revealed as much. Kereke also alleges that Gono has the Anti-Corruption Commission in his pocket, closed banks on a whim, violated the State Secrets Act, looted tens of millions of Public Funds and authored draft legislation that, if passed, would spin Zimbabwe into a civil war.

Kereke appears to be the underdog in this fight. Gono, despite the numerous rumours and allegations that surround him, clearly must have some influence. Whether it is enough to silence Kereke remains to be seen. It makes for interesting reading and speculation, like something out of a novel about an imaginary African state governed by the power hungry who employ witchcraft, sex, lies and betrayal to further their goals. If it were my story to write I would have a third major, but shadowy character, the seemingly benevolent but actually ruthless leader. The Leader would be the puppet master who would watch this drama unfold, and protect both just enough to make the fight between them fair, ensuring that each causes the destruction of the other.

Who controls revenues from Marange diamonds?

A case study of Mbada and Anjin companies by Global Witness.

This paper reveals the control exercised by the Zimbabwe security sector over Anjin and the transfer of 25% of Mbada, a valuable diamond mining company, to a firm based in series of tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions with unidentified beneficial owners. The secrecy surrounding the real owners of Mbada has a number of potential consequences, including a possible loss of tax revenues, and the potential opportunity for officials or military figures to personally benefit from a state asset. The partial control of Anjin by the military and police creates opportunities for off budget funding of an unreformed and partisan security sector.

You can read the case study on the Kubatana web site