although his parents and perhaps great grandparents have been in the area for a long time and are well-known and considered Shangaans by default.
On the other hand, Zanu (PF), in its trademark arrogance, is fielding Callisto Gwanetsa, a known Karanga, in the heart of a Shangaan-speaking people. Your own newspaper further alleged that the Shangaans have long been thought to be “docile and uneducated.” I am not writing to refute this statement at least for the time being, but on the forthcoming elections.
I was in Chikombedzi in December 2006 when Zanu (PF) was conducting its primaries. As a Shangaan, I was disappointed by Gwanetsa’s campaign message when he said the Shangaans are being tribalistic, and that he was sent by President Mugabe to lead the people in the constituency as an MP.
Both statements are highly inflammatory in that:
(a) a stranger, with no assets to talk about in the area, wants to represent a people he is already castigating as tribalists, and whose culture, he neither understands nor respects. What Zanu (PF) is doing in Chiredzi, both South and North, is like allowing a Ndebele in the heart of Matebeleland, who can hardly say “mangwanani” to go and represent a constituency in the heart of Mashonaland. Let me tell, we are disgusted by this. Gwanetsa should consider himself lucky, because most youths in the area work in South Africa for obvious reasons, and he is only left to contend with our old parents.
(b) To say that he was sent by President Mugabe “to come and lead and develop the area here” implies that the Shangaans cannot meaningfully lead and develop themselves. This is arrogance at its worst. Now the Shangaans are completely displaced as leaders in their own and only area. A stranger now will lead them. First it was in Chiredzi North, and now it is Chiredzi. This is a sure seed for a revolution. Already, some enlightened people are agitating for sesession, or simply to be joined to Mozambique or South Africa.
Proudly Shangaan, Zimbabwe
Diaspora will not be used
EDITOR – I respect Gono as a person but I hate his tinkering to trick Zimbabweans to think that he is a true believer of reform but instead he is a true merchant of deceit and short termist. The recent monetary policy he presented seeks to achieve two things:
1.Reduce inflation through holding on prices no matter the cost of production. He sees enforcement to be done through Green Bombers whom he gave money more than our soldiers who are surviving on pittance and sunshine.
2.Improve forex inflows through short term distortions although his speech dwelled on distortions which he thinks should be removed. He sees Zimbabweans in the diaspora as the source of forex to sustain Mugabe through the next 12 months
Mugabe and Gono know that the noise for elections in 2008 is going to be louder and combined with deteriorating economy will make the country ungovernable. To buy time Gono decided to lift forex restrictions in order to improve inflows from Zimbabweans in the diaspora but will it work wait and see.
What Gono achieved at the Reserve Bank is to peg the Z$ below the equilibrium without regard to supply and demand forces as advocated by IMF. His idea was to generate cheap forex and a stronger domestic currency but the major set back is that the strength is artificially determined. The implications are that you will get an even stronger black market were market forces are prevalent.
Imports becomes very cheap as indicated by high imports of expensive cars by Zimbabweans and exports suffers and companies forms foreign branches and engage in buying and selling to go round high cost of production without adequate compensating prices.
The idea to remove restrictions is to encourage inflows and create excess supply and push down black market rates but Zimbabweans in the diaspora are not prepared to be used.
Jacob Rukanda, UK
Econet must solve problems
EDITOR – It’s good news that Econet is reach one million subscriber base soon. but I think much still has to done before we can give them a pat on the back. Just last week that I landed in Zimbabwe from SA and tried to get in touch with friends from Harare. I had the surprise of my life because I used to extol the Econet network as the best but I failed to connect to any Econet subscriber the whole day.
I tried Telecel and Netone and got no problems at all. I hope before they make a quantum leap they must solve the issue of congestion on the existing subscriber base.
A week before I left SA,Vodacom had released statistics on it’s subscriber base as 28.2 million. That is twice the population of Zimbabwe. Consider the fact that Zimbabweans working in SA [including myself] and all cross border traders have
SA mobile lines. It won’t surprise me that about 2 million Zimbabweans have Vodacom lines. This may explain why Vodacom, though not operating in Zimbabwe and prevented by POTRAZ to operate in Zimbabwe, is the largest single mobile telephone network provider to the Zimbabweans.
Vodacom with such a huge subscriber base does not have congestion problems. This exposes the challenges that the indigenous mobile telephone providers have in
providing competitive service. We need serious players like Vodacom in Zimbabwe.
Stanford, Mutare
Huge demand for coins
EDITOR – The year 2007 has been a very enterprising year for Zimbabwean black market dealers. First they discovered diamonds and now there is a rush on coins discarded long back by many. Coin collectors have descended on Zimbabwe from all over the world. They have enlisted the services of black market forex dealers to source the old coins. They have even tasked runners with sourcing the coins in remote rural areas where people are asking to being paid in commodities, rather than money, as they say the local currency is fast losing value.
At the moment, in the urban areas, the coins are trading at a rate of old Zimbabwean 1cent to new currency $4500.
The new currency is not worth the paper it is printed on if old coins are worth more.
Fidelis, Harare
Corruption in SA
EDITOR – I would like to draw the attention of the authorities to the terrible situation prevailing at the Marabastad home affairs office in Pretoria. Life is hell for us refugees in South Africa. When one wants to apply for an asylum permit one has to pay at least R500 just to get into the queue.
Something must be done to halt this corruption. This charging to get into the queue must be nipped in bud as soon as possible.
I want all the people involved to face the full wrath of the law. They are taking advantage of the suffering of others in a terrible situation. They must be made to have a taste of their own medicine.
I hope the authorities will react urgently so as to do away with this evil trend of corruption.
Tapiwa Hove, Pretoria
Dabengwa is right
EDITOR – Thank you for continuously giving prominence to the issue of water in your newspaper. The takeover by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) must have shocked Robert Mugabe when it was raised in his Zanu (PF) Politburo by Dumiso Dabengwa, the former Zipra Intelligence Supremo.
What Dabengwa was simply saying is; Zinwa does not have a solution to the crisis of water management in Zimbabwe. He was saying Mugabe is wrong on water. He was saying the people of Matabeleland can manage their affairs without the constant interference of Mugabe’s ministers.
What I need to also highlight as a resident of Harare and also a ratepayer is that Zinwa does not have the capacity and neither does it have the mandate of residents.
I think Mugabe no longer looks at the performance of minister Ignatius Chombo when he looks at his cabinet. The man lacks the requisite communication skills to deal with the enormous task of handling local governance issues.
Residents of Harare, inspired by the ever-growing Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) must not give room to messengers of evil like Chombo to force them to accept things they do not like. Residents are categorical. They want Sekesai Makwavarara out of Town House. They need to be given the opportunity to elect their own representatives, the councillors and an Executive Mayor. Zinwa must not takeover our water.
I think Zanu (PF) politicians are beginning to realise that Mugabe is lost and they need to remind him all the time that his decisions are wrong and are hurting Zimbabweans. We need more of that boldness from the Zanu (PF) old guard, the ones who have been singing for their supper all these years since independence.
Dabengwa must continue to raise this crucial issue of Zinwa. Residents of all cities and towns in Zimbabwe cannot afford to fund Zinwa.
The Zimbabwean must continue to expose the relationship of Zinwa senior managers and some government officials. I personally believe that there is more to it than meets the eye. The issue of water treatment chemicals, tenders in the infrastructure upgrading and sewerage treatment obviously provides a lucrative platform to loot and accumulate wealth.
The matter of water supply should have been handled better through a consultative process where the views of all stakeholders was sought.
I am now appealing to the sober members of the ruling party in Harare and the rest of the provinces to follow Dabengwa’s example and make a decision on what they want. I warn them now that they will find it more difficult to campaign and win the hearts of their supporters if they fail to resolve the water issue, in particular Zinwa’s involvement.
We are in a fix but we have to fight on. Let’s fight this evil. Zinwa must not take over our water administration. Municipalities like Bulawayo have resisted and so others must follow suit. It is more difficult in Harare where a commission is in charge but other towns and cities can make their position very clear. Reject Zinwa.
Precious Shumba, CHRA Harare
EDITOR – We still don’t know officially who has won the by Elections in the Chiredzi South, but I knew long ago who would win. No one in his right mind is going to vote his food away, remember “no food for the enemy” is what the ZANU PF said.
GMB (Grain Marketing Board) trucks were seen off loading Maize and meal at Chikombedzi during a ZANU PF rally. I have seen the cell phone photo’s the No of one of the vehicles is AAI 4149. Where does this food originate from is a good question?
It has become obvious to all and sundry that no party with the exception of ZANU PF can win an election in Zimbabwe, ZANU PF are using the tax payers money plus all sorts of skullduggery to beat democracy down. Dictatorships like this one almost always wreck the economy of their countries that they are holding to ransom and this usually turns all on them, and it is happening here.
GW, Chiredzi