What exactly is the meaning of Valentine's Day

It's that time of the year again, only a few days to Valentine's Day. But what exactly is the meaning of Valentine's Day? It seems people have different opinions of valentine's day. But generally it is a time when people celebrate love.

However there are some cultures which don't celebrate Valentine's Day, whilst some see it as another commercial day to make money out of people's emotions.

People celebrate Valentine's Day in different ways. Valentine's day gifts also differ according to our tastes, but how do you choose the perfect happy Valentine's Day gift for your partner? Is it okay to ask your partner or it's supposed to be a surprise? What are the some examples of gifts that can be bought on Valentine's Day.

I was also just wondering whether Valentine's Day involve showing love and affection to everyone including your parents, elders and your neighbours?
Or could it also be a day to show love to the less privileged members of society, they also need to be loved.

Click Here to Continue Reading

It's better to send money to Zimbabwe via Western Union

For sometine now we have been getting a good deal from the black market, when sending money to Zimbabwe. Because of the lower government controlled exchange rate, it didn't make sense to send money through the official channels.
Instead we have relied on the black market that offers a higher and more real exchange rate and even faster transfer of your money to Zimbabwe.

However in the past few weeks, Western Union seems to be offering a better option when sending money to Zimbabwe. They offer you the option of receiving money in US dollars. With the way the Zimbabwean dollar is losing value everyday it makes sense to get money in foreign currency in Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe your family can shop around and get better exchange rate for their US dollars.
With Western Union you always know your money is safe. Security guarantee is very important for your hard earned money.

There have been delays in inter bank transfers in Zimbabwe for the past week because of problems with the RTGS system, read more here. Which seems to have affected a lot of people who had already send their money. However if you want to send money I think it's better to send via Western Union because it's even faster, and is not affected by problems with the inter bank transfers.
Your relatives can collect their money in most towns in Zimbabwe.

I'm sure it will not be long before individuals on the black market start offering, US dollars in Zimbabwe. At the moment I haven't seen any reliable ones around. Feel free to contribute if you know any reliable companies or individuals offering a good deal when sending money to Zimbabwe.

Click Here to Continue Reading

New Zimbabwe filled my Inbox with junk mail

On a day I wrote an article about managing stress related to e-mail addiction. New Zimbabwe classifieds has just filled my e-mail Inbox with junk mail. Within an hour I have already received more than 400 e-mails of the same message.

I phoned New Zimbabwe news desk and all they could say is, I'm not the first one to report the problem. They can not even say what the problem is, all they say is they are looking into the problem. That is not good enough, when I'm still getting these mails.

I guess they could have published an apology as Breaking News. Because if I have received more than 400 e-mails within an hour. What about all those people who use new Zimbabwe classifieds.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Why it is important to have a healthy fight with your spouse

A healthy fight with your partner will help you live longer. A new research has revealed that couples who bottle up anger die earlier than people who stand up for themselves.
Regulary repressing emotions can increase stress related conditions such as, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Professor Eenest Harburg, who led the research found that even when other factors such as age, weight and smoking were taken into account couples who rarely argued were less healthy. What is important is how you resolve conflict when it happens.
A row means you love someone and you care for that person. As a relationship is about two people interacting and relating to each other disagreements will come up at times.

It is important to express your anger without showing disrespect. In that way you will have constructive fights which helps resolve the conflicts. You should not be scared of arguing with your spouse. If you never argue with someone you live with, it's most likely you are sharing space than a relationship.

Knowing how far to go is the key. You should know when to walk away, get some space and come back when you are ready to make it up to your partner. You can go for a walk or even to the pub just to help the situation to calm down.

Learn to say sorry. You have to say five lovely things to your partner to make up for just one bad thing. lots of sweet talk, a nice meal or a big box of chocolate can help get your relatinship back on track.

It is important that people don't argue just to pick up a fight. Communication is very important in a relationship, don't limit yourself in a discussion, debate or even a good argument.

Click Here to Continue Reading

How to cure your e-mail addiction

We are often overloaded with information in our e-mail inbox which is now takes most our time to go through. Before you realise it you are hooked onto checking your e-mails frequently. Like myself I spend more time on the Internet looking for solutions to different problems. Overtime I have subscribed to a number of newsletters and everyday I was getting loads of e-mails in my Inbox. Can you imagine how much time it takes to go through all those e-mails. Then there are personal e-mails and also junk mails to deal with.

Can you imagine going through a day without checking your e-mail. Sometimes you can be stressed, that you may miss something just by not having access to your e-mail.
I came across the following ways that can help you cure your e-mail addiction and reduce all stress caused by e-mail addiction:

Try not to mix personal e-mails and business mail - discourage your friends and family from sending things to your work e-mail account. This way you won't have to keep checking your work e-mail account even in out of work hours just to see if one of your mates has send or replied your personal e-mails.

You are responsible for the volume you receive - if you are like me and you have subscribed to so many newsletters, you may have to go through your inbox and unsubscribe to some which waste your time. Sometimes you get junk mail, try not to get into the habit of reading all the junk mail. Myself I just delete most of spam mail.

You may choose to ignore your e-mail completely at certain times. This can help you concentrate more on other work you need to do. Stop replying to e-mails out of work hours. If people know they can get an answer from you at all times they start relying on that.

Find something else to read, maybe a book or you can subscribe to RSS feeds with more valuable information. You can also read a newspaper to kill time on your journeys, instead of ending up on your mobile e-mail.
Try also to set yourself time limits. This requires a lot of discipline, but you should try to limit the amount of time you spend dealing with emails.
It is important to try and balance your work and personal life.

Feel free to leave your comment on this and other articles here.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Banks experiencing problems with Real Time Transfer Gross Settlement (RTGS) system

Have you experienced delays in getting your money back home? Well, there are problems there at the banks in Zimbabwe. Besides the power outages experienced in Zimbabwe last week, it has also been reported that the Real Time Transfer Gross Settlement (RTGS) system has been experiencing problems since Monday last week.
Bankers Association of Zimbabwe president Dr John Mangudya said the problem emanated from TelOne link and also the installation by Banks and Building Societies of the new electronic security system introduced by the reserve bank of Zimbabwe.

Mr Mangudya said, "banks are currently looking at temporary measures to avoid further inconveniences to the public while the problem is being rectified.
TelOne acting managing director confirmed the disruption of the connection system saying their link station has run out of diesel.
"We had some prolonged power cuts and our link station ran out of diesel. Since we do not have reserves, we had to empty fuel from other repeater stations. (A national company living from hand to mouth)

Zimbabwe has been experiencing severe economic problems and only last week the country was plunged into darkness when Eskom stopped supplying Zimbabwe with electricity. This brought many businesses to a standstill when the country was left without essential services.
Do you think the reserve bank governor is doing a good job managing the economy? Will he be able to pull the country out of this terrible mess?

Click Here to Continue Reading

British Tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten Arrested in Zimbabwe

British property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten was arrested after being found in possesion of 20 billion Zimbabwean dollars cash, US$37 586, 92 880 South African Rands, 190 British pounds and 180 Botswana pulas. Van Hoogstatern was also found in possesion of pornographic material of himself and a 22 year old Zimbabwean women when he was arrested.
The police said van Hoogstraten, who owns about two hundred properties in Harare and Bulawayo has been charging rent in foreign currency which is illegal in Zimbabwe. The tycoon demanded six months rent payment in foreign currency from his tenants.

It is people like van Hoogstraten, who are making the situation worse in Zimbabwe. It is now difficult to get a property to rent in Harare, and even when you get it it's also very expensive. Zimbabweans are paid their wages in Zimbabwe dollars, so why make them pay rent in foreign currency.

Van Hoogstraten will appear in court on Monday to face charges of violating exchange control rules and will also face charges linked to pornographic material found in his house.
He is also said to have significant investments on the Zimbabwe stock exchange and also 600 000 hectares of land whilst the many Zimbabweans have no land of their own.

Van hoogstraten was once jailed for four years in the sixties for arranging for a hand grenade to be thrown through the wondow of someone who owed him money. In 2002 he was convicted of man slaughter and sentenced to 10 years in jail after a business associate was shot and killed by ywo hired hitman. He appealed and his conviction was overturned in 2003. However in 2005 a civil court ordered that van Hoogstraten pay the murdered man's family £6 million damages.

Multi-millionare van Hoogstraten is said to have made most of his money in Zimbabwe, thanks to his close relationship with Mugabe's ZANU PF party. His arrest is really a big reversal in fortune.

"If you dance with the crocodiles you should be prepared for the music to stop". Hope the government will get rid of all these corrupt business people who are enjoying life at the expense of the long suffering Zimbabweans.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Zimbabwe Elections set for March 29

So, my fellow Zimbabweans, the date is now set we are going to vote and elect our next president and members of parliament on 29 March 2008. It was announced in the government gazette.

However all you my fellow Zimbabweans living outside the country you will not be able to exercise your right to choose the next leader of the country. Why we should not be allowed to exercise our right, only the government knows.

There are millions of political and economic refugees from Zimbabwe living in various parts of the world. Running away from the troubles in our own country, so why are we not allowed to determine our own destiny? So are we back to the old times (colonial era) when we were not allowed to take part in elections?

Is anything going to change after these elections? I wonder. Will there be any different outcome, from the previous elections? Just wondering what the odds will be like for a different outcome...........

Which way now Zimbabwe?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Enjoy Adventure Rafting and Wild Life Safari at Victoria Falls

The beautiful side of Zimbabwe. Our country is always in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. However besides all the problems in the country, at least there are still some beautiful things in the country. Zimbabwe has got one of the most beautiful wonders of the world, the Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls, is one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world. It is located along the course of the Zambezi river between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a huge waterfall approximately twice as wide as and twice as deep as the Niagara Falls. The local people call it, "Mosi-oa-Tunya", the smoke that thunders.

The Victoria Falls is a wonderful tourist attraction. It is popular for white water rafting, guided walking safaris, bunji jumping, wild life viewing, sport fishing and many more activities.
The surrounding Victoria Falls Park and Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park provides a diverse and easily seen wildlife. They also offer various recreational facilities.

The Victoria Falls resort has quality hotel accommodation. Safari lodges are also available from the luxury camps around the area.
The are a number of tour operators offering a variety of services to tourists visiting the Victoria Falls resort. They also offer a variety of holiday packages to suit the needs of the different visitors.

For more information go to: Victoria Falls Resort

Click Here to Continue Reading

Zimbabwe: A country where everyone is a millionaire!!!

It is most people's dream to become a millionaire one day. Most people work hard day and night, some go to extremes to be millionaires. Most will die without achieving this dream. Where as in Zimbabwe nearly everyone is a poor millionaire. People are lining their pockets with millions of dollars everyday. Zimbabwe introduced a new higher denomination ZW$10 000 000 bank note which is equivalent to about £1 last Friday.

A loaf of bread costs ZW$2.5 million, one chicken will costs you ZW$25 million. Is this not madness, things have gone bananas.

What have the people done to deserve this? Since the introduction of the new higher denomination bank notes by the reserve bank on Friday last week the prices of most basic things have gone up. The country has got one of the highest inflation rates in the world, officially estimated at 25 000 percent or 150 000 percent according to independent financial institutions.


The higher denomination bank notes were meant to solve the cash crisis that the people have suffered from for a very long time. But this has only created more problems for the people. The introduction of the new notes has just brought more misery and more pain to the people of Zimbabwe.

All those salaries increments awarded to the people a few weeks back means nothing now. Even though the increment was never enough, I guess it was a relief to the long suffering people of Zimbabwe. However this has also brought more misery to the people. They move around with sacks full of millions of valueless Zimbabwean dollars.

Zimbabwe has been suffering from severe food shortages, fuel shortages and also many other basic necessities are always out of stock.

What have the people done to deserve this? In a country with so many educated people, a country with so many much talked about great leaders. So how could they be blind to all this suffering people are going through? Is it that they don't care about people anymore?
Now people seem not to be interested in things going on in the country, they have lost hope of things getting better in the country. No one seems to have a solution to the problems facing the country.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Why Should People Eat Donkey Meat?

According to reports from Zimbabwe, the government is considering recomending Donkey meat as an alternative to beef which has been in short supply ever since the government introduced price controls. There has been a lot of talk in different forums on this issue. The big question being: Should people aet Donkey meant or not?

There is surely no harm in eating Donkey meat. However I personally have never head of people eating Donkey meat in Zimbabwe and I wouldn't consider eating Donkey meat. Even though in other parts of the world people do eat Donkey meat, in Zimbabwe and also in some other countries there are social and cultural beliefs which stop people from eating Donkey meat.
In other countries Donkeys are seen as pets, and they don't tolerate eating Donkey meat. There are so many arguments for and against eating Donkey meat.

However given the problems the country is currently facing, the government is once again forced to try every desperate measure possible. Remember how villagers in Chihota are now using human excrement as a substitute for fertiliser.

The truth is the country should not have been in this current economic state. Everything seems to be going wrong with no end in sight. Because we tend to blame everyone else but ourselves, we don't deal with the real causes of our problems.
The country used to produce enough beef to feed the nation and also export to the European Market. What happened to all the cattle which was in farms? The government still continues with it's policy of price controls which is destroying the country.

Maybe people should start taking good care and stop abusing their Donkeys. As their price is likey to go up if people take to eating Donkey meat. There may also be future business in the export of Donkey meat to the major consuming markets for Donkey meat and the country may also get the much needed foreign currency.

But will the leaders eat Donkey meat? How many of us would really eat Donkey meat and should people eat Donkey meat? Is there anything wrong in eating Donkey meat?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai Arrested

Movement for Democratic change(MDC)leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested at 4am at his home in Harare. Police released him hours after taking him away from his home in the middle of the night for questioning about the demonstration planned for Wednesday.

"He has been released without charge. The police wanted to know what he is planning to do today (Wednesday)," lawyer Alec Muchadehama told Reuters.

The Movement for Democratic Change was banned by the police from going ahead with the march that it had planned for today(Wednesday) in protest against a crumbling economy as well as press for a new constitution.

The developments in Harare just show the true picture of the political scene in Zimbabwe. A few months ago, the often violent war veterans were allowed to bring business in Harare to a stand still with their one million man march in support for President Robert Mugabe.

It will not be surprising if people shy away from this demonstration. With the way security forces beat up people in Zimbabwe. Who would risk going out to demonstrate?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Zimbabwe In Darkness As Electricity Is Switched Off Again!!!

Now our beloved country is in darkness, it never rains but pours in our beloved country Zimbabwe.
The troubled Southern African country has been in darkness since Saturday when Eskom stopped it's electricity supplies to Zimbabwe. The South African electricity giant Eskom, has not been able to supply enough power to the local South African market, thus being forced to cut off electricity supplies to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia.

Zimbabwe was left with no water supplies, telephones and traffic signals when electricity was switched off on Saturday. I personally have not been able to get in touch with my relatives back home like I usually do and probably some people may have experienced the same problem with phones as well. A friend of mine send some money home yesterday and the bank have not been able to do the transfers because of these power problems.


The Zimbabwean situation has also been made worse by thieves who stole wires on pylons near Harare which caused a break in power transmission from Mozambique, according to a report from Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).

Zimbabwe is said to be producing only half of it's electricity requirements, a drop from two thirds production a year ago.

Because of the severe foreign currency shortages Zimbabwe has not been able to settle it's electricity bills, which has resulted in power being cut off by Mozambique.

How can things get this bad? Have the responsible people got no shame? There have been so many problems affecting the country at the moment, and nobody seems to have a clue on how to solve the problems. Probably the country is cursed? Or the Gods of the land have abandoned us?
The people have suffered and it seems they will continue to suffer for some time to come unless something is done to solve the problems.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has failed the people and all responsible should just GO, maybe someone will come in and do a better job.

Click Here to Continue Reading

ZBC has failed as a national broadcaster!!

The long suffering people of Zimbabwe have been always been subjected to a lot of rubbish programs by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting corporation. All those politaical and talking farming programs which ZBC show as entertainment. Why not give people a variety of what they want to watch? Is it worth paying licence fees for such rubbish services?

With the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, a lot of people were looking forward to ZBC TV showing these games. At least there would have been something to look forward to on TV.
ZBC should save those football lovers and show Africa Cup of Nations football on TV.

A few years back, with the coming of Joy TV and Munhumutapa Africa Broadcasting, there was a bit more to expect on TV. Even though not all was exciting but at least there was variety.
Because the learned leaders are only interested in controlling peoples minds, they saw these new stations as a threat to their political survival. These stations were forced out of business.
At the end of the day, it's the ordinary man in the street who has to suffer from the poor pragramming on ZBC TV.

Those who can afford satelite TV, can watch better TV programming on SABC, Superspot and other channels. That is if there is electricity on the day, there has always been a shortage of electricity in the country.

Why should ZBC subject people to such poor services? Whats the point of paying for TV licences? I don't think all these 'leaders' who decide what other people should watch, they watch the same rubbish themselves.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Something positive about Zimbabwe Football

He is a shinning light in a country facing so many problems, a country which is always in the news for all the wrong reasons. Benjani Mwaruwari scored a memorable hat-trick just as he did last time when Pompey beat Reading 7-4. Portsmouth beat Derby County 3-1 in a Barclay's Premier League game at Fratton Park on a day when another Zimbabwean Lewin Nyatanga scored for Derby County.

Benjani has been in fine form this season where he is currently their top goal scorer with 12 goals. The Zimbabwe football captain has been in different form from last season where he struggled to score.
Benjani's goals finally ended Pompey's six-match goal drought at Fratton Park. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was full of praise for Banjani. Redknapp sad, "When he first came here two seasons ago he couldn't score to save his life but he's getting them now". " He is a smashing lad and all the fans love him".

The African Cup of Nations finally started in Ghana yesterday, the hosts opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over Guinea. Once again Zimbabwe is absent from the continental showpiece. Zimbabwe always disappointment in international football even though we have had so many talented football players over the years.

Corrupt football administrators have contributed over the years in destroying the beautiful game of football in Zimbabwe. Like in most sectors of the economy, corruption is part of life at the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA). Despite getting all the grants from FIFA for football development, no meaningful development ever happens in Zimbabwe football. All the money just end up in the pockets of the corrupt football leaders.

No wonder the country has got only Benjani Mwaruwari playing football in a top international league, while most of the players end up playing in South Africa. Most countries in Africa have players playing in the top leagues in Europe.

At least we have Benjani.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Zimbabwe Introduces New Z$10 million Bank Note

Things are really going bananas in our land of milk and honey as the reserve bank introduces new $10 million bank note (about £1).

Zimbabwe is going to introduce new bearer cheques, including a Z$10 million bill this week. Reserve bank governor Mr Gideon Gono announced announced in a press statement today.
With effect from Friday 18 January 2008, the reserve bank of Zimbabwe is releasing the following new notes; Z$1 million, Z$5 million and Z$10 million.

Daily cash withdrawal limits for individuals are going to be increased from Z$50 million per day to Z$500 million per day effective Friday.

As monetary authorities we once again assure the nation that we are in full control of the currency situation in the country and it is never our intention, nor is it part of our philosophy to cause unnecessary pain to fellow Zimbabweans", the reserve bank governor said.

"In this regard the central bank will continue to formulate and implement tangible solutions to the challenges that the financial sector is currently facing for the benefit and convenience of the public", said Mr Gono

Zimbabwe has been suffering from severe cash shortages. In December the reserve bank introduced higher denomination bearer cheques, Z$250 000, Z$500 000, and Z$750 00 in an effort to tackle the cash shortages.

The reserve bank governor blames the problems currently affecting the country on what he calls indiscipline, smuggling of minerals and corruption.
I think as long as they keep talking about these problems without doing anything about them we will not get anywhere. They know the corrupt people in the country, they know who is responsible for all this mercy we find ourselves in.

What are your views, do you think the reserve bank is in full control of the economic situation, like they say in their press statement?
Will the introduction of these new notes solve the current cash problems?

Join the debate on this post, leave your comment.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Why You Should Give To Charity

I've just been thinking about all the things happening back home. Thinking about how difficult it has become to live in Zimbabwe, the continuous rise in the cost of living and shortages of basic necessities. I realised how easy it is to feel sorry for myself, but I also realised that all of us come up against tough times.

The challenges of our own lives can seem so immense that we tend to forget the frustrations of people around us. We should learn to appreciate and consider the struggle of our neighbours and all around us. We should appreciate all the good works that different charities are doing.

The best way to ensure your happiness is to help others experience it.

There are a lot more people in Zimbabwe who are in worse situations, there are even many more in the areas we live. It is important to help our disadvantaged members of society to live a comfortable and enjoyable life.
Our own lives are enriched by supporting or doing something for the disavantaged no matter how small.

Why it is important to give to charity and how you can donate to charity:

Charitable donations are a direct reflection of your own values and perspectives. Whenever you donate something, you are contributing towards something that you feel has importance.
There are so many charity organisations involved in different types of work worldwide. Supporting a particular charity shows how much you value their cuase.

We can give money, food or clothes to charities to aid their efforts, but there are also other means you can help with:

You can donate your time. This may sound obvious, but not many people consider this option. There are so many things which may need to be done, you can get involved just by talking to particular charities to see if you can help in their efforts.
You can also help with your skills, depending on a particular charity your skills will always be important. You can help do their books if you are an accountant, maybe you can help with your creative skills organising various functions and decorating those function venues.

You can help by creating advertising merchandise for the charity organisation. You can have T-shirts printed, stationary and other items that can help publicise the charity.

You can sell goods on Ebay, it's easy to find cheap stuff that you can sell on Ebay. You may have some stuff that you don't need, maybe some unwanted gifts from Christmas. You can flog them off on Ebay and money generated will be paid to a charity of your choice. You can get more information here Giving Works.

Place the charity website in your email signature. If you participate in forums you can also place a link to the charity in your signature as long as this does not violate the forum rules. It's always better to check first. This is a great way of helping publicise the charity.

Charity click donation is another great way of giving to charity. There are websites which allow you to give money to them by clicking and viewing advertisers. The advertisers will pay part of the money to charities. This is a great way of giving to charity for FREE with charity clicks.
Find more about click donations here: Charity Clicks

There are other ways of helping charities. Lets play our part to help disadvantaged members of our society.

Click Here to Continue Reading

We are our own worst enemy Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is faced with so many different economic and political problems. It is a country in serious trouble. However opinion is varied as to why and how the country which once a such vibrant and sophisticated economy, a country which once had the faster growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa has been reduced to such a state. The country which was once the bread basket of Africa, has been reduced to begging.
There are so many reasons, but the unprecedented corruption in all sectors of society has contributed to the collapse of the economy.

There may be other elements involved in the troubles that we find ourselves in today, but looking at some of the problems affecting us today there is no doubt we are contributing to tragic and devastating crisis in our country.

Corruption is so much accepted today in society, it's now part of our day today living. Most things you can not get if you do not pay a bribe. You pay to get your own cash from the bank, you pay to jump the queue. There is corruption all around us.


One of the major problems in our country has been land re-distribution. There has been a lot of talk and different opinions as regards to how this whole process was done. Did this whole process benefit the majority of the country? How many people have more than one farms whilst some still have no land? Who benefited from all the prime agricultural land?
Those who managed to get land, are they doing anything meaningful at the farms? Do they have the ability to do any meaningful production after selling some of the equipment that was on the farms? Are they getting any meaningful support for them to be productive?

Different donor organisations have been helping with agricultural inputs schemes, they have been providing food and financing projects in different parts of the country. But because of our own corrupt tendencies we can not even redistribute these fairly. Some of these things end up being sold to the same people who are supposed to benefit from the donations. How much donation money for different projects has been misappropriated. Our fascination with personal wealth at the expense of the majority lives.

The country is suffering from severe fuel shortages, food shortages, foreign currency shortages and other basic commodities. There have been reports of people taking these goods across the border to sale in neighbouring countries while we face shortages in the country.
Government provided subsidised fuel for public transport operators, there was also fuel meant to benefit the agricultural sector. All this fuel just end up being sold on the black market because of our desire to make profit at the expense of the whole nation.

A trip to the bank now costs you a fortune to get your own cash. You have to pay to get your own money, that's ridiculous.

All that noise about indigenisation, look at the mess the industrial sector is now. I understand it was all meant empower our own people, but it just exposed our weakness. How many indigenous people are fascinated with flash life? They could not resist the temptation of showing off. How many companies have been given to indigenous people and have now closed down, and in the process destroyed many people's lives.

The country is experiencing health problems, water problems and many other problems affecting society today.
Did the rise and growth of private hospitals and private surgeries contribute to the public health system? Your guess is as good as mine.
The water problems now affecting the city of Harare show the effect of corruption on society. Recently there has been an outbreak of diarrhoea in Mabvuku and Tafara.
For how long have we heard about work on the Zambezi water project starting 'soon'. How much money was raised through different efforts for this project? Where is all that money now?

We are so much used to corruption in society such that we don't believe we can function without it. The shortages we are experiencing in the country are fuelling this corruption, most commodities are easily found on the black market. Because of our desire for short term benefits and our greediness, we are destroying our own society.

It is very easy when you are in a difficult situation to blame everyone else but yourself. Our own actions maybe destroying our lives, what you do and what you don't do determines your future. It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

Some high profile corruption cases over the years include, Willowgate scandal, Boka Banking scandal, Telecel scandal, GMB scandal, Harare Airport scandal, Harare City council tender scandals? All these cases just shows how corruption became part of our society and destroyed our country. So many things have happened, nearly everyone have a story to tell about corruption in the country.

Share you thoughts on how corruption has destroyed our country and how we can take control of our future and address the problems we are faced with.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Zimbabwe villagers use human excrement as substitute for fertiliser

This is one of those disturbing stories coming out of the communities of the beautiful country Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe once the bread basket of Africa can not even feed its own people. Now there are reports that some villagers are using human excrement to beat an acute shortage of fertiliser and enhance their crop yields.

"Chihota villagers have invented optional fertiliser by turning human excreta(faeces) into organic manure with urine being used in the mixture instead of ammonium nitrate," according to a report from AFP.

How can people resort to such desperation measures? This should not be hailed as innovation at the expense of the people and community's' health. Whether they will get better yields come harvest time, this should not be happening and should not be allowed to happen.


Zimbabwe is a country suffering from all sorts of problems at the moment. The country's economy is agriculture based, but the agricultural sector is nearly dead like all the other sectors of the economy. The farmers should be able to get agricultural inputs if there is to be any hope of economic recovery. Resorting to desperate measures like using human excrement for fertiliser will not help the economy.

There have been reports of donations of agricultural inputs by different organisations, but these will never get to the needy farmers. In most cases only a few people benefit from these donations. There is need to get rid of corruption in the distribution of donations.

Because of foreign currency shortages, fertiliser companies have not been able to import chemicals needed for production. Zimbabwe's economy is in crisis, inflation is estimated at 8000% even though some put it at higher figures. People have no meaningful disposable incomes to talk about, they can not afford to buy basic necessities.

The chronic food shortages affecting Zimbabwe are likely to continue due to all these problems affecting the agricultural sector.

The area of Chihota despite being only a few kilometres outside Harare, is severely under developed. No meaningful development has ever happened in this area. Maybe besides the construction of Mahusekwa dam, which I can say has never benefited most of the community. The area has such bad gravel roads that bus operators do not service some parts of the area of Chihota.

Despite all the promises from the government and from all those would be MPs, development in Chihota will always be a dream. The leaders of the area who have promised so much and delivered so little should be embarrassed an ashamed of themselves.
In the next weeks leading to elections in March, villagers in Chihota will be seeing these would be leaders quite frequently.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Should Zimbabweans living outside the country be allowed to vote?

From the diaspora townships:

There are millions of Zimbabweans living in different countries today. These people have left the country over the past few years for all different reasons.

During the forth coming parliamentary and presidential elections in March, they will not be able to exercise their right to chose the leader of the country.

What is your view about this issue? Should Zimbabweans living outside the country be allowed to vote in the coming elections?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Memories of early life in Zimbabwe

Some of us grew up in the townships when television sets were not easily available. That was the time when the black and white television set was the must have gadget, top of the market I think. Families with a 21 inch television sets were the talk of township.
This was the time when people used to go to the neighbours' house to watch TV. We used to watch movies projected on the wall. Quite funny were the days!

Technology has changed and entertainment has improved in the township, now we watch High Definition TV on these big screens with all the other added cosmetics. Sate lite TV is easily available, which is a welcome relief to our families in the townships of Zimbabwe. At least there is an alternative to that boring station. There are many Zimbabwe Internet grocery shops selling Sate lite TV packages (Dstv).

I used to watch Knight Rider, in fact I sometimes watch those old series again. There was Bionic woman, Chips, McGyver and the A - Team and the local ones like Mukadota, Tiki and Mutinhimira/Ezomgido. There were sops like Dallas, Dynasty and Falcon Crest. These are some of my old time greats from the days of the black and white TV.

And our entertainment at the mission school. We had a 21 inch black and white TV were we would watch those films every Saturday. My friends from Nhowe Mission will know about those days. One of the most popular programs was WWF wrestling. I'm sure we used to pay entertainment fee.

That wasn't much of entertainment isn't it, compared to today. It's a pity ZBC is no longer as entertaining like those old days. So what are your memories of the old life in the townships? Do you miss the old life in the townships?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Ideas that will save you money

Living a healthy Lifestyle is not just about diets and exercising, it also involves looking after your finances. How you budget and how spend your hard earned money will determine the style of life you live.

Here are some ideas that will save you some money:

It is always important to remember that companies are in business to make profit. They are not there to give you good advice. That's why they employ specially trained people to sell their products and services. If you want to buy a house, do you think the estate agent will give you a deal that will save you money? Obviously not, they are there to sale to the highest bidder and make profit for the company.


Most people when they want to borrow money, go to the bank thinking there is some one who know what is best for them. Banks are there to make profit, they are not there to give you good advice.
The only person who will save you money is YOU.

Debt is not bad, but it is bad debt which is bad. Do not spend what you don't have.

Avoid buying things on impulse, in most cases impulse buying will lead you to buy something that you really don't want. If you look around your house, check in those cupboards, you are sure to find something that you bought but never use. You can get a bit of cash buy selling it on EBay or at a car boot sale.

Shop around for all those services that you use before you renew them. It may be your car insurance, house insurance or TV and phone services. It is important to shop around from different companies a few months before renewal. Avoid the temptation of sticking with the devil you know. You may be missing out on opportunities that can save you cash.

If you use price comparison sites, it is advisable to try out different sites. Remember companies are in business to make profit. These comparison sites are also in business for profit.

Lets share information and spread the word around, leave your comment. Your contributions may help someone save cash.

Click Here to Continue Reading

People stockpile food as they fear 'Kenya syndrome'

Post-election violence in Kenya is creating pre-election nervousness among Zimbabwe's voters ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections in March. People are beginning to stockpile food in the event of any possible unrest, according to a report from UN Integrated Regional Information Networks.


Why Zimbabwe's elections should be Free and Fair and Peaceful?

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a severe food shortages and a general shortage of other essential commodities. So even if these people may plan to stock pile on food there is nothing in the shops. Most of these commodities are readily available on the black market, but because of the severe cash crisis in the country they don't have cash to pay for these goods.

The country has one of the highest inflation rates in the world estimated at 8000%. The economy is literally on it's knees. There is high unemployment and those in employment are underpaid. They can not even support their families with their wages, it does not pay to go to work in Zimbabwe today. Companies are closing down and staff being laid off. Those companies still in operation are struggling to survive and there is no meaningful production in those companies.

There is no cash in the banks, even after the introduction of the higher denomination bearer cheques, people are still struggling to get cash for their day to day activities.
There is no fuel which has affected most of the production in the country and just recently Mozambique's Hidro electrica de Cahora basa switched off electricity supply to Zimbabwe. This was after ZESA failed to settle a debt of US$26 which was due in December.

The health system is collapsing, with shortages of medication and staff shortages there is no longer any meaningful health delivery system in the country. Doctors and nurses were on strike recently because of low wages. They can not even afford to go to work, so is other works in different sectors of the country. Recently judges and prosecutors were awarded a 600% salary increment after being on strike since October last year.

The country which was once the bread basket of Africa is now having to import food and survive on donor organisations. There have been below average rainfall in the past few years, but problems with land redistribution and under utilisation of available land has seen the country fail to feed itself. There is also a shortage of inputs and the country has to rely on fertiliser donations from countries like China, however not everyone benefits from these donations.

It has also been reported that some people will be planning to go to the villages just in case there is violence after elections. Urban areas are mostly view as opposition areas and past experiences have shown that rural areas are generally peaceful and urban areas tend to see violent clashes between rival supporters.

Peaceful, free and fair elections is what Zimbabwe need. The responsible security agencies will hopefully be doing their work to maintain peace before, during and after the elections.
There is no reason why neighbours should be fighting each other because of political differences. Why should the ordinary people kill each other? Lessons should be learnt from Kenya's experience, where despite all the deaths of innocent people, despite all the calls to stop violence, despite all the calls for dialogue. The party leaders refused to have talks to end the fighting and in the meantime neighbours were killing each other.

Free, Fair and Peaceful elections are important for the future of Zimbabwe. Could this be the opportunity for the country to kick start the recovery process? We hope and pray that the country will not follow what happened in Kenya.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Mozambique switches off Zimbabwe's electricity

Mozambique's Hidro electrica de Cahora Basa(HCB) power utility has suspended electricity supplies to Zimbabwe over unpaid debts, adding more problems to the country faced with such economic problems. Zesa failed to clear an outstanding debt of US$26 million that was due last December.

Zimbabwe's economy is suffering from the highest inflation in the world, estimated to be 8000%. The country has been experiencing severe food shortages and shortages of other essential commodities. There doesn't seem to be an end insight to all these problems.


The country is also suffering from a severe shortage of cash, people wait for long hours and some even sleep in bank queues waiting for their hard earned cash. It hurts to see how people can queue so politely and pay for such poor services.
There is no foreign currency, this is affecting the country's ability to provide essential services.

The country which was once the bread basket of Africa, is now living from hand to mouth and surviving through donor agencies.

Recently there have been reports of an outbreak of diarrhoea in some suburbs of Harare due to sewage flowing in the streets and shortage of clean drinking water.

Additional information from Zimbabwe online

Click Here to Continue Reading

Students who over stay visa 'allowed to stay'

Foreign students who over stay their visa are not being deported from UK because they are not considered to be a top priority by the Home Office. According to a leaked memo, officials are rarely sending students home when their application to stay longer is turned down.

There have been many comments and contributions to this issue of immigration in the UK. The number of people coming into the UK every year, their contributions and the general effect of immigrants on the economy has also been a subject of great debate.

There is no doubt that the UK's economy benefits very much from the contributions of the skilled immigrants. Their contributions to the work force and also their tax contributions.

It's also true that not all immigrants will benefit this economy, there are some criminals within the good immigrant community.
There are some who are just lazy they don't want to work, some have got into the benefits system. It gives them a comfort zone and in the end they are not motivated to go to work.
However benefit fraud is also common with the local people, people who are able but just don't want to work. Most will just end up being alchoholics, drug addicts living a misserable life and so many broken families.

But on the other end who wouldn't want to be paid for doing nothing?

However staying here without proper papers is a dangerous game. There are problems you encounter in day to day living, there are some things you can not do. You are not even allowed to work.
Big problems will come when something happens, say your close relative passes away and you really need to go back home. Without visa you won't be able to come back here, so what would you do?

If it was not for the situation back home, most people I'm sure will be happy to go back. Many people have left the beautiful country of Zimbabwe over the past few years in search of a better life, at least where you are rewarded for your hard work. A life where you work and be able to put food on the table and provide for your family.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Thinking outside the box

There are people who think that rich people are either born from rich families or they stole the money. This can not be far from the truth. Even though you may find people within these two groups, it is also true that most people have worked for their wealth and anyone else can work and achieve similar success.
One of the greatest attributes of successful people in every business or career field is their ability to focus, they decide what they want and they set themselves clear goals.

This is fundamental to getting where you would want to get in your career. It is critical to accomplishing those tasks that will pay you the greatest rewards.

Your beliefs and values are important for your success. What are your values? What is it that shapes your life and actions? Be clear in what you believe this gives your brain direction on what to focus on.
Any situation can be changed, there is always a way of turning things around if you are committed. There are no failures in life as long as you can learn something from it.

Most people are stuck in 9-5 office jobs where their careers don't seem to be going anywhere. There may be all sorts of demands for your time, all different things to be done with little time. It is important to learn how to set your priorities among the competing demands for your time.
A well structured plan will help you focus and take action required to achieve your goals.

Proper planning will even help you identify other opportunities available. It is important to be clear on what you want to achieve in life. Whether it's business success, relationships and many other things.In most cases what you focus on is what you get. Take consistent action everyday towards succeeding in your goals.

Your past does not equal your future. Own your past, your past experiences will help shape your future.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Why do women obsess about weight loss dieting?

New year New resolutions and more greater ambitions. It surely has been a busy start to 2008. Trying to live with those resolutions we set for ourselves. But don't you think we are living in an over commercialised world? Where these companies act like big brother, they spy on what we are doing, what we like and what we don't like and try to control our lives through aggressive marketing of their products. They compete for whatever little money we have, and sometimes living us in severe debt. They don't care, after all they are in business to make profit.

We have seen the more aggressive marketing of those celebrity work out DVDs, Detox, Diet and weight loss plans. Do we really eat that much over Christmas to make us put on a lot of weight? Isn't it the same companies who advertise all those sugar foods and chocolate during the festive season.
I think the most important thing is to live a healthy lifestyle throughout the year, not just to try and lose weight in January.


I have seen women who are obsessed with their so called wobbly bits, they try all sorts of diets to achieve that perfect body. Because of their desperation for a quick fix, they run into huge debts from buying weight loss books and DVDS, gym memberships, specialist foods and supplements. Some even go through the expensive and painful cosmetic surgery.

Detox, diet and weight loss is now a very big industry. So many products come onto the market every year. Many women celebrities with their new found fame are just cashing in on their popularity with an inferior workout DVD.
Some of their workouts can also be dangerous and can cause injuries if not properly done.

Crash diets can also be dangerous because you will just put on the weight back on again. It's not easy to stick to these diet plans for a long time. It is important to live a healthy lifestyle, eating the right foods throughout the year so you do not fall into this dieting trap. A little bit of exercising helps.

It is also the over commercialisation of these celebrities and their so called perfect bodies. Some have good bodies, but some are too skinny really. However this is not a reason to demonise the women with the big body through those commercials. I do not see any think wrong in the big women, after all they are more attractive than the size zero. I call them the perfect women with the perfect body, the full house. A bit of flesh is better isn't it? I think everyone should be proud of what they are and not to let other people's views destroy your confidence, your life and leave a big hole in your pocket.

However there are some people who are really obese, they need to follow a health diet, do a bit of exercising and generally change their lifestyle. There are good plans which, when followed properly can give one a good and healthy lifestyle.
Resit those buy one get one free promotions on fast food. Eating more cooked meals and not to live on take aways.

Isn't it ironic that with all this noise about obese people, McDonald's actually recorded an increase in sales in December compared to the same period the previous year. They even started the new year with a buy one get one free promotion on the Big Mac.

Do you think we are living in a world where everything is controlled by advertising? Should women really be obsessing about their bodies? What makes advertisers think the skinny women has the perfect body?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Harare hit by diarrhoea outbreak

Harare has been hit by an outbreak of diarrhoea. This follows weeks of uncollected garbage, sewage blockages and erratic water supplies.
More than 400 cases have been reported in the suburbs of Mabvuku and Tafara. Blocked storm drains and sewer pipes had resulted in pools of sewage following in the streets.

As if nobody new about these problems in Mabvuku, Tafara and other suburbs of Harare. Cleaning work only started after the visit to the areas by the minister of health Dr David Parirenyatwa this week.

Surely this work should have been done earlier, do people have to fall sick first or die before any action is taken? People are struggling to pay rent and rates for these services which the city of Harare commission is not providing. Because of corruption and mismanagement, the city of Harare is no longer the sunshine city it used to be.

So what next for Harare residents? Is it back to the village now after living in the dark without electricity for the past months? Drinking dirty water, and sleeping in the bank queues waiting for their hard earned cash.

Can you imagine how the residents of Tafara and Mabvuku can manage to walk in the dark with all the sewage flowing in the streets. Where is the un-elected Harare commission when all these problems are happening?
Should the commission running the affairs of the city of Harare remain in office?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Should England ban Zimbabwe cricketers' 2009 tour?

It has been said that prime minister Gordon Brown will ban Zimbabwe's cricket team from their tour to Britain in 2009. " Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe needs to be given clear signals from all quarters that his regime is unacceptable, we have to stand up and be counted", said a government source.

So, is the British government right to stop the Zimbabwe cricket tour? Personally I do not agree with these politicians interfering in sport. Cricket is cricket and these guys should be allowed to come and play cricket. The ICC should instead ban England and stop then from hosting the World Twenty20 event if they ban Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is a member of the International cricket council and hence these guys should be allowed to take part. Whatever political problems that maybe there, is it in the best interests of the players to stop them from participating in international tournaments. Why should they be punished? Some of these guys earn their living from playing cricket, so why take it away from them?

A few years back Zimbabwe decided to pull out of the common wealth countries and this took away the only chance our sports person had of participating in international tournaments. They took away the chance for these guys to make a carrier for themselves.

There is no room for politicians in sport.

Click Here to Continue Reading

Men: Beware of money loving office Piranhas

Male bosses have been warned to beware of the 'office piranhas', women who target senior colleagues for financial gain. This was a message from Diane Benussi who runs a law firm handling high-value divorce cases. She said piranhas want a high-earning, high-virility man to marry.
"Piranhas hang on for the kill and rip any man to shreds", she added.

To me it seems this is another breed of business minded women. They are never in it for the love, never in it for the marriage. They just identify the opportunity to make money and they make the most of it.

This reminds me of another breed of women, the one who goes after married man. She does not mind having an affair with a married man, she is after breaking other peoples relationships. Tondy says the women is possessed by the spirit Jezbel, she wrote a very interesting article, you can read her post here.

This seems to be a trend most common with young women. They are very outgoing and know how to get what they want.
But why is it that man themselves don't learn from other's mistakes? Even with all these high profile divorce cases being reported, some man still behave like teenagers chasing after women.

Even the senior company executive (sugar daddies), you will find him falling for these young girls. Young enough to be their children. Why blame these women, if there is an opportunity to make money, who will let it pass them? They are not stealing from anyone.
Men need to grow up, is it that difficulty to love the one women you have at home? These divorces cause a lot of suffering in families and affects the behavior of some of the kids of today.

The decisions that we make will shape our destiny, men are willing participants in these relationships. Why should we blame the women? Should we not blame these man as well?

Click Here to Continue Reading

Goals we should aim for in New Year

It's that time of the year again when people set goals on what they intend to achieve during the course of the year. Goal setting is important because it gives direction to ourlives. It enables you to plan your things in a better way and also gives standards to measure how you are doing. I personally think the following goals are important and will help us enjoy life in the New Year.

Health: We should aim to live a healthy lifestyle throughout the year. It is important to watch what we eat, making sure we get a balanced diet.
A bit of exercising will help us keep the body fit and healthy. Play those old games with your kids in the park.

Build and Maintain Relationships: Whether it's your love life, friendships or family relationships we should aim to make fruitful relationships. Lets love one another, show others that you love them. Go out and do something to benefit the community and help build a happy and healthy community. Problems may arise along the way, but we should resolve and learn from them.

Enjoy Life: Go out, do all those things you enjoy. Life is too short, so make sure you make the most of the time that you get. Try to balance work life and social life. Work as hard as you can and your efforts will be rewarded.

Earn that extra income: There are many opportunities available that can help you earn that extra money. Do your own research, find those opportunities, set yourself goals and make sure by end of the year you have achieved something.

Set yourself some goals, they help give direction and better planning in your life.

Click Here to Continue Reading