SW Radio Africa (London) reports that ‘Hundreds turned out for the Global Free Zimbabwe protests’. The protests were organised by MDC-T in an effort to pressure the South African government and SADC to ensure that ZANU PF is forced to honour the Global Political Agreement.

Zimbabwe vigil organiser, Rose Benton explained to SW Radio Africa that the London part of the protests was ‘a very big success’. The Zimbabwean community in London is estimated to number 100 000 and is largely concentrated in London. An estimated 300 gathered for the protest there.

It is estimated that millions of Zimbabweans reside outside the country’s borders. However, globally, less than 1000 people participated. Success, I suppose, is relative.

As one half of government and a party to the GPA itself, I wonder at the naiveté shown by the organisers of the protests. There is no denying that ZANU PF has stymied implementation of the GPA. But after having fought for democracy for so long, I would have hoped that MDC-T might have formulated a different strategy that best utilises the tools they have at hand. Contrary to what the MDC-T would have Zimbabweans in the Diaspora believe, it is not entirely powerless in government. Combined all the MDC factions hold a majority in both houses of Parliament. Given these circumstances it is surprising that key provisions to the GPA such as amendments to POSA and AIPPA are yet to be passed into law.

Like ZANU PF, MDC-T has consistently failed to deliver on its promises to the people of Zimbabwe. These protests are nothing more than a mass diversion to take away attention from the real issues and dissociate that party from the mess it too has made of this transitional period. Moreover, MDC-T has gotten into the disturbing habit of looking for a big brother in its fight with ZANU PF. The MDC-T persists in appealing to an international community that is largely fatigued of the Zimbabwean situation and is plagued by its own problems. By doing so, MDC-T plays directly into the hands of ZANU PF who accuse the party’s leadership of letting their decisions be made by foreign ambassadors. Acquiring power is a struggle in itself, the difficulties of which should never be underestimated. No amount of hand-wringing and petition signing is going to make it any easier. After years of South African mediation and questionable sanctions, none of which have been effective in wresting power from ZANU PF, MDC-T really should know better. And if that party cannot hold its own, it shouldn’t be in the ring.

John Makumure writes in Newsday:

Many people must be wondering what has happened to the Public Order and Security Amendment (Posa) Bill that made history as the first private member Bill to be successfully introduced and passed by the House of Assembly.

The short answer is the Bill is stuck in the Senate after Zanu PF senators refused to pass it, arguing this was a matter negotiators to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) were seized with.

The Posa Amendment Bill seeks to make it easier for citizens to enjoy their civil liberties relating to the right to assemble, gather and demonstrate; curtail powers reposed in the police with respect to public gatherings; to clarify persons intending to demonstrate are required to notify the police and not to seek permission; and to ensure the police will be held to account in all cases where they use force to break public gatherings.

Read the rest of his article here

The threat of the downing of tools by Zimbabwe’s civil servants has reached fever peak with the workers representatives embarking on a campaigning streak to mobilize support for the strike. The workers are demanding minimum of US$538 per month for the least paid employee, which they reflects the poverty datum line. The impact of the first one-day nationwide strike yesterday was mainly felt in the education sector and in high-density schools were teachers failed to turn up for work leading to an assumption that the workers are not pulling in the same direction as some government workers reported for duty.

The year 2011 was a year of un-coordinated job action by various government departments demanding better salaries. Depending on how important the department was to the inclusive government at that time some government workers embarked on a strike and forced the government into submission.  An investigation of how the government has awarded increments and allowances to some of its employees leaves one wondering if some government employees are more special than others.

The most recent and more controversial was the paying out of allowances to Members of Parliament in December 2011 just after the Minister of Finance had indicated in his monetary statement that the government had no money for civil servants pay increments. The legislators had threatened not pass the budget in Parliament unless they were paid their sitting allowances, which the government owed them back to 2008. The same legislators went on to demand top of the range luxury vehicles whilst some teachers in the harsh rural areas like Nyamapanda are struggling without the hardship allowances just to motivate them to work. In July 2011 a paltry salary increment by the government was met with mixed reactions from the employees as they complain that it was far below the poverty datum line, which stood at US$502 at that time.

In April 2011 magistrates stopped work at Zimbabwe’s courts nationwide in protest over poor remuneration and they were immediately awarded the increment.  Not to be outdone fellow court workers, the prosecutors, downed tools in protest over salary discrepancies between them and magistrates.

Funds from diamond sales and the special treatment of certain civil servants whilst neglecting others has fueled plans for a nationwide strike by the civil servants. If the legislators can manage to pay each other a whopping US$15 000 some may argue that maybe the Minister of Finance has a secret pool where he can access funds in times of crisis.

I had a conversation with Melania Chiponda from Chiadzwa Community Development Trust yesterday.

This is what I learnt:

Families at Chiadwza are being forcibly relocated by diamond companies while the government and the judicial system look the other way. Here I thought the point of the Third Chimurenga was to restore land dignity to the peoples of this country. Mining companies have not bothered to hold consultations with the community about relocation; in fact the community found out they were being moved off their land in the newspapers. They have been given a relocation allowance of $1000. They have yet to receive compensation.

The first twelve families to be relocated by mining companies at Chiadzwa were moved into tobacco barns, until there were protests, upon which mining companies began building houses. 89 of the houses built by Anjin for the families they will be relocating were destroyed by the first storm of the rainy season last November. More were damaged.

Companies with majority government shareholding like Marange Resources are easier to negotiate with and more generous towards the community than those which are privately owned like Mbada or Anjin. It’s crazy that Mbada can spend a million dollars on a football tournament to better its public image, yet is miserly with the food packs they give the community and is among the major perpetrators of violence and human rights abuses against the community. The biggest perpetrator of human rights abuses is the police. When CCDT tried to discuss the matter with Police Commissioner Chihuri he was conveniently busy.

Chiadzwa is a dry area, and the little water the community has access to is being polluted by mining companies. Last year four men were detained and beaten by the police for digging for water in their own back yard. One of them died at the hands of a police officer. The other three sustained severe injuries. The police officer responsible for the beatings and murder has never been arrested.

The community doesn’t actually object to the mining or selling of diamonds, they just want it done in a way that their rights as human beings are also respected.

I’m angry. You should be too.

I was biking up the road the other day and had to slow and detour. The City of Harare was painting white centre lines and lane markings, and traffic was discombobulated. While negotiating around this mess, I had time to think. Why is this new regime in the City painting road markings?

Well, the immediate answer is obvious, to guide traffic! But, the real question – why did the previous regimes not paint, and allow what was painted to deteriorate to invisiblity – and why can this new one now do it? The obvious answer (it is the answer to everything) …  Sanctions!

That knee jerk answer is a) a lie, b) a cover for total incompetence. On the second point I know, as we have succeeded in turning MacDonald Park Pool (Cambridge Road, Avondale) from a green pond where a Hammerkop fed on frogs, into the bestest public pool in Harare, that makes more on gate takings on a Saturday than it does to shut it and hold a wedding on the grounds! And how did we do it? No sanctions busting involved. The chlorine gas comes from the atmosphere (the air we breath) which does not respect borders. The labour came from the community, where we also borrowed a pump. The paint came from Astra (a local company). Etc. No sanctions busting involved!

On the second point, we know there have NEVER been sanctions against Zimbabwe. It is a lie, so often repeated that even the ruling party (that is, the new ruling one – with the majority of seats in Parliament, not the old ruling/losing party – that brought us democracy) talks about ‘removing sanctions’. It is easy to see which ‘ruling’ party has the better verbal gymnasts and brains.

So, back to the original topic – road paint and sanctions. Why is the new regime able to overcome sanctions and paint road markings, while the previous regime was only able to… well, did they do anything?

The new regime at least tries to give the people some of what they want – while the real agenda is to take power, now that they have legitimacy. The old regime has only one agenda, hold on to power, now that they have lost legitimacy.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) recently launched their publication titled “Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Drafts – Comparison and Recommendations”. In the foreword ZHLR notes that constitution-making is not a new phenomenon in Zimbabwean history, and that since independence Zimbabwe has had one constitution and three major draft constitutions. During the launch, ZLHR Director, Irene Petras said her organisation hoped that those involved in the COPAC process would use the publication as well as the SADC Protocols as guidelines for the constitutional draft.

The publication reviews key provisions of the three major constitutional drafts and seeks to set out critical issues which should be addressed in any constitution under various thematic areas.

Guest of honour, Human Rights defender Beatrice Mtetwa, also noted that Constitution making has become a habit in Zimbabwe. She deplored the conditions in which the current process was taking place, and said that if a constitution did result it would only serve as a transitional document.

The COPAC process has been marred by reports of violence, intimidation and coaching. These charges are largely levelled at ZANU PF and some factions of war veterans. Despite the appearance of heavily influencing the views included, ZANU PF has increasingly distanced itself from the current process.

A Central Committee report tabled by President Robert Mugabe at the party’s conference in Bulawayo last year, resolved that “ZANU PF reserve[d] the right to dissociate itself from a draft constitution which seeks to undermine the cardinal goals of our national liberation struggle and our national culture and values.” It is likely that this decision was informed by a critique prepared for ZANU PF COPAC Co-Chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana by Goodwills Masimiremwa and Jacob Mudenda, both of whom are technical experts seconded by ZANU PF to oversee the Constitutional process. The critique was allegedly leaked to an online news publisher. Subsequently the first four chapters of the draft Constitution were leaked and published in the Herald.

The critique alleges that the Constitutional drafters are misdirected, and are drafting a constitution informed by their individual values, characterised by reference to constitutions of other countries they admired. Further, Masimiremwa and Mudenda state that the drafters have not been given the National Report to use as a reference, thus the draft does not accurately reflect the views canvassed during the outreach programme. The issues of contention include the rights given to LGBTI persons, abolishment of the death penalty, expanding citizenship by birth to include citizenship by descent and allowing dual citizenship.