Haitian-American artist Eric Telfort is currently in Bulawayo as part of an artists’ cultural exchange supported by the US Embassy in Harare, and has been working with artists in Bulawayo.

The Bulawayo Art Gallery yesterday launched When I Was Six, an exhibition of Telfort’s work.
Telfort, a computer games professional, is one of America’s rising young visual artists, with several qualifications in visual arts including undergraduate and graduate qualifications in Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design and New York Academy of Art respectively. His paintings have been exhibited at galleries in both New York and Rhode Island.

Telfort’s exhibition runs until Thursday, August 19.

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Following on from the post yesterday, here are more text messages from our subscribers saying how they’d like Zimbabwe’s diamond income spent:

Pay government workers sound salaries and pay outstanding debts eg IMF etc

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Education is the pillar of all forms of production. Why should educators be paid $190?

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Priority 1. Civil svc salaries. 2 support for manufacturing industries. 3 social svces. Governance transformation.

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The people wil nt benefit much b’cause of huori. I think they should upgrade the education and health systems, the vodzera macivil servant, kuti tisakaura nekubvisa maincentives ematicha, vana vadzidziswezvisvunu.

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Should pay civil servants vatambura nguva refu veduwe

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Zesa, education and health care.

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Gvt shld invest that money in key sectorz of the economy, 4 the betterment of our country.

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1st develop manicaland for the benefit of these people

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Civil servant salary, education & health empowerment

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Pay its civil servants to reduce brain drain and improve the social standards of the servants and eventually the povo will benefit.

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The Govt must prioritise sad state of civil servants and pensioners packages and fight corruption in and out

South Sudan is scheduled to have a referendum in January 2011 to decide whether they want to remain part of Sudan, or become a separate nation.

According to Elizabeth Dickson, writing for the Foreign Policy Blog:

South Sudan is utterly unprepared for independence. . . Many Sudan watchers are already labeling it a “pre-failed state.”

But the South Sudan National Anthem Committee has already launched a competition for submissions for its national anthem. Hip Hop artist K Deng is among those preparing an anthem.

“Like a very good dark chocolate this is a delicious novel with a bitter sweet flavour.”

Available from Weaver Press at $12 each.

Visit their web site to order your copy Today, and support Zimbabwean publishing!

Zimbabwe auctioned about 900,000 carats of diamonds, worth more than $72 million from the controversial Marange / Chiadzwa diamond fields yesterday.

According to Mining Minister Obert Mpofu, the 4.5 million carats of diamonds currently in Zimbabwe’s stocks could sell for up to $1.7 billion – over half Zimbabwe’s annual budget. In fact, according to the mid-year fiscal policy review by the Minister of Finance, Zimbabwe’s expenditure from January to June 2010 was US$813.4 million – so that estimated $1.7 billion would cover the whole year’s expenditure.

But there are fears that ordinary Zimbabweans won’t benefit from the country’s diamond wealth, and that the violence and corruption which have characterised the Marange fields since diamonds were discovered there will continue. What do Zimbabweans want to see the country’s diamond revenue spent on? Civil servants, education, health, and job creation primarily.

Today we sent our subscribers this text message:

Kubatana! Zimbabwe sells diamonds worth about $72 mill yesterday. More sales to come. Will the people benefit? What should govt’s priorities be for this money?

Below we share some of their responses:

Civil servants pay

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Civil servants salary.

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Education + industries

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Education health and housing Anne

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Give civil servants an increment

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Govt must direct diamonds funds towards resuscitating ailing industries to boost employment

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Gvt workers salary, health and industry devt.

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Health and education

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Health, infrastructure and salaries for civil servants

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Hope we will have more drugs, equipment and machinery in hospitals and subsidised tertiary education

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I think gvt shld prioritise industry

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I think the most important things to do is to address the health and education issues and also the poverty issue

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Infrastructure development

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Infrastructure development, upgrading of power stations and recapitalisation of ZISCO

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It should develop Masvingo road, health, water and sanitation, Hwange and Kariba power stations, then Civil servants to attract professionals abroad to come back.

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Look into the affairs of the civil service and revitalise production in industry

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More $ to civil servants who are ‘moving dead’.

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Pay civil who are caring home 165 dollars, whom they claim to want to uplift.

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Payment of civil servant salaries and building of bridges where necessary.

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Recapitalise our industries

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Revive manufacturing industry and health and education

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Some people will benefit no doubt – the same people that have always been selfishly & corruptly “benefiting” on behalf of the rest of the suffering nation.

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To make masvingo road first, byo rd to reduce carnage and hospitals

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Wages for civil servants and health care

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We hope it is going to increase salaries for workers without delay

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Zim will benefit a lot. I think a small percentage to the hospitals for medicines will be fair.