Zimbabwe’s sole power utility hopes to save electricity by influencing behavior change in electricity consumption through pre-paid meters. Pre-paid meters could be a solution to the billing shambles consumers had to face from ZESA but in the long run demand is already surpassing supply – something which is not going to be solved with energy saver bulbs and pre-paid meters. Giving energy saver bulbs to consumers will work only if there is electricity to save otherwise it’s a waste of resources. The nation needs to work on alternative sources of energy and allow the private sector to venture into power generation and stop relying on imports. The recent passing of a statutory instrument allowing high-end electricity consumers to purchase their own prepaid meters will ease the burden of procuring pre-paid meters by the nation’s struggling sole power utility, ZESA. The company has been enjoying a huge monopoly over electricity distribution in the country and it is failing to meet the increasing electricity demands, which has resulted in massive blackouts nationwide.

I attended university during a period where going to school seemed like wasting one’s precious time and adding more strain on family’s financial budgets. This was the period of 2006-2010 where Zimbabwe went through a major economic downfall, the 2008 elections and the dollarisation of the currency – a very difficult period. It did appear much better for one to quit school and cross the border to a neighbouring country as they would be guaranteed of access to their needs and wants. It is during this period that corruption within the various systems in the university grew like it was growing in any other sector in the country. You could see how people would manipulate the system because of a certain commodity they held, which was in demand. You would be shocked to hear what a lecturer would do when promised a bag of maize. As the economy got better with goods and commodities available, corruption, like cancer, still existed.

Students in Kenya and Uganda have established an anonymous website, Not In My Country which seeks to expose acts of corruption within universities in these two countries. By acting as whistle blowers, students rate their lecturers’ performances and have an optional field to explain their ratings. These are crowd sourced to provide ratings. In South Africa, university students at Wits are using the university newspaper, Vuvuzela, to expose lecturers who engage in misconduct in their work through sexual harassment. Students all over have been using various media to expose corruption within their universities but these are only effective if the university’s authorities take up their responsibility by investigating matters reported. Systems run by students often fall short as university staff protect each other as investigations or follow ups on reported cases are not made.

“Kings and lords come and go and leave nothing but statues in a desert, while a couple of young men tinkering in a workshop change the way the world works.” - Terry Pratchett from The Truth

It always been said women are better at telling their own stories, but one South African guy has defied all odds to take readers on a journey of a female university student. Please note that the identity of the writer was only revealed towards the last chapters on the blog, Diary of a Zulu Girl. I came across this blog a few weeks back and have been addicted to Thandeka the main character whom I thought was real and telling her own university experience story. Thandeka according to the writer, is making the transition, ‘from mud huts and umqombothi (African beer) to penthouses, expensive weaves and Moet”. I have only read a few of the first chapters but learning that the writer is male will not deter me from continuing with my interesting read.

I fell in love with Thandeka, not just that my best friend in primary was named Thandeka, but because in some scenes I could easily relate to her. For instance her first night of going out, not that my first night out happened as fast as hers, in the first 24 hours of her university life. But in the sense of how easily girls fall to ‘peer pressure’ in universities by the ones they trust. In the story, Thandeka had a ‘cousin’ S who was already enrolled at the university and whom her parents entrusted her to. It’s therefore easy for such people to influence whoever they have to watch over in campus be it in a good or bad way. On heir first night out, Thandeka dressed in her best clothes but according to her ‘cousin’ S the clothes were not suitable for going out….

…At 1030pm S came to my room to check if i was ready. I was wearing my hip-hop outfit (trend back home), skinnies with sneakers etc. You know the teen high school uniform for going out. We all look like lil Wayne wannabes. Looking at her i felt stupid! …She laughed and said we are not in Mooi River anymore I will have to change. I told her I did not have any such clothes and she said don’t worry i will hook you up…I had a weave on which back home we commonly call “razor” you know the one which short and is flat but curly at the back. She told me that by the end of the week this must go because here it was called “kasi weave”. She told me to rather stick to braids or my hair if i didn’t want weave. i was an eager student and dint wanna look rural so i absorbed it all…

The writer through the chapters that I have read so far, portrays real characters whom people can relate to out there. In an interview with The City Press, he says he drew his inspiration ” from years of giving advice on Facebook to his friends.” At least its not from the movies, its from real girls he interacts with no wonder he was able to portray the real life of a typical university girl. What really left me pleased with Mike and all the characters in his blog, is that his blog was entirely written on his mobile phone! The blog has been running for three weeks and ends with Chapter 51.

A comment made on the log reads: “I would like to start off by thanking you for opening our eyes as the youth. I am a 21yr old journalism student from Durban and I must say this blog really touched me. I am set to leave for JHB in the next two months and I will really be the “Zulu girl going to JHB” LOL…I feel that you have prepared me for what is to come and you have encouraged me to really take a look at myself and really check where my values stand.”

After an inspiring meeting yesterday afternoon in which activism in its many flavours was discussed, I had the mojo to stop my car, get out and do some investigating into an issue that’s been burning my arse lately. Of course you will also have realised that countless trees are being cut down all over Harare. I’ve been wondering who is behind cutting them down. Vigilante woodcutters? The City of Harare goes income generating? Over reaching home owners?

At the corner of Enterprise and Ridgeway South some big trees that afford remarkable shade and at times, rain cover to pedestrians, walkers, runners and vendors are being felled. When I stopped and hauled my outrage out of my car and onto the street this morning I was told that the City of Harare had been requested by the occupants of number 2 Ridgeway South to remove the trees because they’re dangerous and pose a threat.

All well and good but a few questions come up:

a) When the trees are felled, they may be felled responsibly but the area that they are taken from is not restored and our streets are slowly becoming lined with ugly tree stumps. So who is responsibly for ‘making good’ the area, ie removing the stumps?

b) Which of course begs the question – why doesn’t the City of Harare in partnership with either local residents or organisations like E Africa, replant new indigenous trees so that Harare doesn’t become a treeless city?

My next step:
- Write to City of Harare and raise this issue with them (I’m crossing fingers I get a response – safer than holding my breath because I’m likely to Die waiting)
- Write to the occupant who asked for the trees to be removed to see if they are willing and able to become tree champions; replant whatever you take out or ask to be taken out.
-Write to E Africa and ask them if they have any replanting schemes to mitigate the current cutting down of trees.