There is always something of a culture shock each time you move to a new city, whether it’s a bustling metropolis or a small city the kind where everyone knows everyone.

And for me returning to Harare after having lived here a decade ago is something that I am treating with a little trepidation.

After all, so much has changed in the past decade, from the growing population to the deluge of ex-Japanese vehicles clogging the streets.

Nothing has changed in the form of government and governance, but this is an obvious story that has been rehashed for so long it has become tedious because apparently the more you curse the oligarchs, the more they dig in, so why give yourself an ulcer.

I travelled in a kombi from Westlea to the city centre and felt choked by the traffic gridlock and watched as the kombi driver assumed a Formula One persona and I could only ask a friend how the motorists escaped the wrath of road rage.

Yet it seemed to me everyone here has accepted this – albeit grudgingly – as a part of their daily grind as they attempt to navigate these mean streets during the morning rush to get to work.

It’s something terrible nativising yourself to a life of misery, yet you still have to live with it, after all, there is nothing you can do about it.

I saw a single lane street turned into a four lane autobahn as motorists and kombis competed for space, and the question to ask came naturally for me, perhaps as someone just coming in from another city where the ubiquity of traffic cops cannot be escaped: “Are there no cops along the way?”

And all the way from Westlea to the CBD no green arms waving, signaling the motorists to stop and perhaps try and create order out this chaos. Or in fact fleece a few greenbacks from already enraged motorists.

Yet it is perhaps something to be expected in a big city where a vehicle census would produce numbers that show a rapid growth of cars per capita but very little or nothing in the form of developing the road network to accommodate all these carbon expelling beasts.

I want to imagine that it is not just transport that will keep me in awe in my first week here, because anything else would be a no-no, and as a virtual outsider trying to learn the ways of this host city, it is inevitable to make comparisons with my native Bulawayo and in the process make prejudiced judgments about the big city and its people.

Demagogues get elected because their jingoism and populism is magnified by a media beholden to them, and when they assume office they proceed to dismantle the very institutions that got them elected so as to perpetuate their rule. Kunda Dixit, Jury Member of the Unesco/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize from 2000-2005. – Extracted from Pressing for Freedom – 20 Years of World Press Freedom Day*

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Mahathir (Mahomad) says we will bury you, I said, “you are 87 years old. You shouldn’t be talking about burying people. You should be thinking about your own grave.” Anwa Ibrahim, Malaysia opposition leader. – From the Financial Times, May 4, 2013*

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To expect the country (Italy) to pay its debts as it did decades ago is to expect an 85 year old man to drink the way he did at university. – Christopher Caldwell, Financial Times, May, 4, 2013*

Zimbabwe’s sole power utility hopes to save electricity by influencing behavior change in electricity consumption through pre-paid meters. Pre-paid meters could be a solution to the billing shambles consumers had to face from ZESA but in the long run demand is already surpassing supply – something which is not going to be solved with energy saver bulbs and pre-paid meters. Giving energy saver bulbs to consumers will work only if there is electricity to save otherwise it’s a waste of resources. The nation needs to work on alternative sources of energy and allow the private sector to venture into power generation and stop relying on imports. The recent passing of a statutory instrument allowing high-end electricity consumers to purchase their own prepaid meters will ease the burden of procuring pre-paid meters by the nation’s struggling sole power utility, ZESA. The company has been enjoying a huge monopoly over electricity distribution in the country and it is failing to meet the increasing electricity demands, which has resulted in massive blackouts nationwide.

I attended university during a period where going to school seemed like wasting one’s precious time and adding more strain on family’s financial budgets. This was the period of 2006-2010 where Zimbabwe went through a major economic downfall, the 2008 elections and the dollarisation of the currency – a very difficult period. It did appear much better for one to quit school and cross the border to a neighbouring country as they would be guaranteed of access to their needs and wants. It is during this period that corruption within the various systems in the university grew like it was growing in any other sector in the country. You could see how people would manipulate the system because of a certain commodity they held, which was in demand. You would be shocked to hear what a lecturer would do when promised a bag of maize. As the economy got better with goods and commodities available, corruption, like cancer, still existed.

Students in Kenya and Uganda have established an anonymous website, Not In My Country which seeks to expose acts of corruption within universities in these two countries. By acting as whistle blowers, students rate their lecturers’ performances and have an optional field to explain their ratings. These are crowd sourced to provide ratings. In South Africa, university students at Wits are using the university newspaper, Vuvuzela, to expose lecturers who engage in misconduct in their work through sexual harassment. Students all over have been using various media to expose corruption within their universities but these are only effective if the university’s authorities take up their responsibility by investigating matters reported. Systems run by students often fall short as university staff protect each other as investigations or follow ups on reported cases are not made.

When: Thursday 9 May 2013
Time: 5.30 – 7pm
Where: Book Cafe, 139 Samora Machel Ave/6th Street, Harare

On Thursday 9 May the popular arts hub, THE BOOK CAFE once again offers a platform and opens its doors for a free public discussion on THE ARTS & DISABILITY.

An initiative of the budding organisation ‘SIGNS OF HOPE’ the discussion brings together Zimbabwean musicians, singers and actors to examine the question “How do artists view and engage with the disabled through their art?”

Gone are the days when people with disabilities were secluded in private corners and excluded from social, educational and political activities. In Zimbabwe, like anywhere in the world, huge strides have been made as the nation produces excellent lawyers, teachers, activists, artists and sportspeople with disabilities who are excelling in their fields and making a difference in society. Compared with the western world however, we are still far behind, in terms of facilities and general perception of people with disabilities, and their inclusion and participation in nation building. Everyone has a role to play in society, and the discussion aims to raise awareness among the public in general and artists and arts practitioners in particular, about how the arts can contribute to attitude change in society, the gender perspective, and where the links might be.

Speakers include the acclaimed songwriter and guitarist Victor Kunonga who is active in this arena, working on projects with the St Giles Rehabilitation Centre; afrojazz singer/songwriter Dudu Manhenga, and Daniel Maphosa of Savannah Trust, working in theatre development. Masimba Kuchera will speak from the perspective of people with disabilities, and the discussion will be moderated by Thomas Deve.

The discussion is free and all people are welcome. Artists are specially invited to participate and gain a deeper awareness of the issues concerned.