I had a conversation with Melania Chiponda from Chiadzwa Community Development Trust yesterday.

This is what I learnt:

Families at Chiadwza are being forcibly relocated by diamond companies while the government and the judicial system look the other way. Here I thought the point of the Third Chimurenga was to restore land dignity to the peoples of this country. Mining companies have not bothered to hold consultations with the community about relocation; in fact the community found out they were being moved off their land in the newspapers. They have been given a relocation allowance of $1000. They have yet to receive compensation.

The first twelve families to be relocated by mining companies at Chiadzwa were moved into tobacco barns, until there were protests, upon which mining companies began building houses. 89 of the houses built by Anjin for the families they will be relocating were destroyed by the first storm of the rainy season last November. More were damaged.

Companies with majority government shareholding like Marange Resources are easier to negotiate with and more generous towards the community than those which are privately owned like Mbada or Anjin. It’s crazy that Mbada can spend a million dollars on a football tournament to better its public image, yet is miserly with the food packs they give the community and is among the major perpetrators of violence and human rights abuses against the community. The biggest perpetrator of human rights abuses is the police. When CCDT tried to discuss the matter with Police Commissioner Chihuri he was conveniently busy.

Chiadzwa is a dry area, and the little water the community has access to is being polluted by mining companies. Last year four men were detained and beaten by the police for digging for water in their own back yard. One of them died at the hands of a police officer. The other three sustained severe injuries. The police officer responsible for the beatings and murder has never been arrested.

The community doesn’t actually object to the mining or selling of diamonds, they just want it done in a way that their rights as human beings are also respected.

I’m angry. You should be too.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Rosemary Siyachitema, the Executive Director of the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe. A few days previously I had seen a headline in Newsday shockingly titled ‘CCZ urges Price Freeze’. Having lived through the pre-dolarisation price controls I couldn’t wait to take Ms Siyachitema to task for being so irresponsible. As it turns out the headline was misleading.

Upenyu: I read an article in Newsday titled CCZ Urges Price Freeze which was an advisory from you about the size of the consumer basket. Zimbabwean still have vivid recollections from price freezing in the past. Is this what you meant to say?

Rosemary Siyachitema: That is not what I was saying at all! I said I saw no reason why prices should increase considering that prices in Zimbabwe are already high. Saying that does not mean that there should be a price freeze. In this environment we see that prices keep increasing yet salaries are not moving at the same pace. I never said anything about price controls; I think there should be some kind of balance in our economy. You can’t keep asking consumers to tighten their belts. My other issue is that what kind of person do we want to create in Zimbabwe? A poor one or somebody who is able to survive? The way we are going we are creating poorer and poorer people. We are not bridging the gap we are creating poverty.

As it is and as the year 2011 comes to a closure Zimbabwe and its citizens are running the risk of continuing with a political cycle that has become less about the people and more about the people in government. Their disputes and actions have largely been partisan not only on behalf of their political parties but also on behalf of their ‘comfort zones’( to which they have demonstrated an unfortunate sense of entitlement to via their purchase of luxury vehicles, unclear mineral and iron production deals, numerous trips abroad). And as the new year approaches, it is hoped that civil society, members of the public shall at some point begin to hold the inclusive government to account with regards to its performance legitimacy, and not just the politics of elections. – Takura Zhangazha more here

The thing is, our change is our money. When a shop doesn’t have coins, and they give us credit notes, sweets, or other things, they take away our autonomy. If we give away our independence to our super markets, what hope is there of getting it back from our politicians?

So, how have shop keepers given you change?

The Legal Resource Foundation has recently published an opinion on the absence of coins for change. You can read it here

They point out that the primary reason for the absence of coins as change is the fact that most shops and customers transact in US dollars (notes), but the coins most readily available from the banks as change for shop keepers is in Rand.

Given the constantly changing Rand to Dollar exchange rate, it is difficult for shops to offer change to customers in a way that takes into account the rate at which they got the Rand coins from the bank, as compared with the Rand to US Dollar rate on the day the customer is at the shop.

To best address this, LRF suggests reminding the Minister of Finance about his pledge earlier this year to make US Dollar coins available to banks, and therefore to shops and customers.

Remind the Minister that we work hard for our money and that every cent counts. It is unfair and insulting to force people to buy items that they do not need. What people want is their change and their autonomy to buy what they want when they want.

Get involved! Tell the Ministry of Finance what you think of the absence of coins as change, and what you suggest he does about it.

Submit your comment on the Ministry of Finance website (and whilst you’re at it, maybe suggest that they add an email address for the ministry that’s not the webmaster).

Interested in the Zimbabwe 2012 National Budget announced by the Ministry of Finance yesterday? Download it here (240 pages, Size 4MB) or find out more

If stuck for conversation or just wanting to start a spirited discussion with complete strangers, just say “ZESA yanyanya!” (in English “ZESA has taken it too far!), and instantly, you’ll all begin to sound as unified as though you had known each other for years.

The issue of power supply is one of the few issues, which does not discriminate. All across the country, rural and urban, high density and low, new neighbourhood and old, ZESA continues with the indiscriminate power cuts. Whether one has a generator or inverter, gas or paraffin stove or firewood, we are all feeling the pinch of the incessant power outages.

Short of solar power, all the alternatives to ZESA electricity are so dangerous. In the past month, I have heard of at least 5 separate incidents where children have been seriously injured or killed by alternative power sources and fuels. One child got burnt by a fallen candle, while another’s eye was burned beyond repair by sparks from a fire lit for cooking and warming bath water. Another child was burnt by hot water from a pot who’s handle suddenly broke, after being weakened by prolonged exposure to the heat of a fire.

I will not even go into the issue of the daylight robbery they call reconnection fees, which in itself is not a one-off fee, as customers also have to “tip” ZESA technicians and pick them up for them to come and reconnect. We have all heard enough of the stories about the Nampower debt and the upgrade of the Hwange sub-station and blah, blah, blah! The question is not why is power supply so bad. No! The question is what are you going to do about it? Maybe it’s time for us as a nation to admit that we are living beyond our means and can no longer afford electrical power. Why not give solar a try ZESA? Apart from the panels, it is FREE!