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.

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.

There Is A Need To Retrain Our Bus Drivers

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

There Is A Need To Retrain Our Bus Drivers

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

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

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

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

Prothet Magaya's AIDS Cure Claim

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

Prothet Magaya's AIDS Cure Claim

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

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

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

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

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

These Are The Best Of Times

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

First Tesla Ever To Be Imported Into Zimbabwe

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

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

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

What I Learnt From Matebese

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

What I Learnt From Matebese

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

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

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

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

A Zimbos Perspective Of Life In The Diaspora

Whilst some will embrace you with open arms, there are subtle nuances that will throw you off balance if you are observant enough.

A Zimbos Perspective Of Life In The Diaspora

These are found in the terms that most indigenous people will use in referring to one such as the following used by the Sotho speaking inhabitants of South Africa and Lesotho;’makoere-koere,batsoakantle,bo my friend,bakhotsi,bo Rathuthu.If ones grasp of the local language is not that good then people will go to town ,gossiping about one in their faces.Some not so pleasant experiences will be when one meets someone who has a score to settle with a perceived enemy,who is accused of having stolen a girlfriend or a prospective job.That or the fact that you are found not to be light skinned enough to qualify as a Mosotho.Half the time the terms ‘Ke Lesotho moo' thrown about ,there is normally open hostility .Coupled with these would be questions like ;’why don’t you vote Mugabe out’ or ‘Ke Lesotho moo ,kutlang haeno’

Most people have developed a thick skin as they can hardly win all the arguments started by people who have very low self esteem or are simply not educated enough to realize the benefits that most countries gain from the economic refugees that settle in the various countries. Most of the people who are predominantly found in the countries neighboring  Zimbabwe are quite well educated and have skills that they can offer. Unfortunately, most of them end up not necessarily working in their areas of specialization but the fact that they have been through tertiary education makes them very malleable to adapt and operate quite efficiently in any given task they find themselves in so that they can put bread on their tables .

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.

The Power Of Gratitude Part 3

What goes around ,comes back around ;they say on the second of July 2017,I was reminded of this when a friend reminded me of a good deed that I carried out more than twenty odd years ago.

At the time a friend told me in confidence of the financial problems she was going through and asked whether I would be able to lend her some money for nephew’s school fees .I do not remember the exact amount involved any more .I had a bit of spare cash at the time and grudgingly gave it to her ,I was not really sure whether I would be able to get it back.To her credit she was able to pay it back and I promptly forgot about.

The Power Of Gratitude

Fast forward some twenty odd years later ,I am now the one in a fix and I require help in paying for some driving lessons ,during a conversation I happen to mention  that I am having problems ,imagine my surprise and delight when  my friend, out of the blue, inform in that I should go town and collect enough money for my lessons and a bit left over.I profusely thank my benefactor ,proceed to the point I was instructed and duly get the promised amount.A day later my reminds me of the helping hand I had extended all those years ago and informs me that the fellow I had helped in paying for his fees eventually completed school ,passed and now has a well paying job in The Republic Of South Africa.

Imagine, if I had refused to help out when I did what would have happened.What was a small gesture at the time resulted in me getting a leg up.Often people act without consciously thinking out their actions not realizing that they have a bearing on what happens in the future.Should one be in a position to help,they should just do it ,they never know that kind deed may lead to their getting a helping hand in their hour of need.

One Of Zimbabwe’s Top Schools In Modern Day Slavery Allegations

The school which constantly produces some pupils who feature in the top ten best achievers in the primary school leavers examinations is accused of modern day slavery.

One Of Zimbabwe’s Top Schools In Modern Day Slavery Allegations

A friend’s wife, who used to be an employee at the renown school tells of harrowing tales of harassment,intimidation and down right slavery practised by the  wife of the owner of the school.Among the various grievences are;members of staff being denied permission to leave the school campus during the weekend as they are required to supervise pupils’ homework.Married women are denied a chance to go home during the weekends to be with their spouses and children which results in strained relationships.A lot of pressure is also exerted on the staff members for them to maintain the high educational standards in order to justify the three thousand dollars a term schools fees charged by the school institution.

The worst cases of labour malpractise was reported last year when the owner of the school decided to build a high school a short distance away from the present primary school campus,one of the builders who were responsible for the construction of the school talks about the fact that they would work in shifts ,twenty four hours a day,seven days a week .This was because the owner wanted the school to be ready for opening on the first day of the 2017 school year.Bricks were moulded on site and after being allowed a few hours to dry they were immediately moved to the building site were used for the construction.Workers went for months without being paid for their labours .One disgruntled worker ended up going to the Employment Council Of The Construction Industry ,not much came out of it however since the school was already ninety percent complete.As I write this article former employees are still being owned thousands of dollars in unpaid salaries.

Those in the know claim that the owner of the school was advanced twenty million dollars for the construction of the school by one  of the local commercial banks,the question on most peoples’ lips is where all the money went to if at this late date former employees are still wallowing in poverty after having worked for nothing.

                                                 

Water Woes Bedevil Chitungwiza

It is a fact that Water is life and its absence results in a lot of anguish and heartache especially among the women and children in our patriarchal society.

Water Woes Bedevil Chitungwiza

Our society dictates that women and girls are solely responsible for the upkeep of the family kitchens and the chores which go with the maintenance of the same.Recent events which have seen erratic and intermittent supply of the precious liquid which is responsible for the smooth running of our bodies,homes and gardens to mention just to mention a few important aspects.Nowadays, the few boreholes that were sunk by some well meaning donor organisations have become a hive of activities as most mothers and girls try to get a few buckects of the precious liquid for their families.So dire is the need that one such borehole close to my residence is always packed full of human beings; some standing others sitting on buckets ,patiently waiting for their turn at the heavy metal handle,  so that they can drew their buckets full.Gone are the days where people could sleep peacefully in their homes ,quite a few actually spend nights at the boreholes.

The act of sleeping at boreholes have in-turn spawned some unwelcome social ills such as rapes and sexual favours demanded in exchange for a chance to jump the queue and draw water.Tales are going around of gangs of young males who are terrorizing the women and girls at these boreholes as they unlawfully monopolise these for their own benefit which involve the demand for sexual favours in exchange for water. Other unscrupulous young thugs are known to propose love to innocent young girls and they indecently assault them by grabbing their breasts or butts. They are doing all this with impunity since most men are not involved in the fetching of water.

Apart from these social ills, there is also the ever present danger of water-borne diseases since some people cannot stomach the thought of spending endless hours in queues in order to get a few days worth of water supplies. A lot of shallow unprotected water bodies have been dug and a lot of people are resorting to these for their daily supplies of water. One shudders to think of the consequence of an outbreak of cholera of dysentery. Already health facilities are struggling to cope with the demand for services now, in the event of an epidemic, there could be a disaster of epic proportions.

Sports Betting And The Unemployed Urban Zimbo Male

In a country where it is reported that there is a ninety percent unemployment rate , the scarcity of jobs has led to most urban males flocking to sports betting  houses to try their luck.

Sports Betting And The Unemployed Zimbo Male

They wait patiently outside the locked doors of the sports betting lounges for the doors to open and   rush to grab choice seats at the vantage positions to be able to best watch the repeat of games played the previous day.Whilst some will be busy scratching their heads and placing bets on teams scheduled to play later in the day,for the rest of the mostly male viewers it is a safe environment ; with clean free ablution facilities and entertainment galore.For a few hours they can forget the fact that they unemployed and don’t have any lunch money.The few with a few cents to spare diligently study,discuss and place bets  on teams of their choice hoping for an elusive payday with stakes placed heavily in favour of the betting house, a very few come away with any payouts.Desparation has left many clutching at straws in the hope of scoring a few dollars for their daily sustaince.

The only women found in the packed sports betting lounges are the cashiers behind the counters and the others on cleaning and sweeping duties throughout the day.This is a male dominated society after all.

The queues of people waiting to place their bets are endless throughout the day save only for the days when there are live matches,then the tension is palpable as supporters of the different clubs try to out-shout each other as they egg their different teams to victory.In the pace of ninety odd minutes, money is made and lost and the person who benefits the most is the owner of the betting house,who stand to rake in thousands of dollars every single day of the week.

The sports betting phenomena is so popular that even those who are employed spare a few minutes during lunch break to come and place bets or catch repeats of matches played earlier.

With the failed economy adding more and more numbers to the growing numbers of punters hoping to score big at sports betting ,this is a scourge that is here to stay.

Gratitude part 2

The late Mother Theresa, the world renowned humanitarian, said ‘We shall pass through this world, but once if, therefore, there be any kindness that we can show or any good thing that we can do, let us do it now. Let us not defer nor neglect it for once we leave the world, we will never pass this way again.

Wicknell Chivayo

I write the above quote to enlighten my fellow Zimbabwean, a certain  Wickell Chivayo.The fact that he has done wonders of The Warriors is there for all to see. Much of the hype was created by the same journalists that he is now bashing at every opportunity he gets. It is most unfortunate that the Youngman was so offended because a journalist had done his job and had got the scoop of the week by informing the nation of the fact that the beloved Warriors coach had gone for quite some time without being paid. Facts are stubborn; it is very difficult for a father who sees his families’ dreams go up in smoke, to expect him to be tactful and remain stoical whilst people hog the spotlight for his endeavors on the sports field but his family goes hungry. I believe Pasuwa had reached the end of his tether that is why he let the nation know of the shoddy way in which he was being treated. In my honest opinion, we need a lot more people like Pasuwa.

Wicknell has been very fortunate to be well endowed with cash, but The Good Lord, in his wisdom ensured that he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. We are created with two ears and one mouth for a reason; that we talk less and listen more. The ‘selfless’ act of sponsoring The Warriors in this hostile economic environment certainly does not warrant the temper tantrums that the nation has had to bear witness to these past few days. It seems as if the nations being held to ransom by a tin can despot who wants everything to be down his own way

We are not ungrateful BUT if someone helps one out and brags about the act at every turn, is it not better to throw off the york and live an honest poverty-stricken life. Enough with these childish tantrums already, sport especially football is supposed to bring the country together not tears us apart.

The Cash Crunch And Its Consequences

The Eastgate branch of Mukuru is failing to manage the crowds who throng their banking hall monthly so that they can access the funds sent to them by their friends and relatives from the diaspora as yours truly experienced on the sixth of June 2016.

The Cash Crunch And Its ConsequencesAdd caption

One of their employees known as Ernest failed to control the crowd leading to a chaotic five minutes in which no services were rendered to the customers  in the banking hall this was despite being shown that some individuals were causing mayhem by jumping the queue.The employee mentioned above refused point blank to entertain the displeasure of the customers,he ended up abandoning his station after noticing that the situation was getting out of control.

The situation was not helped by the fact that the customer responsible for the breakdown in the queue was a young lady,pardon me if i appear sexist but this is just the fact.Ernest's complete disregard for the queuing public's plight is nothing short of callous dereliction of duty .Given the precarious situation prevailing in the economy,no company can afford to ill-treat it's customers in the manner described above.One hopes the powers that be take heed and resolve the chaotic situation promptly.