I believe that men and women of integrity and high moral standards still exist in our police force in Zimbabwe but there are some certain unruly elements in it as is the case in any part of life.

I can no longer trust the police because they don’t deal with the situation how they are supposed to. African police always need bribes instead of helping and saving the lives of those who need help.

The police have the constitutional mandate to provide security for the ordinary citizens of the country. However, they extort, intimidate and rob the same people they are mandated to protect. People no longer feel safe or have the patience to wait for the police to arrive at the scene of accident. Instead they settle on their own after an exchange of harsh words and sometimes fisticuffs.

The taxis that ply our roads hardly ever have all their papers so the drivers resort to tipping the officers at police road blocks to escape prosecution. My neighbour owns a Tuck-shop and sells bread. Instead of fining him for overpricing, the police take the bread away and share it amongst themselves.

And how can the police be trusted when drugs/mbanje kept in their custody goes missing among the police force itself?

To increase the effectiveness of the police force in Africa the conditions under which they do their duties must be improved, for example, transport to and from work, accommodation, and protection from physical, social, political and mental harm. Incentives and performance-based rewards can also be introduced.

The police force urgently needs to be policed by another independent body.

As we now approach the rainy season people are preparing their small pieces of land, or A3s as I heard someone saying, around the suburbs of our cities.

I think this is the right time for the Harare City Council to address this – the earlier the better. The council must have a clear-cut policy on urban agriculture that takes into consideration the need to conserve the environment while acknowledging the contribution urban farming makes towards household food security.

Haphazard urban farming has negatively impacted on the environment and in some instances has affected protected conservancies, forests and wetlands. For example, along Mutare road just after Jaggers or 11 months as it is popularly known, the Cleveland Dam is now exposed and the whole plantation of gum trees and the indigenous trees through to Mabvuku turn-off is now history. So it is time for the city fathers to act and protect this area before it is turned into these A3s again.

Urban agriculture, as part of a poverty reduction strategy, needs to be regulated and areas where it should take place should be well defined according to boundaries. There have been cases where the local authority has clashed with residents over urban agriculture, especially where it concerns maize growing. Some residents have had their maize crop slashed because it was grown on unauthorised land.

The Harare City Council should recognise the role urban farming plays in providing food to families and, as such, it should be promoted and not discouraged as long as it is conducted in a manner that does not impact negatively on the environment.

Therefore the council should put big sign boards up advising that the practice of urban agriculture is not illegal and that it only becomes illegal when it is not authorised, or when it is implemented along stream banks and in protected wetlands. This is the best time for the City Council to make this announcement since people are starting to prepare their fields and clearing their small pieces of land.

Yes, it’s good to have our kids back home now that the schools in Zimbabwe have closed for holidays but it’s also interesting to see how life in our high density suburbs changes over this period.

While there are so many libraries in my community you won’t find the kids there. Instead the Internet Cafés are always packed, and the dressing is something else! Half-naked girls and the guys in oversized trousers.

Then suddenly there is confusion between an adult and a student, as the two can now share the same table and drink opaque beer at beer halls.

And there’s chaos at bus terminals creating transport problems because of the students boarding buses and emergency taxis (ET’s) just to have some fun in town.

Sadly, with the desperate socio-eco-political environment and the failing educational system challenges that include astronomically exorbitant fees beyond the reach of the majority, many kids are dropping out of school to become house-maids, well-diggers, grave-diggers and stone crushers.

Poverty, hunger, disease and violence, together with their closest ally, illiteracy, have become distinct features of degraded social conditions in many of our communities. Education, as a vehicle to facilitate peace and development, is undoubtedly of great significance to everyone.

It was nice to see Zimbabwe get a bit of positive media coverage for a change these past few days. Kirsty Coventry won a silver medal as well as broke a world record in the 100m backstroke at the Olympics in China. Amanda thinks the Olympics are just too overrated. Had she seen the illustriously extravagant opening ceremony, the term overrated would be an understatement. Unfortunately she doesn’t watch TV. In fact, she doesn’t want to own one, but that’s another story.

Its horrendous human rights record aside, all eyes are currently on China and for a while, people are just so sick and tired of politics they want to concentrate on the games for a change. Latest squabbles between Russia and Georgia have also partially displaced Zimbabwe from the limelight of the media’s watchful glare.

However, the media have kept half an eye on the secret talks which have apparently once more sort of ended in deadlock. Prior to Mbeki’s recent visit to Harare over the weekend, the media reported that he was carrying the proposal that Mugabe be granted amnesty and would become ceremonial president while Tsvangirai becomes executive president.

This morning, South Africa’s ETV showed footage of a clearly unamused Tsvangirai storming out of the talks last night. Mbeki denies there is a deadlock but rather some sort of break to give Tsvangirai a chance to dwell over a certain proposition that Mutambara and Mugabe already find agreeable. I thought if these people were understanding each other, Tsvangirai would not storm out looking like that. And as for Mutambara, there’s one guy most of us really couldn’t care less about, I mean, who is he reallyin all of this? He is proving more and more to be a yes-man whose behavior smacks of someone who simply wants in for some piece of the action.

The ever-optimistic Herald newspaper today carried on its front page a misleading bold headline that shouted: DEAL SEALED. Anxious and information hungry Zimbabweans probably rushed to buy this paper hoping for some workable conclusion to this impasse, only to be disappointed for the umpteenth time since the talks started. The so-called deal is an agreement between Mugabe and Mutambara paving way for Mugabe to form the next government. Well, they can agree all they want but Mutambara won no election and therefore his opinion doesn’t count.

Surely we are getting exhausted with these talks that will not end. With the imposed media blackout, there is no way the rest of us can find out what it is exactly that these guys are failing to agree on. But we can however, make intelligent guesses.

Knowing Uncle Bob as well as we all do, there is no way he would agree to becoming ceremonial president, he may be getting old but not foolish. We also know that the JOC would not be too excited at the prospect of serving under Tsvangirai, and would also like to save their butts for their own personal crimes. In this light, one can safely assume that Mbeki’s said proposal was thrown in the bin and fresh proposals that have Tsvangirai as another vice-president or some shitty arrangement like that were tabled and that is why he stormed out. I’m sure a lot of Zimbabweans would rather he ship out than agree to play second fiddle and as Tendai Biti said, ngavatonge tione (let’s watch and let them rule).

The disagreement is most likely that Mugabe simply wont cooperate with anything that will see him become anything less than what he is now. Despite the fact that the economy is ailing and people continue to suffer, Zanu PF is the kind that operates with suicide bomber mentality and would go down with the country first before they relinquish power.

As I’ve mentioned before, with a subscriber base of over 5000 people, Kubatana receives a wealth of varied information. Much of it makes sense. So here I share with you an email sent to us today discussing the fact that on the ground in Zimbabwe nothing much has changed for ordinary citizens while the negotiating politicians plunder their minibars in South African hotels.

A sharp example of the violence that continues to haunt Zimbabweans is the recent abduction and beating of University of Zimbabwe student activist Tafadzwa Mugwadi. He was on his way home last night when he was forced into a car, taken to the Kopje area in Harare and assaulted by a gang of men who accused him of having trained Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) polling agents.

In the words of a Kubatana subscriber . . .

Change needs to be fundamental. And for ordinary Zimbabweans that would equate to the Total Eradication of Fear that is by now so ingrained in all sectors of our Society that we seem paralysed by it. People are still even afraid to take down mugabe posters for Gods Sake!

Although zanu is making gestures of arresting the odd person for supposedly perpetrating violence – the Real Instigators of the serious violence and murders which occurred soon after the March Elections have yet to be made accountable. It is very doubtful whether this will ever happen because it would mean that key zanu enforcers would have to be arrested and they would then have to forfeit their Council and M.P. seats – these are the people who are responsible. So until these serious offenders are arrested and charged for their crimes the fear that their very presence invokes in the people remains.

Although some militia camps are breaking up and dispersing of their own accord, no admission of their existence has come from zanu. Nor has there been any order for them to disband. No order has gone out from anywhere to tell the police to arrest people who have been implicated in political violence. The Police seem willing, in some cases, to do the right thing but are hesitant without clear orders.

The army still has not been removed from the “lines” in the rural areas – sure they are no longer playing such a visible roll, but they are still there – still quietly threatening, still perpetuating fear. The rank and file of the army have still not been stood down from the so-called threat of an imminent invasion from Botswana – this state of “readiness” prevents the average soldier dwelling on his own miserable existence. One can almost feel the JOC commanders plotting daily – trying to come up with a plan so that they will not have to relinquish their power. From everywhere come the whispers of their persistent, obstinate stance that there is no way they will serve under Tsvangirai.

* The little food aid that is out there is still controlled by government through the “Headman’s Lists”
* Chombo has also appointed 10 zpf councillors to every council throughout the country
* The local media is still run by zpf – still spewing out propaganda by the hour
* The Judicial system is still a total farce with the 4 senior prosecutors and the Judges receiving huge kick-backs and manipulating the courts

On the ground the reality is that nothing has changed and if the MDC and the International Community are hoodwinked into thinking that progress has been made they will be making a serious error.

zanu is so desperate for a deal that they are making small compromises in line with the Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) to try and deceive everyone that this veneer is enough to get what they want. If the MDC were to be rushed into the signing a compromise it will be a grave mistake. zanu are real snakes.

Remember that zanu’s only power base is the government institutions and the weapon of fear that it uses through them. Tsvangirai’s power base is the people of Zimbabwe. We see zanu consulting with their power base. Are we taking these talks seriously? We are holding all the cards, let’s not be rushed into anything – it is obvious zanu is pushing for a quick deal – why? They know they have no bargaining power.

Are the MDC going to make concessions by being manipulated and for the perceived need for “self-preservation”? Is Tsvangirai and his negotiating team going to ask for ratification of any negotiations and concessions from the people, his power base, before he signs our lives away?

We certainly hope so – in fact we demand it!

The Zimbabwe National Students Union recently sent an appeal to Ian Khama the President of Botswana concerning the recruitment of Caesar Zvayi as a lecturer in the University of Botswana’s media department. Blessing Vava, spokesperson for the students union had this to say

We the students of Zimbabwe write this letter to appeal to your government to urgently act and deport former Zimbabwe Herald newspaper editor Ceaser Zvayi who is now working at the University of Botswana as a lecturer in the media department. Your Excellence, we salute and commend your efforts in not recognizing and condemning the 27 June one man election in Zimbabwe. Your country is a good model of a democracy and good governancy in Africa and people like Zvayi should not be accommodated as they propagated hate among Zimbabweans because of his vitriolic writings in the daily newspaper. We commend the European Union who added the journalists on the sanctions list. Ceaser Zvayi should be deported and come back to Zimbabwe lest he pollutes those students in Botswana with his dirty and unclean background, as his past is not clean.

Apparently when approached for comment on the issue, the Head of the Media Studies Department, Professor David Kerr, said that the University of Botswana hires on academic merit as well as experience, but ideology is not considered. One wonders how Professor Kerr would have reacted to an application for employment by Joseph Goebbels, because he was clearly good at his job too.

If you would like to help Zimbabweans protest Zvayi’s appointment and put pressure on this propagandist who aided and abetted the publishing of Zanu PF’s lies for so long, please write to the University of Botswana at mokgado@mopipi.ub.bw