Cathy Buckle: The fish, the crumbs and the politicians

Key topics:Rural Zimbabweans lured with bribes to support constitutional changeOpposition figures blocked and harassed at public hearingsBill aims to extend presidential rule, sparking protests and chaos.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Cathy Buckle.Early in the morning just as the sun rises over the mountains and the sky is orange and the reflection in the water is gold, two men set out in a small canoe. It is completely quiet and still, not a bird song, not a breath of wind, just two men in a canoe. They are laying their net along a stretch of the water, pendulous drops of water hanging on the oars sparkling as they catch the first light of the sun. It is so tranquil, so beautiful, so peaceful that it makes the events currently going on in Zimbabwe shameful, despicable and sickening. As the little boat moves out of sight, oars dipping into the water, I close my eyes and think of the words of the man I’d been talking to the day before. His story was also about fish but there was nothing at all beautiful and tranquil about it. His story was about the public hearings on the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3. “They are throwing crumbs to the fish in the pond,” the man told me. “The fish rush to grab the crumbs only to find themselves caught in a net and then they are dead and gone, eaten up.” As it is again, and has been repeatedly for so long, we talk in riddles in Zimbabwe if it’s got anything to do with politics. It’s dangerous to speak openly and so we lower our voices and look over our shoulders. .Read more:.Swapping green soap for food: Rural Zimbabweans fight to survive in a broken system - Cathy Buckle.“The fish have not learned that the crumbs are a trap,” the man said and we both shook our heads sadly. This time the crumbs, otherwise known as bribes, are wheelbarrows, solar panels, fertilizer, money, food and drink. People in rural villages are called outside by men who come in smart cars with dark windows and no number plates, men who tell them that they must go to the public hearings and say that changing the Constitution is good because the President needs to stay in power until 2030 because he has so many projects to finish. Projects such as filling potholes and fixing roads they say; sinking boreholes and bringing piped water to rural homesteads. No one dares say that this party has had 46 years in power and this President has been in office since 2017 but in all that time the roads are still unpassable, bridges are broken, boreholes have not been sunk and people still carry water on their heads in containers from the rivers. No one dares say that most people are so poor that they live on US$3.65 a day. Imagine that number, people are living on $3.65 a day, less than the price of a cup of coffee. No one dares say it doesn’t need politicians to fix potholes or lay water pipes, it just needs workers with shovels, engineers with lorries and tar, and funds not being looted by officials in government. As people in villages are being rounded up and ‘persuaded’ to support a Constitutional Amendment that will see the current president and government stay in power until 2030 and will strip citizens of their right to vote for the President, in towns and cities the ‘persuasion’ is more volatile. Lawyer and former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti said that Parliament’s public consultation process is: “a big fraudulent scam that reflects the desperation and immorality of the rag team. Through capture, coercion and brute force the regime intends to manufacture a false consensus,” he said In Bulawayo prominent opposition figures were denied the right to contribute at public hearings when the chairperson ignored their attempts to speak and then abruptly closed the hearings. In Harare’s public hearings individuals opposed to the Constitution Amendment Bill were also denied the right to speak including Tendai Biti, Jameson Timba, Morgen Komichi, Lovemore Madhuku, Fadzayi Mahere, Jacob Ngarivhume, Doug Coltart and others. Chaos ensued when Human Rights lawyer Doug Coltart was attacked and had his phone stolen from his hand. Outside the venue looking disheveled and in shock Doug said: “We stand for justice and what we have seen here today is not justice. What we have seen here is not right.”Attorney Fadzayi Mahere said: “When we say the public hearings are a farce, this is what we mean. We put our hands up. We waited peacefully for the mic to come to us but they refused to let us speak. They kept saying “hamubate mic.” (you won’t touch the microphone) “It was a total farce. No amount of bussing and sham political choreography will give legitimacy to this Bill. The people are saying NO.”Looking for hope to give at the end of this letter I found it in the words of Doug Coltart. After being physically assaulted and having his nationality questioned at the public hearings, Doug said: "And to all those who say that I am not Zimbabwean because of the colour of my skin, may you find healing for the hate in your hearts. I don't hate you back."

Cathy Buckle: The fish, the crumbs and the politicians

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