Zimbabwe’s Parliament is currently on leave until October. In its recent Bill Watch (Review of Last Session of Parliament), Veritas noted that in the recently ended second session of the seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Senate sat on 16 occasions, and the House of Assembly on 30 occasions. Parliament passed only six bills during this legislative year. Even when Parliament did meet, it was never for very long:

Normally sittings are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, commencing at 2.15 pm for the House of Assembly and 2.30 for the Senate.  Standing Orders envisage work continuing until 7 pm, but very seldom did either House sit after 5 pm.  There were a significant number of short sittings, when one or other of the Houses met only to adjourn after sitting for less than an hour  and sometimes after 10 minutes.   The Session was also marked by long adjournments – six weeks over the Christmas-New Year period, and a premature adjournment for more than three months from March onwards to allow legislators to take part in the Constitution outreach programme – which eventually only started at the end of June.

What hope do we have in a Parliament-led Constitutional reform process when these are the same politicians who don’t take their elected responsibilities?

In a Kubatana newsletter in June we asked our subscribers to state what they believe to be the most serious political issue in Zimbabwe today, and suggest a solution. Please read the submissions below and let us know which one tops Your list.

1. Inability to consider the impact of one’s actions and how this affects others, the environment and future generations.
2. Consider the impact of my actions on a daily basis and to teach this by living it out in my life.

1. The social or political issue in Zimbabwe is that leaders stay in power too long. They know that they have cases to answer to and that the law will catch up with them.
2. To have new broom and have all new leaders and I am sure from this you will have a country with actual laws.

1. The only serious or critical issue in Zimbabwe is governance. Once this country is properly governed all the shortages of everything required for a person to live a common life will disappear.
2. What is required is not only the change of government but a democratically elected government with a democratically minded leadership. All I can say is that the shambles we are in at the moment is caused by mismanagement. Zimbabwe is rich but where our natural resources are channelled is a mystery. All the government arms are corrupt so unless we appoint dedicated and dynamic leaders in all government institutions we will become poorer and poorer when our country is rich with natural resources which require committed people to manage.

1. I am convinced that the most serious political issue in Zimbabwe is greed. All our political leaders tend to forget their past promises in pursuit of self aggrandisement. Had it not been for greed, our dear comrades from the MDC could nave quit this malfunctioning inclusive government. But because they still have porous backgrounds to fill the Mudzuris are being quite bitter about being called under performers.
2. I think the most practical solution is to have a leadership code that determines what those in power should own and how much money they earn.

1. I consider the Constitution Making Process to be the most serious social or political issue in Zimbabwe. We can only come up with a meaningful constitution if it really represents the needs of the people of Zimbabwe. However, one is bound to question its credibility if the outreach phase is marred by violence.
2. The three principals should facilitate campaign awareness programmes to stop violence during the outreach programmes. In addition, the legislators should not stifle the process by demanding exorbitant allowances. Finally, the sample should be representative for validity and to avoid bias.

1. Zanu-PF
2. Trials

1. The most serious political issue is the Dictatorship of Zanu-PF.
2. This can be solved through the unity of the people standing up and speaking with one voice.

1. I think the most serious political issue in Zimbabwe is the probability of having free and fair elections.
2. The only major step to solve the problem is coming up with a constitution that that gives a platform for free and fair elections.

1. The most serious social or political issue in Zimbabwe is leaders who cling to power regardless of their failures to rule the country.
2. The practical steps I would take to address the issue is to highlight to them the areas in which they have failed.

Many prisoners incarcerated in Zimbabwe’s prison cells are suffering from a lack of food, clothing and medical attention. A recent meeting with a community activist who visits a central Harare prison each week made it clear that prisoners need our help.

Here are two requests:

1.    Old ice cream or any other plastic containers are desperately needed as makeshift plates.
2.    Many prisoners do not have any shoes. If you have old shoes, especially size 7 and up, please consider giving them a new home.

If you can donate one, or both of these items your help will be very gratefully received. Please contact Kubatana via our web site to find out more and get details on a drop off point.

Read community activist Theresa Wilson’s account of assisting Zimbabwean prisoners here

If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.
~ Bob Hope

This has to be the Movement for Democratic Change at its most pathetic:
MDC Takes Zanu (PF) Jingles Case To Zuma

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition have been holding constitutional community meetings around Zimbabwe. Their latest meeting in Hwedza saw participants raise the following issues:

1. Right to education: citizens must be able to hold government to account in terms of delivering quality and affordable education.
2. What is a young person-? The recommended age is between15-35 years although there was a discussion on raising this age to 18-35 years.
3. There should be equal opportunities for male and female youths.
4. The terms of presidency should be limited to two.
5. Number of  parliamentarians should be limited.
6. The government should ensure that perpetrators of violence are brought to book.
7. Are there any guarantees that the people’s views will be respected?

The Information & Publicity Department of the Union for Sustainable Democracy (USD) suggests in a recent press statement that the Mbare Chimurenga Choir must be banned. Or alternatively that the MDC should “grow some balls” and stop Zanu PF jingles from being played on Zimbabwean radio. Hmmm. But radio is state-controlled even though the Generally Pathetic Agreement (GPA) was signed a long time ago.

It also occurs to me that Zimbabweans in general need to grow some tits and balls because it appears that a good many of us continue to pay licence fees, and thus help fund Mugabe’s media.

Here’s the full statement from USD:

Mbare Chimurenga Choir song must be banned

The Union for Sustainable Democracy calls on the Unity Government to prohibit the blatantly partisan music of the Mbare Chimurenga Choir from being aired on state radio and television. Without any doubt, the song Nyatsoteerera is intentionally provocative. Playing it on ZBC stations goes against the object, spirit and purpose of the Global Political Agreement that promotes bi-partisanship over partisanship.

In our country’s current sensitive and fractious circumstances, it boggles the mind how a party to the inclusive government can arrogantly seek to promote and perpetuate disunity and do so with such breathtaking impunity disguised as giving effect to the legacy of our liberation struggle. Even worse, how could such a song ever be regarded as an ‘expression of nationhood’? It is clinical madness!

It is calculated to provoke and belittle well-meaning individuals such as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai while scandalously and desperately trying to give life to a dead and now decomposing party. Such behaviour cannot be defended and must simply be stopped in the national interest.

There is ample evidence that ZANU PF entered the Government of National Unity only to retain a hold on power and never out of a genuine desire to work collaboratively in the national interest after decades of mismanagement.

Whereas the Unity Government has afforded Tsvangirai’s MDC some opportunities to mend things for the benefit of the country, the advent of the Unity Government has provided Mugabe’s ZANU PF with much needed time and resources to regroup and, having secured themselves in a somewhat politically acceptable position, they are now gradually dispensing with the services of the MDC and, in typical ZANU PF fashion, they are doing so with breathtaking arrogance.

The MDC must accept its share of the blame for this resurgence of ZANU PF. Since joining the Unity Government they have adopted a largely impotent stance that has made it easy for Mugabe and ZANU PF to disregard any idea of a real partnership.

It seems that many in the MDC have become compromised and have, regrettably, taken their eyes off the ball in large part because they have tasted the privileges of government office. Zimbabwe needs committed, pragmatic parliamentarians who will concern themselves more with getting the job done than with just being in politics for its own sake.

Because the Mbare Chimurenga Choir’s commercial, jingle, song – whatever label one chooses to attach to their composition – continually regurgitates the divisive and patently false mantra that President Mugabe and his two deputies, John Nkomo and Joyce Mujuru, are the ones running the country and that the MDC are nothing more than junior partners, it must forthwith and in the national interest be prohibited from airing on our public broadcaster ZTV as well as on our public radio stations.

In the meantime, the MDC needs to grow some balls.