Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES)

Policy Dialogue Forum

Topic: Towards the final resolution of the land question: principles and framework for compensation

When: Thursday, 3 October 2013
Time: 5pm – 7pm
Where: SAPES Seminar Room, 4 Deary Avenue, Belgravia, Harare

Chairperson: Rudo Chitiga
Speaker: Charles Taffs, CFU President

Feeling disillusioned and alienated and the sense of belonging to an entity called Zimbabwe is fast fading. We have now had three consecutive elections that don’t seem to be helping in resolving the problems the nation has been facing for the past decade. If nobody bothers to respect the outcome of an election why then continue investing in such kind of a democracy? Isn’t it elections are supposed to help us resolve the great questions of our day, so that once one side of the argument wins, we can let it guide our decisions until the people feel the need for a change in direction? Alluding to everything and pretending to be enjoying every bit that comes with the election aftermath is now normal coping strategy as we continue to do soul searching on the direction the country is heading. For how long we will hold on depends on the men with the reigns over the mighty forces of the land.

From a rural subscriber:

 is continuing, this time severely.Two weeks ago people were forced to contribute towards Heroes Day celebrations in rural areas & now it is contributions towards the inauguration of the local headman. Are celebrations forced to be contributed towards or it is someone’s wish? Rural people have suffered much yet they struggle to get money. Who will liberate them from the scavenging leaders?

The tantrums of First Ladies are actually an indication of gender powerlessness. They  have no record of their own, no power of their own, they are just there because their husbands are up there. Many try to convert executive idleness into a full time job by intruding into all kinds of public spaces to remind us that they are there. That’s why some of them assume they are leaders of other women  in a kind of delusionary division of labour with their husbands who command the whole country. They are paranoid around female members of the government. – From a 2004 installment by the late Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem.

The us of cell phone technology is increasing in Zimbabwe with nine in every ten people having access to a mobile phone. Making calls, receiving and sending text messages are some of the major uses of mobile phones. In a sample size of 1200 adults who took part in a survey conducted by Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) in October 2012, nearly 24% of people have access to the Internet and they access the Internet using mobile phones. Of those interviewed 21% use the Internet for social media and 16% use it to get news.

Radio is still the leading source of information, and among the radio stations in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s radio stations ranked as the most common source of information for public, political and current affairs in the country.

People in Zimbabwe place a lot of trust in information coming from schools and religious leaders both in urban and rural areas. But very few have trust in councils and government representatives as sources of information. Since its inception in 2009, the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee remains unknown to about 62% of the people who took part in the survey, and in areas like Matebeleland North and South people had problems accessing JOMIC.

An overwhelming response from people who took part in the National Census show that almost every household was covered in the census as the country’s ten provinces scored above 90% in visits to households during the census.

As the nation prepares for elections 59% of young people interviewed are affiliated to a certain political party and Mashonaland Central recorded the highest number of youths who are active in party politics whilst Bulawayo youth have less interest as shown by a low figure of 36%.

However fear of political intimidation during election campaigns is still high and many young people are uncomfortable talking about politics. 71% think that in the event of political violence being perpetrated by any political party, reporting it to the police is the most effective way of dealing with the situation. 56% believe the police have the influence to stop violence.

A high percentage of young people interviewed strongly agree that women should have the same opportunities as men in getting elected to political office and of those who agree, 71 % also believe that women should have equal rights and should be treated the same as men.

On democracy and one party rule many youths denounce autocracy, 75 % disapprove of military rule and a majority believe open and regular elections should be used to choose leaders. A democracy with problems is how young people view Zimbabwe but youths are optimistic that five years from now the economy will be better with improved living conditions.

Yesterday, Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court confirmed 31 July as the polling date for the country’s Harmonised Election. The Court’s decision was unanimous, and rejected all applications which had been pushing for an extension of the election date.

The election date case was being heard by the Constitutional Court because it was their decision of 31 May which created the 31 July deadline, which Mugabe responded to on 13 June, in the first place.

The push for the election date extension was motivated by several factors, including:

• The llegal act by President Mugabe which used the Presidential Powers Act to change the electoral laws
• The fact that the election date required nomination court to be held before the voters roll had closed, which is unprocedural
• The fact that the Global Political Agreement stated that election dates should be decided in consultation, not declared unilaterally as Mugabe did

However, as frustrating as yesterday’s decision is, it is not surprising. The government had several ways around the original Constitutional Court ruling. Amongst other things, the actual ruling says the President should proclaim the election “as soon as possible,” and  that it “should be” (note: not must be) held no later than 31 July. As Veritas points out, the President should have relied on the principle Lex non cogit ad impossibilia [the law does not require one to do the impossible].

Unfortunately, the President went ahead to declare an illegal and unconstitutional election date, and the Constitutional Court has confirmed that this date holds.

Last week, Zimbabwe’s political parties submitted their candidates at Nomination Court, though only the MDC led by Welshman Ncube has made its candidate list publicly available so far. Zanu PF and MDC-T are planning to launch their party manifestos this weekend.

So much for Morgan Tsvangirai’s promise that he “will not accept a situation where Zimbabweans will yet again be railroaded and frog-marched to another illegitimate election.” That is exactly where Zimbabwe is headed on 31 July.