Dear Family and Friends,
After weeks of peculiarly warm weather which wasn't winter but wasn't summer, people had begun commenting that even the trees were confused! A large, old Msasa tree standing alone on an urban street corner suddenly dropped all its leaves and produced a glorious canopy of new red leaves. It's a good six weeks too early and the precious new growth is exposed to a winter which has now finally arrived. In one freezing night a bitter wind bought our belated winter. For the first time ever in my memory the water in my birdbath turned to ice overnight and didn't thaw until mid morning. A cold wind, drizzle, mist and grey skies are now the order of our highveld winter days. In this atmosphere a cruel and heartless act was undertaken in my home town.

The word being used on the street in my neighbourhood is "Murambatsvina." People were comparing the cruelty of events this week to the government's massive human evictions of mid winter 2005.

ZESA, the government controlled electricity supply company went door to door and disconnected people's electricity. Working in pairs, they walked through residential neighbourhoods and house by house they switched people off. In the road where I live, 90% of homes were disconnected on a freezing July afternoon. The picture was repeated across town. Families with babies in the house were not spared; homes with sick and disabled occupants were switched off; homes with elderly people in their 90's were disconnected. There was no mercy or compassion, no compromise or humanity - just like it had been in Operation Murambatsvina.

Worst affected were civil servants who earn just 100 US dollars a month. Not even these dedicated professionals who could be earning ten times their wage if they left the country were spared. Their patriotism was punished with the flick of a switch

Since February most civil servants have been paying 10 or 20 US dollars a month to ZESA for their electricity. This is all, if not more than they can afford on a salary of 100 dollars, it is 10 or 20% of their wage. Zesa say it's not enough and are demanding massive and backdated amounts ranging from 250 to 500 US dollars for small residential homes.

The reality of the disconnections is very cruel. Teachers at work all day educating our children are coming home an hour before dark and having to light fires outside to cook on, to heat water for bathing and washing and then have to sit and mark books by candle light.

Four months into our supposedly new and improved Zimbabwe the sound of wood chopping fills the air, smoke constantly rises and women stream out of the bush with mounds of newly cut Msasa branches balanced on their heads. Shame on you ZESA!
Until next week, thanks for reading.