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

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.

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.

Rukweza Growth Point's Scary Reputation

Nestled on the foot of the magestic Denzva mountain,Rukweza was also in the news last year for the marauding snakes which would roam the village in search of food scrapes from peoples rubbish dumps, has taken an even scarrier turn.

Rukweza Growth Point's Scary Reputation

Two murders in the space ot two months has most residents of Rukweza growth point as well as surrounding areas running scared.

For the the family of Alex ,the 25th of December will firever be a day associated with sadness and longing.Rumuor has it that on the fateful day,he had been celebrating the so called "birth of Jesus Christ" with his younger bother and some friends when some unruly individuals accosted him and stole four dollars from his pocket.We understand a fight broke out and when some good samaritans came to Alex's rescue the the thugs who had accosted him weere not happy.They waited for him when was making his way home,assaulted him with what people believe were screwdrivers 

and other blunt objects,killing him in the process.They dumped his body on the tarmac so that it would appear as if it was a hit and run accident.After his corpse was taken for a postmortem it was established that he was not the victim of a road accident.

After the mourning period ,his remains were buried in the village graveyard,what surprised all and sundry was the fact that a week later his cofin was exhumed and a further post-mortem examination was carried out.His remains were to be retaurned later and interred, But as I write, nobody has been 

arrested for his murder.

The other incident which has struck fear into the residents here is the fact that last Wednesday another youngman who was on his way to go and visit his ailing mother was also 

murdered and his remains placed on the tarmac ,similar to what had been done to the body

of Alex.

As a result of these incidents people in the area are very nervous and most imbibers of alcohol now make it a habit of leaving their watering holes early so as to ensure that they do not get waylayed as well.

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.

Love Never Fails

By James E.Kudzala

A farmer went to the field day to cultivate.During the work,he glanced up at the mango tree and saw a big belleberry ripe mango which he picked.

Love Never Fails

He decided not to eat the mango but take it to his wife,whom he loved very much,even though he was starving.When he got home ,he called his wife and gave her the mango to show his affection.Very happy with the precious gift ,the woman though of her child who had gone to school.

She took the mango, thanked her husband sincerely and reassured him that she would eat it later.The woman hid the mango so that she would give the mango to her son as soon as he returned from school to show him her love.As soon as he returned ,the mother gave him the mango with joy in her heart. The child thanked his mother warmly for the precious gift and told her that he would eat to later.

He, too ,resolved to hide the mango and make a surprise gift to his father who paid his school fees ,believing that his Dad knew nothing of the mango.

In the evening while everyone was eating the evening meal,the child said to the his father,”one minute dad,I brought you a present because I love you so much”.He ran to his room and took the mango and gave it to his father.Surprised to see the same mango he had given to his beloved wife return to him,without any comment ,he asked for a knife and shared it equally among the family.All ate the mango with a lot of joy.That is how love works.

The secret of love –when you give love ,it comes back to you in another way,because love is the most extraordinary force that governs all the universe.Lets love genuinely.

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!

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?

Women's Unending War With Dust

I always watch with bemusement the lengths some women go in order to combat dust and dirt so as to fit in with their peers.

Women's Unending War With Dust

Early in the morning, as soon as their children go to school, these housewives take to their brooms and scrubbing brushes and floor polish. Their quest is to make their floors as shiny as they can. They will toil and scrub and rub and clean until the floors are like mirrors. Only then are they happy and can then proceed to do other household chores I am not in any way belittling the wonderful work they do but just cannot reconcile their reasons for doing what they do.Half the time this is done because they don’t want the Mother of so and so to find their house dirty.So the reason is not really cleanliness but the need to conform or the fear of failing to conform ;then being turned into the laughingstock of the neighborhood.I have always maintained that even grownups suffer from peer pressure because this is definitely a form of peer pressure. Woe betide  the young ones should they come back from school and then absentmindedly wander into the house wearing their shoes. The mother will shout at the top of their voices for the offending shoes to be removed lest the wearer has his/her back tanned.The shoes are supposed to be removed and left outside the door or held and taken to the place where they are normally placed.

Homes which are supposed to be enjoyed by all who live in them are turned into no go areas for the young ones, they only get some respite when the father comes back from work ;if he is lucky enough to be formally employed. More often than not nowadays, he would be coming from a weird case of cat and mouse with the Riot Police for a space on the city streets. As vending has now become the biggest “employer” in the country. If however the father is also a serial shouter then the young kids do not have anywhere to seek refuge.These places of human habitat are turned into showrooms for the mothers friends to admire and coo over.In the process these ladies turn the floor polish vendors into fully employed individuals as they are assured of a constant stream of customers who buy their ware.

Surely if one cleans the house in the morning and the children then come and mess it up ,it should be alright.The well being of the family should weigh much more than the mother’s need for reassurance from her friends and extended family.

Bitterness

By Thembie

Bitterness is a spirit that disturbs many believers besides being a sin, bitterness is a mixture of disappointment ,anger and fear.Remember, anger graduates to bitterness if you don’t deal with it accordingly by forgiving and letting go.

In fact ,Ephesians 4:26 states that; “in your anger do not sin.”” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”.As believers ,we must bear in mind that anger has a timeline ; your anger shouldn’t exceed 12 hours.

 Futhermore, bitterness makes you bitter instead of better and eventually leads to unforgiveness.What most of us are unaware of is that bitterness blocks breakthrough to your destiny.Before you allow bitterness to control you,here’s what you need to keep in mind.

.Bitterness is sin

.When you deliberately fail to talk to someone you have no part in God’s kingdom

.Bitterness is unforgiveness fermented

.The more you hold onto past hurts, the more you become “drunk” on your own pain

.The devil uses anger to Attack m any

.God can’t draw near a bitter person

.To overcome bitterness, you must ;forgive ,stop dwelling there and stop retelling

. Bitterness blocks your physical and spiritual life;you’ll stagnate physically and spiritually.It’s no wonder many are worsening physically and spiritually

.When you’re bitter,you can’t have a breakthrough even in prayer

.Bitterness creates space for the enemy

.Bitterness is satan’s altar in your life –an altar is a point of contact.Therefore,when you’re about to rise financially ,the enemy stands against you

.This sin entangles easily similar to sins like lies and gossip

.When you allow bitterness to take root in your life,you won’t succeed at any time because you’re limited

.Bitterness is what’s “eating” many up

.Bitterness holds you back

.It’s like an acid that destroys its container; whatever you try fails

.A bitter person holds grudges

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.

Adversity Can Bring Out The Best In People

“I remember very well years ago when I was often bullied and often,the bullying became the norm. Throughout my childhood and adolescent life, because of my unusual height coupled with my timid and soft spoken personality, I would be teased and laughed  sat, and often challenged to fight by other boys in school”-Edgar Mangwende.

Adversity Can Bring Out The Best In People

This paragraph in the book; The Cage Mentality from the Mind to the Mountaintop by Edgar Mangwende made me reminisce to my  own youth and it was eerie the similarities between our lives.I was and born and brought up in the Seventh Day Adventist church, being the only boy from my village who attended this church meant that when I came back from church all my age-mates would have disappeared to God knows where. Eventually I did not even bother to go look for them , I would sit at home and either read comic books which my elder siblings always brought home or listen to the radio. In time I got so used to my own company at times  I would leave my mates to go home so that I could be on my own.This helped to save me from many a scrape remember once going to make sure the cattle were securely closed up in the kraal and rushing home in order to listen to one program  which used to air at six in the evening was surprised to learn the next morning that all the boys in the village had been called to the Village head to be grilled and punished for having burnt out one kraal with the cattle in it ,apparently they had been playing with lighted cow dung and one of this pieces had ended up in the kraal ,those of you who grew up in the rural areas or farms know that once cow dung is lit it does not go out unless someone pours copious amounts of water on it.Fortunately most parents knew that I was well behaved so I was exempted from those proceedings. But the roasting I got from my age mates after that as well as the ostracism really rankled.

When I then left the village to go start my secondary schooling , I was to meet one of the my most trying of times at the hands of one Yoman Thomas.I was very tall and gangly for my age ,the fact that most of my peers picked up that I was not from the hood because of my dialect resulted in a lot of teasing and ridicule at the hands of most of my classmates save for one fellow outcast like me ; a pupil who was born with albinism. Because of the fact that we were both ostracized ,we gravitated towards each other and formed such a strong bond that we were friends until my erstwhile passed away.When I later learnt about his passing, I really felt hurt.(I had migrated for over a decade in search of greener pastures.)Yoman would make it a habit of waiting at one of the gates we normally used when we came to school from lunch and he would either beat us up or poke fun at us.Little did we know that we could have reported this abuse to the form teacher and he could have been disciplined.

Somehow I was able to channel my inner strength and applied myself at my studies,  after the form two results came out and he discovered that I was the best student in the two classes the abuse mercifully stopped.

 When  I was elected as one of the prefects during my third year of secondary school ,he knew I had become untouchable.

The Pain Of Losing A Parent

I remember it as if was yesterday. It does not matter that it happened way back in 1994,there are times the wound is so fresh I could swear it happened yesterday.

The Pain Of Losing A Parent

My mother had been on high blood pressure for a very long time , I was only able to piece together the bits and pieces of the puzzle slowly over a long period of time.This was the result of an accident which left my eldest sister burnt and she was hospitalized .For a time it was touch and go ,I gathered later ,the accident having happened well before I was even conceived so no one in the family really talked about it .I supposed this was because of the trauma that she  had gone through.During that ordeal ,my mother was to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and she started taking medication.

When I was born ,I understand she had already been on the meds for sometime.I was her last born son and I must say she loved me dearly and I believe now she spoiled me a little bit although I am not your typical mama’s boy. being the youngest ,I remember growing up and going to school and the only constant in my life was my mother.My siblings are all much older than me ,so they had completed school at the local primary school and had gone on to secondary schools far from home and my father could only come to visit during public holidays from his work in Harare.

In time,I was also able to outgrow the primary school and trekked to Harare for further education.I would just bear the idea of staying away from my mother  for the three months which constituted the school term,the day immediately after schools closed without fail, I would be on the first available bus for the rural home where my mother would be .

Whilst in college,I realized that my mother was no longer as strong as she used to be and I discovered that she was taking these medicines .It wasn’t a secret but I guess I had previously been too young to comprehend all that was happening around me.I would try and do my best to cover as much work as I could during the three or four weeks of the school vacation but I guess is was never enough now was it ?

I remember in 1993 ,when she was taken ill and my father , who was a pensioner then brought her to the family home ion then town of Chitungwiza(a dormitory town 20 kilometers from Harare)so that we could seek medical attention from a private doctor who operated a surgery quite close to our house.After many tests were conducted and much going to and fro ,it was later discovered that she had cancer of the eosophagus.She could not hold down any food let alone liquids like water.She was refered to one of  the main referral hospital at Harare Hospital.After undergoing several chemotherapy treatments she was discharged and we were told to bring her to hospital for check-up and to have her medication replenished.

Watching her struggling and waste away a on a daily basis from the lack of nourishment was heartbreaking, nothing seed to make sense then.Life was a slog .Whenever I had to leave home and go into town , my thoughts would be troubled ,I always feared that I could come back to find her gone.We were blessed as a family that her sisters would take turns to come and help look after her but the dreadful thoughts that one had especially at night was one which hardly made it possible for one to sleep.This was reduced to cat naps with one ear turned to the next room to try and find out if all was still alright.After a few months of this existence ,her sister finally arranged to take her home and we hired a station wagon were she could lie at the back with the back seat folded as at the time she could no longer walk nor sit.Little did I know that this would be the last time I would ever see her alive because two weeks after her departure I got a call that she had passed away and we had to start arrangements to lay her remains  to rest at the family grave yard in the rural area of Makoni South in Manicaland province.

Although I was a full-grown man with a wife and family at the time ,the loss was mind blowing .It took time for me to take it into my stride.One of the reason why I seemed to struggle with the loss was the fact that I was unable to grieve ,I shut all the emotions inside where no one could see them and tried as hard as I could to function like a normal being .I grew up at a time when most males were taught that one never showed their emotions in public,you would have to bottle these up lest you be known as someone less of a man and would be ridiculed. The truth is that I was cut up. Whilst my mind rationalized that maybe this was better for her because no human being is supposed to suffer as she had .To make the matter worse she would always put on a brave face and would ask me whether I was eating and sleeping well and I would lie to her that all was well do not think for a moment that I was able to fool her though,she was my mother after all.

Twenty-four years later the loss of my father to rob me of the remaining parent made me relive these emotions once more and to tell the truth it is as bitter as the first time I experienced it.

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 Ugly Double Standards Of Armchair Critics

In a statement soon after the Zimbabwe National Army lead operation “Restore Legacy” ,Numsa, general secretary Irvin Jim,said;’The army in Zimbabwe has taken over power through a military coup and no amount of concealment of this most obvious of facts can change the ugly reality of the unconstitutional military takeover of power in Zimbabwe.

The Ugly Double Standards Of Armchair Critics

The  first stolen elections from the year 2002 to date ,the Zimbabwean opposition politicians have been crying foul over the manner in which the ZanuPf party with aid of the army, especially where the 2008 election were concerned. Where were the likes of Mr Jim,the catch phrase then was ‘Zimbabweans should solve their own internal problems. ’The army is surely part and parcel of the Zimbabwean populace so why then is it wrong now that they have initiated the resolving of the internal problem that the likes of Mr Jim alluded to earlier, dare hide behind the constitutionality of the act. Where were they when the constitution was being abused in the name of uncle Bob.I guess some animals are more equal than others huh ala the pigs in THE ANIMAL FARM.

We have had to endure harassment,false accusations,imprisonment,trumped up charges of undermining the dignity of the President,Treason ,just to mention a few and we had to do it without any support from the likes of Mr Jim and his ilk. Now that we have the courage to throw off the yoke that has been around our collective necks for the last 37 YEARS please leave us be so we can solve our Internal problem Uncle Bob.

Included in the group of worthless critics and organizations is surely the AU and Sadc,who can forget the ill-advised Quiet Diplomacy practiced by one Thabo Mbeki, when he was the President of South Africa. It never bore any fruit save to entrench the despotic rule of Uncle Bob. Their main concern is self-aggrandizement and the stroking of their collective egos. We say to hell with you, we are living in the moment and enjoying it whilst we can .We will not listening to your doomsday prophecies, We will reclaim our lives come what may.

At the time of writing this  article a lot has come and gone ,another disputed election; but then that is the nature of ‘The Beast’ isn’t it.An election by its nature is a dispute .So the fact that one of the contestants is disputing the results may just be put down to “sour grapes” or is it?Anyway we were able to exercise our right to choose our leader and now the arduous task of undoing the rot that set in during the past regime’s misrule begins.At the end of the day it is the individual citizens putting their collective shoulders to the wheel which will get us out of thus rut not some know it all somewhere hiding behind his laptop of in front of a TV camera for 20 seconds of fame.

What's In A Name

‘What’s in a name,that which we call a rose will smell just as sweet if called by another name’,William Shakespear wrote.

What's In A Name

Traditionally ,our names are supposed to depict some happening in our parents’ lives,Reval,Sarudzai,Makandionei,Dambudzo to name just a few of the names that hang around the necks of some Zimbos like a tire-necklace ,for those of you who are not aware, this is a sadistic form of punishment devised by the South Africans where they pour petrol into a used tire ,put it around a person before setting it alight. The victim dies an agonizing death. Unfortunately, most of these people with these traditional names somehow actually suffer as in the case of one called Nhamo (Suffering).Many a time these children with the hard-luck inspired names change these names to “acceptable” ones once they get a chance or when they start going to secondary school because we know that teenagers can be cruel if you don’t have a cool name, one can end up being bullied mercilessly.

This is the reason why some Zimbos end up with names like Kubi,an Anglicized version of the name Kubvoruno,which was deemed uncool by its owner. Usually we are in the habit of having two names one given at birth which is normally in the child’s mother tongue ,then another which is Christian inspired for the church baptism. These are the names that are normally adopted once one starts going to school or when they want to appear ‘cool’ names like; John,James,Peter,or Mischeck. Many a time these guys  with the ‘found names’ tend to ignore those who grew up with them should they accidentally meet and greet them using the hated “African” names.Of later there has been an upsurge of cool names which are inspired by celebrates like;Beyonce,Ronaldo,Alisha to name but A few.

A lot has been said about the need for our people to be conscious of where they come from by not many can withstand the need for them to appear cool in the eyes of their colleagues and peers.Peer pressure applies even too the aged,so a lot of less hardy types will cower to have their traditional names called in circles where they want to be regarded as being in with the program. In Lesotho, where I had the pleasure of living for quite some time ,a lot of children have English inspired traditional names like ;Paramente from Parliament,Lepolisa from a policeman or Lesole from the word soldier in English.I was unable to establish the thinking behind the names but suffice to say quite a few giggles were stifled at the mention of these names.But most importantly ,that is a nation which is in love of its culture,to the extent that most of the given names are in Sesotho- the mother tongue.

I rest my case, you be the judge.