WHAT I LEARNT FROM MY FATHER

My father had been ill for over a year, the day he died, it was early November 1990. I dreamt about his death the previous night. When I woke up, I told my mother about my dream and she just told me to go to school. I arrived home around 5pm from school and I learnt an ambulance had just taken him to Marondera Provincial Hospital where he died early that evening. He was 36 and I was 14. My father had suffered for over a year.

That evening, his colleagues in the police force wanted to inform my grandmother about his death. My mother was in no condition to travel  to our village in Murehwa. I volunteered to show police the way to our village and we went via Macheke and Nhowe Mission. We arrived around midnight. The police officers informed my grandmother about the death and she started crying. My grandfather whom I am named after had married a second wife and moved to Chikore with his new wife a few years after I was born. I only saw my grandfather a few times. My grandmother wanted to inform her older brother Mr Johane Mukoko so we drove to village 36 to inform him.

In 1990 death was not very common like now. Then the Zimbabwean government was not broke. I remember my father’s casket in the brand new police Landrover Defender pick-up. There were many lorries that fetched mourners from Marondera to Murehwa. At the graveside police did the mandatory gun salute and a lot of villagers were really scared. We viewed the casket for the last time and my father appeared as if he was sleeping. His death hit my mother and my grandmother really hard. My maternal grandmother had died a few weeks before and my mother didn’t go to the funeral as my father was seriously ill.

As the first born, my father’s death made me grow up quickly. My father was a man of few words. He was a very patient man, he rarely disciplined me as that was left to my mother. Like all policemen he dealt with facts, he wanted direct to the point answers. When he asked you to do something you listened carefully as he didn’t like repeating himself. He taught me to iron clothes as he always ironed his own clothes. He liked reading everyday from Herald or Chronicle Newspapers and Newsweek and Time magazines. After he was done reading I would read. Even in primary school I knew about Cold War and Nuclear Weapons. He was a lousy cook, when mum was away he cooked sadza(pap) with lumps, I would struggle to eat the sadza as lumps made me want to vomit.

Like many men in my extended family who fought during the liberation war, he  suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. After the war ended, he related very well with his uncle, cousins, nephews and nieces who had fought on the side of Zanu-PF. Most of 1990 he was on sick leave and so I spent a lot of time with him. In 1990 there was not much information or therapy for HIV or AIDS. At times he could not see, so I would accompany him to the loo. At Dombotombo Police Station we used a communal toilet and it was a tricky situation.

When he felt a bit better, I would talk to him. Everyone I met from his cousins and school mates told me how intelligent he was. After finishing the grades available at the nearby Jekwa School in the late 60s he had to cycle to Dombwe school about 14kms in order to continue with his education. He passed his Standard 6 education. Then there was no nearby secondary schools in the villages. To go for high school he had to go to boarding schools such as Murewa Mission.

As recounted by my father my grandfather wanted to sell cows so that he could continue with his education and the younger wife refused. My father told me never to have more than one wife as that would bring misery to yourself, your spouse and your children. My father had to look for work armed with a standard 6 education. Then in Rhodesia there was very few options for Africans, he started as a game ranger in the Kariba area and later joined the hated Rhodesia Police. He fought the war on the wrong side. As an African, he had a glass ceiling. After independence he continued in the police but it was obvious that there was bias towards war veterans. My father aced the police examinations but he was never promoted for among other things indiscipline.

Another important lesson from my father, the lesson came too late in his life. He told me that your spouse must be your best friend and not your siblings or your own friends. He had seen that when he became seriously sick all his friends who influenced him to do the wrong thing where nowhere to be seen, the only person who stuck with him was my mother. When his will was read, it was clear he had seen the light. He also told me a hilarious story to show why you must always listen to opinions of other people. He said there was a woman who never wanted to hear the opinion of her husband and one day she didn’t dress properly and her undergarments were exposed. The husband was really scared to say anything, when she went outside neighbours told her.

The reason why I don’t smoke nor drink that much alcohol is what I witnessed from my father in the 80s. I didn’t like it when he was drunk nor smoke. About two years before his death, my father took out a life insurance policy with Zimnat Life Insurance and nominated myself and my mother as co-beneficiaries. That money paid for my education and it only ran out in my final A’Level year and my school fees and examination fees were paid by the department of social welfare. In January 2004,  I would join Zimnat Group as a middle level manager.

A VIEW FROM A FOREIGNER, SOUTH AFRICA HAS SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES

I know my South African friends will not like to hear this, but I will say it anyway🤣 SA has many opportunities for small businesses. It explains why many foreigners will quickly start a business on arriving in South Africa.
 

By the time I left Zimbabwe in August 2007, I had been a middle level manager. Even on that level my monthly salary hovered around R1 000, it was not enough to buy a bed cash in Zimbabwe. Like many Zimbabweans, I now made more in my hustles and only stayed in the job for benefits I had such as 300 litres monthly petrol, use of a reliable company vehicle a Toyota double cab and the 3 bedroom company house in Burnside, Bulawayo. By that time sales from my shops were over R20 000 per week. I eventually resigned after I bought myself an Isuzu bakkie and decided to concentrate on my hustles, Mugabe introduced the mid 2007 price control blitz😡
 

Salaries in South Africa are generally higher than in Zimbabwe yet goods and services are much cheaper with the exception of rentals which are more expensive in South Africa. Those expensive rentals is a business opportunity. My first business within 4 months of arriving in South Africa was rentals. My brother in law and his friend also from Zimbabwe had rented for years a 2 bedroom flat in Sunnyside when they were both PHD students at University of Pretoria, in December 2007, they were moving out and I took over the flat whose rent was R2 400. I rented out the dining room to three Zimbabwean ladies for around R2 400, the other bedroom to a couple for R2 000. The friend was not happy with me making money and cancelled the lease with the agent and I moved out on the fifth month.

Currently around Pretoria Central, Sunnyside, Arcadia etc there are people whose own source of income is having about 5 flats in their name and they rent out spaces to tertiary institutions students making a decent profit from each flat. I know of friends who save or take out loans and build rooms for rental in townships. In many surbubs you can advertise to share your home, it is a good idea when you have lost your job and you are struggling to pay your bond. There is no need to be embarrassed we all go through hardships at some point in life. You do what you have to do to get through the tough spell. The financial system in South Africa is more accessible to individuals and the interests rates are more affordable. I was able to buy my first car within 3 months of arriving in South Africa and paid very affordable installments. In Zimbabwe I wouldn’t be able to do so. I got my first credit card on the 4th months and with the money I was able to reopen my shop in Janhi, Mutoko in January 2008. Due to the inflationary environment of 2008 and massive devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar I was losing so much money and I closed the shop.

In Zimbabwe for you to get a homeloan, you needed the support of your employer to guarantee the loan otherwise you would not qualify nor afford the installments. Many foreigners will start looking to buy a home as soon as they arrive in South Africa even though it not very easy for foreigners to do so but the terms are much better than back home. Whilst I saw my South African friends buying the expensive VW Golf GTI or VW Polo GTI, I saw foreigners financing Uber vehicles. In 2017 I met a Zimbabwean who had four Uber black vehicles. For a price of one Golf GTI you can buy up to three International haulage trucks in a fair condition. Even buying a bakkie or a double cab makes sense, you can carry furniture for your neighbours and get extra income. During your off days, you can drive to Mpumalanga buy green mealies or oranges and sell from the side of the road and earn extra income. You can even employ someone else.
 

The adherence to rule of law in South Africa is good for business. I ran general dealer shops in Zimbabwe from 2001 up to 2008, things would be change overnight. During elections government would impose unreasonable price controls and confiscate your goods. In South Africa you can open your tuckshop or takeaway at home and the government will not arbitrarily demolish your business without a court order. In Zimbabwe things are different, I remember Robert Mugabe whilst opening the new highway to the airport in Harare once asked why there were houses on the way to the airport. Those houses had been there for years. The next few days the entire neighborhood was demolished😢
 

Many of my black South African friends envy Zimbabwe’s land reform but the reality is that the economic and legal environment makes it very risky to even farm in Zimbabwe. I can get as much land I need from relatives and friends. Some people have over 30 hectares of land that is lying unutilised. You can grow your maize and you will be compelled by law to sale to the state and be paid the useless Zimbabwean dollar. You can bring in your forex and grow as much tobacco as you want, when the tobacco is sold the government will pocket the US$ and you are paid in Zimbabwean dollar bank transfer and not cash. The current black market rate is about 4 times the official rate, so by farming tobacco you are losing money at the expense of the government which pockets your forex.
 

In Zimbabwe for you to get cash you pay a premium of up to 60%😢 Many people leave farms in Zimbabwe and decide to come and work in South Africa because the government policies in Zimbabwe can easily bankrupt a farmer. If South Africa is able to do a responsible and sensible land reform this will make South Africa more attractive for small businesses.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP- WORKING ON YOUR BUSINESS IDEA

 

In 2011, we had finished building a 2 bedroom house self-funded at our stand in Zimre Park just outside Harare. The tenant moved in on 1 January 2011. That year I also opened a tuck shop at home as I have extensive experience in running general dealer shops. Zimbabwe was still using US$. I had an idea to raise broiler chicken at home. I grew up raising chicken. I planned for the project at home in Pretoria and presented my costing to my wife, she also has an accounting degree. So I have to convince myself first and then also get her input. I wanted the chicken to be ready by Christmas. I took a bus to Harare towards end of October, I visited hardwire shops and bought 600 chicks, feeding and drinking trays to be delivered around 8 November. I bought wooden planks and a few metal roof sheets and constructed a small fowl run. My plan was to extend the fowl run as the chicken grew and this is exactly what we did. Months later someone rented that fowl run. 

I had won my first overseas incentive top performers award at work, MaNyoni and I were going to fly to Phuket, Thailand on 31 October 2011 and come back around 8 November 2011. Mereka Maruwira was going to collect the chicks and raise them. I would come to Harare every two weeks to monitor, expand the fowl run and buy feed. December 2011 was hectic as I went to Zimbabwe every weekend.The easiest way to travel was flying but then getting a flight on Friday around 7pm and coming back on Sunday evening to South Africa is normally the most expensive time to fly and will cost around R5 000.00, it was better to use the the road and invest the savings in my project. Driving 2100 kms over the weekend was also tiring and expensive. Taking the bus was out of question because I only had the weekend and buses leave Pretoria when I am still at work. I would go to Johannesburg after work on Fridays, board a minibus to Beitbridge border post around midnight for around R250.00. The whole return trip only cost me R1 000.00.

I would cross both borders on foot, get lifts to Harare either from buses that would have finished border clearance formalities or from people who would have come to buy Japanese used cars in Musina. I would get to Harare on Saturday morning, buy stock for my tuck shop, chicken feed and solve the problem at the chicken project. On Sunday morning I would leave home around 6am to get lifts to Beitbridge and would arrive in Pretoria before 8pm. During Christmas holidays I hiked to Harare arrived early on 25 December and went straight to Mbare chicken market and negotiated a good price with the guys, they hired a truck and they bought half of the stock in cash. The following week on New Year, I eventually drove to Harare and negotiated to sell the remaining chicken. I lost money because my guys didn’t properly dress the chicken 😢

Starting a hustle or a project is time consuming and it needs dedication. It is not impossible. Over the years I have learnt that people only cares for your project the same way you care for it. It’s not just about sending money but you need to invest your time in the project as well. Plan your project don’t hesitate, implement it and start solving problems as you go ahead. There is no point in over planning. In this case I knew the first 3 weeks I didn’t need a lot of feed. When I got paid the next month I bought more feed and expanded the fowl run.

IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID- THE TRAGEDY OF INVESTING IN ZIMBABWE

 

This term was coined during the 1992 successful presidential run by Bill Clinton. I remember flying home to Harare on Saturday 18 November 2017 to participate in the demonstration to demand Robert Mugabe resignation. My expectation from the then incoming president Mnangagwa was not that democracy would improve in Zimbabwe, I thought at least he would manage the economy better. Throughout Africa we have less democratic countries such as Uganda, Botswana, Egypt, Rwanda etc but whose leaders know how to manage economies.

I have tried doing various projects in Zimbabwe since I left the country almost 13 years ago, the economic environment has become worse. Early this year, I took the painful but rational decision to stop our only project left in Zimbabwe being our piggery project. The issues are state corruption, the absence of rule of law, the poor management of the economy etc. In Zimbabwe authorities do not excessive just administrative actions. You can wake up one morning, the state will have imposed far reaching measures that might mean the closure of your business.

For the last five years we bought maize from local farmers and from nowhere the government gazetted a law to make it illegal to buy or sell maize. A farmer next door could get arrested for selling maize to you😢 For years I would bring maize from Mutoko to Chivhu about 300kms away without a problem but the new laws made doing that a criminal action and police would impound your  vehicle and permanently forfeit it to the state.

After the disputed 30 July 2018 election, a then respected finance minister was appointed and I welcomed this move. From the minister’s statement before he was appointed, he had proposed using the South African Rand and that made economic sense. Around November 2018, he announced his budget and announced that he would stick with the Zimbabwean dollar. At that time I already had tobacco seedlings ready to be planted and my target was 10 hectares of tobacco. I was planning to go home permanently and managed the farming on my own. Although I had already incurred costs, it was prudent not to send more forex to Zimbabwe and I donated the seedlings to local farmers.

We still stuck with our piggery project but we decided not to expand it horizontally and vertically as per our plans. The decision to bring back the Zimbabwe dollars made inputs in Zimbabwe very expensive and we started buying from South Africa. The problem was when selling the pork, we always lost money because of the premium on physical cash as compared to EFT.

The power shortages of 2019 when Lake Kariba water level were very low made it worse, abattoirs couldn’t buy more pigs as the butcheries were not stocking huge quantities. What really sunk us was the shortage of maize and a tonne of maize was costing US$300 as compared to $130 in South Africa plus transport. The logistics of buying maize and pig concentrate were a nightmare as you require an import permit.

If we had a stable and properly managed Zimbabwe, I would be better off in Zimbabwe than in South Africa farming as there is a huge gap in Zimbabwe. There is so much land that lies idle and a lot of dams that are not being utilized. The reality now is that you will need your head examined to send your hard earned forex to Zimbabwe as things stand. I discuss with many Zimbabweans based overseas and they would rather buy properties in South Africa than build a house or start a project in Zimbabwe

GENERAL JAN CHRISTIAAN SMUTS, A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOUR IN HIS OWN COUNTRY

 

One of my prized possessions was a Time Magazine Person of the Century issue published around December 1999-January 2000. Unfortunately I left it in Bulawayo in August 2007 when I migrated to South Africa. The person of the century award went to Albert Einstein, incidentally Einstein once said then that Jan Smuts was one of only eleven men in the world who conceptually understood the theory of relativity. Mahatma Gandhi was a runner up person of the century. Nelson Mandela wrote for Time about the life of Gandhi in an article titled, ‘The Sacred Warrior’. That article compelled me to read Gandhi’s biography years later. This led me to read about Jan Smut and will lead me to read about Winston Churchill.

Both Smuts and Gandhi were lawyers educated in Britain. Smuts had been the Attorney General of Transvaal colony and later Minister of Interior. There was a policy to restrict the settlement of Indians in the Transvaal. It is said the racial prejudices that Gandhi witnessed in South Africa and the violence he witnessed in the saw-called Bambata Rebellion changed him forever. Nelson Mandela wrote, “ he led his Indian stretcher-bearer corps to serve the Empire, but British brutality against the Zulus roused his soul against violence as nothing had done before.” Gandhi’s passive resistance inspired many including Dr Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement in America.

As a native my first instinct was not to read Smut’s biography given the complicated history of colonialism and segregation in Africa. I am glad I did. Smut was an intelligent man, a brave soldier, a statesman, a legendary military leader, a man with a deep love for nature and above all a visionary as well as a realist. During the Anglo-Boer war, you can track his journey as a commander fighting the English in then Transvaal colony, Orange Free State, present day Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

A truce was declared, as the Attorney General of The Transvaal colony his presence was required in Pretoria. You then trace his journey fulfilling his vision of uniting the four colonies into one South Africa. He knew the importance of uniting Afrikaners and the English despite a difficult past between the two people. I believe he loved his people but he was realistic and sought to have South Africa declared as a republic under the protection of the British empire. He knew the painful reality that if South Africa didn’t have the protection of British empire, another foreign power such as Germany could have come and takeover.

During First World War, Smuts and Prime Minister Louis Botha led an army of volunteers to fight the Germans in present day Namibia. 12 years earlier these gentlemen had fought the English during the English-Boer war and now he was fighting for the British empire. Within six months, the South West Africa campaign was over, Germans formally surrendered. Smuts was invited by Britain to take Command of British forces in East Africa. By January 2017, he accomplished what the British government had asked him to do in East Africa.

Smuts headed to London and was included the Britain’s Imperial war cabinet. He had the ear of prime minister Lloyd George. To those of us aviation enthusiasts, the role of Jan Smuts in the formation of Royal Air Force can never be under estimated. Smuts used his influence within Britain to lay down the foundation of British Commonwealth. He was also instrumental in the formation of The League of Nations an organization that preceded United Nations a feat that later made Nelson Mandela to be excited listening to Smuts at a 1939 graduation ceremony at University of Fort Hare.

During the Paris Peace Conference after the end of First World War both Smuts and Botha were in favour of reconciliation. They had the foresight to see that a weakened Germany would be a danger to the future of Europe and the world at large. They lost the debate and hardliners won the day. In 1922 Prime minister Smuts made an attempt to include Rhodesia as the fifth province of South Africa. Thank god white Rhodesians voted against the move. Whilst in 1948 Apartheid started in earnest in South Africa and present day Namibia, in Rhodesia premiers such as Godfrey Huggins, Roy Welensky, Garfield Todd and Edgar Whitehead were not pursuing openly racist policies such as the ones in South Africa.

Garfield Todd introduced reforms aimed at improving the education of Africans in Rhodesia, before he became prime minister he ran the Dadaya Mission school for Africans.  The openly racist Ian Smith took power in 1964 and later declared independence from Britain and followed a policy of segregation similar to Apartheid South Africa. Even though the education of Africans was not a priority of Smith’s government, reforms laid out by the likes of Garfield Todd and many church run schools from Tegwane, Kutama Mission, Murewa Mission, Nyadire, Gokomere, St Augustine, Waddilove Mission etc meant that a number of Africans still got educated unlike in Apartheid South Africa which introduced Bantu education. The legacy of Bantu education will require decisive government intervention to improve the education among natives in South Africa.

With the start of the Second World War in 1939, Smuts understood that South Africa could not remain neutral, the matter was put to vote and 80 voted to support Britain and 67 voted to remain neutral. Smuts was again in East Africa again this time to thwart Italy’s plans in Africa. The Allies captured Addis Addis Ababa in April 1941 and after the surrender of Italy, Emperor Haile Selassie was restored to the throne of Ethiopia. Fate is a funny thing, in 1963 Haile Selassie together with Kwame Nkrumah and other African leaders formed the Organization of African Unity and one of the goals of OAU was the freeing the rest of Africa from colonialism. OAU would fight for total liberation of Africa and would be at loggerheads with Apartheid South Africa. In 1962 Nelson Mandela under the alias of David Motsamai travelled to Ethiopia for military and political training.

During Second World War, Smuts travelled to Cairo were he met Churchill, the Allies were fighting in Northern Africa and Middle East. Smuts impressed Churchill and he was invited to London and he was again in the war cabinet. Towards the end of the war Smuts travelled to America to attend the San Francisco Conference towards the formation of United Nations, he suggested that UN Charter should contain a declaration of human rights.

During the 1946 UN General Assembly India laid a charge that South Africa was discriminating against Indians in Natal. South Africa was censured by the General Assembly and ordered to bring the treatment of its Indians into line with the UN charter. Smuts told the Indian representative, “This vote will put me out of power in our next election, but you will have gained nothing”. Smuts had become the first victim of the new institution he had been instrumental in creating. ANC representative Dr AB Xuma was impressed by the manner in which India’s representative had raised the banner on behalf of South Africa’s other races, Xuma forged links between the ANC and India which were to prove useful later.

In 1948 Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, Smuts paid his tribute. Smut was voted out of office in the same year and in came the National Party led by D.F Malan. Policies of Apartheid and segregation were instituted in South Africa. Smuts died aged 80 in 1950. It is understandable that he was viewed with suspicion by his people as he was too close to the British Royal Family. Other races in South Africa might feel that he didn’t do much for them either. As a native, I grudgingly accept that Field Marshall Jan Smuts was also my hero.

The institutions he helped create such as UN and Commonwealth helped to transform many countries. In my native Zimbabwe Commonwealth was one of the institutions that stood up to the facist government of Robert Mugabe. Many citizens of the Commonwealth have been given bursaries to study at some of the world’s leading universities. The Commonwealth Games have also acted as a springboard to usher many athletes to greater heights.

The fight against fascism in the Second World War is one of my favorite moments in the life of Gen Smuts. During the 1936 Berlin Olympic, Hitler did not shake the hand of African American Athelete Jessie Owen who won four Olympics gold medal. Hitler considered people of “non Aryan (non white and Jewish)” to be inferior. I have no doubt that Hitler also despised Africans. Smuts as member of British cabinet and also and also as commander during Second World War, by fighting fascism to preserve the British empire he also saved Africans and other ,”Non Aryan” races. Over a million Africans also fought in the war and after the Second World War Africans started demanding independence from colonialism.

Smuts was also a friend of the Jewish people. He fought against government policy of restricting the number of Jewish immigrants. Smuts was friends with Dr Chaim Weizmann, founder and first president of Israel. He had met him in 1917 during the First World War. In 1948 South Africa under the leadership of Smuts announced the recognition of the state of Israel becoming among one of the first countries in the world to do so. He once went to Dublin, Ireland to meet Sinn Fein Leadership to convince them to attend a conference called by their arch-enemy Britain

One sentence to describe General Smuts, “ A prophet has no honour in his own country”, I am confident that Smut’s place in the history books of the world and South Africa is assured.

WHY YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK UP FOR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS

Last week in Zimbabwe there was a despicable act perpetrated by the Zimbabwean government towards three young women from the opposition party MDC. They are Joannah Mamombe a member of parliament, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova. These MDC youth leaders had participated in a demonstration and were arrested by the police, when they got to Harare Central Police instead of being taken into the police station, they were bundled into a private vehicle, blind folded and they were driven away to be tortured for two nights.

According to their testimony they were forced to urinate on themselves, forced to urinate in cups, drink each other’s urine and Honorable Mamombe was forced to eat feaces of her colleague. They went on to say they were physically and sexually assaulted. A lot of people in Zimbabwe are afraid to speak-up and condemn this act. To be fair Zanu-PF has never changed and the system has been using violence against its opponents.

After the war of liberation ended, General Josia Tongogara who pushed for Zapu and Zanu-PF to contest the 1980 election as one party died on the way from Mozambique. Many believe he was murdered for his beliefs. If Zapu & Zanu-PF had contested as a unity Joshua Nkomo as the most senior member would have become the prime minister. From early 80s Zanu-PF started targeting Zapu members and I have written about my experience in the 1985 election. Over 20 000 Zimbabweans were murdered by the state in Matebeleland and Midlands provinces.

My father was a policeman at Amaveni Police Station in Kwekwe from 1982 to 1989. There was so much violence towards Zanu-PF opponents that the police was helpless to act. Incidentally our member of parliament for Kwekwe was Mr ED Mnangagwa our current president. The current minister of intelligence Mr Owen “Muda” Ncube is an enforcer for the president from city of Kwekwe. The same violence in 1990 towards Edgar Tekere’s ZUM. In 2000 after Mugabe lost the Constitutional referendum there was so much violence on the farms against white farmers, farm workers etc. I know about the farm violence first hand as I worked in the farming claims department for AIG Zimbabwe Ltd. Towards the June 2000 parliamentary elections I feared visiting my mum in Marondera due to the violence.

The story goes on to 2002 presidential elections, 2005 Murambatsvina, in 2007 Morgan Tsvangirai and other opposition leaders were arrested and beaten-up in police cells. 2008 after Mugabe lost the March 2008 election hundreds were murdered thousands were injured and displaced from their homes. In 2011 General Solomon Mujuru who had been General Tongogara’s deputy during the war died in a fire at his farm. Many believe he was murdered by the system.

Zanu-PF has never changed since it was formed almost 60 years ago, the violence it used towards its comrades during the war, they are still using it today towards its opponents. No one is safe so we have no choice but to condemn these barbaric actions because tomorrow it’s you🙏🏿

IS A CAR AN INVESTMENT OR ASSET IN SOUTH AFRICA?

Disclaimer- I am not a financial advisor, I speak from my own personal experiences on what I encountered in Zimbabwe & South Africa during the last 22 years in the Insurance industry. I do have an accounting degree as well An Advanced Diploma in Insurance Management ( Fellowship Diploma) from The Insurance Institute of South Africa.

During the Zuma years especially around 2015 up to the time that he fired Nhlanhla Nene as the finance minister some of us who lived under Robert Mugabe years in Zimbabwe from 1997 when Zim dollar to 2008 when hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans left for South Africa started to panic.

I saw the same signs I saw in Zimbabwe. I had joined the insurance industry in Zimbabwe at the end of 1997 and I can write books about the ravages of inflation. In a normal economy a vehicle is supposed to lose value and it is not considered an asset. Assets such as vehicles somehow traces the value of US$ as vehicles are imported. It is no secret that the Rand has lost its value over the last 10 years. In 2009 when we started building our house in Zimbabwe, for every R100 I could get $12.50 and now it is more like $7.

So my first car I bought in South Africa was a Toyota Tazz at the end of 2007 on finance for a price of R54 000. My monthly installment was around R1 200, I sold it in 2016 for R 32 500.00, after driving it for 9 years. When I left Zimbabwe in 2007 my allocated company car was a 2002 Toyota Hilux KZTE 3.0 D d/cab similar to the one in the photo below. You will be surprised that this 18 year old vehicle is being advertised for R139 000. Incidentally I once considered buying this vehicle in 2007 for the same price when I came to South Africa.

In 2014, I bought my first Hyundai H100 Bakkie for R90 000 on finance. A similar 2008 Bakkie is now being advertised for R100 000.00. Of course when you consider the time value of money R100 000 in 2020 is not the same as R90 000 in 2014. My point is that you can finance a car and use it ( very few of us can afford to buy a car cash) and still be able to dispose it for a decent some. With the state of public transport a vehicle is a necessity especially if you have a family. Maybe you wish to apply for home loan and one of the question is do you own a vehicle? Is the vehicle paid up? What is the value of the vehicle? Food for thought.

I don’t recommend buying a car on residual finance, there is no free lunch in this world.