WHY I NO LONGER HAVE SYMPATHY FOR ZIMBABWEANS

These photos were taken in 2013 outside Avondale Primary school voting station and at Kumbudzi looking for transport back to South Africa. That was the worst election I attended in terms of voter apathy. Vendors and minibus taxi drivers (maHwindi) were going on with their business in Harare and were not bothered with voting. Last night I saw videos of thousands of Zimbabweans running from Harare CBD to avoid the unjust 6pm to 6am curfew yet minibus taxis are banned and ZUPCO doesn’t have enough buses to ferry all passengers.

As Zimbabweans we are docile and that includes cowards like me who ran away from home. When I saw those videos last night I didn’t feel any sympathy, I am sorry, kusiri kufa ndekupi. Instead of a hungry person walking 30kilometers home isn’t it better to peacefully demonstrate to free ourselves. The regime is able to do divide and rule us because we are paralyzed with fear.

This reminds me of an incident in 2005 after work in Harare on my way home to Marlborough I passed by Borne Marche’ supermarket along The Chase in Mount Pleasant. That time we had shortage of bread in the country, the instore bakery happened to be be baking bread at that moment and I joined the queue, behind me came my senior our Human Resources Director. People in front of us in true Zimbabwean style were saying, “zvichanaka chete” (things will be alright one day). I chatted with my boss how hopeless we were as Zimbabweans.

I just imagine if it was in South Africa were minibus taxis were banned and citizens were subjected to such inhuman conditions, no gun or threat of jail would save the government. What is it with us Zimbabweans that cause us to be this docile as if we were chicken. Tiri huku. There is a saying, “mwari anobatsira anozvibatsira”. Let’s unite whether you are in or out of the country to free ourselves🙏🏿

Why I am very grateful

Last night before I went to bed I was reading an article from Susie Moore my favourite life coach, she recommends one must practice gratitude everyday. From form 3 up to form 6, I visited this municipality owned library six days a week. When in 1991 my mother bought a new house in the new township of Rujeko (Yellow City) next to Dombotombo Township, a 2bedroom house after my father died, the house did not have electricity for the first two years so going to library after school until it closed at 7pm was a good idea.

Most times she would rent out the other half of the house leaving two rooms for the 6 of us and cousins who came from the village looking for work as domestic workers in Marondera, it made sense to go to the library everyday it was open from Monday to Saturday. The librarians were very strict but they allowed us to bring our textbooks in. We would occupy the second room that didn’t have many books. During school holidays, we met students from some of the top schools such as Kutama college, Goromonzi High School, Marist Brothers Nyanga Boys High school etc and I realised they were not more bright than those of us going to township schools.

The last time I went to that library was in September 1998, I had joined the insurance industry in December 1997 and I was writing my second insurance exams. I took study leave and went to my mother’s home in Marondera. I would go to the library to study. I had already passed the first local insurance exams in March 1998 and now I had enrolled for two subjects with Insurance Institute of South Africa. It was very expensive raising the forex but I was determined to get the qualifications. That decision paid off, in 2002 I became a manager and in 2007 when the economic environment deteriorated in Zimbabwe, I and hundreds of my peers applied for work permits at the South African embassy in Harare and came to South Africa and joined the insurance industry and it was very easy to fit in.

I remember in September 1998 Zimbabwe was fighting in the DRC civil war, I could have become a soldier. From 1996, I had been a temporary teacher. Beginning of 1997 I was teaching at Kambarami Secondary School close to Murehwa Growth Point, my aunt Mrs Maposa asked me to come Sunningdale during the April school holidays so that I could help teach mathematics to my cousins. One day we visited my uncle Mr Farai Tsiga at his flat in Avondale very close to King George road, a walking day from Avondale Shopping Centre. Years later I would stay in Avondale for 4 years.

My uncle a war veteran was a Captain in the Zimbabwe National Army and he suggested that it would be a good idea for me to join the army and he would inform me when the officers’ recruitment commenced. I had no intention of joining the army, in my culture my uncle is considered my father and one doesn’t argue with his father. A contrast, in 1996 when the Airforce of Zimbabwe advertised for Cadet Pilots, becoming a pilot was enticing. I did apply and went for the interview at Manyame Airbase next to Harare International Airport and did the written tests in various subjects including general knowledge. I came unstuck in the Physics paper as I had studied Biology instead of Physics and I did not return the next day. Luckily we didn’t have cellphones then, my uncle phoned my school about twice around May/June 1997 and I never bothered to return his calls.

In July 1997, I left my teaching post as I desperately needed to be in Harare. At that time I was studying with Chartered Institute of Management Accountant and I would visit CIMA library in Harare at Michael House along Baker Avenue which was now renamed Nelson Mandela Avenue every weekend to compare notes with fellow CIMA students. After teaching for almost a year, I knew teaching was not for me. If I had finished school a year or two earlier, I could have qualified for the Cuba teacher training program I am sure I would have taken the offer as going to Cuba was enticing. In all my working life, I have never seen professional who are as demolarised as teachers. I joined NCR Zimbabwe as an apprentice in their printing division in the Southerton Harare, I took a 65% percent salary when I left teaching to go to Harare. I was staying with Maposa family in Sunningdale and I walked to and Southerton Industrialist site via Mbare Township and back home.

Eventually I got a big break in December 1997 when I was employed by Eagle Insurance as a Trainee Underwriter. A few days before Christmas my uncle Mr Tsiga was involved in a vehicle accident next to Mazoe Dam and died on the spot. I took unpaid leave to attend his funeral which was held at his parent’s home in Mufakose very close to Machembere bar. Sekuru Gibson my eldest cousin from my mother’s side also a war veterans and a former soldier then an aide to Vice President Simon Muzenda had also bought a house in the new government housing development next to Machembere bar. We boarded the bus to our village in Jekwa, Murehwa. My mum was already at the village. My uncle was buried at the top of the hill where all his clan is buried.

In February 2002, I would visit a funeral parlor very close to Dombotombo Library to choose a casket for my mother. Once I had selected the casket, MaNyoni’s uncle Mr Vhori brought a similar casket all the way from Harare. My mother always told me that hardwork and education would get me places and I had no choice but to believe her as she repeated this to us daily. I am so grateful for the journey I have travelled so far. I know of many of my peers some of them brighter than me but never made it 🙏🏿

WHY I FIND THE VIOLENT TRUCK STRIKE IN SOUTH AFRICA AGAINST FOREIGN DRIVERS TO BE ABSURD

I know one or two things about the trucking industry given my over 22 years experience in the insurance sector in both South Africa and Zimbabwe. 17 years ago when I completed my Associateship I majored in Motor Insurance, Business Interruption, Marine Insurance and Reinsurance. Zimbabwe used to be the transport hub of Southern Africa linking many SADC countries. As a result of the economic crisis and bad forex policies Zimbabwe slowly started losing its strategic position.

We started noticing trucking companies as well as bus companies relocating to Botswana and South Africa due to their stable business policies. For my first 10 years in South Africa from 2007 to 2017 I did mainly commercial insurance claims and I found out that many Zimbabweans own small South African registered businesses operating a few trucks. Some Zimbabweans based overseas bought trucks and set-up trucking businesses in South Africa. They transport goods mainly between South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia & DRC. There are press reports that Barloworld Logistics which owns companies such as Avis Car hire and Manline Freight is restructuring, which means leaner small companies will buy their current fleet and fill the gap.

Being a cross border truck driver is not a 9am to 5pm job, it is mostly a 24 hours, 7 days a week job, it is a tough job, you can spend up to 4 days trying to cross a border. Truck drivers confess that driving into countries such as DRC is very challenging. Given the level of de-industrialization in many SADC countries, citizens in those countries rely on those trucks to ferry goods from South Africa. This benefits South Africa in that its companies get a market for their products thereby boosting manufacturing capacity and employment and South African banks gets huge inflows of foreign currency making sure South Africa realises a positive balance of payment support that helps to stabilize the Rand. South African financial sector including insurance companies and banks benefit immensely from this. Current figures shows that around 1 000 trucks cross Beitbridge everyday during this lockdown period. On the return journey to South Africa trucks can carry unprocessed tobacco and minerals such as copper, platinum ore and chrome to Durban harbour. SA risks losing out to Port of Beira, Walvis Bay, Dar El Salaam, Luanda etc more so that the massive Kazungula bridge at the border of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe over Zambezi river is nearing completion cutting the distance to Walvis Bay and Luanda.

Some years ago there was a crippling strike at the Durban harbour that lasted many weeks and the then Botswana President complained bitterly about this. I find it not surprising that the only road that was resurfaced by Group Five in Zimbabwe is the one from Plumtree to Mutare towards Port of Beira via Harare and Bulawayo. I suspect Botswana helped to finance that project. The distance from Port of Beira to Zimbabwe is less than 300kms. That route won’t be affected by the instability in Mozambique, I remember in the 80s during Mozambique civil war, Zimbabwean soldiers successfully secured the Beira Corridor route. If the violence continues unabated South Africa will lose big time as Botswana will mostly avoid South Africa. Trucks are movable property, they can move borders overnight and be registered in neighbouring countries. Eswatini may start utilizing Port of Maputo.

Given that most of the minerals coming from DRC, Zambia and Zimbabwe going via port of Durban are going to China. If Mozambique negotiates with China to upgrade Port of Beira, I see countries such as DRC, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe shifting their exports and imports to the nearby Port of Beira. As we speak right now Zambia and Zimbabwe source their petroleum products almost exclusively from Beira via Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe the government has made it mandatory for platinum companies to start processing platinum ore which means there won’t be any need to transport the mineral via South Africa which already has a huge theft risk as compared to other SADC countries.

South Africa must wake-up and realise that rule of law means also maintaining law and order, there is no point in the trucking industry getting a high court order to interdict the illegal strike but then the police is powerless to stop the illegal strike and fail to protect property from vandalism. No country is an island, the violent strike will erode South Africa’s competitive advantage. It is absurd that thugs want to stop thousands of foreign workers with the requisite permits from working in South Africa.