The first sign I got that I was back home was the torturous customs queue at Harare International Airport.

“Queuing already and we haven’t even gotten out of the airport,” remarked the frustrated man in front of me.

I couldn’t have agreed with him more.

Unlike other countries where returning nationals form their own separate line at customs, returning Zimbabweans tend to be lumped along with everyone else, although there is a separate counter which is meant specifically for us. None of the airport staff, however, usually bother to tend it.

Having been away for two months, I had sincerely hoped that things were slowly beginning to change for the better in Zimbabwe.

But the dejection of the customs officials – enough even for them to not bother with a warm hello before putting the obligatory stamp into our passports – was evidence enough for me that my fellow countrymen were still as oppressed and depressed as I had left them.

It was during my time away that Prime Minister Tsvangirai had toured Europe and the United States seeking to breathe some warm air over frosty relations between Zimbabwe and the West. Though he returned to Zimbabwe with a very small purse of funds, the signs of integration of our pariah nation into international politics had sparked hope within me.

But it was also during my time away that the constitutional reform process – the hallmark of the new government of national unity – had collapsed. And it was again during this time that I learnt that civil servants’ salaries had been raised, but only to a paltry range of between USD 150 and 200 per month.

Soon, I realised that only my physical presence within Zimbabwe would give me a real feel of whether anything had changed.

And the drive from the airport deepened my appreciation of the situation.

The kaleidoscope colours of garbage strewn all over caught my eyes as I watched snaking queues of people standing street-side hoping desperately for transport.

My heart began to tumble down my chest in despair.

“Let’s hope there’s electricity when we get home,” my mother interjected, pausing my heart’s descent, only to make it fall even faster.

That was another thing to start worrying about again; so far removed from the comparatively ‘breezy’ life I had enjoyed in Berlin, Germany, where I never had to give care to the most basic of necessities.

But the worst was still yet to come.

As we continued to drive, the potholes in the roads, some the size of basins, were causing vehicles to swerve precariously into neighbouring lanes and onto the curb in a bid to avoid becoming stuck in the craters, or damaging shock absorbers.

What kind of a country pays no attention to the maintenance and repair of roads, of rights, of what is right for its citizens?

“Those potholes are a reflection of the holes in our own hearts,” rued my friend as we swerved past yet another one.

If things continue like this, I wonder if we will still have hearts, or maybe just gaping holes in our souls.

For now, what is left of mine continues to bleed for my country.

Last time I wrote I was talking about Transitional Justice, it’s benefits and so on and so on. I got thinking: for Transitional Justice to be implemented, we need a Transitional Government right? But the question is, are we seeing any transitional happenings? I for one have seen tangible change. I believe in transition you see, in moving on with the little things in life. I try to picture Zimbabwe two years back; it was a mess and I remember the days when I would go to sleep on an empty stomach. Zimbabwe has changed. It is slowly moving on and I think it’s our duty as Zimbos to see transition in our day-to-day life. I am queuing at Chicken Inn waiting my turn coz, yes, they now have potatoes to make the hot chips which they did not have towards end of year 2008.  And at that moment I forget those sleepless nights of hunger. My point is if you have moments when you forget what happened to you during those horrid times you are slowly moving on and forgetting and hopefully forgiving. Like with Chicken Inn – I had vowed I would never eat there ever again. But two days ago I was there queuing at the end of a long queue all forgiven and totally forgotten. So maybe don’t answer my question. If you and I move on and start to forget the Zimbabwe we lived in a couple of years ago, maybe we don’t need to look to the government for transition.

I had not realised the true extent, and impact of the Zimbabwe crisis on ordinary Zimbabweans until last weekend I embarked on a four and half hour drive from Johannesburg to Kabokweni, a tiny, far-flung township situated in a valley near Nelspruit, in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.

I was visiting my two brothers, a cousin, a nephew and an uncle who now, due to circumstances back home, are trying to eke out a living there. To my utter amazement I soon discovered there are literally hundreds of Zimbabweans there, perhaps without a thought of returning home soon. Commenting on how he has been forced to put away his degree certificates and resort to doing odd, often degrading jobs just to survive, all that my uncle said to me was, “Look what Mugabe has done to us!” I felt a deep sadness in the depths of my soul and began to agonise over the root causes on the crisis in Zimbabwe.

This morning, while taking a shower, that is usually my time of greatest inspiration, it suddenly occurred to me that the primary driver of the crisis in Zimbabwe and the consequent misery and suffering of the people is greed on the part of those in authority. For the avoidance of doubt, authority in Zimbabwe resides in ZANU-PF and its allies the so called war veterans, green bombers, and security forces.

Greed has so consumed those in authority so much that they have ceased to care about anything except their excessive desire to accumulate massive wealth which they neither deserve nor need. Political power, for them, is the vehicle through which they can satisfy their greed, and therefore, they would be prepared to shed blood to acquire and retain that political power. In their twisted sense of logic, they are therefore justified in unleashing waves of electoral violence and coerce people to ‘vote’ them into political power, or to use other fraudulent means to attain political office.

Understanding that greed is the primary driver of the Zimbabwean crisis would lead to a better understanding of the paradoxical situation of Zimbabwe that, in the midst of all this suffering, you find multi-millionaires in United States dollar terms, on the streets of Harare. This also explains how a person like Joseph Chinotimba, a mere municipal guard (no offence to this humble profession intended), who was virtually penniless before he discovered the benefits of ZANU-PF membership, can claim that due to loss of his mobile phone for just a week, he had lost business worth US$19 million! And this is not one of those Chinotimba jokes doing the rounds. What business is he into?

Clearly there are a few people who are directly benefiting from the suffering on millions of Zimbabweans. That same group of people is reaping where they did not sow. Again, this is not just a figure of speech, scores of those aligned to ZANU-PF are currently on an invasion spree of white-owned commercial farms and are literally reaping where they did not sow. Zimbabwe has enough resources to support all those who live in it, and also to support the region, but a few, politically connected and greedy people are busy plundering Zimbabwe and eating everyone’s share. I would not be surprised if there are people in Zimbabwe whose daily prayer is that the crisis never ends!

Greedy political leaders who do not care about the people they purport to represent invariably breed misery and suffering. This breed of political leaders often have the following distinctive characteristics: (1) Although generally incompetent and lacking in business acumen, they are involved in all kinds of businesses; (2) they measure they political achievements by the amount of wealth accumulated or cars they own; (3) they publicly speak against the West and pose as pan- Africanists while privately sending their children to school in the West, drink wines imported from the West and do not miss on their monthly satellite television subscriptions; (4) all their ill-gotten wealth is derived exclusively from their political connections; (5) their lavish, and outlandish lifestyles are at odds with their professional salaries (for example, it is not surprising in Zimbabwe to come across a mere journalist working for state media, but with powerful political connections, owning several properties that he can never acquire on his journalist’s earnings).

This breed of political leaders is beyond redemption and cannot be expected to reform and be like the biblical Zaccheus, the chief tax collector who repented and gave away his ill-gotten wealth. Politicians of this kind, who unfortunately at present dominate the political scene in Zimbabwe, must be removed from office and mechanisms put in place to ensure that this breed becomes extinct. This legacy of leaders who doggedly pursue self-serving interests must be broken. Without such a paradigm shift, charting a new political direction for Zimbabwe will remain a pipe dream. It is worthwhile noting for political leaders in government, particularly those in the MDC whom many of us look up to in hope, that greed is not a trait confined to leaders from one particular political party.

Zimbabwe desperately needs political leaders with integrity, who deeply care for others, and have the ability to self-transcend. Political leaders are judged not on the basis of the political party they belong to, but on content of their character and their service to humanity. I am absolutely convinced that if we had leaders who really cared then Zimbabwe would not have gone through the horror, pain and suffering which characterised the past decade and continues. It is not an act of God, neither is it a freak of nature, that Zimbabwe finds itself in this multi-layered socio-economic, humanitarian and political crisis. The issue boils down to want of able political leadership. Want of leaders who have already distinguished themselves in their private and professional lives who now take up public life leadership roles to serve, deriving satisfaction from putting a smile on an old woman’s face.

If we all stand back from things that are broken, that need fixing and say that we can’t do any thing, and that the government is responsible and they need to fix it. And if the government says that it doesn’t have the money to fix it then does that mean that there is no solution? Does that mean students will forever go without schools and books and teachers? And sick people will go without hospitals doctors and nurses? If we all agree that we don’t want handouts from rich countries and that we want to dictate the terms of their aid, and yet we still expect them to come and bail us out, do we really believe that they will take us seriously? If we let our politicians get away with corruption and we don’t hold the MPs that we voted into position accountable for their actions, who really is to blame for a bad situation turning into an untenable one?

Don’t you just love this?

TIME: How real is the transition?

Tsvangirai: This transitional inclusive government can already record some significant progress, in critical areas like education, health, water and sanitation and food.

I reckon Tsvangirai needs to take some time out and visit the many waterless and powerless suburbs in Harare. And whilst he’s at it, he should take his US$100 a month salary (yeah right) and see how far it gets him in Zimbabwe – one of the most expensive countries in the world.

Hmmm. Education? Right. Well here’s an excerpt from a recent Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) statement:

Students were given the platform to air out problems they are facing at their different institutions. The meeting was briefly disturbed by ZANU Pf youths who were purporting to be students, but it managed to proceed after 30mins of delay. The ZINASU Vice President, Briliant Dube chaired the meeting and briefed the participants on the activities ZINASU is carrying out. The students raised the following issues:

- Unaffordability of education.

- Poor sanitation facilities.

- Under qualified teaching personnel.

- Electricity and water problems.

- Outdated library materials.

- Shortage of computers.

- The ratio is 200 students per 1 computer.

- Students are not allowed to attend lectures without proof of paying fees.

- No Students Representative Council (SRC) at Solusi University.

I’ve just read a statement that’s come in from a Zimbabwean NGO called Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development. The statement calls for an audit of “Zimbabwe’s unpayable and odious loans” and asserts, “Zimbabwe’s debt – much of which has resulted from the post colonial burden, failed IFI structural reform programs in the nineties, and the lack of access to debt reduction programmes that other countries have benefited from.”

Whilst there is an urgent need for this kind of audit there is also an urgent need for organisations like ZIMCODD and Transparency International-Zimbabwe to charter that scary and unpopular course of demanding that public servants like Mugabe have his wealth investigated and audited.

According to the statement “Debt relief from both multilateral and bilateral creditors is imperative if Zimbabwe is to be able to meet the basic needs of its people”. It is also true to say that Zimbabweans need debt relief from the avarice of Zanu PF.