31st of July is going to come and pass but nobody knows what the future holds for Zimbabwe. If one of the contesting parties claims victory in this coming election speculation is high on the fate of the losing candidates and their supporters. As a nation I believe it is high time we go into this election with the mind of a gambler. Win or lose we just have to move on and not to go back to another 2008 era.

My friends in Kenya always tell me that Zimbabwe is like a copy of everything Kenya, and I tried to argue but when I was taken through all the political transitions Kenya went through, and Zimbabwe followed suite I got the picture but I wasn’t convinced on the point of leadership. Kenya was involved in a bloody and disputed election in 2007, which was later, resolved through an inclusive government. A few years later Kenya passed a new constitution and after that they held elections which some may say was peaceful whilst others blamed the invisible hand, which helped propel Uhuru Kenyatta to power. Well I noted the argument on rigging was based on the political affiliation and tribe these two friends of mine belonged to in Kenya. I was told African politics also has roots in tribe and religious beliefs just like what we are experiencing here in Zimbabwe when a running candidate was labeled a tribalist just because he is fighting the injustices people from his region experienced in the past 33 years.

Zimbabweans voted in 2008 and the dispute over the election result brought about the inclusive government and we now wait for elections on the 31st of July under a new charter, which was endorsed earlier this year. The only difference in our transition phase to that of Kenya is in the change of leadership. Just like ZANU-PF which has been in power for the past 33years, Kenya’s Kenya African National Union (KANU) ruled for nearly 40 years since independence and was defeated by the National Rainbow Coalition. If this is the same fate, which is going to face the revolutionary party, then maybe it could be true that were copying everything from Kenya.

As we approach the home run in the final stretch of the 2013 harmonized elections the talk of a grand coalition among political parties will just lead us to another blame game in the face of defeat. Looking back at how the two MDC parties have worked together in the inclusive government will tell you the that the relation wasn’t rosy at all so efforts to forge an alliance at this ninth hour are just futile. The only time these two parties teamed up was during the election of Speaker of Parliament and after the relationship went sour especially when then Ncube faction was embroiled in its own succession battle with the then leader Arthur Mutambara. Legislators from MDC-N were expelled from the party faction when they crossed floor to join Mr Tsvangirai’s faction. We later heard reports of the leaders of the unity government teaming up together and having closed door meetings singling out Welshman. In Maputo a grandstanding was staged at an SADC meeting when Tsvangirai and Ncube tried to humiliate President Robert Mugabe.

Just when people thought that the relationship had normalized the two leaders started their election campaigns by trading insults at each other, with Tsvangirai boasting of a huge support calling Ncube a village politician bent on peddling tribal politics. This tirade has turned out to be like a “dissing” contest at a rap concert. The lack of tangible policies in this year’s campaign is a clear sign of how politicians are trying to fill gaps in election manifestos with insults. If we are going to elect a leader should we base that on how eloquently the candidate disrespects opponents like a recent campaign advert I heard on radio about Tsvangirai’s sex life which is being peddled by ZANU-PF.

Politicians are like salesmen. Once the merchandise is sold and the money’s in the bag, the after sales service is a pain in the back. Elections are the only time you hear a politician plead and swear with the dead ancestors for support. The country is blooming with rainbow colors of election giveaways and something to put on at night to beat the winter chills, and to cover your head when you endure long hours of rhetoric in the blistering sun.

Giveaways come in various forms. Recently I was reading an article in the press about another election freebie announced by the Minister of Local Government. The local authorities are going to write off water debt. Though it could be a welcome gesture, the timing to write off water bills dating back to 2009 raises eyebrows as to whether this is another election gimmick by the revolutionary party. People now know the repercussions with comes with freebies of elections as history has shown that after being voted into power the same Minister will just recommend a hike in utility bills making the situation worse than before. If the Minister is really sincere about the plight of the Zimbabwean masses why didn’t he advise local authorities to relieve residents of the burden of paying for services long ago, when residents were drinking sewage and going for months with dry taps. Water is a human right but in the past five years it has become a luxury to some citizens of this beloved nation. So maybe these free for all gimmicks should not be limited to water only but also to the country’s sole provider of energy – Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority – which has been overcharging and switching off residents for bills inherited during the Zim dollar era.

Whether it was a Special Vote, or Early Vote as described by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson, it still led to a Chaotic Vote. Watching this video I note that the MDC-T Secretary General who is also the Minister of Finance, is still searching for a definition for Special Constabulary. It seems the Minister got to hear about the unit when the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission published figures of members of the police force who will be casting their ballots during special voting and yet he is the one who has been running the national payroll for the past five years. As the dispute over eligible voters in the 2013 harmonized elections in Zimbabwe gathers momentum questions are being asked about the special unit in the police force called the Special Constabulary.

According to Wikipedia, our former colonial master Britain defines Special Constabulary as the part-time volunteer section of a statutory police force in the United Kingdom or some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as special constables (all hold the office of constable no matter what their rank) or informally as specials.

In my area we have members of the neighborhood watch committee who assist the police in maintaining security during the night and maybe they also fit into this “Special Unit” definition. The debate can go further and lead to asking questions on who is paying for the services of this “special unit” of the police force and whether we still have ghost workers our national payroll?

After the signal blackout by the South African Broadcasting Corporation the free to air decoders acquired by most Zimbabweans are now symbolic and a reminder of what used to be an alternative source of entertainment. Recently I was watching a debate on ZBC’s “Melting Pot” and I expected to see a pot really melting with some lively debate but my expectations were a bit high. The debate turned out to be a rehearsed and a one sided event with in-between citation of a certain political party’s manifesto which I am sure by now viewers can now sing every word by heart. The show anchor actually did not even shy away from showing his party allegiance to an extent that one would have mistook him for a campaign manager of a certain political party. My previous dealing with shows like these would be remote in hand, flipping channels on my free to air decoder or settling my dollar for two movies from the streets.

I am not alone in this fix. The signal cut off by SABC has affected Zimbabwe’s generation of young viewers who had fallen in love with dramas and soaps from down south. Our own local production companies tried to lure young audiences with locally produced dramas and soap operas but the story line ended up getting tired and boring like the actors. The recycling of the usual actors was a big turn off to young viewers especially when our local television is competing with the youth targeted and fast paced programming from SABC and other digital satellite broadcasting stations. The reason why most Zimbabweans preferred to invest in the free to air decoders is they got tired of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s programming and monopoly of the airwaves. Also DSTV subscriptions are just too exorbitant.  How to do you expect to compete for viewers when programs like “Madzinza eZimbabwe” and some Korean documentaries with subtitles are aired during prime time viewing when SABC offers programs like Isidingo and Generations? Neither would one expect to watch a repeat of  ‘Talking Farming” after a long day at work.

But since I’m still searching for an the alternative here is my Friday prime time fix from ZBC-TV & Channel 2:

1730-1830 – NHAU/INDABA
1830-1930 – WOZA FRIDAY
1930-1931 – NEWS HEADLINES
1931-2000 – REVELATIONS
2000-2100 – NEWS HOUR
2100-2115 – ZANU PF – THE MANIFESTO
2115-2145 – MA 1 EP 03
2145-2300 – FRIDAY NIGHT ACTION MOVIE:
2300-2315 – LATE NIGHT NEWS
2315-2330 – ACTION MOVIE  (CONTINUATION)
2330-0000 – MY WIFE AND KIDS
0000-0100 – DOCUMENTARY
0100-0400 – IN CONCERT
0400-0530 – MOVIE:  PLEASURE PALACE
0530-0555 – SINJALO EP 11