If it sounds too good to be true,its not true

                                    

                                                                      

There are a lot of advertisements that are being put in the newspaper and the internet that promise people riches or a job and then it ends up with someone getting ripped off or even everyone getting ripped off.
There have been a streak of advertisements in the newspapers that small and even big companies like Spar Supermarket are putting that promise work training and then a job after being trained.
Looking at the job situation in Zimbabwe we see that there is more than 80% unemployment so i was tempted with this other Spar Supermarket offer i saw in the newspaper and i went to Spar and told them i was interested with the job and they said i had to pay $25 so that i can start training as a worker at one of their retail outlets and then i would be automatically employed after then.
They also told me i had to buy my own uniform and i had to use my own money as transport to go to work for the two weeks i would be working there.
When the day came for me to be employed they told me that i cannot be a permanent worker because there were not any job vacancies open yet and they would have to get back to me when there was an opening and it has been 11 months since i have waited for them to call me.
This means they used me as cheap labour and i even payed them $25 for that and i suffered a big loss because i bought uniforms for work and i used to use my own money for bus-fare  and also for lunch they had to have been providing.
I had no money to do all this and had to borrow from someone saying i would repay them when i get my first pay cheque and up to now i have not received any positive response about the job from Spar Supermarket and how am i supposed to repay the money i borrowed?
What has this world come to,is this the new hustle now?Are people now making money off people like that?Is business that bad in the retail industry that supermarkets are now looking for other means of gaining profit?

The New Church

I went to church on Sunday after a long time in search of spiritual uplifting and i came back feeling like a little bitch (excuse my french).

Seems like the gospel done changed and its no longer the same with the traditional way of pastors, preachers and evangilist's way of decoding and encoding the bible.
It seems as if the pulpit is now a podium of showing off and telling people what you have in life and what you are planning to do and most pastors blaber about what the good Lord is blessing them with and also that if the rest of the people want to be blessed they should also give to receive and to me that is being very selfish to give for you to receive but you should give because that is the right thing to do.
The testimonies are now like a new form of twitter or exhibition platform whereby people only talk about material things as blessings.
There is also an intresting fact i have also figured out lately and it is like being a leader of a church is the new hustle nowadays because pastors are now rich and also there are a lot of churches that are springing up all over the City and the leaders of these new churches call themselves either Apostle or Prophet (isn't that intresting?).
The word of the day is now all about prosperity and when a pastor is advertising about a crusade they put either money or a car on the background of the poster and no offense but it looks like a Little Wayne poster to me.
I am not saying that i know whats right but i'm just saying i know what's wrong and all this is wrong.

Soldiers A Liability,Prisoners Blood Suckers

Zimbabwe has a really big army that is on payroll and we don't even have a war or even a situation that threatens war.
We have standing army and a standing army is a professional permanent army and is composed of full time career soldiers and is not disbanded even during times of peace and we have been at peace for 32 years and it is better to have army reserves who are disbanded once the threat is over.
The reason why we do not need a standing army is because we do not need one and also the army is wasting a lot of money for the country with their payrolls,artillery and drills to name but a few.
We might make use of them since we are not at war by getting them to build buildings or do other developmental activities since they are already on payroll.
Can someone tell me the job description of Zimbabwean soldiers,what is it that they do when they go to work at 8:00 am till 4:00 pm?
There are also the prisons who are receiving money from the Government and they are not even doing anything to pay back for that money and to me it is the government that is wasting money.
I believe the prisons may be a source of cheap labour and when the government embarks on a project they should use that labour for the betterment of the country like what other countries are doing for example the USA.
There is  lot to be done in the country in-terms of development and we don't need heavy weight pulling us back but we need innovation and tactful planning.
We cannot let the army get easy money and we also can utilise the prisoners and not just expect them to  sit in the jails and using up the nation's money through them being allocated some from the budget.

Black On Blacker People Racism

Racism is still there and it is more alive than ever and i am not talking about white people being racist on black people but black people being racist on blacker people.
This is the ugly truth that might seem impossible to believe but it is very true and it happened and it is happening everyday without being even addressed or questioned because to others it seems normal.
The best example is that most of the adverts that are shown always have the light skinned people and never the darker ones and also even in films and all leading roles we never see the darker people.
The light skin also discriminate the darker people in a whole lot of ways like you always see a cool light skin crew a school campus and i always ask myself where the other darker skin brothers at,aren't they cool also?
Even when you are reading books you can see that the one who is portrayed as the handsome guy in the book is the light skin one.
Would people vote Obama in power if he was dark skinned?
The sad thing is also when people bleach their skin to look like the light skin they get dissed again and guess who disses them,the same light skin people that discriminated them at first for them to go and bleach their skin.
Look at Vybes Kartel who is being bombarded with dis tracks from Assassin who is a light skin brother and i think that is so wrong considering he is light skin and has never gone through what the dark skin are going through.
How can someone light-skin give a lecture to someone dark-skin about being proud of what you are,you are proud because you are light-skin and you are the reason for my problems (sometimes).

Take the Constitution to the people

A Constitution is a set of principles that govern a state /it is the supreme law of a country.
In Zimbabwe it has been found fit to make another Constitution because the one that is in action does not represent the people and for there to be elections next year the SADC has said we need a new constitution.
My argument is that the Draft Constitution is supposed to be accessible to everyone because it is made for everyone.
Looking at the money invested in the process of making a constitution we can see that a lot of tax money has been used and the money was hard earned by the people.
We can see that there are also  a lot of donors who are funding the program for it to be people driven such as the UNDP and USAID to name but a few and they are hoping that the process can be people driven and it has to be for the people and not for a few politicians who have their own agendas.
The people in Zimbabwe are getting incarcerated for breaking laws that they don't even know about and the police are also using that advantage to hustle people after arresting  them for breaking laws they don't know about or maybe even made up laws.
Someone might say you have to make an effort to look for the constitution but is it the way it is supposed to be,when the law is made for the people it has to be given to the people.
We are getting into a referendum next week and we are expected to vote yes or no but what are we voting yes for and what are we voting no for when we have not yet even seen the Draft Constitution and meditated upon it.
A Constitution is not made for a group of people but for the whole state and also other generations to come for example the Constitution of the USA was made in 1787 and it is the same one that is being used because the people who made the constitution where not selfish to only make laws that would only make their own lives easier and not putting others to come in consideration.

Bleaching Skin Justified

The late Michael Jackson and Vibes Kartel the most popular examples i would use  for people who opted for another skin tone.
Though they had already made so much success in the music industry they still found it neccessary to bleach their skin and people did not stop to ask why they did that,the media just bombarded them and were very hostile about the whole issue.
Michael Jackson's reason for plastic surgery was that he used to be abused by his father and other people saying that his nose was too big and his skin was too dark.
Vybes Kartel said that he bleached skin so his tatoo's could  show and he also gave an example of people who go bold and get a hairpiece if they have done anything wrong,for example Wayne Rooney the footballer never made any headline with his new hair.
People who are darker than others go through a lot of abuse in a community and the only way to get out of the situation is maybe to bleach and the light skin people attack them again because they do not relate to what they are going through.

Change is all i need

Change is all i need,i live for,i pray for,i hope for and i fight for. Change is always a need and necessity in any given community. The simple meaning of change is different from what it is or from what it would be if  left alone.

There are two types of change which are good and also bad change. I like change but i like my change to be  good,i hate bad change and sometimes when i get bad change i wish to return it back.

The thought of having change brings hope and optimism but the future holds the secret to the unfolding of events and it only knows what kind change you will get. Change makes life easier and am always looking for it and i want it now.I have a twenty dollar note and i cannot use it because no one else has change.

I want my change good and not those torn notes of change.I deserve good change because i worked so hard for it and i have waited so long for  it so its high time i get it damn-it.

All i will always look for is change and i demand good change.

Graffiti With Purpose

AIDS Free Generation

Graffiti With a Message

AIDS Free Generation was the message of the graffiti that was done by The (Tune Crew) Throw Up Nation Elevated that features  Phar-I from Bulawayo at the Shoko Festival Peace In The Hood Concert on the 23rd of September in Glen-norah B.

Graffiti has been viewed in bad light as vandalism of property done by hooligans and it was declared to be a crime that can carry a fine or even jail time.

Once they had the wall cleared by the police the Tune Crew made it worth all the trouble and produced what i call a beautiful message.

As the next generation we need more of that culture of good Graffiti that has a message.

Shoko Festival:Peace In The Hood Event

The last day of the Shoko Festival presented by Magamba and Team Mashoko was held in Glen-norah B  with a series of activities on the Peace in the hood event on the 23rd of September.
The MC of the event was Godobori and the Highlights of the performances were Ba Shupi,MIC Crenshaw(from USA),Natty(from UK),Dadza D and a lot more.

The Crowd

The Graffiti:AIDS FREE GENERATION

Performance

The crowd was overwhelming and they were entertained by live music,b-boys and live graffiti paintings to name but a few of the events.
It was the best way to round off the festival.

Shoko Festival Right on Schedule

REFRESHMENTS

MIXING AND MINGLING

POSING FOR THE CAMERA

Tuesday the 18th of September marked the official start of the Shoko Festival with a strictly by invite only art exhibition called the Shout Exhibit Opening at the Gallery Delta.

ART EXHIBITION

The night was all about  giving credit to all the people who are making the festival happen and it was also for the artists to get to know each other and also trade and share skills and opinions.
Nando's and londoners sports bar worked in colaboration to fix up refreshments for the crowd with a cocktail and serve yourself trays.

Shoko Festival Press Conference

Magamba Cultural Activist Network Held a Press conference on the 12th of September for the much awaited Shoko Festival at the Book Cafe in Harare defining it as an urban culture event that has Hip Hop,Neo-soul,Stand-up comedians,Fashion and a lot more.

Comrade Fatso(Director),Outspoken(Marketing Director) and Tafadzwa Sharaunga (Media Liaison) addressed journalists saying that the event will be one of a kind and it will bring artists from 8 different countries both internationally and regionally based.

Comrade Fatso explained the importance of this festival to the local music industry and also individual artists that will be perfoming saying that there will be a lot of collaborations of the local artists with the international artists allowing us to trade culture and keep up with the world's  musical trends.

Outspoken also added on to the fact of the Festival being one of its kind because it is reaching different parts of the community that have not been reached by something of this magnitude like one of the venue which would be Glen-norah "B" shopping area.  

They also promised a time to remember at the festival and also more festivals to come.

Hope & Optimism is all we need.

Optimism is a word derived from the Latin word optimum,meaning "best". Being optimistic means that one expects the best possible outcome from any given situation.
Hope is the act of looking forward to something with desire and reasonable confidence that something desired may happen.
These are the two words that can best describe any Zimbabwean for the past two decades in terms of what they ought the future to be and by the looks of things hope and optimism is all we need to get by in this country.
The economic and political situation has seemed to be beyond repair for a long time now and the only reason why the country is not in a civil  war or any industrial action is that people are really optimistic that things will get better due to time.
Every election has proved to be a blood bath and after every election people say that it is very unnecessary to have an election because the results are the same at the cost of a lot of lives lost but when it is time to have another election people get excited and embrace them and yet they know that is the worst time of the year and they hope that results can turn their way and also be optimistic that people do not indulge in violence.
A lot of people migrated to other countries in search of greener pastures but others remained behind because they were hopeful and optimistic that things might get better and yet it has been a long way coming and some might even say that things have become worse.
The fact is that the future in Zimbabwe is really bleak but yet people are hoping that things might change though they do not know what to do for things to change and that is the only thing that has kept Zimbabweans alive and focused.
The aspect of change also terrifies people because they really don't know what change will bring and how change can change meaning change can either be better or terrible and terrible can never be said to be out of the question.
This means that though we do not know where we are going hope is the reason why we keep on moving,hence the most important factor of our livelihood is hope and optimism because we do not really know what we want and what is going to happen but we just hope for the best and hang in there.

Zambezi News 3&4:Launch

The launch of the hilarious comedy season Zambezi News episodes 3&4 was on the 30th of August 2012 at the Red Bar in New-Lands and it was backed with performances by stand-up comedians Comrade-Fatso,Carl Joshua Ncube,Doc Vickela,Michael K and Simba The Comic King.
Once again the usual suspects,news readers of Jerome Weathers,Mandape Mandape,Kudzaishe Mushayahembe were back with very informative and controversial news being helped by interesting characters like the Anonymous drunkards,Pastor Olufuwene,Minister of impending projects,Even More lil Swaggery Boys to name but a few.
The venue was packed to the door with people who were treated with free give away Cd's of episodes 3&4 and also there was a screening of the same episodes.
The Zambezi News concept was created by Comrade Fatso and Outspoken and is produced by Mutheu Maitha-Bomba and it is a production of Magamba Network.
People can get access to the episodes by visiting Zambezi News You Tube channel.

Zambezi News Launch:Big Crowd

There were overwhelming numbers of people who came in to witness the launch of the comedy series Zambezi news episode 3&4 at the Red Bar in New-Lands in Harare recently.

Zambezi News Launch:Carl Joshua Ncube

Stand-up comedian Carl Joshua Ncube rocking the crowd at the launch of the comedy series Zambezi News episode 3&4 at the Red Bar in New lands in Harare recently.

Zambezi News Launch:Comrade Fatso

Stand Up Comedian Comrade Fatso rocking the crowd at the launch of the comedy series Zambezi news season 3 & 4 that was held recently at the Red Bar in New-Lands.

Simba The Comic King:Zambezi News Launch

Stand up comedian Simba The Comic King at the launch of the comedy series Zambezi News that transpired recently at the Red Bar in New-Lands in Harare.

Zambezi news launch:Doc Vickela

Stand-up comedian Doc Vickela was the host at the launch of the third and fourth episode of the comedy series of Zambezi news at the Red Bar in New-lands Harare recently.

STREETS LIVE:PHAR

 Multi-talented MC,Graffiti Artist and DJ to name but a few showed off his talents scratching and playing music at the recent Streets Live event that took place at the Alliance Francaise in town lately..
Phar was born and raised in Bulawayo and he recently relocated to Harare and he is making a name for himself as a professional hip hop artist who can basically do anything..

He is one of the artists who will be at the much anticipated Shoko Festival that is going to be held in parts around town soon in September.

STREETS LIVE:EWOK and BLUE JEANS

Hip Hop flavoured Spoken Word South African based Artist EWOK and his band BLUE JEANS were part of the historical STREETS LIVE annual event held at the Alliance Francaise in Harare recently.
With his credentials and his rich history of performing arts and spoken word,it was an honour to be hosting this talented artist not only at the event but as a country at whole.
The Band Blue Jeans has members from different countries all around the world like UK,German and South African.
Interesting word-play and fancy rhyming scheme were the main attraction of the act.

  

STREETS LIVE:Outspoken and The Essence

Spoken word artist and poet/hip hop MC Outspoken with his band the The Essence were part of the historic second edition of the Streets Live spoken word event that was held at the Alliance Francoise in Harare recently.
The act included poems,spoken word and also vernacular  tracks and rhymes that connected with the large crowd of different ethnic groups and different races.
Tracks like "waiting for the bus"engaged the crowd as they sang along to the lyrics while the band was performing.
The band The Essence consists of four members who are Outspoken aka Alpha Intellect is the lead vocalist of the band,Ell-Roy aka L-Boogie Drummer,King Arthur the Bassist and Mallory on the lead guitar.

Minute Maid Launch New Brand Of Drinks

Minute Maid Company launched their new range of drinks called the "Minute Maid Pulpy Orange"at a colourful and entertaining event filled with comedy and dance at the Borrowdale race course recently.
Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited the mother company of Minute Maid boasted to having been the 20th country in the world to launch the Minute Maid Pulpy Orange and they also showed off their new state of the art equipment used in producing the Minute Maid product.

The main stream brand of drinks will be going for a dollar each and they will be attainable in supermarkets,fuel stations to name a few.

Miss Unaleya who is the Marketing and Public Affairs Executive stated and expressed the intentions of the company to keep on diversifying in-order to gain more ground and also to create as much employment as possible.
The theme of the event was "where is the pulp?"and they were performances from Zero Effect (dance crew),Dud Reggae Band and also stand up  comedians and there were a lot of refreshments that were being sponsored by the company itself.

Shoko Festival Artist Info and Profile

NATTY

The dreadlocked Reggae artist from North London posses a thoughtful take on what it is to be young in the inner city today with soulful accuracy.
He is born of a mother from Lesotho,a tiny kingdom that is found in the borders and an English father of Italian descent.
He learnt playing the guitar at 10 and he spent his teenage years creating beats for rapping mates.His bedroom mastery of music production earned him a job at premier recording studio Sphere,in Battersea,London.He worked at the studio for four years and everyone passed through that studio from Duran Duran to Mos Def,he says.He then picked up his guitar when he turned 18 beginning to write his own tracks during the studio's downtime.After leaving Sphere,Natty started gigging around London around London attracting a buzz that resulted in his starting the Vibes and Pressure Nights,a magnet for the underground music scene.Things quickly picked up for Natty with a recording contract with Atlantic Records,the release of "Man Like I",his debut album and it had a #1 hit single "Badman" in Japan.Thats when he embarked on his first European tour including gigs with Adele,Lee Perry and Baaba Maal.  
Natty's band comprises of his collaborater and guitar player,Jahmel,a bass and percussion player with Reggae roots and of course him on the vocals.
He is one of the international artist's who will be gracing the the much anticipated Shoko Festival.To follow him check him out on @nattymusic on twitter and Natty on Facebook.

Women Demand Media Rights

Influential women such as Human rights and media Lawyer Beatrice Mutetwa and chairperson of the Women Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) Virginia Muwanigwa  blasted the media for not  honouring the women's rights in the media while addressing journalists at the Quill Club recently.

Beatrice said that media has to give women a voice and it should work hand in glove with women human rights defenders to help stand for the rights of the women and create security for women.

Virginia said that they want to be seen as equal members of the community who need the same coverage of media that other men,members of the community are getting.

She said that the media has objective coverage of women and for instance if the Prime Minister would claim that women are clogging drainage system with the sand they  use when they clean pots,the media would ask them to comment about that issue and not to comment the more important issues like the new constitutional draft.

Beatrice also said the media has to empower  women and not undermine the women like what they do when they are covering only women for loitering and prostitution but they do not also say who they are loitering for who happen to be men.

They also said that they are disapointed in the media and they are hoping that the media will change towards the benefit of the women.

Taking Over The Town

Taking over the town is the theme for this year's Shoko Festival and looking at what it is promising to be,it is the appropriate theme for the occasion. The first Shoko Festival was launched last year and it was history in the making because nothing like the festival had ever happened.Also looking at how the Festival came to be,we can see that the event was born from Community events and Spoken word poetry slams and also live music and hip hop events.
The community had been taken over,the street corners had been taken over and with the way the movement was and is  growing the Town was the next victim.I am perfectly sure that the next theme of the Festival is taking over the country and after that the continent.

Community Radio Festival

The Media institute of Southern Africa (MISA)Zimbabwe in collaboration with (ZACRAS) Zimbabwe  Association Of Community Radio Stations,hosted a Community Radio festival in honour of various broadcasting stations in the country recntly.
The theme was "A decade of waiting,Give the communities a voice". and the festival comes in a time when talk is about to free the airwaves.MISA programmes officer Koliwe Majama said the media institute is making a statement."We are making a political statement.At a time whereby commercial radio licences are being licensed community ones are being ignored.Some of these community radios have been in existence for more than ten years but they are not recognised.So this is only to question and address the awarding of the broadcasting licences,"she said.
Majama added  that the stations have come together to celebrate the accomplishments achieved so far by stations,despite being denied licenses opportunities."We brought out all the community radio stations in the country.There are about seven rural and twelve urban.They exhibited their works at the Media Centre.These radios have no proper listenership and we can only talk of listenership when they are licensed.They were pre-recorded programmes which communities would listen to in groups".she said.
Radio stations that participated include Radio FM,Corah,Kwelaz,Wezhira and others.A training workshop targeted at well-equiped community radios with existing relations with the public also took place.The training intends to ensure that the community  radio stations come up with business plans which will then ensure sustainability beyond the funding era.
The issue of freeing the airwaves has been a hot topic with many private players acccusing the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) of being biased towards state-affiliated players.In November last year there was a call for commercial radio licences and they were awarded to AB Communications' Zi Radio and Zimpapers'  Talk Radio now Star FM making them the first two commercial private radios.
BAZ had received 14 aplications from different players commercial radio licences.In March this year Vox Media productions,owners of Radio Voice of the People (Vop) re-applied for the license after being denied last year.The organisation was among four potential broadcasters that were called for interviews but did not succeed.
Vox Media has since approached the courts to challenge the BAZ decision.Ministry of media,Information and Publicity Webster Shamu has been under fire from some parliamentarians over several issues to do with broadcasting.
They accused him of personalising the ministry and stalling the issue of media reforms.