WE NEED NEW HEROES, SANCTIONS ON ZANU-PF WILL & MUST STAY ON

When I started school in Zimbabwe in 1983 South Africa and Namibia were still under the yokes of Apartheid. Angola and Mozambique were fighting civil wars , RENAMO in Mozambique and UNITA in Angola were sponsored by foreign powers mainly Apartheid South Africa. Kamuzu Banda of Malawi cooperated with Apartheid South Africa. As I started high school in 1990 things were changing for the better in Southern Africa. I remember in form 1(grade 8 ) when Nelson Mandela visited Zimbabwe soon after his release from prison, one morning in Mbizo, Kwekwe I was on my way to school at Manunure High School and someone told me the day had been declared a public holiday in honour of Nelson Mandela. We grew up on a diet of pan Africanism anti-colonialism. We read about the war of liberation in school. Our heroes were Robert Mugabe, Sam Nujoma, Samora Machel, Kenneth Kaunda, Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat, Mikhail Gorbachev, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Quett Masire, Daniel arap Moi etc. We revered Socialism but at the same time we were influenced by American pop culture through black American singers and actors. By the time we finished high school, my friends and I were critical of Zanu-PF policies even though the economy was not that bad. I joined public service in 1996 and left for the private sector a year later. The turning point for Zimbabwe was when war veterans arm twisted Robert Mugabe to award them un-budgeted gratuities of $50 000, that was the equivalence of two years salary for a teacher. On a Friday in November 1997, the became we later called Black Friday, Zimbabwean dollar tanked against major currencies and became worthless. Robert Mugabe tried to raise workers’ taxes to cover the deficit. ZCTU then led by Gibson Sibanda as president and Morgan Tsvangirai as Secretary General led demonstrations against this unwise move. In December 1997, I had just started my new job at Eagle Insurance Company Ltd at corner Jason Moyo Avenue and 4th street. ZCTU offices were not far away behind us at Chester House in Speke Avenue. War veterans attempted to throw out Morgan Tsvangirai through the window from his office on the 10th floor. We came to work as per normal about an hour or so later police started throwing teargas clearing people from Harare CBD. In my life I had never smelt teargas. I started coughing, we were running towards Breaside as there was no public transport around. I walked through Arcadia on my way home to Sunningdale. In 1998 stay aways organised by ZCTU continued. One Saturday in 1998, civil society convened a meeting at great hall at University of Zimbabwe campus. It was years before I had a car, I went to Zimbabwe Council of Churches offices in Harare and we boarded the ZCC Toyota Coaster minibuses to Mount Pleasant. In great hall, I saw Morgan Tsvangirai in person for the first time. I saw The Who is Who in the civil society. Speaker after speaker put the blame on the heavily amended Lancaster House Constitution as it concentrated power in one person Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe needed a new constitution. Morgan Tsvangirai was elected as first leader of National Constitutional Assembly (NCA). Civil society demanded a new constitution. Robert Mugabe set up the Constitutional Commission led by the Judge President Godfrey Chidyausiku. Most of the civil society members were not invited except the likes of Jonathan Moyo, Lupi Mushayakarara etc. All members of parliament who were mostly Zanu-PF were also members of the commission. The draft constitution was put to a vote in February 2000, the view of NCA was that the draft did not express the views of Zimbabweans. Mugabe had put in sweeteners such as the expropriation of land without compensation. As much as land reform is an emotive issue in Zimbabwe, I felt Robert Mugabe was not the man to take us forward. 55% of Zimbabweans voted against the draft constitution and this was the first time Zanu-PF was defeated. At that time tens of thousands of young Zimbabweans could see the writing on the wall and left for mainly for United Kingdom before a visa was introduced. I decided against leaving Zimbabwe a move I regretted a few years later. Despite the fact that we had rejected the draft constitution, Mugabe’s government immediately changed the constitution and introduced expropriation of land as well as taking away citizenship of those born out of Zimbabwe or had foreign parentage. The move was meant to take away the right to vote for the few whites and many farm workers many of whom had come from Malawi and Mozambique. Mugabe called African immigrants people without a totem. Millions became stateless overnight. As we went to the 2000 parliamentary elections there was so much violence in the country especially in small towns and on farms. Farmers, farm workers and opposition supporters were murdered. The police looked the other way. In April 2000 I had joined American Insurer AIG Zimbabwe in the farming claims department and I would have a front row seat in the chaos that happened in the farm occupation violence. The rule of law was tossed out, government disregarded investment protection agreements with many governments. Many farmers including South Africans lost their farms despite there being government to government investment guarantees. Thabo Mbeki one of the backers of Robert Mugabe continued supporting Mugabe despite his country men and women losing their properties in violation of international law. Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay was forced out by then Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa when he told him he couldn’t guarantee his safety. The pliant Chidyausiku was appointed as the Chief Justice ahead of senior Supreme Court Judges such as Justice Wilson Sandura. The new court started reversing land rulings to favour Zanu-PF. Commonwealth, EU, USA and other western institutions rightly pronounced the elections were not free and fair. In 2002 we had the presidential election and Robert Mugabe faced defeat. Thabo Mbeki sent in then High Court Judges Sisi Khampepe and Dikgang Moseneke to also observe the elections. Thabo Mbeki and two successive ANC presidents refused to release The Khampepe report until the court ordered its release over a decade later. The report concluded the election was not free and fair. All those years Thabo Mbeki’s government kept on insisting that Zimbabwe elections were free and fair despite what he knew. EU and USA had been right to impose targeted sanctions against Zanu-PF leaders back in 2001. The Commonwealth was also right to suspend Zimbabwe. The last free vote we had in Zimbabwe was the 2000 Constitutional Referendum and anything after that has been a charade. Millions of Zimbabweans left Zimbabwe mainly for South Africa and United Kingdom, Zanu-PF refuses those Zimbabweans to vote from their new countries. Institutions in Zimbabwe such as the judiciary, electoral commission are clearly captured. I normally don’t agree with many policies of the west, however sanctioning Zanu-PF government officials is something I personally welcome. This year US added Kuda Tagwirei on targeted sanctions and this is a good move, they should go further and sanction the captured judiciary and the compromised electoral commission. African presidents especially in SADC region supports Zanu-PF to the hilt yet they don’t follow Zanu-PF disastrous policies such as chaotic land reform, sham elections and weakening of courts. These same presidents periodically round-up thousands of desperate Zimbabweans in their countries and deport them. In Botswana traditional courts impose harsh and inhuman sentences such as the canning of Zimbabwean border jumpers. South Africa is busy drafting measures to exclude Zimbabweans and other African migrants from township economies. In April 2020 South African Finance Minister Mr Tito Mboweni indicated there is need to regulate the percentage of African migrants employed in industries such as restaurants. Do these SADC leaders think that ordinary Zimbabweans are lesser human beings? Why would they back Zanu-PF to the hilt yet they would never tolerate the blatant election thefts and captured of democracy institutions as done by Zanu-PF in their own countries? The end result is that Zimbabwean now look up to EU and USA leaders as those looking up to their best interests. Targeted sanctions must be intensified to all those stifling democracy in Zimbabwe and must include enablers such as some members of judiciary, business leaders etc. The international community should insist on a transitional authority in Zimbabwe that should hold UN supervised elections which should allow millions in the diaspora to also vote. Zanu-PF will never reform the state institutions as they can never win a free and fair election🙏🏿

PEOPLE WHO WENT TO TOP SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES HAVE A CLEAR ADVANTAGE IN THE CORPORATE WORLD

Memory Nguwi shared an article on LinkedIn this week about hiring people from elite colleges, it reminded me of my career journey. After I completed A’Level in 1995, I didn’t make into any Bachelor of Sciences degree programs at the University of Zimbabwe(UZ) when my peers enrolled in early 1996. It was time to look for work. I always knew that students from top private schools and top former group A (model C)schools had an advantage in the career field. For example to become a Chartered Accountant there were two routes. Graduate with an Honours Accounting degree at UZ and then sign a 3 year articles training contract with one of the big 5 Accounting firms. Those from top schools would be able with low grades to sign a 5 year contract straight after high school then enroll for a BCompt degree with Unisa. Around 1996 when I was working as a temporary teacher I was visiting my aunt Mrs Maposa in Sunningdale, Harare I met Lloyd my former school mate from Marondera High School where we had been both day scholars. Lloyd like myself had gone to township schools up to O’Level. He had gone to Rakodzi High School and I went to Nyameni Secondary School. In 1994 when we both enrolled for A’Level there were only two formal schools that offered A’Level within the town of Marondera namely Nagle House a Catholic run high school for girls and Marondera High School that accommodated both girls and boys. Tragically I heard Lloyd succumbed to cancer in his early 20s. During the colonial era, Marondera highschool had been a whites only school but now it was open to all of us. Like all group A schools students at Marondera High School spoke with a private school accents, we called them maNose as they spoke like the British. Lloyd invited me to his home in Sunningdale and I could see he was doing very well, he was already married whilst many of us were still looking for a career. Lloyd was working as a shop manager for one of the well established fast food franchises in Zimbabwe. He told me he was earning around $3 600 per month, then as a temporary teacher I earned $2 000.00. He organised an interview for me and he assisted me with the preparations. He told me they were looking for candidates who went to group A schools. English was not my strength worse my accent as I spoke English the same way I spoke Shona. Even at O’Level at Nyameni Secondary school the three of us who where in top three we got distinctions in many subjects but we all only managed a C in English. I went for the interview at Hurudza house. The recruiter for the company was asking me about my high school years eg which sports I participated etc. I knew I did not fit and it was not surprising I was not recruited. At that time Shearwater also advertised attractive positions in Victoria Falls and they required you to be a swimmer, who swims? Eventually I got my break and I joined Eagle Insurance Company end of 1997. I became friends with Tonderai Masvosva who was working at Sedgwick Insurance Broker. Tonderai would become my best man at my wedding. Tonderai had grown up in Mufakose in the township like myself but he had gone to one of the top schools in Zimbabwe, St Georges College for boys. Tonderai invited me to join Round Table and in the group I connected with many of his former school mates. In the group I found confident young men who had each other’s back. Those young men treated each other like family despite the difference in tribe, race etc. Very few of them had university degrees but they were doing very well and were already managers. Louis who stayed close to me in Avondale had just came back from America and he helped his family to run large Supermarket Chains in Harare. During the tense period of land reform we mingled across racial barriers in the surbubs as well as on the farms along Domboshava road. In business networking is key, people who went to these top schools knows the value of networking whereas us from township schools view each other as competition. In 2003 after I passed my Associateship exams I was a junior manager at Zimbabwe Insurance Brokers and my ambition was to be appointed as a broking manager. I got a call from Tonderai to inform me that they were looking for an Underwriting Manager at Zimnat Lion Insurance company then the second biggest Insurance company in Zimbabwe and then listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. I laughed at Tonderai when he insisted that I apply as I considered myself not remotely qualified for such a senior position. I reluctantly applied and was interviewed by my future boss the late Willard Madanha who was the AGM and I would be his deputy. Mrs Lynn Mukonoweshuro our then Human Resources Director was part of the interview panel. The craziest thing happened, I got the job. My boss Willard was so impressed with my knowledge of insurance I just think people who work in claims know Insurance subject the most because everyday we have to ask is this covered? When Willard became Bulawayo branch manager he would ask me to sign off some of his big insurance quotations. I had seasoned insurance professionals to guide me namely my new AGM the legendary AZ Shoko and the MD Carlson Chiswo as well as our main reinsurers from Zimre Reinsurance namely Tarupiwa Tarupiwa and his boss Mufaro Chairuka. Whenever I got stuck I would pass by Mr Oscar Matingo at his office next to my biggest client Aon Zimbabwe in Borrowdale. Mr Matingo had handled most of those biggest accounts for years and so it made sense to go and get his advice. In management meetings it was clear who went to private school. People generally listen to the good English speakers and that is a fact. After the meeting I would joke with Manu Chikwanda our engineer about the big words that came out from the meeting from our peers who went to group A schools words such as “dovetail". When I came to South Africa in 2007 I was employed in the call centre imagine speaking English for 8 hours a day Eish. Many years later a client told me to slow down as I was speaking English like a white man. I am worried maybe I have now been converted from township English to Model C school English. We should help to prepare children in the township and rural schools the same way model C school kids are taught. In meetings they are not scared to speak and they are mostly confident and equipped for the corporate world.

I SALUTE ANYONE DOING BUSINESS IN ZIMBABWE

On 2 October 2017, I finished serving my 4 weeks notice after I resigned from my job in Centurion after 10 years with my employer. I boarded a bus in Pretoria that evening and arrived in Harare on 3 October 2017. The situation in Zimbabwe was gloomy. I was there to try and prop up my struggling piggery project, which I managed to do by buying cheap maize bran for my pigs. I managed to greatly lower my costs. I was very cautious about sending more money into Zimbabwe. Police corruption was at an all time high and they openly extorted money at roadblocks. After buying pig feed that would last me 3 months I escaped back to South Africa which is a normal functioning country when compared to Zimbabwe. I expanded my transport hustle by buying a 4 tonne truck. I constantly travelled to Zimbabwe midweek cheaply when the border is less congested as I was no longer working.

A month later Robert Mugabe was toppled, I even flew in to Harare on the day of the demonstration to participate. Zimbabweans from all walks of life looked to the future with much hope. We were so wrong the situation was set to get worse 😢 Because of my success in my piggery project I thought I should get back to work starting April 2018 for only 6 months, get a payslip to be able to access a personal loan to buy butchery equipment as well as finance tobacco farming, my target was 10 hectares. I should have been more patient. I realised by end of June I had made a mistake going back to work as 60 well fed pigs were sold in my absence and thousands of dollars were unaccounted for, in the process I lost momentum. My hustle in South Africa also started to suffer. In life you have learn from your failures, forgive yourself and move on. After the disputed 2018 election the situation in Zimbabwe got worse, the government abandoned US$ and I had 10 hectares of tobacco seedlings that I had to give away, you can’t spend Rands to grow tobacco then the government pockets US$ and they pay you worthless Zimbabwean dollar. Finally early this year, we stopped the piggery project as we encountered so many challenges and we no longer had the energy. I have learnt so many lessons doing business in Zimbabwe. The environment in Zimbabwe is very unpredictable, we always joke that government officials wake-up every morning and ask themselves, how can we make lives of ordinary people a living hell today😢 In Zimbabwe the government comes up with arbitrary policies with zero consultation and that can mean that your business can close down. If you have been based outside Zimbabwe for sometime the hardships have changed ordinary people, it’s very difficult to trust people in Zimbabwe with money especially your relatives. People always inflate costs and it has become a normal way of life . Many businesses have no problems taking months to pay you or not pay you at all. When you send money to Zimbabwe for projects people have no problems converting it for their own use. In my view it is important to constantly visit Zimbabwe and handle your finances on your own otherwise it will end up in tears. I am looking forward to going back to Zimbabwe once the restrictions are lifted although I no longer have the same energy I had given the deteriorating economic and political environment.