Dear Politician !!!

By Lloyd Takawira
I write this letter , with so much sorrow and resentment to your flauntings . While you jostle theatrically to  have pictures taken with us and leave in your SUVs and  flamboyant vhuzis (cars) , have you thought of our predicaments.

While you leave for your state of the art flash houses in the posh low density suburbs , have you thought of our families who are struggling to put a simple meal on the table.

Deep down in the rural areas , as you leave in your posh cars , the dust from the graveled roads smoking us ,  some will be traveling over ten kilometers to and from school . Have you thought of us.

That year you visited our rural area you promised to build us a clinic alas it's been ages that promise hasn't been fulfilled yet you're here once again asking our parents to vote for you. To do what MR POLITICIAN . What evil is that .

Do you know that , the last time you visited us , Mai Jane died on her way to Chimukutu clinic which is over 20 kilometers from her village , Marutande . You never care for our basic needs because you think you're clever.

Can you imagine Mr Politician , that the same parents you're asking to vote for you , some of them were retrenched and never got a single pen owing to your actions .

Can you imagine that Mr Politician that our parents are going through serious challenges. Some of the challenges has left us destitutes . Sending us to school is nolonger an easy task , while you're kids are going overseas to learn.

Mr Politician can you self introspect!!!

Dear Politician l encourage you to read , "The cry of a child"
by  ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

Yes Elizabeth never minced here words in her poem. She wrote a very piercing piece that l would want you to read , maybe you can change your mentality.

In case you have never come across her poem .
She said:
" Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers,
 Ere the sorrow comes with years ?
They are leaning their young heads against their mothers, —
  And that cannot stop their tears.

The young lambs are bleating in the meadows ;
 The young birds are chirping in the nest ;
The young fawns are playing with the shadows ;
 The young flowers are blowing toward the west—
But the young, young children, O my brothers,
They are weeping bitterly !
They are weeping in the playtime of the others,  In the country of the free."

Yes Mr Politician , l rest my case with a clarion call for you to desist from abusing us for selfie pictures . Address our plight Mr Politician.

Yours truly
The Child ( Zimbabwe)

TODAY IN HISTORY: Zimbabweans Remember 27 June 2008

By Lloyd Takawira 

With a " 100% total empowerment" campaign matra and a 27 June VaMugabe muoffice !!! 

Recounts of some of the horror memories of victims of the bloodbath that preceded what was a solo run by the late nongenarian Zanu PF party leader Robert Mugabe are mournful 

 "27 June !!! VaMugabe mu office!!! . Pamberi nehondo !!! Pasi nevatengesi " thunders the late Major Svoswe .

As the major sat down , then  rose , the feared Godfrey Nyikadzino he started to sing , with thunderous voice he sang : " Hondo here , hee hondo makunakuna hwiza hondo dzataigocha ... hee hee hondo " and the whole crowd bursts into singing and dancing . 

Young girls ululating while the youthies who had suddenly became comrades grinding the soil as dust gushes to skies . 

For the new converts , it's a wish for the soil to thaw you .

Holding a sjambok  , rose Patson Nyadza" Yasvika nguva yevaya vakadzoka mugwara rechimurenga , ngavamboita slogan tione" thundered Patson who had suddenly became a war veteran . 

By that time , a defeaning sound characterize the gathering . 

A gun shot breaks the silence as women mainly the elderly breaks into ululations presumably to cheer up Major Svoswe who was firing into the air . 

On election , day the Youths resembling the famous , " Imbumbule youths " who run amok under the doctorship of the late Burundi Pierre Nkuruziza ran through the communities singing war like songs 

With a disputed  and inconclusive election of March 29 2008 , it meant  an electoral  rerun was on the cards . However the harrowing and heinous events leading up to the June 27 presidential rerun brings vivid sad memories of a bad chapter to our country .

The late , Robert Mugabe who had lost the first round of election to  opposition MDC candidate the late Morgan Tsvangirai had set his eyes on returning the Presidency at whatever cost . 

Morgan Tsvangirayi  pulled out of the race  due to violence targeted against his supporters by state security agents , and Zanu PF party youths .

Each year on the 27th of June, Zimbabweans always remember the day and the memories are not rosy in any way as they are littered with sad pictures of tortured people as Mugabe sought to reverse the March presidential election result in which he was defeated by Tsvangirai.

 Mugabe would go on to claim victory and got sworn in before flying out to an African Union summit where he was told to sit down with Tsvangirai in what culminated in a government of national unit.

Even though, Mugabe negotiated with Tsvangirai and Mutambara, Zimbabweans still remember the events leading to 27 June as thousands of people were displaced, hundreds dead as soldiers and secret service agents were deployed across the country to reverse Mugabe’s electoral defeat.

As the world is still commemorating International day Against tourture and inhumane treatment , Zimbabweans have horror memories to recount.

tllyoyd@gmail.com 

Ongoing Demolitions. An Ethical Test Failure for Zim Local Government

 

By Lloyd Takawira 

Watching hopelessly as their source of livelihoods are being destroyed ,  one could not resist to drop some tears . Urbanites have endured endless torrid times from authorities who should be protecting them . However, for many Zimbabwean urbanites its suffer continue.

With an economy that was run down by decades of mismanagement, many Zimbabweans have been pushed to the informal economy as they try to ace a living from vending.

Local government, in a democratic state, is expected to be responsive to the needs of the people.  Since the local government is the primary delivery arm of a democratic state, it should provide effective and efficient local government service to the people, however for Zimbabwe, the case has been different. Personal self-interest have been subordinate to the public good in all circumstances.

The recent demolitions have exposed the rot in our local government system if not national. It must be noted that, high ethical values affect the performance of every organization. The question now is do we have ethical leaders both elected and appointed in Zimbabwe at every level of leadership. Do they even know the ethical values that they must uphold as public servants? The components (ethics and values) shape an individual’s character, as well as that of their organization (Omisore & Adeleke, 2015). However not for elites in Zimbabwe.

One is made to ask. Do these people have a reputation, do they even care for the next person, do they know that the  success of governance depends upon the conduct of themselves as public functionaries and what the public perceive about their conducts. I wonder what Mr Tafadzwa Muguti is thinking seeing so many people crying while their livelihoods have be destroyed.

Do these so called shefus of this world know that , as local government leaders they have an indispensable role to play in exacting ethical principles. In our case , the  absence of public minded leaders whose energies are not harnessed to organisational purposes is affecting the  quality of  local government service delivery (Dorasamy, 2010).  We have people who have sworn that as long as they live, there is stealing from the public coffers at whatever cost. We have people whose hearts have hardened to hard rock state because they are at the eating table.

It should be written in bold and caps that, leaders at local government level in Zimbabwe have failed the ethical test. One cannot allocate land for someone to operate , make that person pay for the space , all of a sudden disregard that , comes back to destroy the person livelihood . Even in the face of a court order in the case of Chitungwiza it could not stop demolitions to happen.

The ongoing demolition calls that for this country to self-introspect to say we need leaders who are willing to pass the ethical test and that ethical values have to be upheld by the leadership of local government, who have to create an organizational culture that directs a local government service institution to achieve its purpose.

For now , it’s the residents , civil society organizations and all interested parties that must come together to demand that :

1)Local government employees adopt an approach that can influence others to direct their actions toward the attainment of a clearly understood and well communicated ethical purpose. This shared vision and pursuit of ethical standards therefore, results in ethical behaviour guided by purpose- directed employees at the local government level.

2) Ethically-oriented local government that is not underpinned by a lack of established ethical behaviour because Unethical behaviour has a negative impact on effective and efficient local service delivery.

 Continued pooh pooing in our governance issues through unethical practices will continue to negatively affect the performance of these councils which have become bastardised entities   (Adegoroye, 2010). It is imperative that all local government functionaries upon accepting government employment recognize that they have a special duty to be open, fair and impartial in their dealings with society. (Yahya, 2006).  

For now it’s a clarion call for public servants especially those manning our councils to view ethics as choices requiring them to make decisions enabling them to lead an ethical life within the context of their relationships with others in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Cllrs Yes .Civil Servants & Chiefs No

By Lloyd Takawira 

There is a storm once again inthe land of multiple storms . A week rarely passes without controversy . Should we be called a land of controversy . 

Cdes and friends this time , the gatekeepers. The Cdes of entitlement (the stockholders of this country) (the more patriotic ones than others ) as they allege , are reportedly moving to force senior public sector workers such as senior council management , councillors and chiefs  to the famous Chitepo School of Ideology . Yes Cdes and friends , the one brother Tsenaz refused to attend gore riya ..... Brother Tsenaz said iwo ndiwo wangatonodzidzisa wanhu ikoko . 

Well because we are in the land of controversies . The issue of party state conflation has been a  one burning one . It has always been burning . 

Party state conflation . 

Zvinomboreiko ??? 

Party-State conflation are  acts or  misdeeds against the constitution  by  governing political parties of  "confusing"  the party and government as seperate entities 

The most important word is "confusing" . Here we are talking of intentional confusion . Kutoita souri rema zvako , asi uchitoita , uchitotyora mutemo seusingazive seusina hanya . Here I'm talking of wedu "Musangano wechibhakera" 

So the controversy is ??? 

Should a councillor attend his or her party school of ideology , the answer is an Unequivocal YES 

Should a council CEO , management ,  attend party ideological schools . The answer is a BIG No because  the Constitution of Zimbabwe clearly prohibits civil servants and senior employees of councils from being partisan. 

Should a chief , headman , village head be forced to attend a party school ideology . The answer is Big NO .Because  the law and basic principles of corporate governance require Civil servants  to be impartial, professional and focused  not the pursuit of toxic politics in the execution of their duties.

Party State Conflation of State is  the main reasons why this country has been hamstrung in the doldrums of poor service delivery , selective application of the law , toxic institutions which by operation of the country's supreme laws are supposed to operate independent . 

Over the years we have witnessed chiefs virtually becaming political commissar's of a political party contrary to what the Constitution stipulate . 

Until we have people who believe in the sancrosactness of the law and willing to abide by it's tenants in toto , Zimbabwe is going to continue sliding into the dustibins of shamelessness . 

How do we capture and ingrain our ideology into the hearts of many Zimbabweans ,  the question Zanu PF should be asking itself . Without force marching institutions which must be independent .

The answer is very simple . Be true to the values of liberation struggle . Development not Corruption , Empowerment not looting . Plurality not Conflation and capture . The list goes on on and on . #TheZimbabweWeWant 

#ZimbabweArise 

#ZimbabweFirst 

Extractive Policies In The Face of Covid-19. What’s For the Poor In 2021? By Lloyd Takawira

 Zimbabwe has endured a whooping umpty two decades of economic and political instability. Without a figment of imagining otherwise 2021 is promising to be more feverish coming from a hectic humpty-dumpty 2020 owing to the coronavirus induced shocks. While the government through its mouth piece, the ministry of Information, enablers, paid trolls (varakashi) tried   on several occasions to firefight by downplaying the Zimbabwe crises, no amount of fickle or deceptive speech can hoodwink the world that Zimbabwe has been in the doldrums for a long time owing to the “extractive” policies of the government. 

Zimbabwe has experienced several unprecedented economic, environmental and political shocks and stresses that have dented any hope as the political future remains uncertain and the country faces severe democratic deficits. The increasing level of muzzling of the democratic space through violating human rights, manipulating state institutions and suppressing dissenting voices has been one of the biggest undoing of the much touted second republic.

 The cancerous corruption scourge has remained endemic even to the extent of some in high offices stealing covid-19 funds at a critical juncture like this. More deplorable and shocking is that despite overwhelming evidence of pilferage of covid-19 funds, the  pilfers are walking scot-free while government critics such as Allan Moyo are languishing in prison.  While civil society space for policy dialogue has increased in recent years, the challenge remain with government insincerity and lack of trust on independent actors such as NGOs and other non-state actors thus we have seen even front line workers such as doctors subjected to obscenities and tastelessness of being labelled  “medical assassins”. 

The stinging stunting effects of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) have grounded economies and is threatening to obliterate any hope of recovery especially with a government that is clueless on the way forward. To date hundreds have perished because of the coronavirus pandemic disease. However, there seems to nothing tangible from the government side to address the multiple quagmires effacing the nation. Some analysts are arguing that talk of a vaccine by the government are a sheer  figment of imagination , however it remains to be seen how the government is going to address the contentious issue of procuring vaccines . 

 The continued lockdown induced effects are already chewing up the most vulnerable in communities thus exacerbating the effects of poverty, food insecurity in Zimbabwe which have been resident for some time.  This situation has been exacerbated by changes in climate patterns, over both the short and longer terms. The current coronavirus crisis has caused a severe shocks especially to the urbanites such that million are in need of assistance.

Borrowing from scholars, Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson's, in the face of calamities what separates nations depends above all on the inclusiveness of economic and political institutions. In the case of Zimbabwe our biggest undoing has been "extractive" institutions as opposed to “inclusive" institutions in which many people have a say in political decision-making, as opposed to cases where a small group of people control political institutions and are unwilling to change and at least consult the people.

In the face of multiple predicaments, those in high offices have chosen to follow the destructive path of building “extractive" institutions the ones that permit them (elite) to rule over the poor without consulting the vulnerable. For example the continued shutdown measures which affects the most vulnerable are only announced short of due consideration of what will happen to the poor. 

We are where we are because of the incompetence, carefree approach to problems by our Government. Without beating by the bush political expediency, and insensitivity to the plight of the poor and sheer intransigence on the part of those who run this country has been our biggest undoing as a country. 

It is the hope of every suffering Zimbabwean that policies are inclusive and are considerate of the multiple shocks that have befallen people for some time, “THINK OF THE POOR” 

Platform for players

* 16-02-2020 Dialogue rantings attributed to ZANU PF Secretary for Administration, Obert Mpofu in one of the local tabloids clearly exposes ZANU PF's ego-centric and bullish attitude towards the very same political opponents they intend to dialogue with. Mpofu's bullish Polad ultimatum to the MDC Alliance only helps to raise alarm on what to expect from any dialogue with ZANU PF. Platform and players remain key ingredients to any meaningful dialogue. To his credit, President Nelson Chamisa has always reiterated that POLAD is a poisoned chalice hence it can never be an ideal platform for any meaningful dialogue. That all players currently involved in POLAD agrees to everything Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU PF further pulverizes the platform thereby rendering it a monologue. If the calls for dialogue are genuine, then it is only logical that those who disagree dialogue and clearly there is no need for various versions of ZANU PF at the same table. Why wasting time dialoguing with various but same versions of ZANU PF when the same results can be achieved by dialoguing with one led by Mnangagwa himself. Alternatively, why would Mnangagwa's ZANU PF want to dialogue with some black market opposition when it is clear even from the 2018 ZEC cooked results that it is Advocate Nelson Chamisa's MDC Alliance that warrants any form of dialogue if the country is to move forward. ZANU PF's insistence on a platform, POLAD which they created raises alarm on the dangers that lies ahead if ever MDC Alliance joins such dead end platform. Joining POLAD is akin to having a wrestling contest with a crocodile in water, its familiar surroundings. Who in their right senses can accede to such a political suicide? It is also important to track the background that led to the current situation which has led many a people to call for dialogue. It is a public secret that our problems emanate from a 2018 disputed political contest that gave birth to the legitimacy question. At the centre of that contestation is Emmerson Mnangagwa who subverted the will of the people by having an adulterous affair with the military through the gun on 01 August 2018. On the other hand is a People's President, Advocate Nelson Chamisa who has a social contract with the people to lead. The components determine the solution we obtain! We can not expect any meaningful results from a 'dialogue' between Mnangagwa and his puppets. Anything else without Nelson Chamisa is like expecting flies in their various forms to produce honey. #OneMillionCampaign #YouthVoices4Change *Stephen Sarkozy Chuma* _MDC Alliance Youth Assembly  Spokesperson_

The predicament of a rural farmer .

By Lloyd Takawira 

At first glance this towering , conical peak Dorotoma mountain may remind you of the famous mountain in the mould of Kilimanjalo , or the famous Japanese mountains .

South of Dorotoma is a resettlement area which the Chigwede's have been residing for decades . 

Its that time again , a rapturous thunder bolted acampanied by a zigzagged lighting signaling the rain season has just arrived. 

The Waruma village just like many communities around the country have no cattle due to the ravaging foot and mouth disease which abliterated heards. 

All the years , the Waruma community prided themselves as the best farmers . However , this time its a going to be a hectic farming season. 

While they have been educated by the local Agritex officer , who has been helping them on the Pfumvudza program , the community has not shown interest in the concept arguing that , the program is archaic , old fashioned and labor intense .

For headman Chigwede Waruma , life hasn't been rossey as his remaing two donkeys were taken away by the Dutavanhu family after his son Charles Chigwede Waruma jrn impregnanted one of the Dutavanhu's daughter . 

As respected people in the community , they have to brew some beer and call the neighbors who have cattle to come and help them plough . 

Here is the predicament . The whole village is bearing the same brunt .Mombe dzakafa nechirwere .

" We are in a fix my son ," says Muzeza Chigwede Waruma snr with watery eyes . 

The two are seated underneath a big muhacha tree which is some few meters away from their yard .

"yanaya ka baba , tichadii*The rain season is upon us father , what are we going to do" the young Chigwede Waruma said in a low tone voice while chewing african bubble gum (dohwe).

Chigwede srn is mending his 1978 Ox plough which he bought in colonial Ankledon now Chivhu where he was a farm worker .

Chigwede senior , in a dejected voice replied, " my son l have never seen this in my entire life . We discussed this issue with your mother . I was thinking we can brew some beer and call our neighbors to help us . The problem as you know its only Bhalubha and Mutsvakabeva who have cattle . The rest are like us " 

As they are discussing their predicament , Titus a longtime friend to the Waruma arrives . 

" The heavens have smiled on us simboti , " said Titus with an exuberant voice 

He continued , "l knew with the heatwave that , heavy downpours are nearer" said Titus as he rests his buttocks on a fiber stool 

" My friend , we are happy that the heavens have opened on us . However , we are in a fix . All our cattles gone . When l remember of busvumani aaa l cry at times " said Titus as he sniffles .

The story , of the Waruma community is heartbreaking . It represent the predicament that many rural communities are grappling with . 

Most rural communities rely on draught power . However because of the cattle diseases that swept across the country most communities were left without even single cattle . 

While the government has been singing the Pfumvudza hymm . Research has shown that most people objected against , arguing the program is labor intense . 

For some , the rains have been a blessing in disguise while for some , its a catch 22 situation .