Dear Sir,

I thought it best to write to you, seeing as I have not seen you or heard from you since the elections. You will agree that we need to keep the lines of communication open.

I have taken this initiative to bring to your attention things that I want addressed, small things, but to have them dealt with would so improve the quality of my life. I also want to formally notify you that I will be writing you a number of letters as and when l feel that there is something that needs your attention, as my elected representative of course.

I live in the Avenues. I would love to walk safely from the shops at Fife Avenue Shopping Centre but in the near darkness that is the Avenues, I cannot without risking life or limb. I would love to walk down the two roads to my friend’s flat for a chat on Friday, but how can I? Many a time I have sat in my office and heard the sounds of muggings and robberies going on in the road below me. I have felt powerless to intervene. I have just cowered behind my desk and heaved a sigh of relief that this time it is not me.

Usually after such an incident, I stop to speak to the security guard at the door on my way out. I used to wonder why all the security guards in the street didn’t do more to come to the rescue of the unfortunate victims, until they told me that if they get involved, the thieves would come back for them. Self preservation, but can you blame them? I have often wondered why we do not have an emergency number to call the police for assistance. But I guess that is a matter for the next government.

Which brings me to my point. What is your party’s position on crime and what do you intend to do to ensure that you improve safety and security for your citizens. And I am NOT talking about interfering with my mail or other Big Brother tactics.

For the time being, I will tell you how this situation is affecting me and others like me. I no longer work late. I do not want to be carjacked, mugged or worse. My best friend no longer goes to the college she used to attend. How would she walk home from the 7:30 lecture without getting mugged or raped or killed? Now how many people are not putting in the hours they need to at work? How many women and men are not furthering their education because they have legitimate fears for their safety? Now what are you going to do about it??

Kindly think about this as you begin planning your re-election campaign.

Yours sincerely,

Catherine Makoni
Resident, Harare Central

This entry was posted on July 31st, 2007 at 3:19 pm by Catherine Makoni and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.