HARARE – The constitutional referendum came and passed with few incidents. However, this is never cause for complacency. The incidents in Mbare illustrate the deep-seated animosity between the MDC and Zanu PF which may soon flare up in wider proportions before the elections. How the police deal with these seemingly minor incidents will indicate how…
HARARE – News that just over two million Zimbabweans out of an estimated six million people voted in the just-ended referendum shows that a lot of work needs to be done in terms of voter education ahead of general elections expected this year. With Zec having printed 12 million ballot papers — possibly in anticipation…
HARARE – Whatever outcome of the constitutional referendum held on Saturday; one thing undisputable is the silent voter apathy that has crept in the Zimbabwean society. Opportunists and all those bitter about the whole constitution-making process in general and the holding of the referendum in particular will seize this moment in a “we told you…
HARARE – Bleak House starts with a description of a thick fog that has engulfed London. The fog image is then used by Dickens to portray an interminable and ruinous legal case, that of Jarndyce v Jarndyce: “The raw afternoon is rawest, and the dense fog is densest, and the muddy streets are muddiest. ……
JOHANNESBURG – Almost everyone in Zimbabwe agrees the draft constitution that is the subject of yesterday’s referendum is seriously flawed. But it is the compromise the country’s ruling coalition managed to come up with on the understanding that changes will be made once real progress has been achieved on the political front. To ensure that…
HARARE – It is not every time that people get to write a constitution. Zimbabweans were yesterday presented with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to craft the country’s Supreme Law and posterity might judge this generation on this more than anything else since independence. Yesterday’s constitutional referendum — though largely peaceful — was marred by the unsavoury…
HARARE – Some semblance of a united Zanu PF party unravelled last weekend when members fought raging battles at Davies Hall party headquarters that prompted party national chairman to declare a triumvirate had taken over party affairs until the polls scheduled for July this year. Intra-party infighting could not have come at the most inappropriate…
HARARE – Presidential spokesperson and Information ministry secretary George Charamba was in the media a few days ago, giving a political argument and justification as to why the government is clamping down on those distributing and receiving free shortwave radio sets. His appearance after almost two weeks of silence was a result of the careful…
HARARE – If there is anything African politicians and policy-makers stand accused of — nothing ranks high as chanting empty slogans and deceptive proclamations. Most governments claim to derive their power from people and are ready to serve the people who have entrusted them with the exercise of power. Governments have an obligation to ensure…
HARARE – With fear, apprehension and excitement we are standing on the cusp of a new era in Zimbabwe. We have the unique opportunity of starting again but this time we have the benefit of hindsight, learning from our own history. With just a few days left until the referendum this is an appropriate…
