Delayed Development

The government of Zimbabwe embarked on a housing scheme dubbed Operation Garikai predecessing the much publicised Operation Murambatsvina. 

The Operation Garikai in the case of Bulawayo saw  nearly 2 000 housing stands being distributed. The people that were settled in these areas were encouraged to join a consortium that will be influencial in servicing their stands. Shocking enough, despite people making their monthly subscription for the past 4 years, the area still faces serious under-development. 

Added to that there has been some tussle between the Bulawayo city council, the government and the Consortium. Such contestations have generally made people suspicious of the proposed development.

According to a report made by the Consortium, people in Cowdraw Park new stands do not have access to “electricity and have been forced therefore to resort to the use of Generators and Solar energy. However, this survival strategy is not enough and there is need for immediate action”. The report further went on to state that people have been forced to use Blair toilets for ablution and few homes have managed to have build septic tanks. Such state of affairs has further contributed to the a health threat looming in the area.

No doubt this delayed action by the city council has been a cause for concern for the residents, and it can be summed as delayed development that seems to not to be forthcoming.   

Zimbabweans...

As Zimbabweans we are fond at amplifying issues. This has led to most extent creating an exaggerated picture of the issues in Zimbabwe. The moment I jetted in Tanzania, the first person I met asked me a very provocative question. After saying Karibu (welcome), he asked how Mugabe is. Obviously I sensed that he expected me to say harsh words about him and possible utter disgust. However, to his surprise I responded, “He is fine I am sure and still going strong”. Upon hearing that, he quickly changed the topic and started asking me about my general view of the issues in Africa.

Surprisingly I have been asked this same question by most people in East Africa the moment I mention that I am from Zimbabwe. At one point I asked one Kenyan that do you know where Zimbabwe is geographically located. To my surprise he seemed clueless of the country. Yet they believe that Zimbabwe is Mugabe. Zimbabwe is beyond Mugabe and that is a fact that should be clearly appreciated. I believe that there are a lot of issues that we can share particularly about Zimbabwe that should not be centred on the president.

Perhaps Zimbabweans across board have contributed to this misconception. This is so because we have been complaining too much about issues in Zimbabwe and ended up creating this conception that the greatest stumbling block to our potential is an individual. Also, some actors have criticised so much an individual and failed to give pointers to the system.

If Birds sang the same song, the forest will be boring

Imagine waking up every morning, turning the news and hear every political party agreeing on any policy, or initiative. Just imagine what it will be like if all the newspapers carried same stories about a political issues and trends in Zimbabwe. Seriously they won’t be anything to talk about. Our diversity as a nation makes everything worth following.

We don’t need to have the same view about an issue for us to co-exist. We just need to appreciate our diversity. I have always have problem with extroverts that want to force their ideas and want to create the notion that their ideas are sacrosanct. Why can’t you allow me or someone an opportunity to say what I/ they want without you totally dismissing it from an uninformed view? Can’t we just thrive in our diversity?

I want to live freely not subdued to the extroverts that think their views are the answer to all problems. I want to be free to think as I please, to allow my imagination to run as wild as it can, without fearing the tacit and or formal laws that inhibit that. I want to be allowed to say what I think, when I want how I want to say it. You don’t have to agree with what I say. You don’t have to sing the same tune as mine, but you just have to listen as I have done the same thing when opened your mouth.

Surely, the forest will be boring if all the birds sang the same song...

"pedagogy of the oppressed", is this a case men under the feminist and women activism?

This article though written way back, is trully moving. Given the title of the blog, are we equal but different.




Is this the silent case of men given the hype of feminism

Reblogged from

 http://equalbutdifferent.blogspot.com/2008/11/imagine-what-must-it-be-like-to-be-man.html

Imagine what must it be like to be a man in today's society.

I want everyone to take the time to ponder that.

What must it be like to be a little boy? An innocent, sweet child....so full of love and joy. Of course, that love and joy must fade into insecurity and self hatred when you go to school and are treated differently because you're a boy, when you're expected to behave differently, better, toward the little girls while they're allowed to treat you any way they choose and you must simply endure it because they are girls and you are a boy

“Dreams”- Fiction or Reality?

Honestly I have not been a firm believer that what we dream can certainly come true. I have always quizzed how can we map events and actions in our subconscious state and claim that they can be turned into reality. I mean, seriously when we sleep we are in a position  when our thoughts are in free fall state, we can think what we want without the boundaries of reality acting in discord. Honestly how can an individual in their late 70s perhaps claim that they dreamt of themselves enjoying themselves in for example in Las Vegas yet they have no idea how USA looks like or all of their lives have been confided in one place in Africa. To me that is nonsensical to say the least to assume that such a dream can be turned into reality (I am blunt but the truth has to be told). So whenever I hear that or similar dreams I laugh my lungs out at this, and claim that is a sad reality about dreams.

But...

They are certain dreams; I mean real dreams, not those fictious styles of dreams that can never be turned into reality. Yes, those real dreams that when you wake up, you feel your heart pounding faster than normal. Those dreams which make you begin to think about yourself, your life and those that are close to you. Those dreams that are somehow talk to your inner self. Those that appears too real to be true. They are positioned strategically in your life that you see events and people connecting harmoniously and so perfect like a spider web.   These are dreams that get me to think that perhaps dreams can have an element of reality.

 Should we fear our own dreams because they show us the blunt side of life? Should we brush aside the thoughts that emerge from dreams and assume that life is more real than dreams? Or are dreams mere wishes that we have as mortal beings?

Should we in our quest go out there and attempt to seek the true meanings of our dreams?

 Or Are dreams a way of unlocking our full potential and destining us to greater heights? If dreams have no meanings in our lives, why then do we dream?

My dream got me thinking...maybe there is something inside a dream that we are taking for granted.

This is just a thought...

Thoughts and Views do matter...

People usually don’t give credit to thoughts because they feel they are not conclusive and tend to dwell so much on ambitions, yet without realising the fact that these play a critical role in their everyday lives. Thought if truly appreciated can be the centre of debate on critical issues, because one can state anything without any limits or even without being blinkered. Thoughts if allowed to freely express themselves in appreciative platforms can be the backbone of tangible actions.

How many times have we rebuked an action of a friend or even that of the government and conclusively state that this issue has not been given much thought? Don’t you think that is the reason why they are opposition political parties, civic society organisations and anti-thesis that amongst other things aim to criticise and replace thoughtless actions and hypothesis?

Unfortunately thoughts will forever remain thoughts and unknown if not retold. One of my friends, colleague and a person whom I have a great respect of once wrote that, people especially youths should value the aspect of writing issues and debates and turn these into readable material so that the world becomes the epicentre of knowledge and debate as well as remain beneficial to the future generation. There is a need therefore to unlock our thoughts as they have the potential of changing the linear progression of events. Yes, thoughts can change a policy of a country, influence a clause in an Act, and help a friend not make an abrupt decision, change behaviours and stir an organisation / company into the headway of success.

That can only happen if thoughts are retold, documented and retold again.

History has shared to us experiences of great leaders who made a name of themselves and that of their nation through thoughts. A case in point Lenin, Trotsky, Bukharin of Russia, whom I like to call them the great society of thinkers in the 20^th century, who using their own situation in Russia came up with an antithesis of stages towards reaching the socialism. Interestingly during their time, few people managed to fully comprehend and appreciate what “the great society of thinkers” was thinking. Some never bothered to listen to them, some repressed them, some listened and kept quiet, some told their stories to neighbours and their wives in secret hidings...

But SOME, openly engaged with them, perfected their thoughts and helped in turning their thoughts into feasible actions.

 Since then their thoughts dominated the world political discourse long after they had passed away. Apart from that, their thoughts are still being studied in various and renowned academic institutions.

Thoughts...

So thoughts do matter after all, if shared and documented, they can change the unexpected and help one come up to a better judgement.