Harare’s fresh water sources are slowly being eroded by a certain of weed. I remember hearing these two foreign guys sitting next to me on a plane asking each about the green patches on a dam as we were about to land at Harare International Airport. From an aerial view it looked like the river is totally gone and the green carpets forming on the riverbed are also slowly swallowing the dam. Some time back I remember reading an article on Harare’s fresh water sources being under threat from a certain type of a weed but I never realized the extent of the problem. A report published by UNEP Global Environment Alert Service in April 2013 says that the spread of water hyacinth declined from 42% in 1976 to 22% in 2000. But in 2005 a new invasive plant, called spaghetti weed (Hydrocotyle ranunculoide (UNEP 2008) surfaced. It seems the weed is now choking the life out of the few fresh water supply sources that feed into Lake Chivero.

Zimbabwe’s election is in legal shambles – But no one really seems to mind. Yesterday, Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court postponed indefinitely Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa’s half-hearted application to have the Court’s 31 July election deadline extended. Chinamasa’s application came at the recommendation of SADC, which, understandably, was concerned that President Mugabe’s proclamation of a 31 July election date was done unconstitutionally, and set Zimbabwe up for an election which was illegal before it even started. Instead, the court will hear Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube’s applications about the need for an election extension tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Nomination Court is also scheduled for tomorrow, in which parties wanting to contest in the illegal and unconstitutional 31 July election will put their candidates forward. Zimbabwe’s political parties have had their primaries, fair, rushed or otherwise. According to David Coltart, the Movement for Democratic Change led by Welshman Ncube will nominate candidates tomorrow because “although 31 July election is illegal, we must contest.”

Attempts to get an answer to the question “Given that 31 July date for #ZimElection is illegal, will yr party be nominating candidates tmrw?” from the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai have yet to be responded to, but it seems likely they will also be fielding candidates at nomination court tomorrow.

But, on 13 June, Morgan Tsvangirai himself said of the 31 July election date: “As Morgan Tsvangirai, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and the President of the MDC, I will not accept a situation where Zimbabweans will yet again be railroaded and frog-marched to another illegitimate and violent election.”

So – What does refusing to be railroaded mean, exactly, if it doesn’t include refusing to contest in an illegal and unconstitutional election? As Marko Phiri pointed out when the 31 July date was announced, “if Mugabe can unilaterally call for polls, what is to stop him from declaring himself the winner” (regardless of whether he actually won or not.

If you contest in an election which you know is illegal just based on the date for which it was scheduled and the way in which it was proclaimed, what leg do you have to stand on if you try and protest its legality later?

Given that 31 July date for the Zimbabwe Election is illegal, will your party be nominating candidates tomorrow?

About state media fiction writers:

“Masks beneath masks until suddenly the bare bloodless skull.”
Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses

Hey! Need a job? Want to work in the NGO/development sector in Zimbabwe? Check out the job vacancies below and apply today. If you want to receive regular civic and human rights information, together with NGO job vacancies and other opportunities like scholarships by getting our regular email newsletter, please email join [at] kubatana [dot] net

Administrator/Bookkeeper/ Logistician: Institute of Creative Art for Progress in Africa
Deadline: 3 July 2013

The Institute of Creative Art for Progress in Africa (incorporating Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe and Nyerai Films) is looking for a qualified and experienced candidate to fill in the post of Office Administrator/Bookkeeper/Logistician.

Location: Harare

Key Result Areas
-General office administration
-Bookkeeping to trial balance
-Office management
-Event coordination
-Writing financial reports
-Reporting to the Board

Send your CVs to: wfoz [at] icapatrust [dot] org or call 04-862355/0775553273

Information Officer: Institute for Young Women Development
Deadline: 6 July 2013

The Institute for Young Women Development is a young-women development oriented organization working in the fields of advocacy and lobbying on young women’s issues and rights, capacity development and livelihoods. The organisation which is headquartered in Bindura and operating in Mashonaland Central Province is looking for a young, dynamic and creative person for the post of Information Officer.

The Officer will report directly to the Director.

Key responsibilities

The incumbent will be expected to support the organisation’s information management and internal and external communications functions through:
-Developing the organisation’s communications strategy
-Development of communication materials and coordination of organisational publications, dissemination of information to members, partners and stakeholders
-Writing and editing reports, newsletters, generation of website content, etc
-Managing and updating the organisation’s social media sites
-Coordination of the organisation’s projects information on implementation and impact
-Handling of external information requests
-Assist in development of project proposals, organising projects activities, facilitating meetings and workshops, monitoring of activities and effective communication of updates from the meetings
-Perform any other duties as assigned by the Director

Qualifications and skills
-A degree in journalism, media and mass communications or any other social sciences/related fields
-Experience in young women/youth development issues in Zimbabwe and ability to work with rural communities
-Good communication and report writing skills
-Strong organizing, planning and management skills
-Computer proficiency
-Excellent oral and written communication skills
-Ability to work under pressure

To apply
If you meet the above criteria, please forward your current CV and relevant certificates via email to: hr.iywd2011 [at] gmail [dot] com

One of the titles I’m presently enjoying is Paul Collier’s Wars, Guns and Votes – Democracy in Dangerous Places (2009). The book makes important observations and one of the many nuggets goes: “If being honest and competent does not give you an electoral advantage, then the honest and competent will be discouraged. Crooks will replace honest candidates. One depressing indicator of such a process is that democratic politics in the countries of the bottom billion tends to attract candidates with criminal recorders…Evidently, one reason elected office is more attractive to criminals than the honest is that only criminals will take advantage of the opportunities for corruption. But there is sometimes a further reason: elected office provides immunity from prosecution” (27).

BOOM!