Of reality, hopes, truth,lies and political fantasy in Zim!

Somebody once said that, the reason why history repeats itself is that so many people were not listening the first time. The same is true for my beloved country Zimbabwe. I sometimes feel that many people do not differentiate between what/where they wish that the direction of the country will go. Not only that but also how it is going to go!

 History has shown that in an struggle, the time factor plays a huge role in as far as the course and causes are concerned. There are long and short term goals as well as plans. There is always a danger for people to achieve long term plans through short term means and ways.  Long term plans naturally requires that, people be focused and unwavering despite many dangers that may accompany that route until they reach their desired destination . Failure to do so will mean that people must always refer to the drawing board, lest they accomplish the same and their hard work is in vain.

 A sad thing that can happen in between the time is that people might tend to relax and enjoy the short term benefits, that may come along the way. Some of the benefits may be too comfortable and these would naturally cloud some members of the movements. The opposite can be equally true too. Looking at the political situation in Zimbabwe today, nobody should under estimate the fatigue that all activists, human rights groups / watch dogs, opposition political parties, private media enterprises, independents as well as individuals have gone through. Anybody who under estimate that fact will not fully understand the cost of forging a new Zimbabwe! Many civic and political organizations, analysts, technocrats and wise men and woman have fallen by the wayside in this long  tiresome struggle to re liberate "Zimbabwe" from the so called "liberators" We have seen bright people with good intentions corrupted. We have seen opposition groups and individuals giving in to the ruling party's tactics, some slower than others while others, faster that others. Sadly we have  seen people lose their ultimate lives or  those of loved ones.

 

I personally salute anybody who has contributed in any way, protested, voted against, expressed any disinterest in  the ruling party in any way shape or form. Its been said that in order for any people to know where they are going  they must know where they are coming from. There is a West African proverb that says ' If you do not know where you are coming from, where are you going? We are coming from political intolerance and brutality as well of the abuse of power by the ruling party in its highest form. We are coming from a history of mass graves of butchered citizens, who were condemned to that fate by their political party choice, origin of birth and mother language. All this happened  in a free and liberate Zimbabwe that was bought by our brothers, sons and daughter in Zambia and Mozambique fighting the cruelty of the Smith regime in 1970s. We are fighting a system of oppression more or less similar to  that of Rhodesia's last Prime Minister's tactics Ian Douglas Smith. This is the reality of what we are fighting for. (Independence to make our own choices politically and otherwise) This is the second revolution!

 

To be continued!

Tribalism is a bigger factor when it comes to African politics

 

 

Africa's democratic transition is back in the spotlight. The concern is no longer the stranglehold of autocrats, but the hijacking of the democratic process by tribal politics.

Kenya's 2007-08 post-election violence revealed the extent to which tribal forces could quickly bring a country to the brink of civil war.
The challenge to democracy in Africa is not the prevalence of ethnic diversity, but the use of identity politics to promote narrow tribal interests. It is tribalism.

There are those who argue that tribalism is a result of arbitrary post-colonial boundaries that force different communities to live within artificial borders.
This argument suggests that every ethnic community should have its own territory, which reinforces ethnic competition.

The last 20 years of Somalia have shown the dangers of ethnic competition and underscore the importance of building nations around ideas rather than clan identities.

Much attention over the last two decades has been devoted to removing autocrats and promoting multiparty politics.
But in the absence of efforts to build genuine political parties that compete on the basis of ideas, many African countries have reverted to tribal identities as foundations for political competition.
Leaders often exploit tribal loyalty to advance personal gain, parochial interests, patronage, and cronyism. But tribes are not built on democratic ideas but thrive on zero-sum competition.
As a result, they are inimical to democratic advancement.
In essence, tribal practices are occupying a vacuum created by lack of strong democratic institutions.

Tribal interests have played a major role in armed conflict and civil unrest across the continent. This article was first published by the BCC. It was by Professor Calestous Juma.

Crazy things that parents sometimes do!

 

My late great grand father who is my father's grand pa, (Magwadla) is known to have had notorious ideas about life in as far as raising children and grandchildren. He would wake them up in the early hours of the morning to go and plough. The man believed in hard work and nothing less. Off course being in the rural areas of Africa, nothing was viewed as abuse in those days. My father fondly tells me how his grand father would often yell "Vuka Satane isikhathi sokudubeka sifikile" Wake up little devil the time to toil has come! He trained his grand kids to be alert, at all time always being able to handle all situations. Like everybody telling the story for biased a reason, he would censor the sad moments. He was tough on them when cattle were lost and things like that! Everybody who grew up in rural areas will tell you what the value of cattle is to a peasant farmer!

One story that has stuck with me for a long time is how, he would go my dad's classroom at school and yell loudly at the window. "Limbona enje utshiye engendlulanga ingubo" You see him looking clean and smart, but he left his blankets scattered all over! This would obviously embarrass my father in front of the whole class. He is probably still embarrassed to this very day! Do not feel bad for him, he was a trick star in his own right, back then. As a matter of fact this part of the story was told by my father. If I am not mistaken, I think my late grandmother told it to us as kids. Growing up as a little boy, I always made sure to arrange my blankets neatly every morning before I left for school, fearing the same could happen to me.

I am not innocent either, well not to that extent. I recently found myself sneaking through the Sunday school glass doors of my kids classes. I was curious to see how they behaved if we are not there. I am glad I did. The results were shocking, they were all in their own worlds. I did talk to them after that at home. Although I promised not to do it again. They are better participants in class now than before. Just today my wife unloaded a picture of my thirteen year old step's bed son on face book. The bed was obviously not well arranged. She had a message that says "When your mother says make your bed before you get on the computer, this is not an acceptable outcome." This is some of the craziest things parents do!

Bosso sitting under a gold mine!

 

 

 

BOSSO CLUBHOUSE’S HUGE POTENTIAL

MOST people have a tendency of looking at either a person or a place and only see as far as their eyes can go but fail to recognise the potential that lies within that being.
...
While most of us see the Highlanders Sports Club as nothing more than our favourite watering hole, and a small sporting venue, a local lecturer in architecture with a team of his students have come up with a plan to revitalise Highlanders Sports Club that could turn the sporting venue into a world class facility accommodating various sporting disciplines.

At the moment the plan is nothing more than just an idea, National University of Science and Technology lecturer, Stance Ncube, believes the project could come to fruition.

He said the availability of funds might seem a hurdle at first sight but with the right approach the clubhouse could be remodelled.

The project was a class assignment and was not commissioned by Highlanders authorities.

Proposed changes include the erection of tennis courts, a hockey field and a multi-purpose hall, which can double up as an indoor sports arena accommodating a gym.

Already existing fields in the plan, which can be turned into training grounds for Highlanders Football Club teams, will be spruced up and small stands erected if the plan comes to fruition. Currently huge tracts of the facility are lying idle or are derelict with the clubhouse and outside kitchen seemingly the only best kept and functional premises.

The three football grounds at the venue are in a state of disrepair, as they either have no grass or overgrown grass, while part of the boundary fence has been damaged.

The executive Hlabangani Lounge is also malfunctioning.

Highlanders chairman Peter Dube acknowledged seeing the proposals but said they could not focus on the plan at the moment due to funding and priorities.

“We saw the proposals they came up with and it is a positive plan that looks at enhancing the clubhouse but at the moment it cannot be implemented due to club priorities and funding. However, we welcome all developmental proposals that come our way and feel they cannot be swept away,” he said.

Ncube, who was in charge of the design project, said the sports club had a huge potential unfortunately most parts of the club were lying derelict.

“I guess over the years lack of funds and concrete plans to keep the club afloat have hindered its revitalisation leading to lack of maintenance. We studied other sporting complexes among them, Naturena complex run by South African football team, Kaizer Chiefs and East Oaklands in the United States of America and BAC in the city before coming up with the plan.

“We just looked at the potential of the place and envisioned how the space within the grounds can be fully utilised by the owners of the venue,” he said.

Ncube said they were yet to do a proper costing of the project as they were yet to get a response from Highlanders.

He said they handed in their plans to club administrator, Melod Mpofu, who told them he would pass on the plans to the board before giving them feedback.

Ncube said the estimated cost of the full project could run close to just below a million dollars.

“I cannot give you the actual cost of the project because we are yet to do the actual costing. Effective and accurate costing is usually done in phases and I believe for the first phase we might need close to $400 000.

“This phase would include laying the groundwork, landscaping, erecting a fence, sprucing up the grounds and adding concrete for future buildings,” he said.

Currently the main users of the sports club are the Highlanders football team and the executive of the club is in charge of the club.

There are, however, other sporting disciplines under the banner of Highlanders that include basketball and volleyball.

The Highlanders family will have to come together if they hope to raise funds to erect the buildings.

Ncube said while at first sight the club will be deterred from pursuing the plans because of the prohibitive costs, there are several other avenues the club can engage in raising funds for the revival of the club and addition of new infrastructure.

“The first critical thing to understand is that building can be done in phases. Hence at every phase we can engage different partners.

“Highlanders do not have to dip into their pocket to complete the plan. Various sponsors can come on board such as BancABC sponsoring the sprucing up of the grounds, Delta Beverages also coming on board maybe through their Sprite brand to reconstruct the basketball courts and Dunlop or other entities involved in producing tennis equipment assisting in coming up with the tennis court.

“Naming rights can be given to the various grounds with companies that provided funding benefitting. The boundary wall can also be used as an advertising wall to generate revenue. There are also international bodies that Highlanders can tap into,” he said.

“I think it is critical to have such a plan despite the fact that funds might not be available at the moment. Determination will lead the club to the completion of the plan,” he said.

Other suggested funding methods in the project are Build-Operate-Transfer (Bot), loans, floating of shares and grants.

The students who worked on the design project titled Revitalisation of Highlanders Sports Club include Isidore Chikumbu, Dereck Kamupandira, Collin Maedzenge, Tatenda Mchibwa and Saneliso Ncube.

Ncube has worked in various roles as an architect after obtaining a Bsc undergraduate degree in Urban Planning and Design from the University of Zimbabwe in 2000 followed by a Masters in 2004 in the same field.

He has worked as a regional planner for the District Development Fund (DDF) for Matabeleland North and later Matabeleland South in the resettlement division.

He has also worked in South Africa for Grenerker LTA, where he was involved in various projects that include construction of townhouses and landscaping for the Orlando Stadium.

He is the chairperson of the Landscape Architecture and Urban Design department at Nust and is currently studying for a Masters in Construction Project Management at the university.

(From Sunday News)

Zim /S.A borders post overwelmed!

 

 

Police, immigration officers and New Limpopo Bridge Company workers had a torrid time trying to control the queues in a bid to reduce congestion at the country’s busiest inland port of entry.
The assistant regional immigration manager in charge of Beitbridge Border Post, Mr Charles Gwede, attributed the sudden increase in the volume of traffic to failure by their South African counterparts to absorb pressure on their side.

“We were forced to hold up the cars for several hours largely because our South African counterparts are failing to absorb pressure on their side resulting in the long winding queues on our side,” he said.
Mr Gwede said most of the people started travelling on Wednesday, a majority of which were Zimbabweans working in South Africa, commonly known as injiva flocking back to the neighbouring country following the end of the festive season.
When Chronicle newscrew visited the border post yesterday evening there were long queues of both human and vehicular traffic waiting to be cleared by customs and immigration officials on the departure side.
Mr Gwede said they expected the volume of both human and vehicular traffic to increase on exit side at the weekend.
“We are handling an increase in the volume of traffic as the number of people, mostly Zimbabweans working in South Africa have started going back following the end of the festive season.
“In fact, the numbers started increasing on Thursday and we expect the situation to get worse at the weekend,” he said.

Mr Gwede, however, said so far they were managing the situation.
“As immigration department I can safely say right now everything is under control and our officers are efficiently managing the queues. We have also created separate immigration counters for buses as a way of easing congestion and ensure a smooth movement of travellers,” he said.
Mr Gwede said as part of a decongestion drive they were working with police to control the movement of traffic into the border area.
“We are only allowing traffic to enter into the border in small batches so that we are able to reduce congestion,” he said.
Beitbridge Border Post last year recorded a sharp increase in the number of travellers who passed through during the festive period compared to the previous year.
Most of the travellers were Zimbabweans working in South Africa who were visiting their families and relatives back home during Christmas.
Mr Gwede said they were yet to compile the statistics on the movement of travellers during the festive season.

He said on average they handled between 80 and 120 buses on either side during the peak period. The arrival side had short queues yesterday and the volume of traffic had also gone down substantially compared to the period during the run up to Christmas.
Beitbridge is reportedly the busiest inland port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa, which handles a huge volume of traffic mostly commercial vehicles including those destined for neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On average the border handles about 8 000 travellers daily with the figures increasing to 20 000 during the peak period such as the festive season.
Mr Gwede said in an effort to speed up the clearance of travellers, they had suspended leave and off-days for their staff between 15 December last year and 16 January.
Meanwhile, on the South African side, long winding queues of cars and people were the order of the day as overwhelmed border officials battled to clear the huge influx of travellers entering their country.
The queues stretched to the main entry gate into the border yard.

South Africa’s Border Control Operation Coordinating Committee (BCOCC) spokesperson, Mr Patrick Moengs had earlier told this paper that they were reviewing plans to address congestion at their side of the border.  This story is an extract from the Chronicle by Mashudu Netsianda .

Dual citizenship is criminal : Home affairs

 

Saturday, 05 January 2013 1

GOVERNMENT has warned that it is a criminal offence for Zimbabweans to have dual citizenship following allegations that some people based in the diaspora were acquiring dual birth certificates — one in Zimbabwe and the other in the country they are based — for their children. Home Affairs co-Minister Kembo Mohadi said this following widespread allegations that parents with children born outside the country were not following the right procedures when they intend to acquire local birth certificates. “We do not allow dual citizenship in this country, when someone gives birth in a foreign land they are supposed to be given what is called a birth acknowledgement note which informs us of a birth of a Zimbabwean outside. This is then used to acquire a birth certificate in Zimbabwe,” said Minister Mohadi. Investigations by Sunday News revealed that many Zimbabweans especially those based in South Africa were using fraudulent ways to acquire birth certificates for their children born in that country. According to a source that is close to the happenings at the Registrar General’s office in Bulawayo, it is alleged that birth certificates being issued at sub offices around the region were issued in a fraudulent manner with some parents acquiring the certificates for children born outside the country without following the right procedures. It is said some children are born in neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana where they are issued with birth certificates from that end; the same parent then comes to Zimbabwe to register the same child and obtains a Zimbabwean birth certificate but does not renounce the foreign citizenship. The child then enjoys privileges from the countries they were born at the same time having Zimbabwean particulars. Parents intending to obtain a birth certificate for children born outside are allegedly asked to pay $50. “The parent produced South African documents when they wanted to get a Zimbabwean birth certificate only to be told that the fee is slightly more than a locally born child then they decided to just register the child as a Zimbabwean born child,” said the source. The officials then questioned the parents and revealed that she registered the child in the neighbouring country and wanted to register in Zimbabwe again so that the child can access documentation easily. These parents were not willing to renounce foreign citizenship. According to an official at the registry, if a child is issued with an external birth certificate which indicates that they were born outside the country but are Zimbabwean, there are certain challenges that follow when they want to secure other documents. This had made parents bribe processing officers various amounts of money to acquire the Zimbabwean birth certificates without birth records some paying as much as $100. However, Bulawayo provincial registrar Mrs Jane Peters professed ignorance over the issue when she was contacted for comment. “I do not know anything about it, as far as I am concerned we are still issuing birth certificates at sub offices,” she said before hanging up the phone. The practice has been happening at sub offices mainly as they are not strict on birth confirmation record as most children are from the rural areas or out skirts of the region and are born at home. Parents from the Diaspora however provide false information to officers so that they are not asked to produce birth records and pretend the child was born at home. Birth records are a pre-requisite for the acquisition of birth certificates. Birth records give proof of the place where the child was born; detailing the hospital and the ward where the child was born, the identity of the delivery nurse, as well as the name of the mother, and the name given to the child upon birth. This requirement is very important as it guards against the theft of children and illegal adoptions. This has made the sub offices issue hundreds of birth certificates to people coming from outside the country taking advantage of the loophole and parents who fail to pay required maternity fees. This situation has prompted the RG’s office to centralise the issuing of birth certificates for the mean time. “The issuing of birth certificates has now been centralised due to this anomaly and will commence as soon as the situation is normalised hopefully. Our superiors just gave us the directive to stop issuing birth certificates,” said the source. Minister Mohadi said it was an administrative issue that the issuing of birth certificates at sub offices had been stopped. “It is an administrative issue that they have stopped issuing birth certificates at sub offices that I cannot talk about but we will institute investigations and ensure that perpetrators of this crime are brought to book,” he said. The source said people from sub offices have been sending their documents to the district offices (Bulawayo and Umguza) for vetting but for the past three months no documents have been approved and people still have to come to the district office. This they say has created many challenges as people have to travel from far areas such as Lupane, Tsholotsho, Hwange, Umguza and other areas to access birth certificates as the sub offices have become defunct to a great extent. The source further said this situation had created a lot of pressure at the district offices as many people are flocking to the offices. This manner of acquiring documents fraudulently is reportedly occurring in various centres around the country too.  This story is an extract from Sunday News, Written by Robin Muchetu

Is Mthwakazi freedom dream only limited to social nertworks

 

 

As I begrudgingly approach that inevitable personal milestone of becoming a 40 year old, grumpy middle aged man, I take a bird's eye view of the life of a struggle that has been a part of my life for at least the entirety of my life, and at most the last half a century - the struggle for the liberation of the Mthwakazi state as advocated by the growing number of pro-independence movements scattered primarily in self-imposed exile in South Africa, the UK as well as the USA.

From the remnants of the Matebele-Anglo Boer war of 1893, to the current social-media- savvy young crop of pro-Mthwakazi independence movements, this valiant struggle has always been characterised, I submit, by the following flaws, which have seen to it that the struggle runs the risk of forever remaining in the minds and hearts of its proponents, but never on the ground, where it should be;

Lack of Sound Leadership
Recently, I watched a movie called "Braveheart", starring and directed by Mel Gibson. It is the story of the struggle for the independence from the English, by a valiant, yet, especially at the beginning, rag-tag group of villagers on the Scottish Highlands, all united by their will not to be totally under the English, but divided by their individual, self-interest motives. The hero in the story, William Wallace, comes on board, and whoops this group of non-entities into a resilient and victorious army.

It is a movie script, I will submit; but it has so many similarities to the Mthwakazi question.
Ever since I have been aware of this struggle; as far back as the year 2000; there has been no proper leadership compact; and the efforts of each of the individual groups has just dissipated into thin air, leaving peripheral supporters of this struggle not knowing how to support and make the dream a reality.
The movement needs a leader. Full stop! All this talk about having multiple pressure groups with fancy names, and even fancier leaders is no good for anyone. It is anyone's democratic right to start their own movement; but does it really serve the greater good? All successful movements of such a kind in the world are led by visible, capable leaders; who have the ability to bring the people together, and carry their struggle to fruition.

Lack of Direction
What does the movement want? Independence now; taking up political space in the region, and then using this as a platform to demand secession; taking up arms against the state and demanding independence now; devolution...these are some of the myriad of directions that the movement as a whole has advocated for over the years I have known it. Observers sooner than later tend to then forget such movements, and move on to similar movements on the continent which are visible via their sustained, never changing direction. If the movement want to get independence from Zimbabwe via negotiations, then let us see it doing that; in a sustained and sustainable way; and never give up till it is done. If the movement wants to gain political space by taking part in

Zimbabwean elections, as advocated by some groups, then do it; get on the ground hold visible, well-attended rallies. Get your word out there, get into parliament, and then do your advocating.
The lack of direction is being exploited by the movement's common enemy, and the stature of the movement gets lighter with every bit of ridicule from the authorities and the world media. To be quite honest neither the world, nor the Zimbabwean authorities take the movement seriously at all.

Resource Mobilisation
Stemming from one or perhaps both of the points above is the issue of resource mobilisation. This has dogged the movement for time immemorial, and simple processes like producing flyers/pamphlets for rallies for those that are going this route, or defence fees for those that have attempted the violent means; are all huge challenges for the movement. The reality of it is that off hand, without even thinking about it, or conducting any research whatsoever, I can personally come with more than 10 names of people from the region who have an abundance of recourses, and were they to be approached with proper plans, strategies and structures in place, would be willing to come on board and get this valiant struggle on an even keel. But because of the above issues, amongst others, none of these people want to be associated with the movement; at least publicly.

Unity
The movement has such a massive base of people to work with on the ground; if one follows their reasoning and assertions that the whole section of the country; from the banks of the Gwayi River on the north, to the southern tip of the Limpopo River in the South, all belong to the Mthwakazi Kingdom - the borders of an envisaged Mthwakazi state. One wonders then, that with all of this possible support for the cause, why it is that rallies called by some of the proponents of the movement have pitiful attendances; or why, when one of the most celebrated figures of this movement attends court, only a handful of people get to attend court. These are the signs which confuse the majority of supporters of this to go underground, and continue to sympathise and empathise, but never to put their heads above the parapet for fear of being laughed out of any communication space.

Visibility on the ground
Unless their strategy is to fight a guerrilla war to liberate Mthwakazi, most of the proponents of this movement tend to be a very scarce commodity on the ground. There are no visible structures that are taking this gospel to where it really matters - to the people on the ground. I spend a lot of time back home; including in the rural Matebeland, which should be the stronghold of this movement. I would be lying if I said to you that at any one point I have ever seen or heard any visible, audible reference to the movement on the ground. Of course on the social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter etc; we get to see the few (mostly the same now physical representations of the social media groups). As Chairman Mao once said; "The people are the sea that the revolutionary swims in,". In this case, I am not sure if the sea is at fault, or the fish that is this Mthwakazi revolution, is not doing the swimming!
Finally, I mean no harm when I say unless this movement shakes itself up from its great slumber, and learns from the other serious movements like the Catalonians, South Sudan,
and more recently, the Scots; it will remain but a painfully elusive dream that will turn into a nightmare which will haunt the current generations and generations to come!
Aluta Continua!!

by Thamsanqa Ncube. (This story was first published by Bulawayo24news.com)

A closer look at Zimbabwe's Unity day after 25yrs

 

 

 

 

 File picture, ZAPU commander Lookout Masuku and Solomon Mujuru walking side by side. I must assume that this picture was taken during the times of cease fire sometime in 1979 or there about.( Not real sure)

Most of the time we writers would love to be politically correct and not offend anyone who reads, so that we may have a huge following. I am not exempt to that , because a good writer must be approved by readers. The more readers you have the more accolades (merit) you get. One would be a fool to light a candle and put it under the bed. "Let your light shine before man" goes the famous bible saying.

I should have mention that both Masuku and Solomon Mujuru are deceased.  Masuku died after enduring detention in the hands of Zanu Pf sometime in 1986, I believe. Mujuru who would later became a army general  in the new and free Zimbabwe. He was arguable one of the richest Zimbabweans, not to mention that his wife is the first Vice President of the Republic. He tragically died last year in a mysterious fire, in his farm house. As for Masuku it was exactly the apposite. He was not even accorded a  national hero status. Him and Dumiso Dabengwa were detained by the Mugabe regime in a deliberate effort to crash Nkomo's Zapu, eliminate his supporters and create an everlasting one party state, where ZANU PF will rule for ever.

Thousand of villagers in Matabeleland and Midlands were maimed, butchered and killed in public, by the ZANU PF militia and national army unit known as the 5th Brigade. Joshua Nkomo would be forced to leave the country and seek refugee in London. A country he had spent his life trying to liberate himself and the people of Zimbabwe from. In Dec 22 1987 Nkomo's Zapu would sign a unity accord with Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF. This was meant to easy tensions and bring lasting peace and tranquility, fairness and development.

Twenty five years later, the country is more divided than ever.  Bulawayo is a ghost town far from the being the industrial  powerhouse that it used to be in the 60s. Matabeleland as a whole  is  legging behind as far as development is concerned. Ndebele people want to the region to break away from Zimbabwe, either as Mthwakazi. The only Matabeleland leaders in the govt are deputies or Vice post holders. Jorburg is now the capital of Matabeleland except that Harare  does the job of collect taxes. Bulawayo has no water. Did we ever knew anything about the so called synchronized flushing? This is just for starters. Even leaders of all major influential parties agree that Unity Accord did not benefit the whole country. Dumiso Dabengwa a senior FP Zapu official, and former  intelligence supremo lead a faction of some dissatisfied former PF Zapu fellow comrades out of the Unity Accord, to revive Zapu again about  three years ago.