Living Zimbabwe

Tag: Harare

  • How do you feel about street vendors in Harare?

    How do you feel about street vendors in Harare?

    Vendors have for the longest, been part and parcel of the economic machine not only in Harare and other parts of Zimbabwe for that matter. They have been there on the roadside selling fruit and vegetable, they have been there darting in and out of traffic at robots selling airtime and other bits and pieces, they have been in car parks selling clothing out of the boots of their cars; and now they are really there, selling whatever it is that they think the public may want to get their hands on as they walk along the streets of the central business district.

    In a number of instances, they can be seen as providing a service of convenience because you can get your airtime, a newspaper, chibage, tomatoes, clothing and so on without leaving the comfort of your car or if you are a pedestrian, you may not have to venture too far out of your way to get what you need.

    However, the number of vendors on the streets has increased exponentially and this could be for a number of reasons with one of them possibly being the lack of gainful employment in the formal sector and people turing to the informal to make ends me.

    Whatever the cause may be, the surge in their numbers has caused contention and the government has given them an ultimatum to move off the streets and set up shop in specially designated areas where they can ply their trade.

    Truth be told, the surge in their numbers has in some cases caused a bit of nuisance because navigating some of the sidewalks in Harare becomes a bit of a challenge when they decide to set up shop there.

    Without a doubt a significant amount of money is exchanged in this informal economy and the government looking to move them to designated areas, this creates an opportunity for them to collect tax revenue. That said, it is a little easier to see why the government may be so keen to see vendors move into ‘controlled’ areas – go here for details.

    On the same token, clamping down on vendors may for them mean losing out on a revenue stream. If this was the only way in which they made ends meet then what do they do to feed themselves and their families?

    Here is a bit of the reaction that people have had about the issue of vendors in days gone by:

    Share your thoughts (by leaving a comment below) on how you feel about vendors on our streets.

  • Zimbabwe hopelessly obsessed with politics

    Zimbabwe hopelessly obsessed with politics

    After the unspectacular purge that characterised the lead up to the discredited ‘congress’ of 2014, we thought we had seen the last of retrogressive political drama which proved a nasty and messy divorce. The nation looked ready to move on and it looked like 2015 was going to be the year for policy implementation. With ‘sanctions’ and so-called corrupt ministers fired, Zimbabwe was hypothetical on the verge of success. We were wrong. Today we are forced to watch the catfight escalate.

    Reports are doing the rounds that Occupy African Unity Square leader, Itai Dzamara was abducted from his neighbourhood. It prompted former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to issue a statement, “The demon is back!” I feel the demon never left us, we are just waking up from our slumber to realise that we have changed nothing since the 2008 massacre. The demon of politics and the impunity that accompanies it in this land continues to haunt us even when it is becoming clearer that politics will not solve our problems because it is part of the problem.

    Yes, politics affects our daily lives but when it eclipses other aspects of human life, it becomes nothing less than obsession. It is not too early to conclude that the political leadership in Zimbabwe suffer from a condition that presents as a compulsive obsessive disorder, COD. Politburo meetings have become more important than parliament that ministers would rather dodge parliamentary sessions to spend the day engaged in unending meetings adopting resolutions that are never implemented. It is not only has the legislature that has been rendered useless. The judiciary will be under the spotlight now that expelled members have lodged a case against Mugabe. Inasmuch as the case looks like a waste of time, it will serve to prove that our judicial system is not as independent as we believe..

    When Mujuru and company were ousted albeit under controversial circumstances, we were convinced the whole anti-Mujuru campaign was over but we were stunned when birthday boy took a while at the Victoria Falls bash to admonish his former deputy. Judging from the way Bob vilified Mujuru’s widow; it became difficult to distinguish the event from Heroes’ or Defence Forces Day celebrations. With as much vitriol and anger the president disregarded all diplomacy and respect for women when he ‘stripped down’ Mujuru in public view. Politics without reasoning has driven down this ground.

    Pronouncements that government intends to kick out the remaining white farmers whom they allege were protected by Mutasa and Kaukonde prove the land reform was neither about righting the wrongs nor economic empowerment. It was all about weakening political opponents. The invasions in the early 2000 were meant to choke the MDC as it was believed that white farmers were the brains and funders of the opposition. Now that he believes the remaining farmers are propping the Mujuru camp, Bob in all his wisdom has seen it fit to destroy the residuals of an agricultural system he successfully wrecked.

    I do not deny that land reform was necessary as a means to create space for the marginalised. Had that been the sole aim and had it been implemented in such a manner to achieve a win-win result, Zimbabwe would have conducted a successful economic empowerment program. By now, we would be regarded as a model nation in terms of empowerment and we would be renowned for that. Instead, we are seen either as cowards too afraid to rise against a failed leadership or as obsessives who believe in the wrong politics of then era. It is not sanctions that have brought Zimbabwe to her knees, it’s obsession with politics.

    Zimbabwe has successfully politicised every aspect of citizen’s life from arts, sport, and culture to education and health. Promotions, official appointments, tenders and even radio licenses are awarded after political considerations. Unfortunately, it is not politics that will fix Zimbabwe. It is not politics or birthday rants that will build schools and refurbish dilapidated hospitals. It is the economics. Politics and policy pronouncements will not fix the roads or expand our energy generating capacity. It is through implementing sound economic policies that will lead to increased FDI inflows and not speeches about how a former deputy employed the services of Nigerian spiritualists to unsit a man who is fast losing grip of the reigns with each passing day.

    We are sick and tired of diplomatic visits by a Chinese delegation or some dignitaries from little known countries whose contribution towards people’s livelihoods goes from minimal to zero. Yes political or diplomatic allies are important (everyone needs friends) and we are better with more but we do not need political relations that don’t put food on the tables of ordinary citizenry (we don’t need friends who steal food from our tables). It is futile to suck up to political allies that will not add value to our nation at the expense of our economy.

    Politics may have gotten us into this pit but as it stands, it will not get us out of it. Zimbabwe definitely needs another way. Politics and the politicians have failed us.

    We need a rethink.

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    This has been a submission by Ittai Bryan.
    You can connect with Ittai Bryan via the following: http://ibmatteu.blogspot.com, http://twitter.com/ibmatteu, http://fb.com/ibmatteu.
    You too can become a Citizen Journalist by submitting your story here: Citizen Journalism by Living Zimbabwe
    The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not necessarily Living Zimbabwe.

  • Living and Learning in Zimbabwe: The Power of a Smile

    Living and Learning in Zimbabwe: The Power of a Smile

    I spent from June – December of 2013 living, learning, and working in Nkayi, Zimbabwe as a World Vision Canada Intern. I was asked by Living Zimbabwe to write a piece with some helpful hints for people traveling to Zimbabwe. I have tried my best to avoid the typical travel advice of “boil your water” and “ladies should wear skirts” and “don’t walk around outside in the dark alone”, because while those are great tips, they don’t mean anything. I’ve tried to make my advice meaningful; something that maybe you won’t read in the Lonely Planet book or hear from your Travel Health Clinic.

    1. Actually visit with the locals. I’m not talking about going, greeting them, and taking some pictures of their living spaces. Pictures are important, and absolutely, take them. But talk, and even more importantly, listen, to the locals. You can learn a lot from reading newspapers and browsing websites, but you can learn even more from listening to stories of people who live very different lives than most of us in North America do.
    2. Visit rural areas. Bulawayo and Harare are beautiful, and they have stories to tell… but sometimes the cities have somewhat of a North American feel to them. The rural areas are where you really get the feeling of what is means to be in Zimbabwe.
    3. Take part in some of the parts of daily Zimbabwean life. Carry water on your head so that you can begin to understand how a Zimbabwean women spends anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours of her day, and take a bucket shower so that you can appreciate the excessive amount of water that we have in North America, and use a blair-latrine so that you can be thankful that we have that money to put towards luxurious items such as flush-toilets.
    4. Learn to cook sadza (or if you’re like me and you can’t cook, at least watch in amazement as a Zimbabwean woman cooks it). I asked a coworker one evening how to make it, and she couldn’t tell me exactly; she didn’t know the measurements. It is an art of “some more mielie-meal”, “a little more water”, “a liiiittttle more mielie-meal”, and eventually, “a pinch of salt”.
    5. Watch football (soccer). I don’t mean on the television from inside your room, or even a “big-ticket” game at the outdoor pitch in one of the big cities. I mean put on a hat, and go watch locals play. If some of these kids had the same resources that David Beckham did, they would be better than Beckham was at his peak.
    6. Need a tour guide? Ask a local! Sure, Victoria Falls has boards of information everywhere, but like turning a book into a movie, sometimes really important and/or interesting pieces get left out. The locals will know all sorts of information, and probably be honored that you would ask them to guide you.
    7. Get in there! In North America, we are sometimes very shy about dancing with strangers because we don’t want to look “silly”, or we won’t try speaking another language because we will be laughed at. I looked silly, and I was laughed at… but it is a part of the experience!
    8. Accept all gifts. Zimbabweans understand that life is about relationships, and stronger than their desire to feed their own family tomorrow, is their desire to be hospitable and engage in fellowship with new friends today.
    9. Take time to feel. There is something about the sunset and the stars during the evening, after a day of hearing about the hardships one minute, but seeing the dancing and laughing the next.
    10. Be prepared to change. Zimbabwe changed my views on faith, materialism, the power of a smile, and so much more. I promise it will do the same for you.

    This has been a submission by Sherrie-Lee R. Chiarot. You can connect with Sherrie-Lee via the following: , https://twitter.com/sleerose, . You too can become a Citizen Journalist by submitting your story here: Citizen Journalism by Living Zimbabwe The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not necessarily Living Zimbabwe.

  • Shock & Dismay At Zimbabwe Elections By A First Time Voter

    Shock & Dismay At Zimbabwe Elections By A First Time Voter

    I am a first time voter, 25 and a recent graduate. I studied Chemical Engineering and am a proud holder of a degree. But in this country i am just one of many, educated but cannot find a job in this broken system. My call to action was a Sunday Mail headline which claimed only 17% is unemployed. I mean that had me angry and I knew then I had to vote for change. The feeling was shared by almost everyone I knew. Enough was enough Zanu PF needed a break, the 89 year old leader needed to retire.

    Post result shock and disappointment is what I have at the moment. We all know who really won the election, we all know who rescued the economy. We are not dumb we know our country was headed in the right direction. We where robbed. Zanu PF are thieves who overdid it. And, they took a 2/3 majority so as to implement more oppressive statutes as they and ONLY they plunder the resources of Zimbabwe. There are no celebrations, only mourning. We are mourning the death of any hope we had of a better Zimbabwe.

    This has been a submission an anonymous contributor
    You too can become a Citizen Journalist by submitting your story here: Citizen Journalism by Living Zimbabwe
    The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not necessarily Living Zimbabwe.