Inter office communications …  an answer in regard to a query on our browsing speed:

Let me investigate, but it seems to be ok on my side, not too fast, not
too slow.

From a Kubatana member:

On my way to the Tuku concert on Sunday 6th of May, I passed by the entrance to Monomatapa. I got closer to Tuku’s car than I did to the star himself. The concert was packed. After the fireworks my friend and I were pushed up against some metal barriers as a gang of youths swept through the crowd, with either the hot intention to swipe a few cellphones or the euphoria of Ishmael and Tuku’s jamming swelling their hearts.

We can no longer deny that the hopes and aspirations of the Zimbabwean people have been usurped by politicians. Neither ZANU PF nor MDC may claim innocence in illegally seizing what was supposed to be a ‘people driven’ constitution making process and manipulating it for their own political ends.  In truth neither party has the people’s wishes at heart.

In  Pambazuka, Maxwell V Madzikanga writes that the process has become a ‘tokenistic exercise for the rich corrupt and powerful’:

A national constitution is not a political and partisan document and thus all political and non-political actors in Zimbabwe were expected to unite around this very noble cause. This did not happen as politicians from the major political parties selfishly and parochially promoted their partisan position at the expense of national virtues, ethos, rationality and reason.

The constitution is not about regime change. The constitution-making phase was not supposed to be a stone-throwing, political space expansion exercise, sovereignty-induced visitations to the rural areas. The forums were supposed to be focus group reflections, listening tours and detailed discussions of fundamental, all and cross-generational ethos, virtues, values and thinking. The consultations were supposed to dialogical, discursive, give and take clinics and memorable encounters in the life and history of a republic in general and all stakeholders in particular. Sadly, this was not the case. A process that could have been harnessed to promote national unity and reconciliation ended up being hijacked by political heavy weights that stubbornly postured and arrogantly promoted their partisan agendas.

Read the full article here

Hello to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (TRAFFIC Section) and the Greendale District Office.

There’s this speed trap on Coronation Road in Greendale. The speed limit is 60. There are a couple of very rusted speed limit signs on this road. None the less the limit is 60 and we shouldn’t speed.

BUT, take Kennedy Road and you wonder about the ZRP’s priorities. Kennedy is being used by Kombi drivers as a substitute for Arcturus Road. Why? Because of the potholes and traffic lights and traffic on Arcturus. These three things serve to slow Kombi’s down which is what they don’t want.

So they use Kennedy which is a 2.5km stretch of road that has one non-working traffic light (that’s meant to help school kids from Courtney Selous Junior to cross the road), no speed limit signs, and mostly not potholes.

A ZRP speed trap is most definitely needed on Kennedy where kids walk and cycle to school. Its a suburban road that should need be used as a main thoroughfare.

A Stop sign, not a Give Way sign is most definitely needed at the intersection of Alfred Road and Kennedy where Kombi’s don’t give way (nevermind the ridiculous permanent 6 – on average – policemen and women who fine people for not stopping outside OG’s in Mount Pleasant).

Do the ZRP really want to make a difference in communities, to make them safer, and more hospitable? Or do they just want to position themselves for the easy work and personal benefits?

Being too tired (and too full) to move last night, I found myself watching last night’s 8 ‘O’ Clock news broadcast on ZBC. For the most part I try to avoid watching the news, it long ago abandoned its analytical, investigative and informational functions, and now merely serves to justify ZANU PFs existing position.

In an in-depth report, the bulletin featured unabashed condemnation, badly disguised as analysis, of the Pretoria High Court Ruling passed on Tuesday obliging South Africa to investigate Zimbabwean torture allegations. It then moved on to discuss the issue of the lack of coin change from retailers, a cold news item that had been publicly discussed last year; and as a coup de grace a feature report on the lack of innovation in the tourism sector.  I quite doubt that the programmes producers appreciate the irony of their levelling this charge when they are lacking in innovation themselves. Chris Mutsvangwa ZBC’s newly favourite public intellectual was quoted in at least three stories, in his multiple capacities as a legal expert, economic analyst and government representative. One might assume that he was the only person in all of Zimbabwe with any kind of education or opinion.

There’s an hour of my life that I will never get back. The entire bulletin was poorly constructed and superficial in it’s coverage. Zimbabweans are not stupid, their response has been to access paid and free to air channels from South Africa. It’s no wonder that the Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey has consistently reported a decline in viewership. I wonder how Zimbabwe Broadcasting holdings management can doggedly continue to create programming that few can access and even fewer care to watch. Surely they cannot be so deluded as to call what I witnessed last night journalism? Thankfully ZBC’s reception is limited to an 80km radius around Harare, leaving the rest of the nation unaffected. I can’t say it’s a loss to Zimbabwe’s media-scape.