Zimbabwe’s formal economy has been struggling to survive whilst the informal sector has become the key to livelihood. There seems to be a change for the better in many sectors including the fuel sector where service stations now have good stocks of the precious liquid. But black market activities have not ended completely. As one drives up to the pumps in most service stations a swarm of young boys approach you selling coupons at a price cheaper than that pump price.

One wonders how this illegal business is viable given that the fuel price is on the rise the world over? My talk to one informal trader of coupons provided a shocking revelation, which left me close to bursting with anger. He said some people have diesel coupons yet they want petrol so they negotiate an exchange with these dealers who in turn charge a fee for the deal. It also emerged that some people have easy access to coupons, which they sell at a discount on the black market. It also emerged that the key suppliers of fuel are government officials including Members of Parliament who offload thousands of liters on the black market in the form of coupons.

The vendor revealed that yesterday (17 June 2010) some of his colleagues had a fight over about 5000 liters of fuel coupons, which a certain MP had come to offload at the BP Service Station on the corner of Fourth Street and Samora Machel Avenue. The dealers normally buy one 25-litre fuel coupon at US$22 and sell at US$25. The MP is said to have come with two full books of coupons of which one is 2500 liters worth of coupons. The MP is said to have asked the boys to offer good money, and they started bidding against each other, until they could buy the two books at US$24 per coupon.

The fight and the supply of fuel is not my problem; but the problem is where do these MPs get that much of fuel to sell on the black market? It becomes suspicious especially at a time when these MPs are set to take on a big role in the constitution making process. To make the deal more suspicious the MP is reported to have refused to receive the money on the spot. Instead he offered to carry the boys to some unnamed hotel to finish the deal. The government is broke and civil servants are sacrificing themselves to work without enough take-home money. Yet the politicians are busy lining their pockets with national resources. Lately the MPs have been demanding unrealistically hefty rewards for taking part in the constitution making process.

If they get these coupons from the government, one wonders how one person is given that many coupons at once? The administration has a case to answer. It is really disappointing to note that corrupt tendencies are at the top of the government. How will we heal the economy when the healing system comprises rotten elements? The first healing step is to bring these elements to book. Who then should lead the investigation and the arrest of these people?

First they prayed and now they’re in mourning. Bafana Bafana . . . will they still get through?

Zimbabweans have grown to learn by experience that the Government of National Unity (GNU) was nothing but a marriage of covenience. During the signing ceremony, party leaders gave the impression that the leaders had really cemented a deal of unity. People had a new sense of hope, hope for a better country, a free and prosperous Zimbabwe.

Now reality is surfacing – about two years down the line there are still pending issues. Jacob Zuma and his team have come and left the country countless times. The negotiation teams are always negotiating until no one knows when. The news is that elections will be in 2011 soon after the new constitution. Who confirmed that the referendum will agree to the constitution when the process is marked by some reports of violence and intimidation? Mutambara is of the view that the country is not yet ready for elections next year. True as it might be, his rather more powerful collegues have no option but to call for the elections.

What it all shows is that one hand and one fist are still fighting strong battles when the body they intended to protect is in trouble. The GNU was just a shift of the battlefields and maybe a shift of tactics of attack – war is still on and peace is not guaranteed.

Zimbabwe is still in tatters and our leaders are busy setting ambushes and employing guerrilla tactics against each other. Shame on the poor majority who are fed lies without choice, arm-twisted into doing and saying what they would not if they were properly informed. We wonder when political freedom will exist in this country? We call upon the GNU principals to come back to the basics and consider the reasons, which led into this marriage, which they now tramp upon without achieving its intended objectives.

“It would be fantastic if before every soccer game, the team captain stood up and said we believe in safe sex, consensual sex, and the dignity of every woman and child,” says Bonita Meyersfeld of the Gender Unit at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Witswaterand University. “FIFA is a rich organization and they are putting so much money into this event, but when they leave the same problems will still exist.”

Will a billion condoms be enough during the World Cup 2010?

On Saturday I was at Ellis Park Stadium where Nigeria were playing Argentina. And in the spirit of the African World Cup, some Nigerians came with pet chickens to sheer up their super Eagles but they where told no chickens were allowed into the stadium. John Okoro told the South African Press Association (SAPA) that “We were allowed to take our chickens in 1998 World Cup, but these people wont let us.” Read the full article here