Ubunthu

This great African philosophy which places people above all else is under threat of becoming obsolete.

Ubunthu

Most of the popular social media platforms are abound with stories of people being mugged,burned by our brothers in the Republic of South Africa, because they are perceived to be "foreign".The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the plight of the foreigners in the diaspora but of aparticular concern is the discourse coming out of South Africa.The amount of hate and intolerance is in sharp contrast to the ideals and the cooperation which existed beteween the founding fathers of the liberation struggles in the Sadc region as well as Africa in general.Iam sure the revered Nelson Mandela must be turning in his grave at the utter vetriol coming out of some misguided South Africans.

Zimbabweans,Nigertians and other foreigners living in South African are living in constant fear of reprisals and unjustified scapegoating.Although most of these "foreigners" have actually justified their positions in the firms which have hired them they are still accused of having stollen the jobs from deserving South Africans.Most of the people mourning and threatening unspecified actioins against these black brothers conviently forget that Africa is our home and the bounderies which exist now are as a result of the colonizers.Most of the bounderies actually force a lot of tribes,kith and kin apart,which renders them rediculous.

History books are full of tales of people who came from their countries of origin to settle and work in foreign lands and their adopted countries actual benefitted emensily from their contributions,so instead of complaining about people coming to take "their" jobs ,these blocks just need to wake up and compete for their place in the sun.PEACE

"Majega" Given A New Lease On Life

The deteriorating economic situation in the country has given a new lease of life for the beleagued "Mageja".These are the men who drive hand carts to carry all sorts of goods for a fee.

"Majega" at work

These gentlemen have been maligned for the longest time for taking part in menial jobs which a "right"thinking person would not touch with a long pole.The high cost of transportation as a result of the exploding inflation rate has forced a lot of the people to review how they interact with the cart-drivers.They are ever present in most of the high density surburbs of Zimbabwe and help people move their goods from point A to point B.The fact that their fares are much more reasonably priced makes them more attractive to the general public.

A typical day for them starts as early as five in the morning and will end when it is too dark to see.By far the biggest need for these gentlemen nowadays is the carting of water from homes where the owners are fortunate to own borehole to those who donot have that privilege.After paying for the water ,this is normally charged per bucket,the cartdrivers then charge their transport costs per bucket as well.The more established ones have a client base which ensures that they have business on a daily basis.All told this makes for a very tidy sum of money and these gentlemen have been known to take care of their families quite well.Given the fact that ours is a country where job opportunities are scarce,these gentlemen have shown quite an entrepreunal spirit and with the right kind of backup they very likely can start a well oiled transport business since there is a dire need for water in most of our urban communities.

The economic downturn is certainly working for them.

The Power Of Gratitude P4

The tail-end of 2019 will be remembered for the devastating pandemic that came out of Wuhan , China.

The Coronavirus

The predictions that most Third World countries would have people dead or dying in the streets and no one to help them.The fact that this has not come to pass and my country has escaped relatively unscathed is the reason for the gratitude and optimism.My country has been in the news for the wrong reasons of late;a runaway inflation that is fast approaching the 1000% and as a result a food basket that has become unreachable for most of the vulnerable members of society,a health sector that is in the intensive care unit ,very low moral and remuneration in the public sector ,food insecurity ,political instability.All the above make very depressing reading.But the country has largely been spared from the Covid-19 pandemic and for that we are most grateful.

By and large the biggest chunk of people who are testing positive to the virus thus far have been returnees from the diaspora with very few local infections and transmission. Maybe we are benefiting from the early lock-down

that was introduced by the government.Whatever the case might be, the situation bodes well for a country which does not have enough resources to buy essential drugs and keep staff interested in their jobs.

We keep hoping and praying that the good fortune that we have experienced continues and it spreads to other sectors of the economy.

How Not To Run A Business 1

I have had the misfortune of working under three bosses who had the worst work ethic imaginable.
This is not a case of PHD(Pull Him Down) syndrome.The first case was in 1996, when a colleague started a company which was contracted to a service provider contracted by Econet Wirelwess to solicit for customers to join the nascent network.It had not yet gone live since its case was before the courts of law.We were a lean operation - a start-up but what we lacked in resources  was made up with seer enthusiasm and hard work,until the money started to roll in .

How Not To Run A Run A Business

Immediately after Econet Wireless was granted a license,the head honcho started showing his true colours.He would leave just before lunch and would phone to give instructions for me to lock up ,he would  come the following morning around nine ,with bloodshot eyes,regaling us of his escapades of the night before.We continued to work hard that within a few weeks he had bought himself a second hand Mercedes- Benz sedan.Afterwards, he became scarier as he would always be out chasing one deal after the other. It got to the extend that he would make excuses for not paying salaries whilst he lived it up every night with his buddies.

When a deal to supply one of the service providers with leather pouches for mobile phones fell into my lap, I grabbed it with both hands and supplied them.He later discovered what had gone down and was furious.

There and then there was a parting of ways and I gladly continued to service the clients I had found earlier whilst I worked for him.If he had treated me decently I would not have acted like that.

Innocent Victims Of The Economic Meltdown

Recently I have had  conversations  with two young girls who have been rendered "orphans" because of the debilitating economic meltdown which  Zimbabwe has been  experiencing for the past decade or more.

Innocent Victims Of The Economic Meltdown

The first is a sixteen year old girl who is studying towards her Ordinary Level examinations in October this year.I discovered that her mother passed away when she was three months old and her father ended up going to the Republic of South Africa to seek greener pastures.She was left in her father's older brother and his wife to care for her.The painful part of the story is the fact that she has not had the pleasure of knowing her father at all since she became aware of her paternity.For a girl child this can be very painful since girl children normally form very close bonds with their fathers.She went on to disclose the fact that she was told that her father had remarried. Whilst her Uncle had tried to reach out to his younger brother so that he could take responsibility for his daughter, the phone always goes unanswered.At the time of writing she still has not heard from her father.The saving grace is the fact that the Uncle is doing a splendid job of raising her.

The other case is a thirteen year old girl who has just started her secondary education and she broke down in the clasroom.After calming her down and asking her what the problem was ,she intimated that she missed her mother.She said that her mother was  had gone to RSA four years ago and has never come back nor has she called. The mother has not bothered to check on  about her welfare  at all.At the moment she is being looked after by her father's sister.The father is a subsistence farmer more than two hundred kilometres away.In someways this girl seems to feel that she has been abandoned twice.

Whilst I understand that things are difficult here but please lets try and be responsible for the lives we created.

There Is A Need To Retrain Our Bus Drivers

The stories of the horror crash that claimed more than FIFTY LIVES just outside the town of Rusape haunts me.The fact that the images of the victims of the crashed were posted on social media before their next of kin had been notified shows just how destructive a smart phone can be in the hands of someone who does not have any qualms.

There Is A Need To Retrain Our Bus Drivers

But what really irks me is the fact that the accident could have been avoided if the diver of the  bus had practiced caution and observed the rules of the road.Reports point to the fact that he caused the accident by overtaking on a spot where there was a solid line in the road indicating that there the road aheads was not clear enough for him to make the decision to overtake.Just a few more minutes ,if this driver had been patient enough to hold his horses all the passengers who perished in the crash could have been been saved.

The fifty victims were parents,fathers,mothers,brothers,sister,aunts,uncles,daughters,sons of someone and the loss is going to be felt for years to come.Often we have seen drivers who behave as if the roads are their personal property and the other road users need to accede them way whenever they see bus or combi drivers approaching.Many a time slower road users are verbally abused for driving slowly or obstructing bus drivers from overtaking and speeding along to their destinations. Such impunity needs to be checked and the future loss of other passengers avoided.The once was a time when the traffic police would waylay vehicles which were speeding and the speedsters were stopped and fined on the spot.One wonders what happened to all the expensive equipment that was used by the police.The is hardly any traffic police officers on the roads nowadays.

The other thing that needs to be fixed is the way in which drivers are taught.Most of the time they are simply taught how to navigate the vehicles into the drums and very little regard is paid to road safety ,In believe this should be the emphasis when one goes for driver training because a vehicle is a wrecking ball in the hands of an incompetent driver.

Bus drivers as well as drivers of commuter omnibuses need to be retrained with the safety of other road users being stressed.Most of the times when there are traffic obstructions these are the drivers who will create extra traffic lanes and threaten the lives of other road users with their selfish behavior.It has now become an unwritten law that one has to give way to any commuter omnibus whenever you see it approaching failure to do so means one does at their own risk.

Prothet Magaya's AIDS Cure Claim

While preaching to his congregation at his church on Sunday ,it is reported that Prothet Magaya claimed to have found a cure for the dreaded AIDS and Cancer.

Prothet Magaya's AIDS Cure Claim

Social media inevitably blew up on Monday after these claims became public knowledge .Quite a few people were excited at the fact that a fellow Zimbabwean had made such a great medical break-through.Very few questioned how genuine the claims were or how  feasible this was.The most worrisome thing was the fact that no clinical trials had been conducted for this wonder herb known as Aguma.Even though the enigmatic prophet did not divulge where the drug had been registered or not most people defended him and praised him for saving the lives of many people who are HIV positive.I do not know whether it is because web are gullible as a nation or the fact over 1,2 million people are on ARV(antiretroviral viral) treatment. But surely such claims are not back3ede by some scientific data to buttress the claims that are being made the harm that these are going to have on the care and treatment of people who are positive and are already on ARVS is going to be profound. For starters some might switch to this “wonder “ drug and end up defaulting on treat with devastating consequences for their health.

Now ,there are indications that even though the Ministry of Health has not yet licensed the herb,it is already being sold for $1000.According to the Secretary for the Ministry Gerald Gwinji ,the government would find it difficult to license the alleged new cure.He claims that Magaya did not follow due process when he unveiled his Aguma herb.

“We do not want to quash any new discoveries or innovations ,but they have to go through the right processes so that issues of safety are assured,”Gwinji said.

“We WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT to license it ,and it will be difficult to authorize it to be sold at pharmacies until these issues are resolved ,and we are only doing our regulatory role in the pharmaceutical industry.”

It is therefore to say that people should not risk their health over this claim as the primary aim might have been to fleece cash from the long suffering people of Zimbabwe.

These Are The Best Of Times

Charles Dickens in his book A TALE OF TWO CITIES WRITES ,”it was the best of times ,it was the worst of times..”In the Zimbabwean scenario this seems to be a very apt description.

First Tesla Ever To Be Imported Into Zimbabwe

It definitely seems like the best of times to the people who have access to external funds and possess the coveted US  dollar,they certainly are enjoying the deteriorating economic situation where thye surrogate Bond note has been in free fall against the Us dollar.By all accounts fortunes are being made on the parallel market where huge among are changing hands at the drop of a hat and the money changers are laughing all the way to their house safes. Since they crash of the bond note ,most of those with ready cash have been on spending sprees with reports that imports of vehicles have been on an all-time high. There are reports that one one even had the cash to buy and import a Tesla,which is probably the first of its kind in Zimbabwe.The shopselves have been stripped of all the basic essentials as peo[ple stock up fearful of a further crash of the bond note which will render it useless.In most of thye peoples minds this is a precursor of the crash of  2008,when Zimbabwe suffered from hyper inflection and most shops did not have anything to sell.

For most of the long suffering citizenry ,who suffer from unemployment which hovers in the 80% ,the times are the worst of a very bad situation.No sooner had the country gotten rid of the despot Mugabe and fresh hope wafted through the land than 7 of their fellowmen fell at the hands  of the security forces that were supposed to protect them.Now the crash of the bond note against the US dollar has triggered panic among the people as they watch in horror as cooking oil and sugar disappear overnight from supermarkets and the the bond note becomes almost useless since most of the businesses do not want to accept the note.Prices are pegged against the US dollar which is in very short supply and long winding queues of people waiting for a chance to buy bread or fuel become a permanent feature of the body politic in our beautiful land.For most motorists sleeping in the queue for a chance to buy some fuel is now the norm.The public transporters have also jumped on the band wagon and have hiked the fares.Noone  can really blame them as the prices of fuel have gone up twice in the past week alone.

Fortunately sanity seems to be returning as the government authorities have announced that imports on all the basic commodities which are in short supply have been lifted and companies and individuals with spare cash can import these immediately. Maybe the times will change for the better for both those who have the means as well as those who are not so well off.

What I Learnt From Matebese

Around the year 2000,I used to make monthly excursions to Johannesburg to buy goods which I would resale in Maseru,Lesotho.During these trips which I undertook once a month, I would bump into a slightly built ,brash Youngman who was later to learn was called Matebese.

What I Learnt From Matebese

He would travel to joburg to buy socks ,yes socks ,which he would resale in Maseru.This happened over a number of years and around the year 2005 ,He had a big shop known as Durban-Maseru.He no longer go his stuff f from Joburg but from much nearer Durban were the goods were much cheaper .He had grown to the extend that he was the proud owner of some enclosed vans which would ply the Maseru –Durban route and bring back the precious .cargo for his shops.

What was interesting about the Youngman was the fact that he had only gone to school up to grade 4.By the 2010,He had married, constructed a beautiful home in Hamatala and had ten two roomed block of flats near the National University of Lesotho which he would rent out to students and it was common knowledge at the time that he was collecting ten thousand Maluti from these investment .Due to the fact that the rentals  are going  up regularly, the this must be bringing him in  quite a tidy sum of money.

I have read somewhere that that one should not have one income stream, the exploits of this Youngman seems to be the one of the practical ways in which one can ensure that he has a diversified investment portfolio was unfortunately unable to engage him in a conversation as to what other  investments he had,but judging from the little formal education he had had this man certainly has plenty of street smarts.

The biggest tragedy for our Continent is the fact that most educated people are happier getting employment and earning a salary instead of creating employment and employing other preople.Could the cause be the Eduaction syllabi that is employed or is it a dearth of daring entreprenuership among the citizens of Africa   

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

During the past week I was in my rural home carrying out running repairs to the homestead and I met with one of my younger brother who has made a name for himself in the nearby town of Nyazura

A Rolling STONE Gathers No Moss

Fortunately,by the weekend I had had enough of the building operations I was carrying out on the the main house,I just needed a break from it all.I gave my brother a call to confirm that he was at home ,prepared and hit the road. I managed to bump into him as he was driving to the main supermarket  where he was going to look for bread.We then proceeded to his plot and after a sumptuous breakfast prepared by his wife ,we swapped stories .I told them that I had heard a lot of  nice things mentioned about how they used to supply quite a bit of the chickens in Bulawayo and asked why they had just left abruptly, my younger brother chuckled and regaled me with some of their exploits in the city of kings but told me that they had not left of their own volition as they used to rent a full house from one pensioner in Bulawayo.He told me that they used to keep about a 1000 broilers chickens in cages at this rented accommodation and whenever the land lord came to get his rent he would increase the rent until he told them that he wanted to be part of the business.

As soon as he left they slaughtered all the chickens which were in the cages and sold off all the day old chicks that they had bought, packed only those essentials they could not do without and the rest sold at a garage sale at depressed prices .They then put most of the other stuff on a courier and then packed their blankets into their land rover ,asked a mechanic friend of theirs to accompany them on the 400 kilometer plus journey to their plot in Nyazura ,which fortunately they had bought but never developed.He told that there was no infrustracture at all and the mechanic friend asked where they were going to live and they told him in the vehicle. While they cleared out the place where they planned to later build their house they would sleep in the land rover and wake up at 4 am and fold and put their blankets away so that when visitors came they would not be embarrassed was made to understand at this time very few people would visit them.Now they have  built a beautiful brick under thatch house which is has ceramic tiles throughout. They had to trade their Land rover for bags of cement and other building materials and a $1000 in cash.That was the money which funded their first crops. The  inspiration part of their story is the fact that they are both professionals who quit their jobs at the height of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation and they decided to work for themselves.The bricks which they used to build the house, they molded the two of them, they started a vegetable garden and planted maize and beans and after two seasons were able to start rearing boiler chickens again.As I WRITE they are the proud owners of their plot ,a completely built electrified house with a borehole ,over 1000 chickens at various stages of growth,17 goats and more than 20 sheep.

I later told them of my own problems with land lords in Lesotho, when I started a school and the owners of these vacant school buildings would offer them to me ,little did I know that all they wanted was for me to revive the schools and the they would come in and squeeze med out after a year of operations. One of the biggest takeaways was the fact that one cannot start an enterprise on a rented premise and not expect trouble from envious owner.

Better Keep Your Dollars Under The Pillow

Better Keep Your Dollars Under The Pillow

by Albert Ndambambi

Let's talk about the ride we are being taken on by our leaders. We were asked to open FCA Nostro accounts by the RBZ. As a law abiding and progressive thinking Zimbabwean, I obliged and opened mine with CBZ. I deposited a sizable amount of cash into this account over the past fortnight. I did this with confidence in the new administration and also with the thinking yekuti surely our government won't take us for a ride for the third time. The tellers were smiling and encouraging. Ndakabva ndaita manyemwe. Ndikati haaa ndiyo new dispensation ka iyi.

😩😩BOY WAS I WRONG😩😩

Yesterday I then decided to make a small TT payment to a colleague in the US. Here is what I was told;

"...you will need to complete a telegraphic transfer form and invoice being paid for. If there is no invoice and you are paying for services provided you need to provide copy of contract or agreement contract or agreement which should have been registered with rbz. If it is a loan repayment you also need to have the copy agreement and loan should have been registered with rbz. As for TTs to other personal accounts, this option is currently not available as per central bank exchange control regulations in place....."

😳 You can wonder what sort of anger and disdain I felt. I deposited my cash in good faith. Personal money they had no idea I had, in the spirit of supporting government initiatives. I was MAAAAD.

Little did I know, this was just the tip of an iceberg. I then asked to make a small withdrawal of usd$2 000.00. The teller went in, consulted and came back telling me, "...Sir you can only withdraw a thousand a day...." WHAAAAAT?

Be that as it was, I obliged and withdrew $1000 which was not enough for my needs anyway but I just accepted. Rules are rules.

Now here comes the juicy part, today I went back to withdraw the balance of the $2 000, which was $1 000. I was told, "....we do not have cash at the moment....leave your withdrawal slip and we will call you when cash is ready." I did, and sure enough 2pm a call came through alerting me of the availability of the cash. My P.A went to pick it and guess what, those notes in the picture were what she got. Ma dollar here vakomana? Ko yangu yakaendepi? I deposited proper clean notes.

Here's what I think. This shit of NOSTRO this NOSTRO that won't work. People deposit money in the bank with the trust that any time they want it they can get it and also with the belief that it's safe in there. Now, according to my experience, if you deposit your cash into the bank, 1) you won't have access to it anytime you want and 2) your pilllow is much safer than a bank.

My word to GOVT,WE DO NOT TRUST YOU.The only way you can gain our trust is by being fair and right.If I deposit cash,let me get it whenever I want.

Corruption Self-examination

By Muranda

This is a corruption checklist I came across from one of member of a motivational group I belong to I and I believe it’s too important not to share it.

Corruption Self-examination

_If you usually put more sugar in your tea when in a hotel than you do at home; then ,you are likely to be corrupt!

_If you use more tissue paper in a public washroom than you do at home; then, you are a potential thief if given opportunity!

_If you serve yourself more food than you can finish just because someone else is footing the bill;then,you are a greedy person!

_If you usually jump queues; then,you have the potential for abusing office if given a powerful position!

_If you are more concerned about knowing someone’s surname rather than rather first name ;then,you are likely to be a tribal bigot.It is even worse when someone tells you their name and you ask “which tribe is that ?”

_If you usually overlap while in a traffic jam or have no regard for traffic lights ;then, you would easily embezzle public funds if you are given a position at a public office since you hate regulation!

_If you look at this post and wonder whether it was really necessary to talk about these issues ;then, you are very dishonest and you would easily cover up ills society for your own benefit!

Lets us try to be people of character and integrity wherever we find ourselves!

Zimbabweans Are Their Worst Enemy

The past weekend has witnessed the Harare rumor mill in overdrive. This drove the masses to panic and go on a panic buying spree.

Zimbabweans Queing For Bread

Some business fundi’s claim this was a result of the statement that was issued by the newly appointed Minister of Finance to the effect that all business transaction conducted electronically would attract a 2 cent per dollar change as way of broadening the tax base due to the fact that most people in Zimbabwe are now unemployed and conduct business on the informal market which largely remains unregistered and therefore very little tax goes to the fiscus.

Writing about the Witwatersrand panics,Charles van Onselen suggested that they typically played out within periods marked by recession and political uncertainty and industrial action.

With a reported 80% unemployment rate and a thriving black market ,little wonder then there is this “feeding frenzy” as echoes of the debilitating food shortages are still fresh in peoples minds.The surrogate bond note which is supposed to be at 1 to 1 with the USA dollar has been in free fall since the 2018 elections.

I went to one major supermarket in the suburb where I live and was pleasantly surprised to see most of the basic supplies in abundance ,whilst waiting in the queue to pass I noticed that sugar which had been sold out was being unloaded and people were free to get as many as they wanted.

Which begs the question ,who is fooling who.As for me I  am not going to run with the herd.I will keep my own counsel and buy what I NEED when I want and not be sucked into this wild goose chase.I refuse to be a pawn in the black marketeers sick game.i will survive a few days without sugar or cooking oil which are the most sort after items.

Charity Wrapped With Dignity

She asked him,”How much are you selling the eggs for?”

By Tilaz

Charity Wrapped With Dignity

The older seller replied,”$,25 an egg,Madam.”

She said to him,”I will take 6 eggs for $1,25 or I will leave.”

The old seller replied,Come take them at the price you want .Maybe, this is a good beginning because I have not been able to sell even a single egg today.”

She took the eggs and walked away feeling she has won. She got into her fancy car and went to the posh restaurant with her friend. There, she and her friend ordered whatever they liked.They ate a little and left a lot of what they ordered.Then she went to pay the bill. The bill was $45.00.She handed over $50.00 and asked the owner of the restaurant to keep the change.

This incident might have seemed quite normal to the owner but, very painful to the egg seller.

The point is ;

Why do we always show e have the power when we buy from the needy ones? And why do we get generous to those who do not even need our generosity?

Someone once wrote;

“My father used to buy simple goods from poor people at high prices, even used to pay extra for them.I got concerned by this act and asked him why he did this ?

My father replied, “It is a charity wrapped with dignity, my child.”

A form of paying it forward I guess.Which category are you?

Inept Man Utd Fail Again

United who have now gone for four games without any wins in all competitions following the Champions league draw against Valencia are a pail shadow of the side they were during Feggies reign.

Inept Man Utd Fail Again

After exiting the EPL Cup to lowly Derby County and the 3-1 loss to West Ham in the Premier League,Mourinho’s lads produced another impotent show in their second European game of the season.

Both teams could only manage five attempts at the goal over the 90 + minutes,a very weak display for a side which was boosted by the inclusion of Sanchez who did not participate during the weekend.

This leaves United second in the group,two points behind Juventus and only three above Valencia.This latest failure will not do much to improve the angst felt by their suopporters worldwide.

One of Man U’s legends Scholes has slammed Mou,saying the gaffa is ‘embarrassing the club’.

Aside from the club’s struggles on the field, Mourinho has made plenty of headlines for ongoing feuds with his charges,one with a certain Paul Pogba comes to mind, and the club bosses.

There are suggestions of a full scale team mutiny ,such is the state of affairs at Old Trafford currently.

“I’m actually slightly surprised that he survived after Saturday,the performance was that bad,”Scholes told BT Sport.

“He’s coming out in press conferences and he’s constantly having a go at players,he’s constantly having a go at people above him because he’s not getting what he wants,” the 43-year old said.

“I think his mouth is probably out of control and I think he’s embarrassing the club”

The smart money is on him not being ablr to see out his contgract if he cannot bring harmony to he dressing room sooner rather later.

The Power Of Gratitude P3

On the nineteenth of July I lost my father.What was shocking was that the day before I had got a call late in the day that he wasn’t feeling well and a cousin brother was taking him to Rusape General hospital where was admitted.

Mr Gwangwara Snr 

Early in the morning of the following day whilst making arrangements to go to Rusape,I Got the dreaded call that he had passed on during the night. After alerting my older siblings well as other members of the extended family  of the news, I hit the road so that I could go and consult with my uncle-my father’s only remaining sibling-about funeral arrangements.

I was fortunate to have a cousin brother in Nyazura ,just twenty kilometers from home, who was waiting for me and we proceeded home. When we got there we found that nothing had been done as the family said that they were waiting for us the children  to lead the arrangements .We the remaining brothers gathered-three from the extended family and my uncle ,a plan of action was devised and my cousin brother and I set about implementing it.Throughout the arrangements and the actual burial, Richard was a rock. He would guide point out things that needed to be attended to and generally made sure that he had my back.

My father was 94 years old and had never been to hospital since the time I became conscious of things around me he was also the village head. When one is a child, one takes their parents for granted. The only time I realized the high esteem in which he was regarded was the massive turn out of mourners on the day of the burial; members of the Seventh Day Adventist church, fellow headmen, the local chief as well friends and family members who drove from far to take up in the burial, opened my eyes to the high regard in which my father was held. Somehow the huge turnout of people who came to offer their condolences made it a bit bearable to face the loss.

Nyati together with his company, Nyaradzo Funeral Services, ensured that we could mourn and bury our father with the dignity that was befitting of a man of his stature. They went beyond the funeral plan that he had with the company and ensured the mourners well catered for.

To each and every person who came and contributed to the smooth mourning period as well as the dignified burial of my father, the family is forever in your debt.

The Quest For The Elusive Dollar

It is an open secret that things are tough in Zimbabwe at the moment ,people spend most of their time hustling to get the elusive greenback.

The Quest For The Elusive Dollar

So serious is the way in which some people hustle that there are reports that people have gone as far as Nigeria ,Ghana and Mozambique in order to look for charms which purportedly help them to acquire money at any cost. The dailies are full of reports of people who would have gone to these so called ‘Prophets’ and Witch Doctors who promise them heaven on earth. Often times they are given small twigs and told to go and do as the ‘Prophets’ will have advised. Most of them cry foul after discovering that the twigs end up turning into enormous snakes which completely take over their lives.

Recently ,a certain lady from Chinhoyi, who claimed that her mother had left here a huge snake when she passed away, had to resort to one of local radio stations in order to look for help as the gigantic snake had completely taken over her life and turned it into a living hell. Those in the know claim that the damsel in distress had a huge mansion and several top of the range vehicles but she could not attract nor keep a spouse as it was taboo for her to do so. She lived alone with only a maid to keep her company in the huge mansion. Loneliness and the need to be reed of the demanding reptile, forced her  into  turning to the radio station in order to ask for help. It is reported that several ‘Men of God ‘ tried and failed to kill the gigantic snake, with some reports saying it was as big as ten meters and weighted several tonnes.

Last week, there was a reported breakthrough in the case as some Prophets went to the home of this lady and succeeded in killing the snake.

Another reported case is one of a lady from one of the affluent suburbs of Harare, who reportedly went to Mozambique in her  quest to get instant riches, she was told to go and perform some rituals , when her money was enough for her needs ,she had to return to the Wizard who had given her the herbs ,un fortunately for her, she did not return and the room where she was supposed to keep the money that was created by the wizardry was so full of money that she no longer knew what to do with it. At the time of writing she was so overwhelmed that she was asking for advice.

In our quest to be better than the Johns next-door some of us are going out of our way and abandoning the nurturing of our parents to the extent that we end up biting more than we can chew.

It Takes A Village

A nephew of mine paid me a visit the other day so that he could check on me after he learnt that I had sprained my leg.After exchanging greetings and discussing the weather,the true nature of his visit soon became apparent when he started complaining of the difficulties he was getting in trying to raise his eldest son as an upstanding member of the community.

It Takes A Village

Like most of the young people of his generation my nephew has his sense of entitlement were he expects things to be done for him and things are handed over to him on a silver platter. His father has a small business which has managed to put him through school and the university education which is now enjoying is a result of the efforts of his father. The parent had in his wisdom asked the young man to have a holiday job so that he could earn a some pocket money .Towards the end of the vacation job stint, the young man was not happy about the fact that his payment was delayed which resulted in him pouring out his heart to the effect that he did not think much of his father and he would much prefer his mother ,who was more understanding and gave him all that he asked for as for the surname he might as well change it since his father was not fair to him.

Things got so bad that he has since dropped out of University and he wants to go back to form five so that he can resit his “A” level examination once more.He completely misses the fact that he has spent a lot of time ,effort and expenses on his studies todate. Nobody seems to be able to stop him from going on this self- destructive quest of his and the family is at their wits’ end.He is warming his back at moment whilst consuming the musical programs that are spewed by the various channels on the Television set.

I was roped in to try and talk some sense into him.His intention is to change the program of study.In most peoples view this is throwing his future away.Since I am a bit removed from the situation ,the belief was that I would be able to hear his side of the story and advise his parents so that a collective decision could be reached.After I had sat with the young man and he listened to my and his parents view presented by a neutral,the matter is still up in the air and his future hangs in the balanced.

I have had the privilege of tutoring some hard working youths who were down on their luck and many struggled to have anyone who could pay for their education and it pains me to find one who has parents and extended family egging him on and making sure he has all he needs in order to get a University degree which a lot of other deserving people crave for but fail to get because of circumstances beyond their control,but he is prepared to throw it all away on a whim.WHAT A SHAME

Be Aware Of Whom You Are Dealing With part2

In the year 2000,an incident happened which opened my eyes to the fact that at times I trust too much ,too easily.

Be Aware Of Whom You Are Dealing With

Having  been living and working in Lesotho for two years , I had made friends among people I used to play Volleyball with.One of them Mandla(not his real name) approached me and told me he had a girlfriend who worked at this place where they assembled mobile phones .Two days later he came to me with an almost new mobile phone which he claimed he had got from his girlfriend ,he professed that he was having problems operating it ,I did the best I could to try and help him get a grip on the operations of the phone. Eventually he suggested that we exchange phones as the he insisted that the one I had was easy for him to operate. He then said for an extra 500 rand he would give the phone and he would have the one I had.

I gave Mandla my phone and a hundred rand note I have with the promise that I would give the remainder of the cash at the en d of the month .Somehow I insisted that we draw up a simple agreement to this effect. Two weeks after the exchange I got a call from a stranger who asked to meet with me ,when we did he turned out to be a police officer who informed me that the phone I was using had been stolen and the owner of the mobile phone was also there.I took out the phone and recounted how it came to be in my possession. They suggested that we go to the home of the guy I was talking about so that we could confirm my story.When we arrived and Mandla was confronted ,he readily confirmed my story ,the officer then suggested that we go to the police station so that we could give our statements ,I was surprised when we got there to be informed that I was an accused person in the case and I was then put in police cells over the weekend.What really made the matter painful for me was the fact that Mandla was set free as he claimed to be below eighteen years of age and the fact that his cousin was a police detective at the station.

I spent a harrowing two days and three nights in the police cells and was taken to face the magistrate at Maseru Magistrate Courts on the Monday,the prosecutor who was xenophobic and abusive once he heard that I was a foreigner ,took to me into the chambers of one magistrate who asked for my passport and a thousand rand bail, I was told to report to the main police station every last day of the month until my case was heard.The first time I went to report for my first remand ,after the prosecutor started running his mouth about the fact that we foreigners came to their country to impregnate their sisters and left them with babies which they had to raised on their own ,I let loose my frustration and berated him about the fact that he was not being objective and looking at the merits of the case. Subsequent to this ,whenever I would go for a new remand date ,he would disappear and later tell his colleague to inform me of the new date.After a year of these cat and mouth games ,I had tried on my own to go and see the magistrate in charge of my case,I ended up just abandoning the case and just stopped going to the court. I was however lucky in that Mandla’s aunt was able to return my mobile phone after I came back from court after the initial remand.

This one of the things that have turned me into the cynic I now am,It now takes me time to trust people.I am no longer the gullible person I was then.If something looks too good to be true,then its too good to be true.

Where Is Our Moral Compass?

When the leader of the most powerful country in the world is caught on camera bragging about the fact that he can grab women’s bottoms or worse their privates and he can get away with it because of the fact that he is a billionaire, it begs the question WHERE IS OUR MORAL COMPASS?

Where Is Our Moral Compass?

For most of the people in the said country go on to vote and make the same person President of the country ,does it mean that if one has a lot of money they can get away with Murder? Subsequent to those despicable events being splashed all over the newspapers  across the globe, the man is still ruling the country as if nothing untoward has happened .It pains me to try and understand the kind of trauma the ladies who were attacked by this Neanderthal must have gone through then and are going through as I write.Why has it been business as usual? Why have there been no consequences? Is it because the guy is a billionare?or is it because this is a men’s world and men will get away with anything ?

Closer to home, a so called leader pockets millions of  rands as backhanders  from companies bidding to supply his country with weapons ,then he spends more than FIFTEEN MILLION RANDS from the country trying to defend the indefensible. This is obliviously money which could have been used to expand businesses in the country or better still start new ones so that the high number of unemployed people would have been lessened. For some people then to go on to defend this person and even go to the extent of vowing that they would kill for and even die for such a person begs the question What has gone wrong ?Why is it so difficult for people to do the right thing and resign from their lofty positions once there is a whiff of scandal in their dealings or conduct.

Has our moral compasses gone so off the mark that people can act so offensively to the general populace with impunity. What makes it okay for the “small fry” who pilfers the office stationery to be sentenced to months in prison and yet the C.E.O who misappropriates millions goes scotch free?