I saw this announcement about a Team Zanu PF Cabinet Supplement in The Herald yesterday, and (naively, I know) I got excited to see the supplement today. I thought it would contain useful information like profiles on the ministers and their portfolios. Maybe it would have brief descriptions of the priorities of each ministry, or a few call out comments from each minister about their hopes for their ministries, and the challenges they would face in delivery.

Instead, the supplement features:

• A photo line up of 30 ministers and their names and portfolios
• “How the President came up with his team,” an article quoting Mugabe’s press conference on the announcement of Cabinet.
• The full transcript of Mugabe’s press conference on the announcement of Cabinet.
• A full page photo spread of the Cabinet members being sworn in.
• “Cabinet blends youth, experience” article
• “Business, labour welcome new Cabinet” article
• “Ministers promise to deliver” article
• Congratulatory messages to the new Cabinet and individual ministers, in the form of full colour display adverts

The actual “meat” of the supplement – articles, comments, information and journalism – takes up less than 3 pages of the supplement; the congratulatory messages take up more than 11. So, more than one week after Cabinet has been announced, the state’s newspaper cannot do anything substantial to inform the Zimbabwean people about these new ministers, their backgrounds, qualifications or responsibilities. Holding one’s government accountable is difficult enough at the best of times. If Zimbabwe’s state newspaper can’t outline even basic facts about the country’s ministers and their portfolios, where do the rest of us begin.

“Leaders of the Women of Zimbabwe Arise  (WOZA) have been arrested in Harare where they were marching to Parliament building to deliver a list of demands to the Clerk of Parliament,” Radio Dialogue reports.

According to Radio Dialogue:

Magodonga Mahlangu, one of the leaders of the group, in a brief interview with Radio Dialogue, confirmed that she had been arrested and was being taken to Harare Central Police station.

“I am in Harare, I’m under arrest and i am going to Harare central police station. I was beaten as i was climbing into the vehicle. I was thrown in and beaten. I am battered and bruised. It is only the voice that is there,” she said before the telephone call was terminated.

According to a statement issued by WOZA before the march:

Over 400 members planned to march to Zimbabwe’s Parliament to hand over a list of demands. The protest was planned to ‘test’ new provisions in the constitution and to make the voice of women heard around the direction that local and national government should take as the take up their positions. The protest also marks the international day of peace commemorated throughout the world on 21st September 2013.

The theme selected by a consultation conducted is peace must deliver freedom and development for all. Seven thousand WOZA members consulted wanted a theme that spoke to the peace bragging rhetoric by politicians that has for the most part been meaningless chatter. Additionally as the UN convenes and President Mugabe plays his sad old song about removing sanctions, WOZA members also call for him to remove his sanctions on Zimbabweans enjoyment of human rights and freedoms.

With Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change celebrating its 14th anniversary this weekend, we thought it was a good time to ask our SMS subscribers whether the MDC-T should stick with the T(svangirai), or whether, after 14 years with one president, it was time for opposition leadership renewal.

We heard back from hundreds of Zimbabweans across the country, and over two-thirds of respondents thought Morgan Tsvangirai should remain as the party’s leader. We share a sampling of responses below, or you can download the full list from this link.

• Tsvangirai must stay, kusvikira aita president. He has been through a lot.
• The MDC-T needs a new leader. MT must step down to pave way for new president.
• In my view Tsvangirai has not failed. In fact, look at how the peole hoped for him to win. The confidence they have on him and as it stands he is the only candidate in the country who can contest head to head with President Mugabe. We have been with him for long and have come to understand him better. We have been through hard times with him and better times as well, so let him stay put. Maybe we can talk of the grand coalition now. It is not all about changing leaders, but everything to do with advocating for a level political playing field. Yes, leaders can change, but as long as the country is still not level for all the players, you can change everyone and still the voice of the people will not prevail. What we need to focus our energy on is what we do to level the playing field, and not whether to remove someone.
• Morgan yes should pave way for new ideas coz that’s where dictatorship starts. He started by amending party constitution so what’s next is staying there forever.
• Tsvangirai must stay as MDC-T president as he is a pillar & balancing figure in the party & Zimbabwe at large. Since 2002, Tsvangirai has been a victim of massive election rigging by Mr Mugabe&Zanu PF. He has been making efforts to expose the comprehensive election rigging but to avail as Mr Mugabe controls all the pillars of government. Leadership renewal is not a noble idea at the moment as it will enthrill Zanu PF & is after MDC-T downfall & causing divisions & chaos within the party.
• There is need for leadership renewal to bring in new ideas and political  approach for the opposition
• Tsvangirai is the leader of MDC. Remove him when he has had the chance to lead Zimbabwefor two terms and not now. Let him lead until he rules. Those who want to lead the MDC should be ashamed of themselves.
• Tsvangirayi must leave the top post and any other within the party. He is free to remain an ordinary member or join another party of his choice.
• Tsvangirai is the only man who can stand against the ruling party he should stay.
• The resounding victory of zanu pf isn’t abt poor leadership in MDC bt monopoly over state resources so Tsvangirai must b given another chance
• He won in all the elections and am the same voter who vote for him. Its Zanu who wish him gone
• Tsvangirai has to stay till he remove zanu & rule for atleast one term
• Tsvangirai should stay as the leader of MDC-T and the other leadership should not change. MDC-T is Tsvangirai of which without him support will be lost.
• We want a replacement
• Not yet hey for the opposition to change leadership Tsvangirai must pull until the part reach the new beginning
• He is a complete failure, I don’t think he can renew.
• He should stay and finish his mission playin field z uneven n successor meets same fate
• I think he should stay until the next congress but he should stop acting like a Zanu-pf front

Download more opinions from this link

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) released the results of the local government contests of Zimbabwe’s 31 July Harmonised Election on 15 August.

As SW Radio Africa reports,

According to figures released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), candidates representing Robert Mugabe’s party now dominate the country’s rural and urban councils, having won 1,493 out of a total 1,958 wards. The MDC-T won 442.

Since 15 August, we have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get these results from ZEC, so that we may share them with the public.

Presumably, official election results are public information. They tell the public useful things like:

• Who is your councilor
• How many people voted for which candidate

When we’ve asked them to share the results, ZEC has told us that they’re too long to publish in the press (too expensive). They’ve also failed to publish them on their website, and whilst they have said they could email them to us, they have yet to respond to numerous email and telephone requests to do so.

Meanwhile, there are council run offs scheduled for 11 September, in 3 wards where the two top candidates got the same number of votes.

If the council elections are important enough to be held, and there are resources for three run offs, surely ZEC could also share the results from the other 1,955 wards? Maybe many Zimbabweans don’t care who their Councillor is. But for those who do, and who want to engage in a democratic, participatory process to hold their elected officials to account, the first step is to know who that is.

When you spend more than five years getting bashed from all sides with election campaign rhetoric it gets difficult to believe every word, which comes out a politician’s mouth. Politicians’ now use every occasion as an opportunity for electioneering. Forgive me for thinking the same on the recent announcement by our out-going Honorable Minister of Tourism who seized the occasion at the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly to show some love for Disneyland.

Just yesterday the President warned of a tit for tat with the West for imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe and today we wake up to hear promises of building Disneyland in Victoria Falls. This is just too comical. It’s hardly a month after the harmonized elections and urban dwellers are in a ‘fix’ as they have resorted to shallow wells as sources of water. Who would want to come to a cholera-ridden country? Neither would residents opt for a theme park over service delivery. As highlighted by the Minister yesterday, Mickey Mouse comes with a price tag of US$300 million and if this money can be put to service delivery before Mickey it will go a long way in fulfilling elections promises.

“Amid reports of election rigging and continuing human rights abuses, Zimbabwe is the last country that should be legitimised by a UN summit of any kind. The notion that the UN should spin this country as a lovely tourist destination is, frankly, sickening.” Hillel Neuer, head of the Geneva-based group, UN Watch