Catherine Makoni makes several good points about Mayor Masunda and his new Mercedes Benz. For some back ground information here is the full text of the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) statement:

CHRA remains committed to advocating for good, transparent and accountable local governance as well as lobbying for quality and affordable municipal (and other) services on a non partisan basis.

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) is disappointed by Mayor Masunda’s defensive statements on Council’s acquisition of a high profile and expensive Mercedes Benz for him. The Mayor’s statements have done nothing except to provoke the anger of the ratepayers who are failing to put food on their tables because most of their earnings are going to the City’s Treasury and yet little is being done to improve service delivery.

The Mayor’s arguments that the car was budgeted for and that it is Council property do not hold water. Residents are not concerned about what has, and has not been budgeted for but what they want is to see their hard earned money being put to good use. Furthermore, when the City of Harare announced its 2009 budget, nothing was mentioned about the purchase of an expensive car for the Mayor. The Mayor must note that the purchase of an expensive car at a time when the Council is making noise about being bankrupt and harassing residents with letters of final demand is reflective of a Council that has a serious problem of misdirected priorities. Residents understand that the Mayor also needs to drive a good car as he goes about his official duties but would it not be more reasonable to purchase a less expensive but good car? It is a known fact that the Council has not done much to show for its existence at Town House taking into consideration the poor state of service delivery in Harare. Roads are flowered by pot holes; street and traffic lights are not working and they have not been maintained; piles of garbage are littered at most street corners in the residential areas and shopping centers; raw sewerage is still a dreaded neighbor in most high density areas. In spite of all these calamities, the City of Harare is harassing residents with letters of final demand and threatening them with legal action. How can the Mayor have the guts to say that the residents’ complaints are not founded?

Residents know that the car is part of Council property but they would rather have garbage trucks to remove the menacing garbage piles rather than have an expensive Mercedes that will only benefit one person. It is also unexpected of the Mayor to brag about the numerous personal cars that he has. If he does not need the car why is he accepting it? The Mayor must also remember that when he got into office he said that he has his own things and that he would not allow Council to pamper him with the ratepayers’ money. The Mayor also graced the media talking about his various connections in the business world and made promises that he would turn around the state of service delivery in Harare. Residents want to see things happening on the ground and it is the job of the Mayor to make sure that residents get value for their money.

This move is a blatant insult to residents who have been served with final letters of demand under the guise that the city has run out of money. Residents maintain that they will not pay for non-existent services.

Since its formation the MDC has campaigned on a platform of change, democracy, good governance and respect for the rule of law. I want to talk about ACCOUNTABILITY and the MDC. If they campaigned on the platform that they are different, they have to show us that they are different, otherwise they have no right talking about the speck in the eye of ZANU PF when they cannot see the log in their own eye.  Accountability refers to such concepts as responsibility, answerability, enforcement, liability for blame and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving. I trawled the MDC’s website looking for something that could give me a concrete indication of the principles that the party stands for and this is what l came up with;

MDC Governance Principles

An MDC government shall listen to its people and will serve the nation and protect the nation honestly.

The people of Harare are saying that they do not want the Mayor to be spending USD152 000 on a luxury Mercedes Benz while the city residents go without water and other essential services. The people of Harare are saying they do not want the mayor to travel around in the lap of luxury while they get mugged on dark streets. The city’s residents are saying no to a luxury vehicle which the mayor cannot even use to visit those of the city’s residents who live in areas where the roads have become impassable due to the deterioration. The city’s residents are saying to the MDC mayor, no to splurging money on immoral purchases that cannot be justified by a council hamstrung for money to spend on essential services. Muchadeyi Masunda should buy a vehicle that will enable him to visit Morton Jaffray Waterworks to see the progress or lack thereof in the treatment of the city’s water. He should buy a vehicle that will enable him to visit Hatcliff Extension and see the lack of progress towards construction of roads. A Mazda “Eagle” truck from Willowvale fits the bill and serves the dual purpose of promoting local industry. What is the point in the MDC hosting workshops urging people to support local industries by “buying Zimbabwean” when they are not willing to lead by example?  Now that the people of Harare have spoken, will the MDC listen and serve the nation honestly? Accountability demands that the mayor be answerable to the people that he purports to serve.

An MDC government will serve the nation effectively and efficiently through a professional, motivated and dedicated Public Service.

This is the other principle stated on the MDC website. They are promising us an efficient, professional, motivated and dedicated public service. Now the Mayor recently splurged thousands of USD on his installation festivities, with entertainment, food and drink aplenty. Was this necessary for a council that is failing to deliver essential services to its public? Was that the most effective and efficient use of public resources by a public official? Was it professional? The people of Harare do not think that is the most efficient, effective or professional way of spending scarce public resources. We would rather the money spent on beer and other refreshments during the installation ceremony had been channelled towards rehabilitating just one council library or refurbishing just one council clinic so that women do not die in childbirth while elected officials feast at the trough. They could have held a low key ceremony at town house. We would not have begrudged them that. Ostentatious ceremonies are reminiscent of birthday parties of governments past that have seen chefs engorging themselves while people starved in the countryside. Now can the MDC explain how different they are from that? The MDC certainly have no right to be making comments such as those reportedly made by Cllr Masiye Kapare who allegedly said “Do these rabble-rousers feel it is alright for the mayor, who is actually the face of Zimbabwe by virtue of heading the country’s capital, to be seen around in a small cheap car which may make him a laughing stock to ambassadors and other partners?” I want to challenge Cllr Kapare to show me one ambassador or funding partner who would rather the money that they are donating be spent on ostentatious luxury vehicles for the Mayor than on ensuring that council clinics are properly stocked with medication to ensure that the city’s children do not die needlessly. Or buying books for council schools to ensure that the city’s children are given a fair chance at being productive citizens. Splurging public resources on luxury vehicles and parties is not the most efficient use of resources, it is not professional and it reflects badly on this party.

An MDC government will serve the people of Zimbabwe’s interests not individuals, or groups of individual. (sic)

Muchadeyi Masunda is quoted as defending the proposed purchase of the luxury Mercedes Benz by saying; “People should not treat this as if it is me or the town clerk who is demanding that I get a car,” he argued. “The project is just part of the council budget. Why would people complain about the mayor’s car? Why do they not raise the same concerns about ministers’ cars or the prime minister’s or even President Mugabe’s motorcade? Street lights, road repairs and the mayor’s car are all budgeted for. If Simba Moyo became the next Mayor, he will be driven around in that car.”

With all due respect, Mr Masunda misses the point. Is he saying if cabinet ministers steal then he can also steal? Is he saying that he wants the Mercedes because the President has a host of them? Is he going to be demanding a mayoral motorcade next? Just because the President moves around with a gazillion cars in his motorcade does not make it ok for the mayor to splurge on one. I thought MDC is about accountability? How different is this brand of politics from the brand that we have been living under for the past 29 years? So what if it is part of the budget? It is a bad budget that makes provision for a $152 000 car while the city’s residents go without essential services. Nor does the apparent endorsement by the Minister Chombo make it right. Chombo says the Mayor deserves “a nice car, preferably a Mercedes Benz. Not necessarily an ML. I would prefer an S Class 350.” On what does the Minister base that conclusion? What has Masunda done to deserve an S Class? Is this performance based? When he has just officially been sworn in? Really?

Of course Mr Masunda wants the car. He feels justified because cabinet ministers and the prime minister all have luxury cars. The demand for a new luxury car is about serving the interests of the mayor as an individual. That goes against everything the MDC purports to espouse. The luxury cars that the MDC MPs and ministers have been clamouring for are about serving their interests as a group of politicians. How does his driving around in a luxury vehicle serve the people of Harare? It doesn’t!

Now accountability also presupposes that the Mayor can be called upon to justify his actions and to suffer punishment in the event of a finding of wrongdoing. This is where CHRA comes in. How about legal action to interdict the Mayor from buying this vehicle? That would ensure that he is answerable to us wouldn’t it? MDC’s officials like Caesar’s wife should be above reproach.

I want the life I was promised as a child.
I do not want to go to another country,
to live like a foreigner,
a second class citizen
who doesn’t speak the lingo,
understand the subtle nuances of
that culture, that language,
THOSE people.
I want to celebrate MY Heroes Holiday,
not just go through the motions,
because really, its a public holiday and what else is there to do?
I want to feel safe when I walk the streets,
of MY country,
and not live in fear
of harrasment because I’m a woman;
of violence because of my political, religious or social beliefs;
of hunger when I work like a slave;
or poverty because no matter what I do, its never enough.
I want to see an end in sight,
a reason to stay and fight,
other than this is the land of my birth.
Its not enough anymore.

Yesterday I posted a piece on punishment in schools, inviting opinions on whether, when, and how beating children in schools is acceptable, and how to deal with the question of discipline in schools.

Here are a few more comments on this issue:

My own daughter is in form 3 at a school in Chinhoyi. I paid $410 full fees for the previous term. The fees were paid right at the beginning of the term. Half way in the term the school authorities ordered the pupils to pay an extra $30 per pupil for extra lessons with the same teachers and after full fees were paid in good time. My daughter and many others about half of each class failed to pay the $30 and did not attend the extra lessons. The exams were set bringing in mostly material covered in the extra lessons. My daughter and the other pupils obviously failed most of the subjects. All those who failed were severely beaten up by the school authorities. I am in the same predicament, how can I complain without making my daughter vulnerable?
- TM, Chinhoyi

—–

I hope you can view the subject scripturally as well.  See Hint 12 from The Duties of Parents by J. C. Ryle (first printed in 1888).  “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”   [Proverbs 22:6]
- MG

What do you think? Leave your comment here or email info [at] kubatana [dot] net.

Kubatana recently received an email from a subscriber describing an incident in which a young girl was badly beaten by school authorities. Our subscriber wanted to encourage debate and discussion on this issue:

1. Do schools have the right to ‘beat’ and I mean beat children?
2. Do they have the right to do so without the sanction of their parents (if indeed this makes it right at all)?
3. Does beating ever solve anything or will it only ensure that the child becomes an adult who beats?
4. Is authority best wielded through the stick?
5. Does the Ministry of Education approve of beating?
6. What sanction do parents have against their child being beaten?
7. What action can they take if the child is beaten and the parents disapprove?
8. How can one complain without making the child’s position even more vulnerable?

We asked our email subscribers for their feedback today, and some of their feedback includes:

I personally think it depends to what extent is the teacher beating the student. There should be some kind of a limit and areas to beat if it is discipline the student. If  you are to see most of these big educated guys they went through all these kinds of treatment and most of them ended up doing well and worked within a disciplined order guided by code of  good social behaiour.

If students are not to be beaten they are more chances of them misbehaving and the teacher will end up being reluctant to monitor the general behaviour of the students because he or she would not want to waste time on someone he or she has no control over.

If punishment of students in schools is to be approved and made known to the students, I believe the behavior of them will substantially improve and possibly yield better people for tomorrow.
- ML

——

If anyone considers unfair and unreasonable treatment of children it should be in consideration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

These instruments recognize that all human beings should be free, have freedom from fear and want, and are endowed with equal and inalienable rights. Accordingly, human rights are acknowledged as being universal, that is they apply everywhere, and inalienable, which means that they cannot be taken away from the person even with his or her agreement. In your brief there appears to be contravention of the following principle: -

The school should have respect for due process and the right to a fair hearing before taking any disciplinary measures. Any disciplinary measures should be proportionate and not involve physical punishment or inhuman or degrading treatment.

Environments characterized by activities that can affect or involve children may provide particular difficulties and high risk situations of violating or being complicit in human rights abuses. Schools may be faced with the need to make difficult and complex judgments on whether and how to conduct themselves.

The UDHR itself states that “every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.’’

An organization may be regarded as complicit if it in some way authorizes, tolerates or knowingly ignores abuses committed by the school.  While case law is developing that is clarifying the legal liability of private organizations for complicity in international crimes, most of what society, business and human rights advocates understand as complicity goes beyond its present legal definition and application.  The school and staff in their personal capacities may find they become isolated as international organizations (e.g. international finance or looking for another job) become risk averse if their complicity in turn may in any way entail liability under international law.
- TL

What do you think? Is there an “acceptable” level of beating? Or does all corporal punishment on students a violation of their rights? Email us your thoughts and opinions on info [at] kubatana [dot] net or leave us your comment here.

In a previous blog of mine entitled Violence and masculine performers a reader raised the following questions:

I want to know if the project on Violence would help to reduce the prevalence of violence in the Zimbabwean communities or not. I just want to know your fair minded judgement based on what the fourteen participants contributed on that topic of violence. Is the film going to help all the people (men and women) or women only or vise versa? If it cannot help, what are the areas that were not clear that will leave the people still wanting more information concerning violence?

The simple answer is yes.  I believe all of the participants walked away from the week having absorbed new knowledge and inspired ideas around what violence entails, why violence is a coward’s solution, and how to better lead life in non-violent ways.  One reason I say yes is because the fourteen participants were willing to speak at length and in detail as well as willing to speak honestly and in relation to their personal experiences.  That’s no small feat.  All too often discussions about violence in Zimbabwe are predictable and merely go the route of referencing “other” people who commit acts of violence.  When individuals look inwardly to unravel their own beliefs and actions then the conversations get real and begin to pave the way for meaningful paths toward change.   Therefore, I stand by a point in the original blog.  Change must come from within.  Within individuals.  Within communities.  Within institutions.  Within societies.  One by one, and it’s a process which takes time.  Tho, all the little things help.

At the same time, the questions which have been posed do not neatly have simple answers.  As I noted, the honesty among the participants was key in building discussions which were true to life and constructive.  But honesty is not always synonymous with hearing what you hope to hear.   Much of the honesty among the male and female participants incorporated belief that there are situations where violence against women is warranted.  Intermingled or likely one reason for that belief is what I saw as unsettling blind faith and one-dimensional this is just the way it is adherence to the notions that women are the weaker sex, that labola is tradition and a form of payment for a wife, that good wives must allow husbands to exercise their conjugal rights, and so on.  I mean come on.  Is that really just the way it is?  Or, is it not the case that all human beings harmoniously deserve respect, love, companionship, admiration, laughter, compassion, and equality from their fellow human beings?

The reader asked for my fair minded judgment.  To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I can be fair.  While I have the utmost respect for how honest the participants were, there were moments during the week where my jaw dropped.  I was in shock.  How can people think violence is ok?  And to try to rationalize justifications for violence, it made my body hurt.   In fact, during the week of filming I had nightmares.  And continue to have nightmares.  They are nightmares where people needlessly resort to violence.  So yeah, it’s tough for me to fair.  Intellectually a lot of what was expressed during the week I did not agree with.  Emotionally the week was taxing for me.  I would like to say I don’t have a violent bone in my body; however, in reality, no person can live up to that assertion.  But what I can do, and I hope the film participants also do, is recognize that every human being has the ability to make choices around whether or not to be violent.

Back to my simple answer.  Yes.  The week of filming was successful.   I remain hopeful.  I believe there are many courageous Zimbabweans, people who are willing to take a hard look at themselves and in turn, to let that self-reflective journey inspire them toward travelling down roads of non-violence and helping others do the same.  And as I said, little things do help.  Like this film project and others which International Video Fair Trust (IVFT) is implementing.  Disseminating films where the filmed participants speak up is surely a recipe for success and an effective way to encourage others to address the difficult issues in life.   And you know, there is a nice synergy with Kubatana’s Inzwa Weekly Audio Magazine.  Just as much as the people who work for the Adult Rape Clinic and the people who access those services are everyday heroes so too is it importantly heroic to make the information available.  To stand up and say, for those of you who might benefit from the services at the Adult Rape Clinic, please make use of them and we support you in the most heartfelt ways.