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.

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.

Plucky Lady Starts High School At +50

It has been a week now since I met Mrs Jane Doe ,I haven't asked for her permission
to write about her so ,I will not mention her name.I have recently gone back to my old
profession- helping kids learn and master the English language.

A Plucky Lady Starts High School At +50

I was summoned by the lady in charge of the institution who informed me that was an old lady who wanted to speak with me.When I get into the office ,i saw this older lady ;dignified ,bespectacled and composed ,who informed that she wanted to English from the form one level and hopefully sit the ordinary level examination.The lady informed us that she had recently resigned from her job in the national army and now wanted to pursue the her passion and be able to communicate with her grand kids since they were at school going age and she would want to also help them with their homework.
I was really touched ,here was a lady who seemed to be comfortably well-off,she drives a pre-owned Harrier SUV which is in a very good condition.When we discuss further,i learnt that most ladies from her church always asked to be the secretary whenever they had discussions ,so this one of the other reason why she wanted to improve herself.Fortunately for her however, is the fact that she can express herself well in the language but what is lacking is the formal instruction.She confesses that she only studied until grade seven after which her guardians informed her there was no money to send her to high school.

Needless to say ,we quickly settled the tuition fees and Mrs Doe promised to come back for her first lesson on the following day.As I write we have spent a week learning and she has proven to be a very attentive student indeed.For anyone of you out there who have a passion to do something and have been putting it off because you believe you are too old ,GET UP AND DO SOMETHING!

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.

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.

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.

It Is An Election Year Again

It is the silly season again in Zimbabwe,most trees rocks ,durawalls or any flat surface is adorned with Banting belonging to the multitude of parties. These have mushroomed since the dramatic events last November which saw the forcible removal of the nonagenarian Mugabe, in order to save him from the abuse he was purportedly suffering at the hands of people who were taking advantage of his advanced age.

Its An Election Year Again

Suddenly ,a thousand flowers have been allowed to bloom,the populace is embracing their new found ‘freedom’ wholeheartedly and the proof is in the number of parties that have since emerged to either challenge for the Presidential seat or just a seat in the public assembly or on the various council chambers across the length and breadth of the country. Whether this is helpful for the country or not is debatable but suffice to say that after a painful period of thirty-seven painful years the nation seems to be able to dream again.It is true for most of the candidates ,their s is an exercise in futility but at least they can dare to hope.Now  anyone who has the money to pay the election commission in order to be put on the ballot box has exercised that right .If ever there was a need to reaffirm the fervent need this country yearned for democracy this is a sure sign. Among the candidates who are in the running are disgruntled members from all the major political parties who will be standing as Independents because they are not happy for the way in which the various primary election s were held in the former parties they belonged to.

Perhaps the precedence was set by the Honourable Temba Muliswa ,the member of parliament representing Norton ,who was kicked out of the ruling party but was able to successfully run as an Independent candidate.So in essence a lot of the Independent candidates are simply running in order to ‘cut the nose in order to spite the face’ so to say.This then begs the question ‘do they really have anything meaningful to offer the populace or are their simply do thus for their own selfish ends .

Sadly our political space is full of people who believe their personality is what should determine whether they are elected or not.

By now almost anybody who watches the news knows that we have another disputed election result again but the lives of the populace does not seem to have improved in anyway to add to our woes is the outbreak of Cholera and dysentery and the needless loss of lives.

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.

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?

Be Aware Of Whom You Are Dealing With

During 2015, I hooked up with some guys in a venture which I thought  was a surefire means of making money,the money gurus always advise that  we have multiple streams of income in order to create wealth.

Be Aware Of You Are Dealing With

We used to go and buy anytime gift cards from South Africa for resale in Zimbabwe.One of the guys who was involved in the venture was a former student of mine ,so in my mind I was thinking what could go wrong right ?. I  Used my contacts to put  together some cash so that I could buy into the business.We hard a fruitful two or three months in  which we really worked very hard and the returns were quite pleasing. I never took the time to really investigate my partners.

The first signs of trouble was when the guy who ha d all the contacts and knew where the gift cards were bought in the Republic of South Africa went to buy cards and he came back having misused some of the proceeds to pay for his own expenses .We just verbally reprimanded him and proceeded to sell the cards that he had brought  with him.About two  months later the younger brother of my former student  ,who works and lives in South Africa came home and since we were planning to send someone down there to buy some more stock we thought it prudent to ask him to go and buy the stock for us then he would put it on one of the buses that ply the Joburg,Harare route.He never did what we asked for and holding him to account proved to be difficult as he changed his contact number and it was like money thrown down the drain.

Then in January 2016 ,the former student  indicated that was accompanying a friend of his who had come to Zimbabwe on business and he asked me for the three thousand rands which I was keeping ,this was a fresh injection of funds from my sister who wanted to buy into the card selling business .I had been keeping this money waiting for an opportunity to send one of the guys to go and buy some more stock.Two days after going to South Africa ,he came back without the  cards instead he had bought some stuff for a client of his and a water bottle to display water which had been purified in their water purification  plant.He promised that as soon as money from the water purification plant started coming in he would reimburse me the three thousand rands.

After having been sent from the pillar to the post several times  and finding out that the money was not forthcoming,  I finally resolved to approach the small claims court at Makoni  Magistrates’ court .I was not really sure how the case would pan out but I was convinced that the judiciary officer would be able to cut through the bull and get to the truth.I knew that I did not have to be a drama queen but just present my case as  emotionless as possible and be factual. Fortunately for  me the defendant ended up tripping himself up because he admitted that I had indeed given him the money but he had not misused it ,the clinker was when he asked for continuance of the matter so that he could produce customs declaration forms from home ,this was duly granted for the following week on the 30 th of November.Truth be told it was difficult for me to sleep on the night of the 29^th as my earlier bravado seemed to dissipate. On the morning of the case I woke up bathed and dressed,when I got to court I got some reassurance that the defendant was rattled since he could not come and greet me like the first time and he could not look me in the eye.We appeared before the court sometime before lunch and the matter was postponed for later in the day.We were asked to continue our case well after three pm,  after all the other  cases had been dealt with .Fortunately for me the defendant did not have any prove of having brought back any cards and I was able to pock holes in his defense when given a chance to do so by the magistrate.At the end he told us to come back the following Monday the 4^th of December for the judgement.When I went to the clerk of court’s office on the day there was no judgement,I had to endure two more trips to the court before   I got the judgement on the 12 th of December ,when I learnt that the defendant had been told to pay back the money including the costs of serving him the court papers.

What I ultimately learnt was that in business you cannot trust anyone .one has to do the background checks and any agreements have to be put down on paper and signatures appended. Things need to be above board.Also one needs to take matters up with the relevant authorities in case there are disputes.

Chitungwiza Residents Caught In A Debt Trap

Some of the residents of the dormitory town of Chitungwiza ,which lies twenty odd kilometers  southwest of the the capital city Harare have been severely affected by the dire economic and social hardships prevailing in the country.

Chitungwiza Residents Caught In A Debt Trap

Most of the residents are owing the Town council for  rates for  amounts between one hundred and fifty dollars  whilst others  are owing as much as three thousand dollars.During the past month ,the cash strapped council has had to employ the services of debt collectors who went around giving the residents  in arrears letters of demand.As a result the town council headquarters has been a hive of activity as people went to plead for time to pay off the outstanding amounts .

Obviously, the closure of  most  of the businesses that were operating at the industrial complex has not made the situation any easier. Quite a fair number of residents of Chitungwiza used to employed there .The economic downturn experienced by the whole country since 2000 has affected people all over the country with resultant loss of jobs and levels of unemployment  hovering around 90% of the population. Therefore the average income for most households has been seriously hampered.

The result of the depressed economic activities in the industrial area and the country in general  has ensured a vicious circle that has resulted in the council failing to have enough resources to ensure that services are delivered to the residents satisfaction.

Follow Your Heart

I had a disturbing yet interesting chat with a friend of mine whom I normally use as a sound board for any ideas I might have .I had intimated to her that I was in the process of reinventing myself and was involved in the construction industry with a view to starting my own company and creating a legacy for my grandchildren. I was taken aback by what she said ,which summed up to the effect that I was too old and I was supposed to have had these ambitions when I was 25 years old .

Follow Your Heart

Here is a young college graduate who was telling me that my life at fifty odd years is over and I have to prepare for death. If there is anything I have discover of late ,it’s the fact that one cannot stop learning new skills and strive to be better than what they are .I used to be a voracious reader of novels but have since discovered the power of motivational books. One of my nephews, who is studying for his second degree at a university in South Africa, sent me a pdf of the book; THE SLIGHT EDGE by Jeff Olson.I have since learnt that the the tiny steps which one take if one sustains  them and is consistent in implementing them then one would be surprised by the giant steps that one can achieve, so it was in this vein that I was trying to make a few changes to my own situation by not sitting on my laurels and mourning and winging about the difficult economic situation that the country faces in particular the dearth of meaningful employment.

The chance meeting which thrust me into managing a building project for some gentlemen eight months ago, opened my eyes to the endless opportunities which are abound in the construction industry. I have always believed in making my own luck, if one makes an effort and put their profile out there then people are bound to see it ,chances are one or two will take a chance. The most important thing is the fact that one should never  limit themselves.The advance of the Internet has made it very  easy to acquire skills if one just has a few dollars to buy data bundles and the elbow grease to punch the keyboard of a computer .Most of the information that we require to improve ourselves is found on the world wide web.

There are a lot of people who have been inspirational in reaffirming my thinking ;one is the South African musical icon ;Sipho ‘Hotsticks’ Mabuse ,who sat for his matriculation certificate at sixty plus years of age.If my memory serves me well ,there was and old man in Kenya who went to grade one ,when he was 76 years old because he wanted to be able to read his bible.One Zimbabwean whose business exploits I have followed for quite sometime , the world beater Strive Masiyiwa.If his story does not tell one of the need to pursuit ones convictions to their logical conclusion then I don’t know what else can motivate a person.In one of his writings on his facebook page ,he talks about the fact that he started and failed in many business venture but that never deterred him.The fact that he went on to pioneer the mobile business in Zimbabwe is now common knowledge.

Legend has it that Colonel Sanders,the American founder of the multinatioinal  KFC,started the business when after retiring  and finding that his pension payout could not meet his requirements.The business he started from his kitchen is now known in all continents of the world.

So given the many people who have pursued their dreams and have achieved phenomenal success,then why should I not dream with my eyes open and follow my heart. 

Cry The Lost Generation

Monday, the 19 th of March  2018, was my first encounter with the effects of drug abuse.I had spent a leisurely three hours of the morning with a nephew of mine who had just completed his MSc,after he dropped me off at the main bus stop in Harare,I boarded a bus that was Chitungwiza bound

.

Cry The Lost Generation

The first part of the twenty kilometers of the journey was kind of eventless. Things turned at the first bus stop after the St Marys Police Station, the bus was supposed to let off passengers whilst others boarded. The conductor ,who was standing just inside the bus on the steps ,asked the Youngman (in his early twenties) to get further into the bus as he was afraid that he would fall off the bus .The young man flatly refused and started to berate the conductor at the top of his voice.Bus and mini-bus taxi conductors are well-known for being brash or outright rude to passengers once they are onboard but this one met his match in the irate young man who told him that he was not going to pay and there was nothing that the conductor could do about it.Try as he would ,the conductor was unable to force the young man off the bus.The young man ,who was wearing some really dark sun glasses proceeded to assault the conductor  whilst calling the conductor all sorts of names  and alluding to the fact that he was a person of loose morals. The conductor did not take kindly to the tirade and tried to punch the Youngman but he proved to be too powerful for him. Efforts by most of the elderly people on the bus to urge the conductor to ignore the irate young man fell on deaf ears.

At the first bus top in Zengeza, the argument nearly spilled over into the bus as the two antagonists continued to trade punches but the young man was winning the fight ,at this stage the conductor retrieved an iron bar used with the wheel spanner ,seeing this the young tyrant quickly jumped off the bus and sauntered away leaving the conductor fuming since the driver was restraining him.

I have heard stories of how the unemployed youths in the townships abuse substances like cough mixture and others in order to have a high and forget about their troubles for some hours but this was my closest  encounter with one who was intoxicated. One’s heart bleeds for this lost generation which cannot seem to shake off the despondence of unemployment and the need for personal fulfillment.

It Is Not Where You Start But How You End

Edgar Mangwende is the epitome of the cream that rises to the top of the milk. Born in a family of six, he is the fourth child. His father was a driver for the national airline; Air Zimbabwe , his mother was and still is a hustlepreneur according to the lingo of the youth.

It is Not Where You Start But Where You EndAdd caption

One can hardly describe his upbringing as one that was well-to-do, but certainly the prevailing  standards in the newly post colonial Zimbabwe,they did not starve. A story which I remember quite clearly was one where his father flatly refused to go and be humiliated at Edgar’s primary school during a parents meeting(consultation day).His reason was that Edgar and his younger brother were not the sharpest tools in the shed and would hover around the last group of learners in their respective classes. Presumably they had not fully grasped the concepts of studying  and applying themselves. The father would boycott these occasions.

He was however surprised when the “O” level examination results came out and found out that the erstwhile dullards had passed well enough for them to proceed to form five and six after which they dully qualified for university. After four years of study Edgar was able to attain a BSc(Hon) in Horticulture form the Midlands State University. He proceeded after a few years of strife ,in which he could not secure any meaningful employment .He ended up joining a Multi-Level Marketing company where he used to sell green tea and other herbal remedies to clients in and around Harare. Edgar’s never die attitude and acute sense of purposed however ,eventually led him to be accepted         to study for an MSc  at the University of Pretoria .According to him ,times were hard. He would go without meals at times until one of his lecturers challenged his students to excel at an assignment he had given and he promised that the the best student would be sent to Scotland for a month-all expenses paid.Edgar set out to look for part-time work to finance his meals and for the resources he needed in order to complete the assignment .He did this with flying  colours and was able to pay his own way for the study visit to Scotland .Soon after he came back and completed his studies upon which he commenced  to write his book ,The Cage Mentality-From the mind to the Mountain top, whilst completing his PhD in Plant Pathology.

Whether his book bombs or not ,the fact that he has been able to achieve all these from his humble beginnings attest to the strong will,never die attitude that marks him out as one whom will certainly make waves in both his chosen field and whatever community he will choose to live in.

Mugabe's Repressive Regime Responsible For Making Zimbos Resilience

The throwing in of the towel by Uncle Bob on the 21 st of November is the culmination of over twenty years of struggle by the sane thinking Zimbabweans. The struggle has been long and harsh, resulting in the deaths and maiming of thousands of innocent Zimbabweans whose only crime was a cry to have a different opinion or ideas to the ones exposed by Bob’s regime.

Mugabe's Repressive Regime Responsible For Making Zimbos Resilience

However, as the saying  Pressure makes diamonds reveals; the need for self –actualization is what forced over three million Zimbos into exile. This is the thing that made them the modern day children of Israel,forced to labour at menial jobs even though some of them are well educated. The politics of the stomach will  force one to swallow their pride and do that which needs to be done in order to put food on the table.So the dancing and singing that was witnessed on the evening and the night of the 21 st of November was the outward expression of the joy and hope that the Zimbabweans had in the momentous occasion of the overthrow of the evil dictator who had misguidedly thought that the country was his to do with as he pleased.

Since Zimbos could not openly express their anger and frustration at the straight jacket which was the political situation that we experienced ,a lot of people ended up showing their assertiveness in other areas of endeavors be it educational,finance,judiciary and industry. The world is full of Zimbabweans who were inspired by Mugabe’s academic excellence, who went on to emulate or even surpass him.Names like Arthur Mutambara,Dr Strive Masiyiwa,Josey Mahachi,Ellen Chiwenga and Maud Chifamba to mention but a few ;are examples of Zimbos who excelled maybe as a means to thumb their noses at the repressive regime.They may have wanted to show that despite the hardship and lack of freedoms ,one cannot keep a good man (OR woman )down.

So love him or hate him,Bob has managed to push quite a number of Zimbos to excel so as to escape the dictatorial tendencies of his regime.

The Ugly Truth About Armchair Critics

In a statement ,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 Truth About Armchair Critics

The 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 Deplomacy 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.

Be The Best You Can,With What You Have,Where You Are

The great Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa at the ripe old age of SEVENTY-SIX years.

Be The Best You Can,With What You Have,Where You Are

Many able bodied people of various ages give up their dreams because they stop believing in themselves or think that it is not doable, having a never-die attitude as well not allowing one to wallow in self pity will definitely drive one to their dreams.As sure as the sun rises in the East and sinks in the West,things will never remain the same.No matter what state one finds themselves in, the truth is that it will change .So instead of winging and mourning about your circumstances ,get up ,dress up and pitch up.Do something about your circumstance, it might be as minute as going to visit a friend and chatting ,the walk and the chance to change your surroundings will definitely give you a different perspective to the problem,half the chance you will come back invigorated  and ready to meet your challenge head on.

Whilst I might not be the best example of a person who has achieved in life , I never stop moving nor improving myself.This year alone , I was able to go for a class two drivers’ license  after having failed at the last huddle Five times ,I DID NOT give up ,on the sixth attempt I got the license and began the odious task of looking for a job in an economy where it is reported that more than half the population is unemployed. I could have given up or waited for something to happen but instead through the luck I created I was able to get a job managing a construction project for some guys who where going into construction but where too busy to baby sit the project to fruition.

How I created my luck was making people aware that I was willing to work on a voluntary basis in order to gain some driving experience.Once I was given the opportunity to work, I ensued that I did my very best .Right now Iam indispensible to the operation, Iam not only  proactive, I make sure I resolve problems on site and make it possible for the principals to concentrate on their careers.

Whilst I might not be driving but Iam learning some very useful life skills which I would have needed to pay some big bucks for in order to learn .The things is I never pass the opportunity to learn something new.Our brains require constant stimulation otherwise they die from inactivity. The stuff we learnt last year is already obsolete so we cannot rest on our laurels and think that we know it all. 

Pressure Makes Diamonds

An earlier article of mine described my gratitude to various people who helped me in my quest to have a driver’s license. The road was long and winding (excuse the pun) but finally I  reached the destination. I learnt a lot of lessons along the way.’Sometimes you have to go through the worst to get to the best.Give time some time.’

Pressure Makes Diamonds 

Maybe the biggest lesson for me was the fact that I rediscovered my faith. I was born in a Christian family and from as long back as I can imagine I was a church goer,even getting presents in quizzes organized at church ;I believe the biggest one I got was the book titled The Great Controversy which I was given when I was in Grade six if I am not mistaken.The truth is I did not get as much from reading this tome as I should have as the level was way above me.I sort of fell off the wagon when I came to the Capital city for my secondary school education and I must say I never willingly went back to church after that.My visits were limited to the times I had to go and witness friends and family for the exchange of their marriage vows or the odd baptism.

One thing I am forever grateful for is the grounding that I got from the earlier church going,it has stood me in good steed throughout the years. Somehow I knew that I was in the wrong But I still refused to smoke nor drink.The failed attempts to get a license really made me look inside myself and I discovered that I had a yearning for that which was familiar to me-Church.I am glad to say since January I have gone back to the basics and have started my journey back closer to my faith and my creater.It is not by coincidence that having failed to pass the road test on four occasions last year, I managed to get the license on the second attempt this year. The fact is now I am calmer and more self assured than I was last year thanks to the fact that I have rediscovered my faith.

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Perhaps among other things I learnt is the fact that things happen for a reason. During my struggles I went through three different driving schools and in the process learnt how to drive three types of trucks; a Nissan UD, Isuzu and finally the Mercedes Benz which I drove on my triumphant last test.The lessons I learnt are that one needs to be patient when learning something ,they also need to realize that God’s time is the best time and things happen for a reason. If I had passed at my first attempt ,I would have ended up taking things  for  granted.

One more thing which made it easier is the fact that there were some people who  prayed for me and with me to strengthen my faith TO THEM I SAY THIS SUCCESS IS MORE YOURS THAN MINE,GOD BLESS YOU.