E-passports for Nigerians:SA freedom still a debate.

Nigeria is the most populous African country. It may also double up as the most troublesome. Nigerians have incredibly creative but dangerous minds.

What has troubled this globe that Nigerians are not involved? Virtually nothing. Email fraud, theft, corruption, drugs, hostages…Ooh!! May be terrorism.

With a population in the region of 115 million, such crimes never surprise for a nation that keeps world headlines fresh.

In the close weeks, in a bid to curb passport forgery, E-passports are to be introduced with some members of parliament taking the lead.

That means, the new E-passports will have chips with the holders data. Scratching the original picture will no longer help.

Nigerians have been peeling off the data page of the passports and substituting pictures of the genuine owners with fake ones.

While that may take long for a country with a population of 115 million and 470 languages, it’s an impressive thought to fight off fraud a continuous telling tale in Nigeria.

Policy introduced; but how fast will they be in replacements?

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Freedom might have returned to South Africa; However more freedom is still at stake not in the direction of race but same sex marriage.

July this year sent shocking waves to the gay community all over the world when three gay were brutally killed.
Last month, two lesbians in Soweto were attacked and shot dead, their bodies were found in a field.
Later in the month, the body of a naked lesbian in Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal was discovered in a field with multiple head wounds.

Last year, same-sex weddings were legalised in South Africa – the first country to do so in Africa, where homosexuality is often seen as taboo.

South Africa has one of the most advanced and progressive constitution anywhere in the world.

Despite the presence of laws that are favourable towards lesbians and gay men, discrimination remains common in South Africa and black lesbians endure the worst abuse.

In an effort to reverse the wrongs of apartheid, the constitution ensures that human rights, gender equality and gay and lesbian rights are all properly protected.

My question as an African is; Is gay marriage welcome in Africa despite the growing democracies African countries are developing into?

Zimbabwe Shelves Empty!

There is no bread, Butter, sugar, salt; Zimbabwe shelves are getting empty every single minute.

 While the political crisis is scaling to heights, back in the shops, politics has entered an ordinary mans survival ground; business. Shop owners no longer own their own shops. Zimbabwe’s government now takes charge of business as well.

July 3 is one of those days Businessmen and women in Zimbabwe will continue remembering as a day when Mugabe and his government threw up a policy to cut prices for goods` prices by half to cub the ever-rising inflation.

In the face of soaring hyperinflation, President Robert Mugabe’s government ordered a 50 percent cut in the prices of basic commodities. Defiance of the order was seen as a move to topple Mugabe and businesses have been raided and threatened with closure on Monday 2 July.

Two weeks down the road indeed, Zimbabweans want to topple the government after mildly but seriously resisting the Governments move. Many of their shops have been raided by government forces, looted and if lucky closed down.

Manufacturers hardly have outlets to sell their goods and production reducing vastly, a reason for the empty shelves because of a limited supply and a reluctant mood by the shop owners to stock their shops foreseeing economic fatalities.

The climate Zimbabwe is seated on now does not support anyone apart from Government addicts.

Literally courts are supposed to be independent from the state and that is history in the troubled Southern Africa country as courts now openly show sides.

On July 10, a renown Zimbabwe magistrate in Bulawayo openly warned “companies that the courts would impose jail terms for offenders and profiteers who could easily afford fines” while clearing the air on controversial slashing of prices.

Zimbabwean citizens do not have a cave to hide. While courts are supposed to instill justice, fairness and opportunities amongst residence of a given country, Zimbabwe courts now have their side well marked.

Robert Mugabe has gone ahead to accuse industry owners of trying to undermine his leadership boldly referring them to “snakes” who want to tarnish his name a head of next year’s election in which his party ZANU-F to stand cleared him threatening to nationalize businesses, which refuse to comply.

When Mugabe speaks loud, his juniors speak even louder. Robert Mugabe`s Co-Vice-President Joseph Msika never stops barking. “Their (business and industry) actions call for retaliation. We will uproot this rot within us, and if they don’t agree they should close shops, or we will do it for them and take over their businesses,” Msika told irinnews.

By July 10, private slaughterhouses in Bulawayo and Harare were taken over by the government after continuously defying orders to slashing prices of beef.

Announcing the cancellation of licences July10, Industry Minister Obert Mpofu said the government controlled Cold Storage Company (CSC), was the only abattoir granted sole responsibility to slaughter livestock in Zimbabwe.

The one man who has faced all the oppression, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai hardly has words for the ever-improving dictatorship in Zimbabwe.

“When your prices are going up 10 times in one month, as happened in June; when basics are no longer on the shelves because of the Government trying to force prices by half so that business people can no longer make any profit; in a situation like that, people can no longer live, and even his own soldiers can’t live, his own police… can no longer live,” Morgan told ABC.

As the policy stands today, more than 1 500 businesses have been charged and fined over the previous two and half weeks for defying orders to slash prices in half or for hoarding goods.

Inflation in Zimbabwe is pegged at nearly 5000 percent, the highest in the world outside a war zone, and is expected top raise to 10 000 by year’s end. Shops are headed for more crises with an average Zimbabwean set to hold all the burdens.

With the already inflated currency, it’s a misfortune that they can no longer carry these bags of cash to buy necessities for themselves.

Robert Mugabe will continue eating the best foods, he will continue having sleep full nights, Robert Mugabe will not be pinched by his own policies, and the average Zimbabweans are headed for starvation because Zimbabwean shops are deserted.

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