Zimbabwe-Cautious optomism.

Esther (not her real name), 29, a professional living and working in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, describes reaction to the unity government taking power.

Harare is much more upbeat - there is a lot of optimism about.

I’m not sure if it is directly because of the politics, or just because since the unity government took over there have been some price reductionsFor example meat (beef and pork) came down from US$5/kg to about US$3/kg.

I have also had a constant supply of water at my house for more than a week after going for months with an intermittent supply; and a friend who had had no power for six months because of a stolen transformer had electricity restored just last week.

Plus the city council has started collecting rubbish in our neighbourhood after months of not doing so.

Maybe workers everywhere are motivated to play their part; the defeatist attitude and the hopelessness seem to be gone.

And there was a great deal of excitement on the day Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister - crowds gathered at the stadium to cheer him.

In some circles Tsvangirai really spells economic recovery.

His promise to pay all civil servants in forex [foreign currency], was greeted with euphoria by many.

But others are wondering: "Where is he going to get all that money?"

Our civil service is quite large, so it’s a pertinent question.

On Wednesday, we learnt soldiers had been given $100 vouchers, redeemable against cash at their banks. People have been asking for a while now how people paid in our local currency are surviving.

MDC supporters have been protesting about Roy Bennett’s arrest

Nothing, but nothing, is sold for Zimbabwe dollars, or if it is the amount is so ridiculous that you are better off paying in foreign currency.

The other complication is that most vendors are refusing to accept the newly issued revalued currency notes. The central bank governor recently knocked off 12 zeros from the Zimbabwe dollar. But they want to trade in the previous currency, where the highest denomination is Z$50bn.

So a single bus trip on most local routes is theoretically payable in one of three ways:

US$0.50 or five South African rand

The revalued Z$3 - but the bus operator will refuse to accept it

Z$3tn - that’s 60 notes!

So it makes sense that if even bus fares require foreign currency that people be paid in foreign currency.

It is long overdue.

Birthday adverts

We first heard about Roy Bennett [Mr Tsvangirai’s nominee for deputy agriculture minister] "being kidnapped" last Friday.

One bash a year paid for out of my taxes is more than enough

That was very disheartening. The question on most people’s lips was, "How on earth can the unity government work if these abductions are still going on?"

It was only later, on the foreign news bulletins, that we learnt it was actually an arrest for treason.

Still the question begs - why?

The charges have since been revised, but the picture in most of our minds is of Mr Bennett eight months after his last jail term, wasted and gaunt, being tearfully embraced by his wife and children.

We would all hope he does not have to go through that again, simply because of the colour of his skin, and his political convictions.

Saturday is 21 February, President Robert Mugabe’s birthday.

That means there is a big bash lined up at state expense and the newspapers are full of full-page colour ads congratulating him and wishing him many happy returns.

Will the same be done for the PM’s birthday?

I hope not, one bash a year paid for out of my taxes is more than enough!