A friend of mine recently told me that she’s decided to work for the government.  She is a person I admire who has worked in the development field with nongovernmental organisations all over the world for several years. Naturally I laughed, and pointed out that faced with such a large bureaucracy her grand ideas would waste away. The system would beat her I said, and eventually she’d spend the whole day reading the newspapers and all the while she’d make less money in a month than she currently spent in a weekend. Undaunted by my cynicism, she remained optimistic. ‘How can you change government’, she asked, ‘if you don’t try?’

Both of my parents have spent their entire working careers as civil servants. They both have a background in the human sciences with multiple degrees, and undoubtedly would have found more lucrative careers outside the government. I have listened in on their long conversations about sexism, being passed over for promotions and corruption. I have seen how little they are remunerated for the great amount of time and energy they put into their work. My mother even calls her job community service; while my father is motivated by investing in the dream he watched so many die for. But even with all the frustrations, and sometimes thanklessness that comes with what they do and where they work, the one thing that has never changed is their faith in the dream that is Zimbabwe.

The trouble with your generation’, my father often says to me, ‘is that you aren’t willing to make sacrifices for anything.’ Considering my reaction to my friend’s news, I can’t say I disagree. Like so many Zimbabweans I’m quick to point out what is wrong with our government, and country, and even quicker to take sides in the ZANU-PF / MDC tug of war. Often it is without trying to understand why things are the way they are, or why the other side has picked the position it has picked. For us there is no middle ground, just good guys and bad guys, haves and have-nots. And because we are pulled in different directions we don’t create change or progress in our development, we only create divisions. Unlike, big picture people, like my parents and my friend, we have become caught up in the smaller details such as petty party politics and power struggles. Zimbabwe is a dream we all have to work towards, one life, one bad piece of legislation or bureaucratic process at a time. Just imagine if everyone went to work, not wanting self-aggrandisement, power and money, but instead worked to be the change they wanted to see. Imagine what kind of Zimbabwe that would be.

I see there is a lot of heat concerning the questionable “spending habits” of the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and other senior MDC officials in government and how they are abusing public funds. And heck, they are being investigated by “the law,” and they well could find themselves behind bars where they previously have been guests and would no doubt not relish a night at Matapi!

While of course one cannot afford the luxury of ignoring politicians bloating their faces with money meant for the poor, building humongous manors when across the road are hovels housing dirt poor families, or travelling by air first class when the ordinary Jack has to travel in those ramshackle death-traps called long distance buses they already know will falter, veer off the road and plunge into a ditch, one still has to question this rather apocryphal due diligence of the public defenders who have taken these coalition partners to task about how they are spending public funds. And this is in a country where we have folks who have been in government for barely three years being investigated for alleged fiscal malfeasance when we have men and women who have been at it for three decades exhibiting an indefatigable streak of kleptocracy still holding their heads high and with no lawman daring to throw the book at them.

That is why it has been fairly easy for MDC officials and supporters to dismiss the investigations on the USD1,5 million for the PM’s house and the foreign trips of the FM’s staffers as part of a grand plot that no doubt will unravel as we head for the next polls. We are obviously watching closely how this will pan out, yet I can see a flood of “sympathy votes” in the offing! But it is something to imagine how resources to investigate the abuse of government resources have never been diligently spread to challenge over the decades on anything from the 85 percent disability gratuity claims by men and women who “died for the country” but still walk the earth, housing funds meant for poor civil servants looted without batting an eyelid, tender scams from as far back as the 1980s that remain unpunished, the bankrupting of Roger Boka – we could go on and on and on, but then the hypocrisy of the founding fathers has become legendary. Remember the old man frothing about corrupt colleagues and threatening the wrath of the gods on offenders long before anyone imagined he rule “his Zimbabwe” with anyone? We are not asking that these people not be investigated, we are asking that there be consistency.

Great ain’t it?

Kenny Road runs from Avondale Shops on King George Road west to Kensington shops on Connaught Road. A street of suburban homes between two choice shopping and community centres.

Along this road, people have converted two houses (with a swimming pool) into restaurants and bars. They are ‘Actor Café’, at 7 Kenny Road, and next door ‘Number 9 Pub and Restaurant’. You can see the houses behind hedges, and they are well advertised on the street, so they are easy to find. However, they are illegal.

In October 2006, number 7 applied for a license as a ‘meeting house’. Council refused (meeting of the Environment Management Sub-Committee of the City Council, on 31 October 2006, Item 27 of the minutes) for the following reasons. 1) a site inspection revealed that a restaurant was already being run there! 2) the residents were opposed.

A restaurant is legally a ‘shop’, and this area is not zoned for commercial activity. So commercial activity already prohibited, aside from the fact that they had set up and were running an illegal entity before they even applied. Not to mention they applied for a licence as a ‘meeting place’ when they obviously fully intended to keep running a restaurant.

The first letter in my possession, dated 22 November 2006, reads; To; Mr. Mange He Ho, 7 Kenny Road. From; Psychology Chiwanga, Director of Urban Planning Services, City of Harare. Re; (7 Kenny Road), Avondale, says – there was a meeting to consider the application and it was refused for two reasons.

So, proper procedure had been followed, proper notice given, everything completely open and transparent. We all know it is not to be.

The second letter in my possession is from the Kenny Road residents to Mrs. Vhutuza, Urban Planning, City of Harare, dated 9 July 2009. It complains that nothing has been done. The residents are aware it is illegal, and yet the restaurants are quiet clearly there, and making a lot of noise as they expected (reason for objecting to it in the first place, three years ago).

So the city responds, 28 July 2009. Again, from Psychology Chiwanga, Director of Urban Planning Services, City of Harare. He points out that inspections were carried out, 13 July 2009, and indeed, these revealed both properties had been turned into restaurants, without approval.

Not only without approval, but he takes care to point out that approval could never be given! They are in ‘Residential Zone 1A(i)’, where commercial use is prohibited. And they fall into a zone where a Blanket Enforcement Order has already been issued (and published in the press).

Copies of this letter were sent, for appropriate action to be taken, to:

Secretary, Liquor Licensing Board
Officer in Charge, ZRP Avondale
Director of Health Services

Now, in August 2010, it is all thrust at me! In my wanderings in my area, I can clearly see that the restaurants are open and advertising. Taking in customers. Doing ‘normal’ business, quite openly and dishonestly.

To start, we have one restaurant (two now) operating for, at least, four years. They applied for a license (not even the correct one) when they were already operating as a restaurant, in 2006, and were refused (as the law requires).

So they have been operating illegally, taking in money and one assumes not paying tax etc, for at least four years.

The authorities (Police, City, Liquor Licensing, Health) are aware of it, have investigated it and seen it to be illegal, have communicated with each other on it’s illegality, and have done nothing. For four years!

Is Zimbabwe a country where the rule of law prevails? Certainly not in this case. It is illegal in terms of health. It is illegal in terms of zoning and use. It is illegal in terms of license (several – Liquor, Restaurant/Tourism tax, probably more). Do the police know of this and stop it? Yes and no.

I see Theresa Makoni, Co-Minister of Home Affairs, is reported to have made recent remarks, “the police are now executing their duties professionally”. Is this what constitutes “professionalism” in her opinion? There has been letters sent (does the post office not work?) by one authority to another. Can one authority not write? Or another not read? We assume they can, therefore the information must have been passed. Yet, quite obviously, the law is being broken, and nothing is being done.

While this might be the neighbours’ problem – they suffer from the loud noise until sun up, parking in the street, a security problem, etc., What about all the rest of us? We have a Health Ministry that really does not care about Health. Or they would not let an unlicensed establishment operate. We have a Liquor Board that does not care if, or who, alcohol is sold to. Aside from the loss of revenue – which they would not get as it can never be licensed – they have no control of what is actually happening. We have a municipality, with it’s own police force (for which they are constantly asking to be given power of arrest), that will maybe clamp your car for not paying the parking meter, but will allow two restaurants to run (taking in a LOT more money than a parking ticket) for four years!

And the common people on the street? Who pays taxes, is supposed to respect the authority of the people in uniform, upholds the laws of Zimbabwe as they are written and decided in parliament? Well, you are getting taken for a ride. You are being abused. You are being horribly wronged. For everyone who pays their tourism tax – stop doing it! There is obviously no need. We have the real life example of establishments, who do not ‘appear’, getting away with it for four years. Everyone who applies for and gets licenses, and pays their regular license fees – don’t do it! There is no need! People get away with it for four years. The people who drive on the left hand side of the road – don’t bother. It may be ‘the law’ but who cares? People break the law for four years (in a big way, it is difficult to hide two houses, and they advertise!) and no one arrests them.

The rumour is (and it is a rumour, there is no evidence at all), they are paying someone ‘powerful’ / in government / influential, etc. Well, whoever they are paying, he (or she) should be in jail. Aside from the fact that they are stealing our money (you and I pay taxes in an open and honest manner, that goes into a public purse, while ‘others’ make a living without anything going back to the public purse, so we are asked to pay more taxes), he/she giving us a health risk, aiding the misuse of alcohol, (very possibly increasing the AIDS epidemic), destroying the authority of the police (and other uniformed services by extension), and more ramifications that their pocket (which gets bigger everyday) is not concerned about. They are selling your soul/health/good life/education/safety for their personal gain.

But that is okay; it is only the neighbours problem.

Had a few good laughs watching ZBC news last night when a senior education official in one of the Mashonaland provinces said President Mugabe had donated computers in schools where there is no electricity. Nothing new really. Sydney Sekeramayi was officially opening a computer lab at some rural school, and the education official’s comments were indeed telling and I wondered why the reporter had allowed that comment to make it to the bulletin considering it was not very flattering if you think of it. The other week Sunday Mail [July 24-30] ran a story with the headline “REA please give us electricity.” REA of course being the Rural Electrification Agency, and it will be recalled that this was one of the vehicles used by the then ruling party to galvanise support in the rural areas, and in the Sunday Mail story it was the rural folks themselves who were making the appeal for magetsi kuvanhu. The Sunday Mail reported: “Many rural areas are still  “in the dark,” more than a decade after the launch of the programme.” You then have to wonder who advises the President when he makes these computer donations to schools in areas where that education official says there is no electricity. But then as we have seen it with local politicians for a long time: what they do or say does not have to make sense, just as long as they are seen to be doing something. So much for an informed electorate in an alleged democracy!

The Parliament of Zimbabwe is attempting to make changes to the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13). The Electoral Amendment Bill, 2011, currently before Parliament seeks to make several changes to the existing law with a view to promoting free and fair elections. Dr Alex Magaisa last week presented a lecture on the analysis of the Electoral Amendment Bill. This event was organised by Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN).

Alex, who is a lecturer at the University of Kent in the Law School, broke the Bill into simple and edible modules for all to understand. Often these bills come in many pages, filled with legal terminology that will not be easily understood by the majority of citizens. Among other things, Dr Magaisa emphasised the need to remove deceased or absent voters from the voters roll. A report published earlier this year by SAIRR indicated that persons listed on the voters roll are questionable as some of them their ages go over 109 and many were all born surprisingly on the same day.

Dr Magaisa said that in the Bill there was a provision for a mechanism to allow for the removal of the dead, and those absent from the country. It does so by allowing the relatives of the deceased, or absent voter to require the Registrar’s Office to remove the persons upon proof. He said however that people need incentives to go forth and report.

For example in Mozambique they ran a campaign in which relatives that managed to inform the Electoral authorities of their deceased were given state assisted burials. Dr Magaisa put forward his own suggestion, which he deemed to be more practical in the Zimbabwean context. He said that the Registrar’s Office has records of deceased persons since it is a prerequisite for a burial order to be produced before one is buried.

In his words, “There should be a process of inter office exchange of information, so that upon notification of death to the Registrar General’s Office this information should be passed on to the Commission which will then effect the removal of the person”.

This is one of the many issues that need to be addressed to ensure credible elections in Zimbabwe.

Notice the S.M.S. message in his hand—the tools of social networking, especially Facebook and Twitter, were useful for massing people and outwitting the police during the revolution.

Check out Wendell Steavenson’s New Yorker article on revolutionary graffiti in Cairo. There’s a really great slide show of the street art that has emerged all over Cairo. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Amid the cacophony of protest and debate since the revolution—which I wrote about for the magazine this week—there has been one method of expression that has regularly stopped me in the middle of Cairo traffic so that I can get out my iPhone camera: graffiti. (See the slide show above.) It’s suddenly all over Cairo, on schools, on telephone exchange boxes, on empty walls and corrugated fencing around building sites. Daubs of slogans, finely rendered panoramas of Tahrir Square, and, increasingly, the kind of biting satire and subversion that Banksy made famous.