Sunday 28 October 2012

Zimbabwe's problem in two images

The wealth of a country is showcased, not by the opulence of its ministers but by the comfort of its people. Zimbabwe's leaders are making sure that their own opulence is the sole evidence that the country is rich.

This is what we currently have in Zimbabwe.

I have absolutely no doubt that the following could be achieved with the same amount of money used to achieve the above.









Saturday 27 October 2012

Zimbabwe's problems go deeper than centralisation of power

Devolution has not been fully explained. My own thinking for a very long time has been that governors should be elected, like mayors. That would force them to be accountable to the local electorate not just a central leader.

Governors should also be given budgets to work with. We already have a system with such things as provincial roads and provincial hospitals. These could be directly run by provincial administrations under elected governors. Zimbabwe's cities already have such systems in place with Harare running Wilkins and Beatrice Rd hospitals.

The taxation model should also be tweaked to ensure that a portion of taxes collected by ZIMRA goes to the relevant local authority. The element of local taxation already exists through such things as land levy for titled land, and rates for urban properties. This has not been well administered or even fully understood by the government.

What we must also understand is that our problems are not just a result of the structure of our government. I think 90% of our problems are due to lack of diligence, dedication and effort to the national cause by our political leaders. Most of them spent more than half their time wheeling and dealing to enrich themselves, not paying attention to the job they claim to have volunteered for.

In a democracy leadership is a voluntary endeavour and anybody partaking it must know that there is an element of self sacrifice. Most of our leaders only look for the element of self-enrichment and no further. Many of the people who are participating in politics today, would not bother if the self-enrichment opportunity was removed.

As long as that selfish culture remains, it does not matter how many units we devolve Zimbabwe into. The majority of the people will still suffer. Even family units will suffer if the father selfishly indulges in beer and prostitutes while not buying food for his family.

Don't you witness some men buying heaps upon heaps of meat at gochi gochi places while their families at home are scrounging around for mufushwa, macimbi and harurwa (dried vegetables, mopani worms and edible bugs).

Responsible behaviour in our leadership is a necessity. Self sacrifice is also a necessity. But what do we witness today. Our leaders would not want to miss a single trip to Malaysia (kunodya nyika rutivi [destroying the countryside]) or Seychelles (kunodya gungwa rutivi [destroying the seas]). Yet some of the money could be used to buy medicines in clinics.

Our leaders will not leave any stone unturned to send their often dull children to very, very expensive universities in places like Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and so on. They also give them enough money to live extra-ordinarily lavish lifestyles.

Yet the teachers and lecturers who are supposed to teach our very brilliant children locally are paid peanuts. Our brilliant children are forced to read by paraffin lamp and candle-light while the often dull children of top politicians are frolicking amid multi-coloured disco lights, wasting money on clubbing.

Notice that I haven't mentioned a single person by name in this comment. Anyone who jumps up and decides to appoint themselves the target of these comments should just think of the saying 'Anyumwa bere nderake'. The one who is suspicious of the presence of a hyena must be the owner.

Sunday 14 October 2012

Fighting over Zimbabwe

Several months ago two young Zimbabweans were disqualified from reality show Big Brother Africa. The two Zimbabweans fought and undermined each other, for no good reason. The fight was not a spur of the moment thing, but a petty conflict that escalated and escalated.

In fact, the show's authorities were too lenient with the two for too long. All I can remember about their participation in the show is them throwing fluids of one kind or another at each other. The other participants grew muscles holding these two apart.

Well, I am not surprised. They behaved like a typical bunch of Zimbabwean idiots - take a good thing, fight over it until it is destroyed. They call it shaisano.

Talking about fighting over a good thing, what about fighting over the country itself? Do I need to mention any names? I am sure everyone knows who fought over our beautiful country until it was destroyed.

The eviction of two Zimbabweans from Big Brother Africa Stargame perhaps illustrates what is wrong with Zimbabwean attitudes. They fight each other to total destruction over petty issues.

We Zimbabweans exhibit levels of selfishness that are unbelievable. We take individualism far much more than a couple of miles too far. We seem to take delight in stomping each other until we all have no toes.

Elections are due within a year and it is clear that beds of thorns are being prepared for opponents. The 'if I can't have it, you can't have it too' rhetoric is already starting to goo over the political atmosphere.

At the end of the day it is the ordinary people who suffer the most. They are in for another round of bashing as politicians try to humiliate each other.