SINCE South African President Jacob Zuma took over the reins from his predecessor Thabo Mbeki on the mediation in Zimbabwe, many were hopeful that his outspoken approach would precipitate the contesting parties to the GPA into resolving the political logjam in this country.

SOME beneficiaries of the land reform programme have a lot of common sense. Realising that they are unable to farm the lands they were given during the euphoric years of the fast-track land redistribution programme, they are subletting all or part of their farms to those who can farm them.

THE constitution-making process will soon go a gear up with the commencement of the outreach programme to gather views of the people on the supreme law they want.

TO say Africa was embarrassed by what happened in Cabinda last week is to understate the feeling of shame that pervaded the whole continent.

IT was useful to learn that the French embassy had distanced itself from claims in the Herald that outgoing ambassador Laurent Contini had called for the removal of sanctions when he bade farewell to acting President Joice Mujuru last Thursday.

THE call on Monday by Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial secretary of lands Themba Mliswa that party members and war veterans must resist government’s land audit exhibited political brinkmanship of the top order.

IN the past decade our magnificent country went through a crucible but this year, the beginning of a new decade, began on a high note; you must have seen the firecrackers popping up from almost all households in the suburbs. The feeling of hope was palpable.

THERE are times when Zimbabwe’s media landscape resembles a scene from Alice Through the Looking Glass. It is surreal.

ZANU PF’s ineffectual congress ended on Saturday with party president and first secretary Robert Mugabe rallying members to brace for early national elections.

ZIMBABWE has never seen a violence-free election since universal suffrage was introduced in 1980.

THE dust seems to have settled on Zanu PF’s fratricidal contest for the party’s presidium comprising its first secretary, two second secretaries and a national chairman.

SINCE the end of colonial rule, Zimbabwe’s fiscal policy had been largely dominated by unnecessarily large defence budgets.

BEN Rafemoyo is my friend; I mean the Zesa Holdings chief executive. Teetotal and deeply religious, he exudes commonsense. I can bet my bottom dollar if he put his signature to the Zesa/Nampower deal that was the right thing to do in the circumstances.

MOST sub-Saharan African countries’ budgets are donor funded. This is not to say that these countries are poor. The tragedy is what Professor Paul Collier calls the “resource curse”.

FINANCE minister Tendai Biti on Wednesday tabled in parliament the 2010 National Budget which can be broadly described as regenerative.

THEY are God’s Lost Generation: there is no sparkle in their eyes and they walk like the elderly with stooped shoulders; a shadow hovers over their heads.

THE long-stalled bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement (Bippa) between Zimbabwe and South Africa is due to be signed today.

SINCE the Sadc organ on politics, defence and security mini-summit in Maputo on November 5 there has been an escalating war of attrition between the two MDC formations over the outstanding issues of the global political agreement (GPA).

THE Victoria Falls thundered in the background but the sun was relentless, temperatures soaring above 30 degrees in the shade.

EVENTS surrounding the debate on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Amendment Bill which was passed in the House of Assembly on Wednesday dramatically highlighted an important but often forgotten point: that a strong parliament is essential for democracy.