From Foreign Policy Magazine:

In his classic essay Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell describes an experience he had as a colonial police officer in Burma. Under public pressure from a crowd of townspeople, he puts down an out-of-control elephant against his own wishes, describing it as the moment he “first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East.” As the people of the town debate the merits and legality of his actions, he wonders “whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.”

It’s tempting to wonder if any similarly penetrating insights or self-reflections have come to Spanish King Juan Carlos as he lies in the hospital, having injured his hip on an elephant shooting trip in Botswana that has ignited a firestorm of controversy.

In addition to being about the least politically correct way to spend your vacation (was the baby seal-clubbing junket all booked up?) the optics of this were pretty terrible at a time when more than half of young Spaniards are out of work and Spanish banks are facing yet another downgrade. Plus, it turns out that the king — who is Spain’s official head of state — didn’t inform the government that he was leaving the country and might have used public funds in the process.

Some leftist parties are calling for the king to abdicate or hold a referendum on returning to a republic. That doesn’t seem to likely at the moment, but the king may still want to stick to the beach next time if he doesnt want to join his country’s surging ranks of unemployed.

In a story that originated with the Zimbabwe Mail, Our Dear Leader is reportedly battling for his life in Singapore. The online news publication, owned and operated in the United Kingdom, quotes a ‘senior ZANU-PF’ official who conveniently cannot be named. As with anything concerning Our Dear Leader’s health, several supposedly reputable news outlets ignored their better journalistic instincts and regurgitated the story without first checking its veracity. A Google search produces 268 reproductions of the story based on what is essentially a rumour, founded no doubt, in drunken speculation in a London pub.

Meanwhile, back in Zimbabwe, several named senior ZANU PF officials are cited as sources by the Guardian who variously say that there is nothing wrong with Our Dear Leader, and he will be returning for his Easter Holiday/ Shopping Trip/ visit to supervise his daughter’s studies tomorrow. Minister of Information Webster Shamu is quoted as merely saying

“If anything like that had happened we would issue a statement.’

Our Dear Leader has died many times in online publications, especially those edited by Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. This speaks more to their own personal ambitions and failings as journalists than it does to Our Dear Leader’s health. No one is more aware of this that the subject of the rumours who earlier this year joked in an interview

“I have died many times. That’s where I have beaten Christ. Christ died once and resurrected once. I don’t know how many times I will die and resurrect.”

Until Minister Shamu’s statement is issued rumours of Our Dear Leader’s demise will always be greatly exaggerated.

From Trudy Stevenson, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Senegal:

I am so privileged to share with the Senegalese their joy in managing their transition to a new government led by new president Macky Sall.  Despite all the tension and the violent demonstrations and loss of life since 23 June 2011, in the end the transition has been achieved through the ballot box in complete peace, with the outgoing president Wade telephoning the winner Macky Sall to congratulate him on his victory even before the last results are out. This is indeed democracy, and African democracy – so we CAN do it!!  Well done Senegal!

It’s always refreshing to discover that there are Members of Parliament who take their obligations to their constituencies seriously. The Parliamentary Monitoring Trust’s publication, the Parliamentary Monitor, took this from their Facebook group page

Honourable Engineer Elias Mudzuri, the Member of Parliament for Warren Park says he used his CDF towards the following; Building of 22 people’s market stalls (broken down as labour and building materials- US$15 456; six Bore-holes and bush pump drilling and installation- US$25 750; all public toilets repairs in Ward 15- US$4 721; Warren Park Polyclinic- Pur-chase Of Generator & Capri Top Freezer US 2 100, and total toilet repairs US$1 304 bringing his total expenditure on the project US$51 229, 59 including bank charges)

And in the comments:

If all MPs were to, @ least show us this, then we will know some-thing was done. This is the first step towards transparency. If one doubts, then it will be possible to check. Unlike buying trucks!

And to imagine that some of the MPs in Harare used hate language when confronted on the usage of the CDF.

Very impressive achievements. I hope the constituents participated in these projects right from the planning stage. Trans-parency begins from planning and choosing of projects right through to the reporting stage! That is what is known as participatory ap-proach in community development parlance. If the participatory approach was used I would give Honourable Mudzuri’s performance a triple A rating!

Controversial and reckless statements have hounded the Zambian president ever since he came into office. Like his nickname ‘King Cobra” the president really spit venom especially when it comes to making informal speeches. After his inauguration Sata demanded an apology from Malawi for an incident which happened sometime back during a visit to that country when he was still in opposition. During that same time he once questioned the health of the former Zambian president Levi Mwanawasa arguing that the president should make public issues related to his health.

In a turn of events recently the Zambian leader was secretly flown out of the country on a private jet to India for a medical check and this has prompted a public outcry. Just like Zimbabwe, Zambia experienced an economic down turn a few years ago and many people left that country for a better living outside and some decided to settle in Botswana. In an address to Zambians living in Botswana the Zambian president was really blunt and venomous with his words at the same time insulting his fellow countrymen and Botswana.

Responding to questions from the people who attended the meeting Sata said, “All of you who are here with fake questions am very disappointed with you and embarrassed, are you not even ashamed of yourselves? You ran away from Zambia and thought we couldn’t find you and now today we have caught you. You are refugees in Botswana being exploited by the Botswana Government. You left Zambia to come and work here for an extra K1?” Maybe Sata had forgotten that he had mentioned that he was the first Zambian expatriate in United Kingdom in 1970. One wonders whether Michael Sata had already created jobs in this short space in office for these people he was insulting on the very day. And if Zambia had the best medical facilities and qualified personnel why would he sneak out of the country to seek help in foreign countries in the Far East? I guess power is sweet just like what his predecessor Fredrick Chiluba said after an election victory in 1991.

In the midst of their plushy government offices and state houses, most African politicians have a tendency to easily forget where they come from. Here in Zimbabwe parliamentarians promised people that they would develop communities once they were voted into office but years down the line we are now reading that some of them stand accused of gross mismanagement of public funds. Some went on to implement projects without even consulting the people. What is more surprising is that the legislators are complaining that the $50 000 allocated to each of the constituencies they represent is very little and they are lobbying for more, but at the same time they are abusing the same fund.

I watch local news on the telly all day every day, and there is a worrying trend that misfits the GNU that makes a mockery of the role being played by other coalition colleagues. We have known for a very long time from Zanu PF that deputy ministers are not allowed on the Round Table when cabinet meets. Thus some people asked why we get an acting minister, a chap who already superintends another portfolio when there already exists a deputy minister who would by some people’s interpretation logically be expected to watch the gate when Mudenge for example is attacked by a bull. Yet this is given its improper perspective when you watch the news on national television.

From the ministries “led” by the MDC-T you get their deputies waxing lyrical about policy issues when in another place and time it is the minister as the top dog who would be grilled by the journos. But then we get these Zanu PF deputy ministers appearing on TV with alarming frequency you wonder if there is some kind of conspiracy to silence the other coalition voices and present very biased picture that it is these Zanu PF apparatchiks who are steering the troubled nation to placid waters. Thus it is that you get Udenge the deputy minister of economic planning gracing the television screen, Dokora the deputy of education oozing policy machismo, Bimha the deputy of industry and commerce going on and on about what I would rather hear from his boss. Why then not have other deputies like Gift Chimanikire and others if there is nothing wrong with the trend adopted by the news hacks? Good question that! Perhaps the Zanu PF officials are considered more telegenic, but then that’s highly debatable!

But then it is obviously about politics as usual – why show viewers the faces of ministers from parties that want to return the country to white-rule where blacks will once again be banned from walking on CBD sidewalks? Makes sense doesn’t it? We saw it even when there was this major launch of the schools IT project where the only story that emerged from IT Minister Chamisa was him apparently extolling the old president for initiating the schools computerisation programme. But I do feel like that guy who in a very dark night is busy winking at a girl he saw before the lights went out!