These Are The Best Of Times

Charles Dickens in his book A TALE OF TWO CITIES WRITES ,”it was the best of times ,it was the worst of times..”In the Zimbabwean scenario this seems to be a very apt description.

First Tesla Ever To Be Imported Into Zimbabwe

It definitely seems like the best of times to the people who have access to external funds and possess the coveted US  dollar,they certainly are enjoying the deteriorating economic situation where thye surrogate Bond note has been in free fall against the Us dollar.By all accounts fortunes are being made on the parallel market where huge among are changing hands at the drop of a hat and the money changers are laughing all the way to their house safes. Since they crash of the bond note ,most of those with ready cash have been on spending sprees with reports that imports of vehicles have been on an all-time high. There are reports that one one even had the cash to buy and import a Tesla,which is probably the first of its kind in Zimbabwe.The shopselves have been stripped of all the basic essentials as peo[ple stock up fearful of a further crash of the bond note which will render it useless.In most of thye peoples minds this is a precursor of the crash of  2008,when Zimbabwe suffered from hyper inflection and most shops did not have anything to sell.

For most of the long suffering citizenry ,who suffer from unemployment which hovers in the 80% ,the times are the worst of a very bad situation.No sooner had the country gotten rid of the despot Mugabe and fresh hope wafted through the land than 7 of their fellowmen fell at the hands  of the security forces that were supposed to protect them.Now the crash of the bond note against the US dollar has triggered panic among the people as they watch in horror as cooking oil and sugar disappear overnight from supermarkets and the the bond note becomes almost useless since most of the businesses do not want to accept the note.Prices are pegged against the US dollar which is in very short supply and long winding queues of people waiting for a chance to buy bread or fuel become a permanent feature of the body politic in our beautiful land.For most motorists sleeping in the queue for a chance to buy some fuel is now the norm.The public transporters have also jumped on the band wagon and have hiked the fares.Noone  can really blame them as the prices of fuel have gone up twice in the past week alone.

Fortunately sanity seems to be returning as the government authorities have announced that imports on all the basic commodities which are in short supply have been lifted and companies and individuals with spare cash can import these immediately. Maybe the times will change for the better for both those who have the means as well as those who are not so well off.

Better Keep Your Dollars Under The Pillow

Better Keep Your Dollars Under The Pillow

by Albert Ndambambi

Let's talk about the ride we are being taken on by our leaders. We were asked to open FCA Nostro accounts by the RBZ. As a law abiding and progressive thinking Zimbabwean, I obliged and opened mine with CBZ. I deposited a sizable amount of cash into this account over the past fortnight. I did this with confidence in the new administration and also with the thinking yekuti surely our government won't take us for a ride for the third time. The tellers were smiling and encouraging. Ndakabva ndaita manyemwe. Ndikati haaa ndiyo new dispensation ka iyi.

😩😩BOY WAS I WRONG😩😩

Yesterday I then decided to make a small TT payment to a colleague in the US. Here is what I was told;

"...you will need to complete a telegraphic transfer form and invoice being paid for. If there is no invoice and you are paying for services provided you need to provide copy of contract or agreement contract or agreement which should have been registered with rbz. If it is a loan repayment you also need to have the copy agreement and loan should have been registered with rbz. As for TTs to other personal accounts, this option is currently not available as per central bank exchange control regulations in place....."

😳 You can wonder what sort of anger and disdain I felt. I deposited my cash in good faith. Personal money they had no idea I had, in the spirit of supporting government initiatives. I was MAAAAD.

Little did I know, this was just the tip of an iceberg. I then asked to make a small withdrawal of usd$2 000.00. The teller went in, consulted and came back telling me, "...Sir you can only withdraw a thousand a day...." WHAAAAAT?

Be that as it was, I obliged and withdrew $1000 which was not enough for my needs anyway but I just accepted. Rules are rules.

Now here comes the juicy part, today I went back to withdraw the balance of the $2 000, which was $1 000. I was told, "....we do not have cash at the moment....leave your withdrawal slip and we will call you when cash is ready." I did, and sure enough 2pm a call came through alerting me of the availability of the cash. My P.A went to pick it and guess what, those notes in the picture were what she got. Ma dollar here vakomana? Ko yangu yakaendepi? I deposited proper clean notes.

Here's what I think. This shit of NOSTRO this NOSTRO that won't work. People deposit money in the bank with the trust that any time they want it they can get it and also with the belief that it's safe in there. Now, according to my experience, if you deposit your cash into the bank, 1) you won't have access to it anytime you want and 2) your pilllow is much safer than a bank.

My word to GOVT,WE DO NOT TRUST YOU.The only way you can gain our trust is by being fair and right.If I deposit cash,let me get it whenever I want.

Charity Wrapped With Dignity

She asked him,”How much are you selling the eggs for?”

By Tilaz

Charity Wrapped With Dignity

The older seller replied,”$,25 an egg,Madam.”

She said to him,”I will take 6 eggs for $1,25 or I will leave.”

The old seller replied,Come take them at the price you want .Maybe, this is a good beginning because I have not been able to sell even a single egg today.”

She took the eggs and walked away feeling she has won. She got into her fancy car and went to the posh restaurant with her friend. There, she and her friend ordered whatever they liked.They ate a little and left a lot of what they ordered.Then she went to pay the bill. The bill was $45.00.She handed over $50.00 and asked the owner of the restaurant to keep the change.

This incident might have seemed quite normal to the owner but, very painful to the egg seller.

The point is ;

Why do we always show e have the power when we buy from the needy ones? And why do we get generous to those who do not even need our generosity?

Someone once wrote;

“My father used to buy simple goods from poor people at high prices, even used to pay extra for them.I got concerned by this act and asked him why he did this ?

My father replied, “It is a charity wrapped with dignity, my child.”

A form of paying it forward I guess.Which category are you?

It Is An Election Year Again

It is the silly season again in Zimbabwe,most trees rocks ,durawalls or any flat surface is adorned with Banting belonging to the multitude of parties. These have mushroomed since the dramatic events last November which saw the forcible removal of the nonagenarian Mugabe, in order to save him from the abuse he was purportedly suffering at the hands of people who were taking advantage of his advanced age.

Its An Election Year Again

Suddenly ,a thousand flowers have been allowed to bloom,the populace is embracing their new found ‘freedom’ wholeheartedly and the proof is in the number of parties that have since emerged to either challenge for the Presidential seat or just a seat in the public assembly or on the various council chambers across the length and breadth of the country. Whether this is helpful for the country or not is debatable but suffice to say that after a painful period of thirty-seven painful years the nation seems to be able to dream again.It is true for most of the candidates ,their s is an exercise in futility but at least they can dare to hope.Now  anyone who has the money to pay the election commission in order to be put on the ballot box has exercised that right .If ever there was a need to reaffirm the fervent need this country yearned for democracy this is a sure sign. Among the candidates who are in the running are disgruntled members from all the major political parties who will be standing as Independents because they are not happy for the way in which the various primary election s were held in the former parties they belonged to.

Perhaps the precedence was set by the Honourable Temba Muliswa ,the member of parliament representing Norton ,who was kicked out of the ruling party but was able to successfully run as an Independent candidate.So in essence a lot of the Independent candidates are simply running in order to ‘cut the nose in order to spite the face’ so to say.This then begs the question ‘do they really have anything meaningful to offer the populace or are their simply do thus for their own selfish ends .

Sadly our political space is full of people who believe their personality is what should determine whether they are elected or not.

By now almost anybody who watches the news knows that we have another disputed election result again but the lives of the populace does not seem to have improved in anyway to add to our woes is the outbreak of Cholera and dysentery and the needless loss of lives.

Follow Your Heart

I had a disturbing yet interesting chat with a friend of mine whom I normally use as a sound board for any ideas I might have .I had intimated to her that I was in the process of reinventing myself and was involved in the construction industry with a view to starting my own company and creating a legacy for my grandchildren. I was taken aback by what she said ,which summed up to the effect that I was too old and I was supposed to have had these ambitions when I was 25 years old .

Follow Your Heart

Here is a young college graduate who was telling me that my life at fifty odd years is over and I have to prepare for death. If there is anything I have discover of late ,it’s the fact that one cannot stop learning new skills and strive to be better than what they are .I used to be a voracious reader of novels but have since discovered the power of motivational books. One of my nephews, who is studying for his second degree at a university in South Africa, sent me a pdf of the book; THE SLIGHT EDGE by Jeff Olson.I have since learnt that the the tiny steps which one take if one sustains  them and is consistent in implementing them then one would be surprised by the giant steps that one can achieve, so it was in this vein that I was trying to make a few changes to my own situation by not sitting on my laurels and mourning and winging about the difficult economic situation that the country faces in particular the dearth of meaningful employment.

The chance meeting which thrust me into managing a building project for some gentlemen eight months ago, opened my eyes to the endless opportunities which are abound in the construction industry. I have always believed in making my own luck, if one makes an effort and put their profile out there then people are bound to see it ,chances are one or two will take a chance. The most important thing is the fact that one should never  limit themselves.The advance of the Internet has made it very  easy to acquire skills if one just has a few dollars to buy data bundles and the elbow grease to punch the keyboard of a computer .Most of the information that we require to improve ourselves is found on the world wide web.

There are a lot of people who have been inspirational in reaffirming my thinking ;one is the South African musical icon ;Sipho ‘Hotsticks’ Mabuse ,who sat for his matriculation certificate at sixty plus years of age.If my memory serves me well ,there was and old man in Kenya who went to grade one ,when he was 76 years old because he wanted to be able to read his bible.One Zimbabwean whose business exploits I have followed for quite sometime , the world beater Strive Masiyiwa.If his story does not tell one of the need to pursuit ones convictions to their logical conclusion then I don’t know what else can motivate a person.In one of his writings on his facebook page ,he talks about the fact that he started and failed in many business venture but that never deterred him.The fact that he went on to pioneer the mobile business in Zimbabwe is now common knowledge.

Legend has it that Colonel Sanders,the American founder of the multinatioinal  KFC,started the business when after retiring  and finding that his pension payout could not meet his requirements.The business he started from his kitchen is now known in all continents of the world.

So given the many people who have pursued their dreams and have achieved phenomenal success,then why should I not dream with my eyes open and follow my heart. 

Mugabe's Repressive Regime Responsible For Making Zimbos Resilience

The throwing in of the towel by Uncle Bob on the 21 st of November is the culmination of over twenty years of struggle by the sane thinking Zimbabweans. The struggle has been long and harsh, resulting in the deaths and maiming of thousands of innocent Zimbabweans whose only crime was a cry to have a different opinion or ideas to the ones exposed by Bob’s regime.

Mugabe's Repressive Regime Responsible For Making Zimbos Resilience

However, as the saying  Pressure makes diamonds reveals; the need for self –actualization is what forced over three million Zimbos into exile. This is the thing that made them the modern day children of Israel,forced to labour at menial jobs even though some of them are well educated. The politics of the stomach will  force one to swallow their pride and do that which needs to be done in order to put food on the table.So the dancing and singing that was witnessed on the evening and the night of the 21 st of November was the outward expression of the joy and hope that the Zimbabweans had in the momentous occasion of the overthrow of the evil dictator who had misguidedly thought that the country was his to do with as he pleased.

Since Zimbos could not openly express their anger and frustration at the straight jacket which was the political situation that we experienced ,a lot of people ended up showing their assertiveness in other areas of endeavors be it educational,finance,judiciary and industry. The world is full of Zimbabweans who were inspired by Mugabe’s academic excellence, who went on to emulate or even surpass him.Names like Arthur Mutambara,Dr Strive Masiyiwa,Josey Mahachi,Ellen Chiwenga and Maud Chifamba to mention but a few ;are examples of Zimbos who excelled maybe as a means to thumb their noses at the repressive regime.They may have wanted to show that despite the hardship and lack of freedoms ,one cannot keep a good man (OR woman )down.

So love him or hate him,Bob has managed to push quite a number of Zimbos to excel so as to escape the dictatorial tendencies of his regime.

A Zimbos Perspective Of Life In The Diaspora

Whilst some will embrace you with open arms, there are subtle nuances that will throw you off balance if you are observant enough.

A Zimbos Perspective Of Life In The Diaspora

These are found in the terms that most indigenous people will use in referring to one such as the following used by the Sotho speaking inhabitants of South Africa and Lesotho;’makoere-koere,batsoakantle,bo my friend,bakhotsi,bo Rathuthu.If ones grasp of the local language is not that good then people will go to town ,gossiping about one in their faces.Some not so pleasant experiences will be when one meets someone who has a score to settle with a perceived enemy,who is accused of having stolen a girlfriend or a prospective job.That or the fact that you are found not to be light skinned enough to qualify as a Mosotho.Half the time the terms ‘Ke Lesotho moo' thrown about ,there is normally open hostility .Coupled with these would be questions like ;’why don’t you vote Mugabe out’ or ‘Ke Lesotho moo ,kutlang haeno’

Most people have developed a thick skin as they can hardly win all the arguments started by people who have very low self esteem or are simply not educated enough to realize the benefits that most countries gain from the economic refugees that settle in the various countries. Most of the people who are predominantly found in the countries neighboring  Zimbabwe are quite well educated and have skills that they can offer. Unfortunately, most of them end up not necessarily working in their areas of specialization but the fact that they have been through tertiary education makes them very malleable to adapt and operate quite efficiently in any given task they find themselves in so that they can put bread on their tables .

The Ugly Truth About Armchair Critics

In a statement ,Numsa, general secretary Irvin Jim,said;’The army in Zimbabwe has taken over power through a military coup and no amount of concealment of this most obvious of facts can change the ugly reality of the unconstitutional military takeover of power in Zimbabwe.

The Ugly Truth About Armchair Critics

The the first stolen elections from the year 2002 to date ,the Zimbabwean opposition politicians have been crying foul over the manner in which the ZanuPf party with aid of the army,especially where the 2008 election were concerned.Where were the likes of Mr Jim,the catch phrase then was ‘Zimbabweans should solve their own internal problems.’The army is surely part and parcel of the Zimbabwean populace so why then is it wrong now that they have initiated the resolving of the internal problem that the likes of Mr Jim alluded to earlier,dare hide behind the constitutionality of the act.Where were they when the constitution was being abused in the name of uncle Bob.I guess some animals are more equal than others huh ala the pigs in The Animal Farm.

We have had to endure harassment,false accusations,imprisonment,trumped up charges of undermining the dignity of the President,Treason ,just to mention a few and we had to do it without any support from the likes of Mr Jim and his ilk.Now that we have the courage to throw off the yoke that has been around our collective necks for the last 37 YEARS please leave us be so we can solve our Internal problem Uncle Bob.

Included in the group of worthless critics and organizations is surely the AU and Sadc,who can forget the ill-advised Quiet Deplomacy practiced by one Thabo Mbeki, when he was the President of South Africa.It never bore any fruit save to entrench the despotic rule of Uncle Bob.Their main concern is self aggrandizement and the stroking of their collective egos.We say to hell with you, we are living in the moment and enjoying it whilst we can .We will not listening to your doomsday prophecies,We will reclaim our lives come what may.

Be The Best You Can,With What You Have,Where You Are

The great Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa at the ripe old age of SEVENTY-SIX years.

Be The Best You Can,With What You Have,Where You Are

Many able bodied people of various ages give up their dreams because they stop believing in themselves or think that it is not doable, having a never-die attitude as well not allowing one to wallow in self pity will definitely drive one to their dreams.As sure as the sun rises in the East and sinks in the West,things will never remain the same.No matter what state one finds themselves in, the truth is that it will change .So instead of winging and mourning about your circumstances ,get up ,dress up and pitch up.Do something about your circumstance, it might be as minute as going to visit a friend and chatting ,the walk and the chance to change your surroundings will definitely give you a different perspective to the problem,half the chance you will come back invigorated  and ready to meet your challenge head on.

Whilst I might not be the best example of a person who has achieved in life , I never stop moving nor improving myself.This year alone , I was able to go for a class two drivers’ license  after having failed at the last huddle Five times ,I DID NOT give up ,on the sixth attempt I got the license and began the odious task of looking for a job in an economy where it is reported that more than half the population is unemployed. I could have given up or waited for something to happen but instead through the luck I created I was able to get a job managing a construction project for some guys who where going into construction but where too busy to baby sit the project to fruition.

How I created my luck was making people aware that I was willing to work on a voluntary basis in order to gain some driving experience.Once I was given the opportunity to work, I ensued that I did my very best .Right now Iam indispensible to the operation, Iam not only  proactive, I make sure I resolve problems on site and make it possible for the principals to concentrate on their careers.

Whilst I might not be driving but Iam learning some very useful life skills which I would have needed to pay some big bucks for in order to learn .The things is I never pass the opportunity to learn something new.Our brains require constant stimulation otherwise they die from inactivity. The stuff we learnt last year is already obsolete so we cannot rest on our laurels and think that we know it all. 

The Quest For The Elusive Dollar

It is an open secret that things are tough in Zimbabwe at the moment ,people spend most of their time hustling to get the elusive greenback.

The Quest For The Elusive Dollar

So serious is the way in which some people hustle that there are reports that people have gone as far as Nigeria ,Ghana and Mozambique in order to look for charms which purportedly help them to acquire money at any cost. The dailies are full of reports of people who would have gone to these so called ‘Prophets’ and Witch Doctors who promise them heaven on earth. Often times they are given small twigs and told to go and do as the ‘Prophets’ will have advised. Most of them cry foul after discovering that the twigs end up turning into enormous snakes which completely take over their lives.

Recently ,a certain lady from Chinhoyi, who claimed that her mother had left here a huge snake when she passed away, had to resort to one of local radio stations in order to look for help as the gigantic snake had completely taken over her life and turned it into a living hell. Those in the know claim that the damsel in distress had a huge mansion and several top of the range vehicles but she could not attract nor keep a spouse as it was taboo for her to do so. She lived alone with only a maid to keep her company in the huge mansion. Loneliness and need to be reed of the demanding reptile, forced her  into turning to the radio station in order to ask for help. It is reported that several ‘Men of God ‘ tried and failed to kill the gigantic snake, with some reports saying it was as big as ten meters and weighted several tonnes.

Last week, there was a reported breakthrough in the case as some Prophets went to the home of this lady and succeeded in killing the snake.

Another reported case is one of a lady from one of the affluent suburbs of Harare, who reportedly went to Mozambique in her  quest to get instant riches, she was told to go and perform some rituals , when her money was enough for her needs ,she had to return to the Wizard who had given her the herbs ,un fortunately for her, she did not return and the room where she was supposed to keep the money that was created by the wizardry was so full of money that she no longer knew what to do with it. At the time of writing she was so overwhelmed that she was asking for advice.

In our quest to be better than the Johns next-door some of us are going out of our way and abandoning the nurturing of our parents to the extent that we end up biting more than we can chew.

One Of Zimbabwe’s Top Schools In Modern Day Slavery Allegations

The school which constantly produces some pupils who feature in the top ten best achievers in the primary school leavers examinations is accused of modern day slavery.

One Of Zimbabwe’s Top Schools In Modern Day Slavery Allegations

A friend’s wife, who used to be an employee at the renown school tells of harrowing tales of harassment,intimidation and down right slavery practised by the  wife of the owner of the school.Among the various grievences are;members of staff being denied permission to leave the school campus during the weekend as they are required to supervise pupils’ homework.Married women are denied a chance to go home during the weekends to be with their spouses and children which results in strained relationships.A lot of pressure is also exerted on the staff members for them to maintain the high educational standards in order to justify the three thousand dollars a term schools fees charged by the school institution.

The worst cases of labour malpractise was reported last year when the owner of the school decided to build a high school a short distance away from the present primary school campus,one of the builders who were responsible for the construction of the school talks about the fact that they would work in shifts ,twenty four hours a day,seven days a week .This was because the owner wanted the school to be ready for opening on the first day of the 2017 school year.Bricks were moulded on site and after being allowed a few hours to dry they were immediately moved to the building site were used for the construction.Workers went for months without being paid for their labours .One disgruntled worker ended up going to the Employment Council Of The Construction Industry ,not much came out of it however since the school was already ninety percent complete.As I write this article former employees are still being owned thousands of dollars in unpaid salaries.

Those in the know claim that the owner of the school was advanced twenty million dollars for the construction of the school by one  of the local commercial banks,the question on most peoples’ lips is where all the money went to if at this late date former employees are still wallowing in poverty after having worked for nothing.

                                                 

Water Woes Bedevil Chitungwiza

It is a fact that Water is life and its absence results in a lot of anguish and heartache especially among the women and children in our patriarchal society.

Water Woes Bedevil Chitungwiza

Our society dictates that women and girls are solely responsible for the upkeep of the family kitchens and the chores which go with the maintenance of the same.Recent events which have seen erratic and intermittent supply of the precious liquid which is responsible for the smooth running of our bodies,homes and gardens to mention just to mention a few important aspects.Nowadays, the few boreholes that were sunk by some well meaning donor organisations have become a hive of activities as most mothers and girls try to get a few buckects of the precious liquid for their families.So dire is the need that one such borehole close to my residence is always packed full of human beings; some standing others sitting on buckets ,patiently waiting for their turn at the heavy metal handle,  so that they can drew their buckets full.Gone are the days where people could sleep peacefully in their homes ,quite a few actually spend nights at the boreholes.

The act of sleeping at boreholes have in-turn spawned some unwelcome social ills such as rapes and sexual favours demanded in exchange for a chance to jump the queue and draw water.Tales are going around of gangs of young males who are terrorizing the women and girls at these boreholes as they unlawfully monopolise these for their own benefit which involve the demand for sexual favours in exchange for water. Other unscrupulous young thugs are known to propose love to innocent young girls and they indecently assault them by grabbing their breasts or butts. They are doing all this with impunity since most men are not involved in the fetching of water.

Apart from these social ills, there is also the ever present danger of water-borne diseases since some people cannot stomach the thought of spending endless hours in queues in order to get a few days worth of water supplies. A lot of shallow unprotected water bodies have been dug and a lot of people are resorting to these for their daily supplies of water. One shudders to think of the consequence of an outbreak of cholera of dysentery. Already health facilities are struggling to cope with the demand for services now, in the event of an epidemic, there could be a disaster of epic proportions.

Pearls Of Wisdom From My 'Aunt'

A few friends of mine and I were involved in an informal business during the later part of last year before an opportunity which was too good to let pass presented itself.Of course we could have been complete idiots if we had let this go.

Pearls Of Wisdom From My 'Aunt'

The better part of the month of December was spent at the Deeds Office in Harare pursuant to registering a company.The first person we approached promised to speedily bring the idea to fruition for a small fee,he claimed to know the inner workings of the office ,having worked there before being led to pasture.I digress this is a tale for another post.We submitted the names we preferred as the company name,gave the required amount for the name search and got the good news that the desired name was available.The amount to secure the name was duly paid and the company memos typed and printed.Soon after our 'consultant' became very reluctant to do anything else without any payment.Being no push-overs,we refused to release any payment until the whole process was finalised.After the fall-out,we decided to take the matter into our own hands and went to the Director of the department who was more than willing to help ua after first admonishing us for having used an unregistered consultant.To cut a long story short, we finally completed the registration exercise a full month later although the documents showed that the company had been registered a good two weeks after first submission.

Our second order of business was the task of knocking on doors to try and get into partnerships with various stakeholders who met the profile of the high-traffic destinations for our business.During one of these cold canvas visits at a very big multinational organisation we met Ms Maroodza,a receptionist.Her words of wisdom ring in our ears to this day.'When you start operating and things start turning rosy,do not forget those you started out with.If you promise someone a hundred dollars as payment for services rendered,be sure to pay that person.Guard against the tendency to buy flashy cars or suits that are very expensive instead of reinvesting in the business, this was said in between answering calls .We waited and listened carefully because we could see that it came from the heart and she meant well.

Very often ventures started with very good intentions fail to come to fruition because of lack of focus or selfishness on the part of leaders of these organisations.

Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

The supervisor[name supplied but withheld] of one very prominent Harare based cleaning company which has contracts to clean a lot of business premises and embassies is a perpetual sexual harasser.

Sexual Harassement In The Workplace

Reliable sources paint a grime picture of a married man who cannot keep it in his pants,He is reportedly related to one of the top managers and has been carrying out his nefarious deeds with impunity for a long time as most of his victims cannot report him for fear of victimisation.The sources claim that he has bedded most of the female employees under his supervision,should one turn down his advances then they get shifted from place to place and made to do the worst jobs.In a country where the economy is reeling from high unemployment,most ladies choose to resign than be made play-things of the serial sexual predator.

Sources say matters came to a head at one institution,a lady who has continuously turned down the unwanted attention of the abuser was dressed down before all and sundry for failing to do an imagined task well.What really irked the lady was not the dressing down , but for it to be done in public was very stressful to say the least.As I write she is contemplating resigning her job.

My appeal is for someone with the right legal background to start a programme of empowering our daughters,sisters and wives on how they can sue the harassers and the companies that turn a blind eye to sexual harassment in the work-place

Chitungwiza Residents Fall Prey To Water-meter Thieves,Again

Residents of the Chitungwiza suburb of Zengeza1 in Rusvingo road had their water-meters stolen.This has now become endemic.

Chitungwiza Residents Fall Prey To Water-meter Thieves Again

In an event that looks like a military operation,the thieves alternate the areas they strike and remove the meters at a different location every week.It is alleged that they perform their nefarious deeds very early in the morning around three and four o'clock. The situation is very bad for the residence since they have to replace the stolen meters and the Town council charges them for  re-installing the meters.

Those in the know suggest the trade in stolen water-meters is being fed by the flourishing home industries where cheap coffins are made as the brass from the meters is melted down to form the handles.It is my humble opinion that these acts can be nipped in the bud by forcing the coffin builders to show prove of purchase of any handles they may posses.Regular sweeps by the law enforcement officers will definitely put paid to this scourge.

Alternatively,residents could form neighbourhood watch committees to patrol their streets and stop and question any people acting suspiciously.I once lived in a community where this was implemented,the improvement in safety and security after a very short time was amazing.

The Different Faces of Harare

Harare has more than one face.A venture I have recently been involved in takes me to different parts of Harare; the leafy Northern suburbs of Mount Pleasant, Mandara and Borrowdale.

The Different Faces Of Harare

What I saw there was an eye-opener.The life and atmosphere in the Town of Chitungwiza where I live is a far cry from the suburbs mentioned above.The difference is so enormous one would be forgiven for thinking one was in a foreign country.Whilst there might be some pot-holes in line with the general decline in the economic climate prevailing in the country,on the whole streets in the Northern suburbs are better maintained.One can see the effort being made to keep up appearances.The motor vehicles are sleeker and well maintained.

Sam Levy's Village is like a fairy tale poster for a Christmas card.The shops are beautiful,full of various types of merchandise,one can easily see that the clientele being catered for is affluent.Most shops are air-conditioned in contrast to the shops on the other side of the economic divide.Living in the high density areas one can be led into a false belief that whites have left the country en mass,but they are there.One just has to go to places like Sam Levy's Village to see the proof.

It is politically correct right now to regard this country as belonging to black people.The venture we are involved in to a large extend depends on people with extra cash and the leafy affluent suburbs is where the money is.

Just the outside appearance as well as the size of the residential stands attest to the wealth of the people who live here.Surely if people in the people in the high density suburbs took pride in their surroundings and stopped wining and whinging about their situation being difficult, a lot could change in these areas.

Count Your Blessings- Zesa Blackouts 2

An earlier article on Zesa blackouts painted quite a rosy picture of the situation,after experiencing 24 hours of total darkness,I am, singing a different tune now.Normally, I try as much as possible to stay positive no matter what the situation but hey , I am human after all.This is way too much. I have done most of the things that I normally do during a blackout but this is a  totally different ball game.

Count Your Blessings- Zesa Blackouts

Apart from the fact the molten margarine ,spoilt leftovers and the frozen chicken pieces which have since defrosted because of lack of electricity and the debilitating heat,I am at my wits end.Add to the above is the fact that my only means of communicating with the outside world is also blanked out ,my positiveness is at an all time low.My mobile phone's battery is exhausted.The little cheer I normally get from the entertaining articles on the various social media is beyond my reach.Perhaps this will teach me gratitude hey?

It is amazing just how much we take for granted,just 24 hours in the dark makes one rethink their priorities.

Count Your Blessings -Zesa Blackouts

Every dark cloud has a silver lining ,mine is Zesa.Whenever there is a power outage in my area,it is time for me to get up and go into my vegetable garden.I did not realise it at first but any power outage has become a blessing.

Count Your Blessings

Should i decide to dig or weed in the garden ,the health benefits are immense:
        I get a full body workout at no cost.
       The peace of mind derived from the fact that i am producing my own fresh organic vegetables.

A lot of noises have been made about the fact that the average number of children per couple in our country is very low, so as the powers -that- be have suggested ,when Zesa pulls the switch,please get busy and lets populate this beautiful country,Zimbabwe.