An email I got today announcing Lesley Abdela as the winner of the 2009 UK Woman Political Journalist of the Year reminded me of how much I have enjoyed reading her articles in the past. So I had a brief look online to refresh my memory of some of my favourites. I came across 1325, in which Abdela asks “Why are women absent and warlords present when conflict-torn societies sit down for talks and rebuilding after war?”

As we celebrate International Women’s Day on the one hand, and on the other question why, of the 32 portfolio ministries in the inclusive government, only 5 are held by women, Abdela’s piece makes for a timely read.

Women’s absence in setting the formal agenda is often due to “Parallel Universe Syndrome”, as I call it. Women representatives promoting peace initiatives are mostly in the informal sector – in NGOs, civil society and advocacy groups. They are clamouring to be included on equal terms and in nearer equal numbers in peace discussions and setting a peace-building agenda. Meanwhile, those with access to formal political and economic power are mostly men. The men-at-the-tables representing conflict areas are mainly warlords, mafia, men who want to grab money and power, and religious leaders with their own power agenda. They cynically negotiate the post-conflict agenda, using reassuring “international speak” to representatives of the international community who are also primarily male – diplomats, senior personnel in international organisations, high-ranking military officers, government ministers. Time after time, women watch the lightning-quick bonding by the international male and the indigenous male, to the exclusion of women on both sides.  Read more

As Sophie Zvapera asked last month, Where are the women?

I hear that Morgan Tsvangirai recently called upon all Members of Parliament in Zimbabwe to declare their assets. A move in the right direction in my book; we certainly need more transparency and accountability. But I wonder whether Tsvangirai and the MDC will have the bollocks to demand that Mugabe hand back the fortune that he’s accumulated over his long years in power? That would be a good start wouldn’t it? The repatriation of some of Mugabe’s money might well pay our civil service for the next few years instead of us holding out a pathetic begging bowl to South Africa or the IMF or those pesky Western imperialists.

Here’s some food for thought from an interview between Dambisa Moyo and Richard Dowden:

A lot of the blame for Africa’s failure can be placed on its elites who take their money out of the country. They live like exceedingly rich Europeans or Americans with flashy cars and huge houses. Their children all go to British schools and British or American universities and they have no confidence in Africa. They don’t want anything to do with it. In fact, when you drink with them, you realise that they absolutely despise other Africans, especially the poor. They have no interest in developing Africa. They are doing extremely well, as they are living off aid or whatever their income is, and the idea of bringing education or health to their population doesn’t interest them in the slightest. They are often the people that Western business deals with and Western governments deal with. They are the people getting the aid, the political support, even the military support and they are being kept in power.

If Western countries wanted to help they could start by stopping the corruption money flowing back into Britain, as we saw in the case of the two huge Kenyan thefts. With the Goldenberg scandal, it ended up being nearly $4 billion shipped out of the country, reducing Kenya’s growth rate from 4.5 per cent to less than one per cent. It all ended up in the City of London through secret offshore accounts. The present government’s inquiry has implicated the former President Daniel arap Moi and his family and cronies. If we want to help Africa we have to say to its leaders: “What are you doing with all this money? Where did you get it? You’ve stolen it.” Those are the sort of things that we can help with. With people like Moi in power, the idea that you can transform a country with aid is preposterous.

And the same can be said about Zimbabwe with Mugabe still in power. With such an appalling track record the fact that aid might flow into a Mugabe government is mind boggling. Tsvangirai might be in office but he’s not in power.

Dewa Mavhinga in a recent blog wrote that he wants a “bold paradigm shift on the part of government and a fresh and new way of doing things”. With news that Cabinet Ministers, their Deputies and their Permanent Secretaries will be taking a three day retreat in Victoria Falls, we can already see that there is little commitment to tightening the purse strings and curbing expensive junkets.

Until Mugabe reimburses the national coffers, and until Zimbabwean politicians come down to earth, acting for and on behalf of the people, no aid should be given to Zimbabwe.

Elenah died from an AIDS related illness in about June 2008, leaving her young son an orphan in Harare. Estranged from her family Elenah had survived for many years on handouts from people  – I was one of them.

Elenah was infuriating. She refused to seek assistance from her extended family and told countless lies in an effort to get money from me. Her son was a quick study.

Regardless, I was sad to hear that Elenah had died and was concerned about what would become of her son. It wasn’t long before a young, ragged uncle arrived at my door with Joseph, hoping to pick up where Elenah had left off. I was having none of it and decided to dig a little deeper to find out what alternatives there were for the little guy.

With a little help from a social worker affiliated with SOS Children’s Village I eventually tracked down Freddy – Elenah’s half-brother and a thoroughly decent man.

Freddy and his wife agreed to take their half-nephew into their family in spite of their own financial challenges and limited ‘floor-space’.

Over these months I’ve done my best to help Freddy with some of the expenses involved in caring for another child. 2008 and 2009 will surely go down as the most expensive and challenging years in a long time in Zimbabwe. Freddy and his wife have clearly battled to keep food on the table and the wolf (and cholera) from the door.

Late last week I met with Freddy to discuss costs and, as can be expected, he tried a couple of tacks to see if I was good for any additional assistance.  I was unable to help with a couple of his requests but it was his last that had potential. Freddy is a diesel plant mechanic so you will possibly understand why I wasn’t prepared for what followed. In spite of all the inherent hardships involved in his life, Freddy has time to write music and lead a jazz band!

He invited me to join his band and help him with its costs. Very creative – only problem is I’m musically challenged unlike other members of my family.

He owns his guitar but needs money to hire and transport equipment to a venue to practise with his band. He would like to own normal band stuff – instruments, amplifier etc. And of course, he would like to be recorded.

What we’ve agreed is that Freddy will spend the next month practising with his band in preparation for an informal recording by my colleagues at Kubatana in early April. We’ll record them in action in Mufakose and hope that they’re good so that we can put together a demo CD to launch them!

I have to agree with Bev. Mugabe’s motorcade and aggressive outriders have been more than an irritant in our lives all these years. To consider yet another motorcade for another chef is a dreadful thought.

We expect the MDC to come up with creative solutions to address the havoc wrought on our nation by years of unrestrained Zanu(PF) excess – not a tit for tat wrestling for privileges.

Tendai Biti should have used this very sad incident to highlight the need to: rehabilitate our roads; reform, retrain and properly remunerate the police force; restore law and order to our country and a sense of community and social responsibility in all of us.

Susan’s death is a tragedy – but no more or less of a tragedy than those lives lost prematurely in other accidents on the roads this year.

Come on MDC, step up to the challenge and show us how different you can be from Zanu(PF).

On Friday 6 March, we sent a text message to over 5,000 subscribers, to let them know that Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his wife Susan had been in a car crash that left him injured and Susan dead.

While Tsvangirai has publically stated that he believes the crash was a genuine accident, Zimbabwean politics has a long history of opposition leaders dying in car crashes.  So it was unsurprising that the responses we received expressed a mixture of shock, grief, sympathy, and scepticism.

Of the 63 messages we received in response, 24 were from people seeking more information – asking questions like was it true, and could they have more details. 17 people sent text messages asking whether the “accident” was really an accident – or foul play. And 22 people sent their condolence messages to Morgan Tsvangirai and his family, in sympathy for his loss.

These are some of the messages we received:

Any chance of foul play?

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D0 u think this iz a genuine ac-dnt?

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Have  these  accidents  start  again. Very  sorry  that  the   prime minister  lost  his  wife  at  this   hour.

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How can a driver fall asleep at 4pm the driver is a murderer and there is need for tight and reliable security around am sorry my sympathy 2 the Hon Prime Minister and his entire family . A lot of questions remain unanswered.

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I felt angry with this sad news. I think its an assassination plot by Zanu PF

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I mourn with the Tsvangirai family on the sad loss of Mrs Susan Tsvangirai. I was greatly disheartened by the news. The PM never walks alone for we are with him.

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Its soro +shocking  2 learn Susan’s death. Its good 4M 2no we’re together

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Its very sad. These are the works of ZANU PF. All opposition ministers must exercise extreme caution or otherwise Robert will wipe them off.  Greatly disturbed.

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My condolence msg to the Tsvangirais and may the PM recover in the soonest.

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My deepest sympathy to the first family. Susan was a role model to both young and ladies.R.I.P.

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Sad story. A clear sign of an attempt to kill him.

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Sori to the Tsvangirai family and the whole nation. May the Lord have mercy to her soul.

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Strange accident cumz soon afta Politburo mtng. ZPF’s done it. If they killed Manyika & others of their own wat can stop them killing Morgi – a thorn in their flesh?

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We convey our heart felt condolences to MTand family on his sad loss. We hope that God gives them fortitude at the moment of their extreame grief and pain

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We receive this news with great shock

The Prime Minister’s office is also accepting condolence messages on their website

The Mail & Guardian recently interviewed William Gumede who is always worth a read. His new book, The Democracy Gap: Africa’s Wasted Years, is due out in May. One of the questions that the Mail & Guardian put to Gumede was: What are the pointers for a flawed leader? And he suggested that “You can measure the potential for failure by the number of bodyguards a politician has. The bigger the convoy, the more likely he is to fail, to be a dictator.” Read more