As I spent time in the darkness waiting for ZESA to restore power to my neighborhood; something that I have been doing for the past two weeks, I found myself with too much time on my hands.I started making a list of things that I would sell my first born to get in this country. A list that I have here repeated verbatim.
- I wish we had an LTE service. Currently LTE is just an adjective that we use on Android phones’ iPhones and tablets. I mean Angola has one; war-torn Angola.
- A local Ebay and Amazon store that takes days to deliver and accepts EcoCash. Something like www.amazon.co.zw and www.ebay.co.zw
- I wish Google Checkout would let me sign up for a merchant account.
- Affordable VPS hosting that did not require zillions of forms and a letter from the Ministry of Information to be set up.
- An automated .zw domain set up form like the one they have for the .coms. We really need to do away with all the paper work.
- A web API for the now popular Ecocash payment system. It would be nice if I could use this with PayPal too.
- Rural broad band or Wimax coverage.
- Broadband measured in anything other than Kbps.
- That TelOne would provide all of us with a VDSL.
- A local Google cache server.
- Competent technicians that would solve my perennial routing problems and allow me to visit www.omgubuntu.co.uk without using a proxy.
- A local Sourceforge mirror.
- That the government would share in our plight and instead of giving telecoms excuses to increase their tariffs by increasing license fees it would instead decrease them.
- A ZESA app that would tell me about all scheduled and current blackouts. A Google maps with all the affected areas would be greatly appreciated.
- An affordable mobile broadband plan from Econet and Africom.
- ZESA commissioning a Nuclear Power station that would take care of all my power woes without being subjected to blackouts.
- An Apple products store that will not rip me off by adding a ridiculous mark-up.
- A local based iTunes store that will not require me to wait years during downloads.
- A local Blu-ray disc shop that has all the BoxOffice titles.
Now you will all agree these are reasonable wishes. Anything to add? I wonder why they are not coming true.
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ZESA commissioning a Nuclear Power station that would take care of all my power woes without being subjected to blackouts.
lol the only question is whether they could run it safely without a zimbabwe version of chernobyl…
If you’d like to be recent, Japan. The rest of the world is now shying away from nuclear power, if it can be avoided.
Solar + hydro are the future!
The reason why I hate solar is I have to borrow my neighbor’s roofs just to be guaranteed that I have power during the bleak summer months.
i have never had a bleak summer in Africa…..2 sqm is enuf on your roof for Solar.
Nuclear power isn’t bad per se. It just needs ridiculous dedication on levels not normally seen in our country to make sure it generates energy safely without having any meltdowns or crises.
I think we all agree there. Just not ZESA doing it…ZESA as we know it today. Even Zim. In some very distant future, maybe. But like what Concern says, Solar + hydro are very viable energy alternatives that are the safest and cleanest.
Zim has immense solar potential. Note that red is hottest.
In Japan it was natural disaster. U wld have to agree that it could happen to anyone.
For me an eCountry (eGovernment, eBamking, eparliament, eVarsity, eHospital, eHarare, eTax, eVoting, eEverything) would make life easy. I envision and wish a Zimbabwe where you can do everything on-line. I recently spent $1,000 on a trip to Harare (from Joburg) to get a “one day” passport! Would it be good if I could request a new passport on on-line and collect it at the Zimbabwe Consulate in Joburg a the following day?
Also spent a day doing up and downs in Harare bewtwen CVR, CID Southerton and VID just so i can correct the Chasis number on my car “book”. Apparently in their systems it was correct. all they need was correct the physical book. That took me a whole day and a couple of $20 notes!
And while at the passport office i met a tired looking old man who had travelled all the way from Ntepe (about 80Km from Gwanda, down into some REALLY remote parts of the country). His reason for visiting fast-paced Harare was to get an certificate and a “unique tag” or “brand” for his cattle (in my village, we had a more conventional was of branding cows called rupawu. You just cut the cow’s ear in a certain format). By the way there is a new law who stipulates that any cattle owner should have a brand for his cattle and every cow should be branded uniquely using that code/brand. You can no longer sell an un-branded cow, and police can arrest you if you are found with unbranded cows. Guess what? he was told the printer is not working and will only be available “next week”. So this old man travelled half the country to be told a printer is not working. During his journey he passed through 3 provincial capitals, but we all know Zimbabwe is Harare. Nothing gets done outside Harare. Such journeys and frustrations can easily be replaced by a simple internet based solutions. Why travel 600km to get a silly service like this. There is internet in Gwanda and all the powers that be should do is train someone in Gwanda, give them a computer with printer & internet and problem solved! They can even recover the cost by charging say $5 for the service. I am one person who believes in paying for services if they work (my friends are amazed why i pay Dropbox when i can use it for free. Answer is simple and short. Cse it works!!).
Thats quite a mouthful there Concern, very genuine concerns that require someone even with half a brain to do something about them and not just sit in their spacious offices. Recently saw a “headline” that one can apply for a liquior license online, some technological progress but i just think the priority list is seriously upside down.( http://allafrica.com/stories/201302270211.html )
Tx Arnold. Its sad that while the citizens of this Nation have all the solution on how to solve our problems, the gvt has its priorities all wrong! If we use proper technology, we can easily eliminate 60% of our current problems. here r some simple examples.
1. A simple home solar system can reduce ur ZESA needs by 80%. If the gvt could launch such a program our electricity use will decrease by 80% and take the pressure off ZESA. All the gvt needs to do is create a Solar Energy Fund, hand it over to banks then people will access loans to install solar systems. The gvt also needs to remove VAT & Duty on solar imports. My rural home has been on 1 solar panel (100MW) since 1996. All our lighting is catered for by a single battery that we change every 2 years.
2. Last year’s school results caused a lot of noise. So what do we do?NOTHING. The solutions are all in our face and technology based. We need video tutorials on DVDs or on the internet. Imagine if you have a full “Differential Equations” tutorial on a Dvd and you can watch it 500 times at home or school. Those are the things we need.
3. Traffic in Hre is now a nightmare. Just to drive from “Coca-Cola” to Jason and 4th is terrible during peak hour! So what do we do to fix this? Change all roads to one ways and confuse the hell out of our visitors from other parts of Zim and abroad! Fair enough but not good enough. The solution is simple. Those who came to SA for the Fifa World Cup know something called “Park’n’Ride”!
I could go on and on and on and on! We have solutions everywhere, but we don’t have the will to implement them. Until such a time, paying $20 bribe for things that are supposed to be free will continue and the saying “mari yako chete” is here for years come!! Similarly we will continue to cry over things we can solve by just deciding its time. statements like “magetsi aenda” or ” ndiri munaNyerere, traffic yakasunga” should never be tolerated in a nation with so many graduates!
correction – 100w not 100 MW
Any attempt to smoothen the path to getting ‘things’ in Zimbabwe would mean loss of considerable amounts of income for the individuals who are currently creating confusion, backlogs and frustration in order to extract bribes and favours from the masses.
you think they (people in government) don’t know we have the solutions? It is counter their goals, for government to be efficient, for people to have access to internet, for passport applications to be a click and a form away.. its all doable…could build systems in a month…but ain’t gonna happen..to many fat cats and greasy hands along the chain
Biggest problem is that we want to put the Government in the equation. With regards to your first point, you can get a mortgage from CABS for “home improvement” which includes installing solar systems.
Great Point Concern,i like your ideas,yes we need to sort something to solve simple problems in our country.Im working on some solutions here in UK so hope to share them soon
What that old man experienced is really sad. I have an uncle with a very similar story only that he survives on some fund for those who had sustained industries in the war. Getting the money is just a hectic process for someone who lives in the rural areas and is also disabled. Always excuses. And its always Harare, unfortunately.
One question though about the branding, would having an accessible “printing cafe” solve it? Do they not need a actual, physical tag to be moulded or created? The new law is kinda important given the prevalence of livestock theft. In Zim its 7 to 10 years, per beast. If they did the same for SA, they wouldnt be having those execution murders we read of… I digress.
This whole centralisation is an ill-service to the people.
*injuries
Same printer they use in Hre to print the brand can be shipped to Gwanda, Masvingo, Gweru, Bulawayo etc…why not?
What you said:
I assume the local $5 printing solution would solve the certificate issue, which I also assume is what couldnt be printed.
But then the tag would require another solution: a centre where they create such tags or branding irons.
Just pointing out that printing is half the issue.
Whatever they use can be shipped to other provinces and districts. What’s special about Harare? If it means paying $20 for the service, its still way better than travelling 600km to Harare.
Mr Concern,i would like your opinion on my projet,how can i contact you
You can email me on shoko [at] mega24.co.za
Mr Garikai Dzoma,have you checked our newley built website,zimfreeads.com ? maybe you may want to cover the story on techzim,we have sent emails but no response.
Will look into it. Thanx for the tip.
just a relocation to south africa would solve 99,999 of yo above issues. zim with its newly found diamonds will be very difficult to set free now!!
Taura hako. kikiki
And we would join our poor employed brothers.
poorly emlpoyed because they went there with no education. I know several people that attended Zim unis and then went off to south. They have quickyly risen up the ranks and now have well respected positions and chunky salaries.
Most people think you can just go to SA and “wing it” without plenty of education or with a degree in something like Sociology however that wont get you far and you will end up unemployed. However if you go there with a business degree especially in accounting or engineering (hard jobs sa people hate to do) you will find yourself in a very comfortable sitiuation as knowledge is power.
…especially in accounting or engineering (hard jobs sa people hate to do)….
What a load of BS. You are the one that lacks information. I know and work with CAs and Engineers who are South African
there is an approx equivalent to ebay in zim that i found recently, http://www.ebid.co.zw, with more traffic it could be just as successful i bet
I would have to agree the site is pretty decent. The problem with sustaining a site like this is traffic. Zimbabwe has a pretty low traffic. So low sometimes it is hard to sustain a site.
very true, we really could do with showcasing the good sites out there so that we can raise awareness, zimazon.co.zw is another i recently saw and i suspect has similar troubles with raising traffic
that said there are some bad quality sites out there as well which dont help matters and confidence in using web for such things for local users
You would trust ZESA with a nuclear power plant? That is great faith in a utility.
ZPC would subcontract to a private power company. All humanity would be lost if ZESA were to take the same amount of time to respond to a meltdown as they have to the problem in my area.
Kikikiki thinking of extinction
Everything mentioned can be achieved but our major enemy is corruption
A nuclear power station in Zimbabwe would go the way of Zisco.
And just where would it be located? Zvimba? Matabeleland?
Zimbabwe also has the second largest gas reserves in Sub-Saharan Africa in Lupane if my memory serves me well. All i know is Zimbabwe has enough gas to power several Southern African countries.
If you want to see the future of a nuclear power station in Zimbabwe, you only have to look at Hwange Power Station, Kariba, the former municipal power stations in harare and Bulawayo and all others. Then look at the state of the NRZ bullet trains. Zupco buses. The city of harare water shortages and all the rest….
I like your opinion on my project Mr Prosper,how can i get in contact with you ?
I will give out my twitter address soon. I cant ask you to reveal your twitter username as it would reveal your identity. Be patient. Soon.
I agree we cannot let ZESA run the power plant. May be they can use their subsidiary ZPC to subcontract to a foreign firm ( anti- indigenous as it may seem)
I do not need to dwell on the failures of my not so experienced parents to see the future of Zimbabwe, I look at people like you, Garikai, Concern, Soul and many more great minds mingling on this site and all I see is a Great Zimbabwe future…
the wish list left me in stitches!
War torn Angola!? The war ended over 10 years ago. The economy has been on a tear (thanks to Oil & diamond revenues) and bankrupt Portugal is coming with a begging bowl to it’s former colony asking for bailouts. Our dictator could learn a thing or two from their dictator
War torn Angola!? The war ended over 10 years ago. The economy has been on a tear (thanks to Oil & diamond revenues) and bankrupt Portugal is coming with a begging bowl to it’s former colony asking for bailouts. Our dictator could learn a thing or two from their dictator
You just made my day!!!!
Nice List, but 40% already covered in Zim.
What happened to the Hydro Power project to be setup in the DRC..that powerstation would be capable of supplying the SADC region when completed..someone dragging their feet?
Google Fiber would be nice. https://fiber.google.com/about/
Wow, why am I so late in discovering this site. Love the wish list but liking the user comments even more. I like the way you guys think but how do we turn these wishlists into realities? How do we lobby for these things to be implemented and develop our country?
They would to get clearance first. Google is a western company that is funded by detractors who are bent on destroying our sovereignty remember. Or is it Microsoft? I know there is a political speed bump somewhere.