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.

Tafadzwa Sharaunga writing for Kalabash shares his experience of queuing for water.

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Dead in the middle of the rainy season water shortages have ravaged the southwestern high-density suburbs of Harare, with neighborhoods such as Glen-View and Glen-Norah going for days without running tap water.

After an infamous five-day spell without running water I decided to go to the nearest watering hole. My brother and I arrived at the borehole at 11:22 pm. To our surprise it was heavily occupied (mostly by teenagers who were using ‘fetching water’ for mischievous activities).

Yielding to the challenge presented to us by the long, winding queue we decided to go home and return during the graveyard shift starting at 3:00 am. We trotted home like donkeys after a long day’s work, thirsty and tired as ever.  I woke up at 3:45 am and my brother was in a deep sleep. I tried to wake him up to no avail, off into the night alone it was. Eager to get some water as fast as possible my pace increased by the second, approaching the corner loud chatting became audible.

“Ndiani uyo urikuenda kupi manheru akadai?” Numb for a moment, they quickly noticed the bucket in my hand. The lady said ‘’Aah arikuenda ku borehole!’’

‘’You are lucky.’’ one of the guys shouted.

Arriving at the water point all I could think of was how all these women had gotten here, that scare was enough to deter anyone who is thirsty from going to fetch water at night. It was dark and there were about 30 women. I counted only five men, myself included. As the complexion of the night got lighter so did the mood amongst us, the queue grew longer and the talk louder. Jokes about poverty and how the people in the city council should get a feel of the system they run. The dominant fear of being out and unprotected at night was ever so present among the women as they kept referring to the darkness and its uncertainty.

Two men emerged from that darkness, one tall and the other medium height. They had placed their buckets in line and started trading political campaign stories. How they campaigned for a certain MP but forgot to vote for him when elections came. One of them sounded sad saying how it would have been good had they spent energy doing something for the benefit of the community rather than their selfish interests.

As the sun came out of its resting place the 100-metre queue came into full view. Almost time to go to work but I had no water to bath with so I waited in line for three more hours until it was my turn.

I was not the only person going to work that morning. I realized that after we have dressed to go to work it’s not visible who has slept at the borehole or in the luxury of a King or Queen size bed. We have become the ultimate masters of disguise: instead of telling our story we choose to stifle it and betray our own confidence.

An invaluable insight for Tsvangirai on agreeing to accept Jacob Mudenda as elections chief. (Tsvangirai was on national TV the other day attempting to dissociate Mudenda from his Zanu PF “past”):

“People should be thoughtful about those they choose to be leaders, the impact their choices would have on their country, region or global community. Individuals have histories, individuals have images, and individuals have reputations. When they are selected to lead their nations, those images, histories and reputations go along with them.” – Johnny Carson, US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa commenting on Kenya’s  Jubilee Alliance coalition led by chaps facing charges of crimes against humanity at The Hague.

The ZESN Harare and Masvingo offices have been raided today, according to a statement they released today:

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) head offices in Harare have been raided by 7 police details from the Law and Order section. The officers led by detective Assistant Inspector Mudyirwa had a search warrant looking for any subversive material, documents, gadgets or recordings and any illegal immigrants raided the offices around 10 am this morning.

The police broke down a durawall panel and went on to search all offices after which they took documents pertaining to ZESN’s projects and plans for observing the referendum. This follows a break-in at ZESN Masvingo office around 2 am this morning where boardroom chairs, one computer and 60 T-shits were taken by unidentified assailants.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) lawyer has deployed lawyer Mr Harrison Nkomo to monitor the search.

ZESN expresses concern over the intensified crackdown on civil society actors especially as the country prepares for the referendum and elections.

ZESN remains resolute in its work to promote democratic elections in Zimbabwe.

Just in from a subscriber:

The draft by COPAC is a meticulous fulfillment of the old times saying, ”that people are not inherently good, people are ready to show their vicious nature when it works to their advantage”. The coming in of a new supreme law is a welcome gesture. A constitution is widely regarded as a legacy of the past, present and future generation. Ancient and contemporary democracies to a significant extent embrace the legacy of the supremacy of civilian rule, accountability, separation of powers, transparency, liberty, and equality. The COPAC draft depicts a sharp departure from the commonly agreed key lynchpins of democracy. It is silent on a number of critical and pertinent issues such as past atrocities and government misdemeanour that seek redress. Zimbabwe is an infant democracy thus it would have been more prudent for the charter to summon for the establishment of vibrant state institutions not prone to manipulation and susceptible to political instability. The discriminatory clauses with a case in point of the death penalty spell a bleak future and a mammoth task to the establishment of consistent judicial precedence. Reading through chapter 5 which purports to create an Executive authority sent shivers to the spine. History has it on record that supreme Executive authority has led to the weakening of state institutions through appointments. It also has a danger of perpetuating the denial syndrome by political leadership thus aggravating political, economic and social distress. Unilateral Executive power enhances dictatorial tendencies. It is tragic that the COPAC draft has given a green light to one man rule thus nullifying the belief in check and balances. The draft is silent on the retirement age of Executive authority. Very little attention has been given to the voting and electoral system which in the modern day Zimbabwe is the source of hope for political transition. This further derails hopes for free, fair and credible elections. How on earth can a state be run and advised by an unaccountable Attorney General? It is a question that continues to boggle thinking minds. To crown it all the statement ”… becomes effective and for ten years thereafter …” clearly indicate lack of seriousness in Zimbabwe’ political and legal development. Though the draft tried to address numerous issues, it leaves very very little to admire in terms of ensuring stable political, democratic development and upliftment of the legacy of civil rule supremacy.Thus the adoption of the COPAC draft has numerous ramifications nationally, regionally, sub-regionally and as far as continentally. What a tragic testimony of political expedience in the guise of law making.

Mamphela Ramphele, anti-apartheid activist, businesswoman and academic has launched a new political party platform, Agang, in South Africa.

In her speech delivered yesterday she said:

“Today I announce that I am working with a group of fellow citizens to form a party political platform that will focus on rekindling hope that building the country of our dreams is possible in our lifetime. Our consultations and conversations across the lengths and breadths of our country have confirmed a hunger for a new beginning. Young and old, poor and rich, men and women, urban and rural people are yearning for a political platform that can put our country first. A platform that will be open to all South Africans of good will who want to build the country of our dreams. This will be a platform that will capture the best in us and enable us to transcend our divided past and work together as a society united in our diversity. It is a platform that will seek to work with others to reduce the fragmentation in the political landscape and to realign politics towards a focus on putting the country first. We launch this initiative under the name Agang, or in the Nguni languages of our country, Akhani, which can be interpreted in English as “Build South Africa”.

The ANC have criticized the new party saying it brings nothing new to the table as it rehashes the challenges South Africa is currently facing. The ANC secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, is quoted on SABC news saying ‘the newly-launched party political platform might be an American initiative aimed at channelling money to destabilise the South African government.’

New hope for South Africa?