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| Harare diary: 'Motivated workers' | Harare diary: 'Motivated workers' |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| Zimbabweans seem to feel more optimism since the unity government took overEsther (not her real name), 29, a professional living and working in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, describes reaction to the unity government taking power. | Zimbabweans seem to feel more optimism since the unity government took overEsther (not her real name), 29, a professional living and working in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, describes reaction to the unity government taking power. |
| Harare is much more upbeat - there is a lot of optimism about. | Harare is much more upbeat - there is a lot of optimism about. |
| I'm not sure if it is directly because of the politics, or just because since the unity government took over there have been some price reductions. | I'm not sure if it is directly because of the politics, or just because since the unity government took over there have been some price reductions. |
| In some circles Tsvangirai really spells economic recovery | In some circles Tsvangirai really spells economic recovery |
| For example meat (beef and pork) came down from US$5/kg to about US$3/kg. | For example meat (beef and pork) came down from US$5/kg to about US$3/kg. |
| I have also had a constant supply of water at my house for more than a week after going for months with an intermittent supply; and a friend who had had no power for six months because of a stolen transformer had electricity restored just last week. | I have also had a constant supply of water at my house for more than a week after going for months with an intermittent supply; and a friend who had had no power for six months because of a stolen transformer had electricity restored just last week. |
| Plus the city council has started collecting rubbish in our neighbourhood after months of not doing so. | Plus the city council has started collecting rubbish in our neighbourhood after months of not doing so. |
| Maybe workers everywhere are motivated to play their part; the defeatist attitude and the hopelessness seem to be gone. | Maybe workers everywhere are motivated to play their part; the defeatist attitude and the hopelessness seem to be gone. |
| And there was a great deal of excitement on the day Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister - crowds gathered at the stadium to cheer him. | And there was a great deal of excitement on the day Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister - crowds gathered at the stadium to cheer him. |
| In some circles Tsvangirai really spells economic recovery. | In some circles Tsvangirai really spells economic recovery. |
| His promise to pay all civil servants in forex [foreign currency], was greeted with euphoria by many. | His promise to pay all civil servants in forex [foreign currency], was greeted with euphoria by many. |
| But others are wondering: "Where is he going to get all that money?" | But others are wondering: "Where is he going to get all that money?" |
| Our civil service is quite large, so it's a pertinent question. | Our civil service is quite large, so it's a pertinent question. |
| On Wednesday, we learnt soldiers had been given $100 vouchers, redeemable against cash at their banks.People have been asking for a while now how people paid in our local currency are surviving.MDC supporters have been protesting about Roy Bennett's arrest | On Wednesday, we learnt soldiers had been given $100 vouchers, redeemable against cash at their banks.People have been asking for a while now how people paid in our local currency are surviving.MDC supporters have been protesting about Roy Bennett's arrest |
| Nothing, but nothing, is sold for Zimbabwe dollars, or if it is the amount is so ridiculous that you are better off paying in foreign currency. | Nothing, but nothing, is sold for Zimbabwe dollars, or if it is the amount is so ridiculous that you are better off paying in foreign currency. |
| The other complication is that most vendors are refusing to accept the newly issued revalued currency notes. The central bank governor recently knocked off 12 zeros from the Zimbabwe dollar. But they want to trade in the previous currency, where the highest denomination is Z$50bn. | The other complication is that most vendors are refusing to accept the newly issued revalued currency notes. The central bank governor recently knocked off 12 zeros from the Zimbabwe dollar. But they want to trade in the previous currency, where the highest denomination is Z$50bn. |
So a single bus trip on most local routes is theoretically payable in one of three ways:
| So a single bus trip on most local routes is theoretically payable in one of three ways:
|
| It is long overdue. | It is long overdue. |
| Birthday adverts | Birthday adverts |
| We first heard about Roy Bennett [Mr Tsvangirai's nominee for deputy agriculture minister] "being kidnapped" last Friday. | We first heard about Roy Bennett [Mr Tsvangirai's nominee for deputy agriculture minister] "being kidnapped" last Friday. |
| One bash a year paid for out of my taxes is more than enough | One bash a year paid for out of my taxes is more than enough |
| That was very disheartening. The question on most people's lips was, "How on earth can the unity government work if these abductions are still going on?" | That was very disheartening. The question on most people's lips was, "How on earth can the unity government work if these abductions are still going on?" |
| It was only later, on the foreign news bulletins, that we learnt it was actually an arrest for treason. | It was only later, on the foreign news bulletins, that we learnt it was actually an arrest for treason. |
| Still the question begs - why? | Still the question begs - why? |
| The charges have since been revised, but the picture in most of our minds is of Mr Bennett eight months after his last jail term, wasted and gaunt, being tearfully embraced by his wife and children. | The charges have since been revised, but the picture in most of our minds is of Mr Bennett eight months after his last jail term, wasted and gaunt, being tearfully embraced by his wife and children. |
| We would all hope he does not have to go through that again, simply because of the colour of his skin, and his political convictions. | We would all hope he does not have to go through that again, simply because of the colour of his skin, and his political convictions. |
| Saturday is 21 February, President Robert Mugabe's birthday. | Saturday is 21 February, President Robert Mugabe's birthday. |
| That means there is a big bash lined up at state expense and the newspapers are full of full-page colour ads congratulating him and wishing him many happy returns. | That means there is a big bash lined up at state expense and the newspapers are full of full-page colour ads congratulating him and wishing him many happy returns. |
| Will the same be done for the PM's birthday? | Will the same be done for the PM's birthday? |
| I hope not, one bash a year paid for out of my taxes is more than enough! | I hope not, one bash a year paid for out of my taxes is more than enough! |
| Read Esther's previous diary | Read Esther's previous diary |
| Esther answers some of questions sent in by BBC News website readers: | |
| Q: Hi Esther. Are employers paying in forex? Also, are there now goods on the shelves of supermarkets as I have heard from friends? Is it just the US$, or are vendors/shops also accepting the rand, pula, pound and euro? We all pray that God blesses and keeps you. Humphrey, UK | |
| A: A number of companies now pay salaries in forex, which has become possible because they are now allowed to charge for their goods and services in forex. And because goods and and services are now charged in forex, a lot more stuff that had disappeared from our shelves is now available - fresh milk, bread, cheese, good cuts of beef, sanitary towels, good bath soap, detergents, perfumes, flour, mealie meal - the list is endless. The shops accept the rand, pula, pound and euro and use current cross rates to come back to the US$ amount. | |
| Q: Dear Esther, Politicians are snakes the world over, but the absolute disregard that Mugabe has for his people truly stuns me. How are you able to live, contaminated water, dysfunctional sanitation systems, and so forth? Surely there must be a mass exodus from the cities. Are rural family members taking in their families from the cities? Thank you for sharing these parts of your lives with us. MikeDE, Delaware, USA | |
| A: I've always said the human spirit is an amazing creation. You take in what's going on around you, and decide to live through it or die. And once you've decided to live, you accept your circumstances as normal or you go mad. So it has become normal that garbage is not collected - you come up with plan b, burn your rubbish in the back yard (if you have one) or get used to the stench. So you can visit an area with piles of rotting rubbish, and feel so sick, while the people who live there are eating and laughing and going on like normal, because for them it is. As for the water supply, relief agencies have done a sterling job of distributing water treatment tablets which you just pop into your water, and half an hour later its safe to drink. So people are not moving out of town in hordes to the rural areas, life is going on right here. | |
| Q: Hi Esther. I am Zimbabwean, born in 1960, lived there until I was 28. My heart just aches for you guys and that beautiful country. Are the major hospitals like Parirenyatwa still functioning? Gillian Toozs-Hobson, France | |
| A: Major hospitals are hardly functioning. In fact medical students had their studies disrupted because most of the time patients are just not admitted at all. At some point the hospitals had all but closed, but agencies like Unicef came in with pay incentives to keep health centres open in the midst of the cholera outbreak. | |
| Q: Would you prefer [former prime minister of Rhodesia] Ian Smith to be in power? Brian Keith, Ellesmere, UK | |
| A: I was born just before independence and so never experienced life as a second class citizen. I would not like to. To yearn for colonial days would be insane for me, a young African woman whose opportunities are boundless, limited only by my aspirations. So no, I would not prefer Ian Smith to be in power. | |
| Q: Inclusive government will never work, the only solution, though tough on Zimbabweans, is another round of elections with international observers. Tendai Chakona, Maputo, Mozambique | |
| A: This was my attitude too, I would have preferred that we respected the democratic process, and let government be formed in accordance with the results of March 29. However, let's not be defeatist. This is what we have to work with, so let's give it a chance to work. Of course the unity government (GNU) can only be transitional, while the economic and political environment is stabilised so that we can have a proper election, where the voices of the people are allowed to resound, and their decision on who governs them is respected. | |
| Q: Dear Esther, As a teacher, I wonder how the deep crisis is experienced in the schools. Are the pupils asking questions to their teachers about the situation? How do the teachers manage the preoccupations of their pupils? Can they give hope or explain? Luc Vanderbiest, Leuven, Belgium | |
| A: It would be bad idea for any teacher to voice their political opinion to their class - that would buy them a ticket to the nearest torture camp! Maybe under the GNU that will become possible, but for now it is not. | |
| Q: I would like to find out what has happened to all the farms that helped sustain your economy, are they still producing? If not what is being done to revitalise them? Has the cholera epidemic been stabilised? Clarence, Trinidad & Tobago | |
| A: Commercial farms are still under utilised (this is of course a generalisation, a few farmers are doing a sterling job) and this is something the GNU has to address in my opinion. Ownership of arable farm land in a country whose economy depends heavily on agriculture should have nothing to do with political affiliations & colour of skin, and everything to do with an ability to farm. There are still outbreaks of cholera, but on a smaller scale than before. I think relief agencies like World Vision, Red Cross Red Crescent, MSF, Unicef and WHO have been wonderful, raising awareness and providing safe water in the affected areas. The then government would never have coped with the epidemic, and I hope one day the president publicly acknowledges that fact. | |
| If you would like to ask Esther about daily life in Zimbabwe, please use the form below. | |
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