A report, from the Research and Advocacy Unit, interrogates whether or not Parliament is “a meeting of more or less idle people.” It costs $1,115 per sitting to maintain an MP, and the average House sitting is 2 ½ hours long. Read it here

There’s a level of totalitarianism that pinches my nerves that is clearly visible in Zimbabwe. The people are always stuffed under the heavy hand of the despot either in the guise of ‘home grown solutions’ or ‘catching up with international standards’. Whenever the government wants to suck money out of us they do it to catch up with international trends.

Good examples are the introduction of toll gates, increasing toll fees, debates about urban tolls, spot fines, increasing import taxes and levies, new police and ministers’ vehicles, etc. International standards are unceremoniously dumped whenever issues of accountability and good governance are brought up and replaced by ‘home grown remedies’, which in most cases have only looked well crafted on paper but void in implementation.

They work these things like magicians in our eyes; most of the time we fail to connect the two dots in the line in the use of the terms from the start of the con plan to steal money from us to the point where we want the result and details of expenditure. A good but sad example is the toll fees which were forcibly introduced on our roads to catch up with regional and international trends and without fail, every motorist is paying but the amount of potholes on our highways by far do not reflect the tremendous amounts of money that is being collected in toll fees everyday.

Interestingly the government is still working ‘flat out’ to craft ‘home grown solutions’ that will insure that the system is water tight and any corruption be brought to book. Others who have tried to question the accountability of the government and police over toll fees and spot fines have been labeled western puppets whose agenda is to serve their western masters and to push for a regime change in our country. Anyone who asks questions about the diamond revenues (including the former Finance Minister, Biti), Zupco unfair operations, civil service inflated wage bills and unfair distributions of farming, energy, water and security resources etc, has been placed in this neocolonialists puppet bracket.

Zimbabwean security sector is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent in Africa but at the same time undoubtedly the most biased and civil manipulative. The one thing our security and intelligence have done very well since 18 April 1980 is to protect and retain political thrones for the blue bloods in the country. I believe their primary role is to protect the civilians but all the experiences of ordinary people of Zimbabwe at the hands of our National security has left me terrified and so dreading of their capabilities. When they are working to get any of our aristocratic oligarchs in power, they leave no stone unturned but they failed the simplest drill to ensure that Rebecca Mafikeni of the Glenview 29 gets released to receive medical attention. They have managed to silence us on the death of Christpowers Maisiri and declared it void of foul play. They have managed to give lame testimonies and delay court procedures only to keep Morgan Komichi under incarceration but have failed to open up investigations into the massive diamond looting in the country and only waited for the president to give them leads. No one from the urban land invaders has been reported to have been arrested to face justice so far but anyone who is deemed to have taken an opinion against their masters is very quick to be apprehended and face their unjust laws.

Our security sector is a regime security. I have not found anyone ordinary proclaiming faith in their ability to protect us. Money has always been protecting us in Zimbabwe, if you cannot offer a meal for an officer then you might have to think of getting your protection from somewhere else. Recently the Ghananians plus much more criminals in Zimbabweans have got away with serious crimes, not because they had good defense attorneys but because they had good connections in the security sector. Life is highly expendable in this scenario. Survival and safety mostly is dependent on one’s material possessions and relations rather than the simple fact that we are all citizens of Zimbabwe.

9 October marks the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union established in 1874. Today many years down the line the use of post has dwindled due to the advancement of technology. I remember when I was growing up I would check the ‘letterbox’ each time I walked past the gate. Sometimes I would go to gate solely to check the letterbox. Now I click buttons to check my Gmail mailbox.

Walking into a local post office in Harare you will discover that they have now ventured into offering other services like Ecocash, selling motor insurance and selling CDs. They have taken the stance of being ‘bambazonke’ in their quest for business survival. Who can blame them in Zimbabwe where many businesses have expanded their services to survive? Word on the street has it Chicken Inn will be selling sadza soon.

Despite the challenges being faced by post offices in Zimbabwe, it is important to recognise their efforts in delivering mail. Over the years Kubatana has been sending postal products to its membership. Most recently Kubatana sent out postcards through the postal service and one enthusiastic subscriber had this to say when they asked to get some postcards: “I cant wait to get the postcards so I can send a love letter to my mum and sweetheart. Technology has killed letter writing and the anxiety of waiting for the postman to deliver that special letter…”

Despite Internet uptake being high in Zimbabwe there still exists that group of people who do not have access to the Internet. By sending postal products to its membership Kubatana has been able to reach some of its remotest members in Sadza, Mbalabala, Mudzi, Watsomba, Mbire, Chibuwe to mention a few who do not have access to the Internet.

Thus joining the world as it commemorates World Postal Day is of paramount importance to Kubatana. Thank you Mr Postman for that anticipation of waiting for a letter in the letterbox by delivering our products using your services!

If a leader is for the people, we all know that he is from among us, understands us, does things with us and works for us. In other words a leader for the people is a total package. The reason why the power hungry cheat in votes to choose a people’s representative is because they know that they do not have the qualities to be the average person in that category so they use other vile means to attain or retain power.

People are not dogs, they know that they want someone who is in touch with their day to day lives and not a sympathiser who comes at his convenience to give handouts and put a leash on us to drag us along once in a while. Everyone knows that a social contract is never of gangsters delivering communion in churches because he owns the wine cellar but a man of collar because he is the average man from us and ordained to lead the flock.

Power and control in a normal free world are vested to a representative of the whole pack with just an added knowledge of solving the issues that affect us. A shepherd dog should never be confused with a sheep leader; its job is to drag the sheep to and from their pen. It understands where the sheep need to be so it gives directions but does not understand the needs of the sheep. The political leadership in Zimbabwe today abuse and deny us of our natural rights because they are out of touch of the needs of the average citizen of the country.

“More begets the urge towards even more. At least Hollywood stars affect learning by having mansions filled with bookshelves and art. The palaces and mansions of Borrowdale Brook are all marble staircases and obviously homes to show-offs and dunces. All this in the name of a liberation ideology, so that self-conceit blends with self-deceit – as the ideologues liberate the economy for themselves.” Stephen Chan, Conversations with Morgan Tsvangirai (2010)