Sir Nigel's Journey…

Come to the Harare Food, Wine and Home Expo at Borrowdale Park Racecourse along Borrowdale Road on Friday 11^th November to Sunday 13^th November 2011 for a fun weekend event.

• Food and wine tasting, exclusive home decor, pub, DJs, bands
• Children’s playground with water slides, jumping castles, games
• Fashion shows by Ruffcuts Wear Marco Machona
• Body Active Gym demos in Zumba, Tae Bo and karate
• Demos by the celebrity chef who trained Jaime Oliver
• American Motors car exhibitions including Fiat and Kia

Don’t miss Harare’s ultimate summer fair!

DATE: Friday 11 November to Sunday 13 November 2011
VENUE: Borrowdale Park Racecourse (opposite Celebration Centre and Dandaro)
TIME: 10 am to 7pm Daily
TICKETS: $5 Adults and $2 children under 16
(Entrance is free between 10 and 11am on the first day)

Tickets are available at Body Active Gym – Borrowdale Race Course Harare.
For stands please contact Debbie Peters on email dnpeters_1999 [at]yahoo.com

A publisher I work closely with in South Africa is URGENTLY looking for Shona and Ndebele writers. Please contact me for more details using my email: sirnigelsjourney [at] yahoo [dot] com.

It’s official!! I am now obsessed with Zambia more so now post elections. I firmly believe our beloved Zimbabwe could learn a thing or two from their recent experiences. Once again, why go so far away to learn from our distant cousins across the oceans when we can learn from our brothers and sisters just across the border? 

I spoke to various people when the final Zambian Election result was announced. Some of those same people conveyed their fears especially because of Michael Sata and his ‘fondness’ for Mugabe. As if Sata had overheard our conversation, he threw a curve ball and announced Dr Guy Scott as his Vice President. By the way, in case you didn’t know – Dr Scott is white. Those same people are now wondering who this Dr Guy Scott chap is. Here’s some information on Dr Scott right here and here.

Finally here’s President Michael Sata Inauguration Speech

Aluta continua…

The Hatfield Action Plan Launch will be taking place this Thursday (29 September 2011) at the Hatfield Hall Basketball Courts.

Zambia voted last week and the people’s voices were heard loud and clear. They have since elected a new leader, the fourth president – Michael Sata. I will blog about him in the near future as I discover more about this man. His thoughts especially those linked to our beloved Zimbabwe continue to intrigue not only me but others as well.

I have often stated that Zimbabweans shouldn’t have to go too far to learn these kinds of lessons. This time, we can learn from our brothers and sisters across the border.

Below is a copy of Rupiah Banda’s farewell speech delivered on the 23^rd September 2011: -

Farewell speech by his Excellency, Mr. Rupiah Bwezani Banda, fourth president of the republic of Zambia, on Friday, 23rd September, 2011

“I have called this press conference to say a few words. The election campaign of 2011 is over. The people of Zambia have spoken and we must all listen. Some will be happy with what they have heard, others will not.

The time now is for maturity, for composure and for compassion. To the victors, I say this: you have the right to celebrate but do so with a magnanimous heart. Enjoy the hour but remember that a term of government is for years.

Remember that the next election will judge you also. Treat those who you have vanquished with the respect and humility that you would expect in your own hour of defeat.

I know that all Zambians will expect such behaviour and I hope it will be delivered. Speaking for myself and my party, we will accept the results. We are a democratic party and we know no other way.

It is not for us to deny the Zambian people. We never rigged, we never cheated, we never knowingly abused state funds. We simply did what we thought was best for Zambia. I hope the next government will act likewise in years to come.

Zambia deserves a decent democratic process. Indeed, Zambia must build on her past victories. Our independence was hard won, our democracy secured with blood.

Zambia must not go backwards, we must all face the future and go forward as one nation. Not to do so would dishonour our history.

To my party, to the MMD candidates who did not win, the lesson is simple. Next time we must try harder. We fought a good campaign. It was disciplined. I still believe we had a good message and we reached every part of the country.

We travelled to all nine provinces and we spoke to all Zambians. To those who worked every hour of the day, I say ‘thank you’. You have done your best. But, sadly, sometimes our best is not good enough.

Do not be disheartened. The MMD will be back. We must all face the reality that sometimes it is time for change. Since 1991, the MMD has been in power. I believe we have done a good job on behalf of all Zambians.

Frederick chiluba led us to a genuine multi-party state and introduced the private sector to our key industries. Zambia was liberated by an MMD ideal but maybe we became complacent with our ideals. Maybe we did not listen, maybe we did not hear.

Did we become grey and lacking in ideas? Did we lose momentum? Our duty now is to go away and reflect on any mistakes we may have made and learn from them. If we do not, we do not deserve to contest power again.

The Zambia we know today was built by an MMD government. We know our place in history and we know that we can come back to lead again in the future. A new leadership will be chosen, and that leadership will be from the younger generation.

My generation… the generation of the independence struggle– must now give way to new ideas; ideas for the 21st century. From this defeat, a new, younger MMD will be re-born. If I can serve that re-building, then I will.

I must thank my cabinet for delivering on our promises. We did a lot of good for Zambia. Many of our projects will blossom into bright flowers. Some of you will be back to serve Zambia again – I know you will do your best for your party and for your country.

To the civil servants and government officials, it has been a privilege to serve with you. We have worked many long hours together. We did it not for ourselves but for Zambia. Serve your next masters as you did me, and Zambia will be in good hands.

I must thank my family and my wife. They have stood by me and I cannot ask for more loyalty than that which they have displayed. I love you all dearly and I will always be in your debt.

Being president is hard work, it takes long hours of work. And because of it, I have not always been there for you. Yet, still you were there for me.

Words cannot express the depth of my love for you all. All I ask is that my family continues to serve Zambia as I have sought to do.

But my greatest thanks must go to the Zambian people. We may be a small country on the middle of Africa but we are a great nation. Serving you has been a pleasure and an honour. I wish I could have done more, I wish I had more time to give.

Our potential is great. Our resources are impressive. I urge you all now to rally behind your new president. Yes, we may have different ideas but we both want the same thing – a better Zambia.

Now is not the time for violence and retribution. Now is the time to unite and build tomorrow’s Zambia together. Only by working together can we achieve a more prosperous Zambia.

In my years of retirement, I hope to watch Zambia grow. I genuinely want Zambia to flourish. We should all want Zambia to flourish. So, I congratulate Michael Sata on his victory.

I have no ill feeling in my heart, there is no malice in my words. I wish him well in his years as president. I pray his policies will bear fruit.

But now it is time for me to step aside. Now is the time for a new leader. My time is done. It is time for me to say ‘good bye’.

May god watch over the Zambian people and may he bless our beautiful nation.

I thank you.”

Source: - http://www.mmdzam.org/

I met Acie Lumumba yesterday over a cup of coffee at a local cafe. I had previously been in touch with him via email but this was our first face-to-face meeting. I was impressed with what he had to say and his future plans.

There’s an important event that he’s organised in his neighbourhood – Hatfield. I will most definitely be attending this event and encourage others to do so as well.I’ve been using this phrase lately ‘as a nation I feel that it’s time that we had a conversation’. This event is one of the ways of achieving just that.

For more details please click here: – Hatfield poster and invite , Parents Newsletter and am

Interesting video: -

Please click here – TEDxHarare 2011 Programme for the details.

I was fortunate enough to get tickets to attend the very first BarCamp in Harare Zimbabwe. I wasn’t disappointed in fact, quite the opposite. There were many people from various backgrounds including students, ICT entrepreneurs, media and even bloggers like little me. The main focus on the day was of course the Startup Challenge. I wasn’t involved although I must admit that I do have a project that I am working on that could easily qualify for the competition. I was particularly intrigued by fellow ICT enthusiasts who spoke about changing and adding value to the sector in their own respective way. I also witnessed a variety of Zimbabweans – White, Indian, Mixed Race and Blacks ‘vibing in the same room’ whilst contributing and sharing their various thoughts and ideas on the industry. Call me the nostalgic blogger but I couldn’t help but smile from within that day. Here we were a bunch of us Zimbabweans trying to make a difference in our own way. Yet another example that things can and do work without any political influence or intervention. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, not everything in Zimbabwe is politically related and BarCampZim was yet again a very good example of this.

What did I get out of the day?

I learnt that I wasn’t the only one with a Zimbabwean based ICT related project. I learnt that there are many people working hard in their homes and businesses on some project with the potential to change the industry in Zimbabwe and beyond in some way. To say I was inspired is a massive understatement.  Every time I go to South Africa or pass through Nairobi enroute to some other destination, I can’t help but think about the ‘potential’ that Zimbabwe has within the region. It’s massive! With a well educated and entrepreneurial minded population I see a bright future ahead of us. If we could just make and follow through with the ‘necessary investment’ in the various areas, I predict that Zimbabwe could challenge the likes of Kenya and also become a massive Tech Hub on the continent.

Some Keys Points: -

A few people raised some issues about Econet and their lack of support for the ‘small guy’ within the industry. In fact people weren’t happy at all with their conduct especially those who had approached them to collaborate on a specific project. At this junction, I stood up and spoke about Econet and my thoughts on their interaction with the various parties. It has been noted via several media sources recently that Econet is not or rather has ‘forgotten its roots’. Sadly this is not the first time I’ve heard this. I pointed out that tackling a company that supposedly deposits several millions of dollars per day and has almost 6 million subscribers was ‘probably not the wisest thing to do’. Instead disgruntled stakeholders should focus on the current ICT laws and tackle this issue from that angle.

What do I mean by ‘necessary investment’?

I’ll touch on a 2 key points here: -

• It has been widely noted that certain reforms are necessary to ensure that there is a level playing field in the ICT sector. We need a more open and fair system that ensures that the small guy with a brilliant idea is protected against the big guys with big lawyers and that seemingly endless bank account. Essentially we need more up-to-date and relevant laws in general. For example we require immediate focus on issues like intellectual property and so forth
• We desperately require institutions that financially support the various entrepreneurs we have in Zimbabwe and believe me – we have many! I stumbled across an example of the financial support I’m referring to this a few months ago – www.matambaanonaka.com. Recently I went back to my trusted Twitter account and asked whether we had other angel investors in Zimbabwe. I didn’t get many responses to this question but I know that we need more angel investors if we are to move forward in any meaningful way. 

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the manner in which BarCampZim was organised – congratulations to the organisers!! I met some of the interesting characters from Twitter and I have every confidence that there will be more BarCamps in Zimbabwe. I look forward to a time when I shift my busy schedule to attend similar events in Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare and even Chinhoyi. Till then…

 Aluta Continua