[Some of us are] Proud Ex-Rhodesians

A few weeks back, Jacqueline Zwambila – Zimbabwe’s envoy to Australia – was fingered for ‘wining and dining with white ex-Rhodesians’. Chief accuser: ZANU-PF media. Nauseating! Let us not get sucked into ZANU-PF’s super storm of collective condemnation. Everyone born in Rhodesia before or at 12 midnight, 31 December 1979 is an ex-Rhodesian.

The ‘all ex-Rhodesians are evil’ syndrome is a ZANU-PF tactic of discrediting non-compliant white Zimbabwean citizens. I have no doubt that - second only to Apartheid South Africa - Rhodesia practised one of the harshest forms of colonial repression. The Southern African country produced its own genre of narcissist scoundrels – Ian Smith, General Peter Walls, Colonel Reid-Daly and P.K. van de Byl. Apart from racial segregation, Smith’s Rhodesia Front committed large-scale genocidal acts using Polish built T-55LD tanks, Canberra light bombers and Hawker fighter jets on refugees in Zambia and Mozambique. Wikipedia says there were 459 confirmed cases of anthrax poisoning in Rhodesia over the period 1959 to 1978 with over 10,000 people contracting anthrax between 1978 and 1980.

Surprisingly, ZANU-PF chooses to conveniently ignore the record of ‘good’ white ex-Rhodesians. Liberal Prime Minister Garfield Todd excelled in promoting ‘development’ of the Black community. He pushed a Bill allowing for multiracial trade unions, thereby undercutting the growing white nationalist influence in the workers movement. Lastly, in a bid to increase the number of Blacks eligible to vote from 2% to 16% of the electorate, he lowered property and education qualifications, although this was rejected by rightwing element. It is common knowledge how his daughter, Judith Todd, was forced into exile for her pro-black activism.

The list of ‘good ex-Rhodesians’ is endless: Alec Douglas-Home famous for his ‘six liberal principles’; Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock of Cold Comfort Farm; Trevor Huddleston; Fenner Brockway; Michael Scott and Mary Benson. Shona language expert George Fortune, social activist Eileen Sawyer and hundreds of high school heads at places like Goromonzi, Umzingwane, Fletcher, Tekwani and Kutama missions; heads of faculties at the University of Rhodesia and also principals at agricultural and teacher training colleges.

Thus I get overwhelmed by a sense of ire when ZANU-PF ‘intellectual counterfeits’ want to make us believe that only ‘white commercial farmers are ex-Rhodesians’. Award-winning idiocy! Ironically, Zimbabwe has produced its own sizeable stock of post-Rhodesia lunatics – none of which are white, by the way. It is under the ‘black watch’ of President Robert Mugabe that 20 000 innocent Zimbabweans were murdered by his Fifth Brigade, not to mention massive de-industrialisation, unemployment, large-scale starvation, hyper-inflation, homelessness and epidemics. The recalcitrant Ian Smith - in declaring UDI and committing the country’s resources to a huge military adventure – is no different from ZANU-PF cronies obsessed with militarisation of state institutions. While Smith was paranoid about liberation ‘communists’, Mugabe’s ‘high command’ is haunted by the phantom of ill gotten wealth!

Says Vince Musewe: “This is a clear indication that ZANU-PF remains frozen in the past and refuses to acknowledge that the world has indeed moved on and that they must either move with it or be left behind.” I do not argue that the Rhodesian identity bestowed on me was acceptable, neither was I consulted to be labelled Zimbabwean. My point is that Zimbabwe has assumed pariah status but not all Zimbabweans – let alone ZANU-PF members - are ‘evil’. Collective condemnation is unjustified. We may resent what some of the white ‘ex-Rhodesians’ did to us, but they were not all merchants of death. The trajectory of economic and academic supremacy black Zimbabwe inherited from white Rhodesia deserves accolades.

-written by Harare based Political Economist Rejoice Ngwenya

Blacks are racist too!

American stand up comedian, Chris Rock says blacks are the worst racists because they hate each other too. It was a joke worth laughing at but in retrospect one comes to realise that the word racism is not an exclusive description of some white people but it can also be used on some of our black brothers and sisters.

Saying a black person is racist is surely opening a can of worms, putting yourself in the line of fire but this is a fact that has been deliberately overlooked because apartheid and all injustices in the third world that happened since the slave trade have the index finger directed at the whites as the ones who are racists.

Matter of fact! Apartheid and the slave trade were wrong and there’s no justifying them, we cannot find any cause to condone such diabolic thoughts, systems and machinery.

When Marcus Garvey, Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr and other such revolutionaries stood up against the racist system of America, they dreamt of a society where blacks and whites could live in harmony. They did not dream of black supremacy.

The founding heroes of the Rainbow Nation: Chris Hani, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu had a dream; they longed for an equal opportunity society, a free country where love and brotherhood knows no colour and language. The Bishop Desmond Tutu led truth and Reconciliation Commission of the early 90s served to realign South Africa towards this ideology.

Matter of fact! The axe always forgets the trees it chops but the tree stumps never forget about the axe.

The scars of apartheid are still there and to say one should ignore them is rather insensitive and almost unimaginable. Scars are wounds that have healed and they remind us of the past and the past helps shape the future hence the need to know where we are and where we are coming from.

The recent hate speech trial of ANC Youth Leader, Julius Malema, explicitly showed that some blacks are as equally guilty of racism as other white South Africans. The issue here is not the legality of the “dubula ibhunu” song but the remarks and messages said and displayed by those without the courtyard in solidarity of Malema.

Dubula ibhunu is a revolutionary song and as AfriForum also concedes, there is deleting it in South Africa’s history but the timing of its singing is currently inappropriate considering the rate of deaths of white farmers. But this is not argument that many would expect to be written in support for a black man because today’s Rainbow nation looks at issues on racial tones.

Did we fight apartheid so that we could be racist ourselves? Did we fight hurt and discrimination so that we could do the same? There are still economic and opportunity career imbalances; that’s a fact but was “The long walk to freedom” premised on the idea of an eye for an eye and revenge.

Mzwakhe Mbuli once said an eye for an eye makes the world blind which is true in current South Africa. A case in point that highlights this is the recent nationwide municipal plebiscite.

During a phone in discussion after Election Day in one radio station a young black man said he was happy that he had been able to exercise his democratic right of voting and was also glad his voted had counted as the Democratic Alliance (DA) had won the seat in his constituency. What followed after his comment were callers saying he wasn’t black enough, how could he vote or a white man’s party with some accusing him of being the spoilt brats who do know anything about the struggle. Election statistics later showed that about 13% of the black electorate had voted for the DA.

Politics is not only about history but also about future and progress. It would be folly not to consider history in making decisions in as much as it would folly to only base your decision on history as the present and future also need to be considered. If DA’s policies are better than that of ANC why not vote for what will improve the community, the same goes for ANC policies if they are better than that of DA.

A friend said I don’t love my family and there was something wrong with me after telling her that if I was eligible to vote I would have voted DA. She said she will never vote for a white man and she will not waste her time reading a white man’s manifesto. She says there’s nothing a white man can do for a black man and that Helen Zille is as guilty a racist as some racist members of her party.

But everyone knows that Zille fought apartheid during her days as a journalist and going into politics was a means of better fighting it. Not all whites are racists; one cannot vouch for Zille and her comrades but facts are that within her camp are clicks of whites who are racist and see the DA as a white party. Within the ANC there are influential figures that are racist: ask Trevor Emmanuel about Jimmy Manyi, the government spokesperson and fellow who wants Cape coloureds evenly distributed across the country as was done to blacks during the apartheid era.

A colleague at Voice of America’s Studio 7 concedes that blacks are also racists but he brings an interesting dimension to the discourse saying racism by blacks is reactionary unlike that of whites that is driven by the wanton disdain of blacks.

The emotional hurt, in fact, the trauma due to emotional and social discrimination in work places by racist white employers and colleagues has driven many a black working middle class woman and man to quit their jobs. A friend recently changed jobs because the superiors and her former job were so bluntly racists that she could not take it anymore. It is this emotional abuse that drives us to also hate but the only difference between black racism is that blacks do not have the means at a large scale to dominate the white person. Whites own large conglomerates and there’s no other better racism machinery than the economic muscle.

Surely you cannot expect a black brother who has been racially abused to just turn a blind eye, walk away and hope that it does not happen again. But then the holy book teaches to forgive at least seventy times seven times in a day.

But when all is said and done, racism in whatever form that it presents itself in is wrong and cannot be condoned. Racism by a black man despite its reasons is as diabolic as the racism perpetrated by the likes of Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd and his cronies.
-Article first published in www.ziyawamag.com
http://www.ziyawamag.com/blacks-are-racist-too/comment-page-1/

Hustling in the concrete jungle of Joburg

Like most Zimbabweans, Agnes Masangomatema never imagined herself leaving the motherland because everything was in shape and although she had failed her O’ Levels her future was still “bright” as her plans included supplementing her school qualifications then enrolling for a nurse training programme at a major hospital either in Bulawayo or Harare.

Today she is in the concrete jungle of Johannesburg South Africa not employed as a nurse at a major clinic, old people’s home or an orphanage at least but she braids hair on the pavement of Bree Street, one of central Johannesburg’s busiest streets. Meanwhile, back home in Bulawayo, her O’ Levels are still three subjects: Fashion and Fabrics, Ndebele and Commerce.

She blends well with locals because she is light skinned and can fluently speak Zulu and abit of Xhosa thanks to her being a Ndebele speaking Zimbabwean. This has worked for her over years when illegal immigrants were hunted by authorities. Business wise, it has helped those like her as there are some locals who prefer their own.

Competition is tough here on the streets and as a consequence prices for services go down. One’s hair gets braided from as little as R30 (about US$5) but there’s no telling that she had her hair done on the street because of the exceptional work done by the likes of Masangomatema.

To earn a substantial amount one needs a pair of quick but neat hands otherwise they will earn R30 in two days. Some women have formed braiding teams so as to garner many clients while also beating the clock. But the downside of this team work is that should business be poor on a particular day the group gets to share the only money made and what does one do with R10 when they get home at night.

Business is not always brisk, there are days when Masangomatema and others who hustle on the streets hit blanks. Rent needs to be paid and one cannot go for long ignoring the stomach’s calls for food.

This is what has pushed many Zimbabwean women to double up as prostitutes. As the sun sets and darkness creeps and covers Bree Street and all over Joburg, the oldest paying profession reigns supreme.

Most of the ladies did not in their puberty envisage themselves trading their bodies for money, but circumstances have driven even the preacherman’s daughter to be a Jezebel. These women are bread winners and there is a chain of children in Zimbabwe who survive from the money sent home by these mothers, sisters and aunts.

Prostitution is big business here. From the conventional loitering by the street corner to featuring in pornographic movies filmed by the Nigerian brothers in Joburg’s notorious Hillbrow, to lap dancing for more affluent clientele at exclusive adult shops.

This avenue has been taken by many because making a decent and honest living through braiding hair or being a waitress at Spurs, Fish and Chips and other fast food outlets relegates one to a hardship dominated lifestyle. Because earnings are less and cannot sustain you through the month, people seek compromised accommodation and this is usually in the form of a bedroom that is shared by four or five people and beds are separated by hospital like curtains hanging from the ceiling.

In such set ups there is virtually no privacy, one’s belongings are guarded with the meanest detail: cellphones, passports and other essentials are kept under the pillow or always in the pocket. And respect for intimate privacy has withered and vanished: housemates bring their lovers or “business clients” for the night and sex happens as if this is a conducive environment-that there are only two people in the room.

And because there is no proper accommodation, people virtually do not buy groceries instead they buy what is sufficient for a particular day. It’s the life of a pilgrim.

Prostitution has become the easiest way out of such a life as one earns a fortune from trading their body meaning they can afford to rent reasonable accommodation and lead a “decent life.”

It’s not only women who have taken into prostitution. Zimbabwean men have also joined the gigolo trade. There are many women who have been left by their men as the young men found themselves rich old local single women. There’s virtually nothing that the young man does for the lady except quenching her insatiable sexual desires. In turn she provides everything, literally everything for the young man: she buys him underwear, airtime, toothbrush, car and everything that comes in-between.

Back home President Robert Mugabe abhors gays and lesbians describing them as being worse than dogs but here these are people recognised by government laws and anyone is free to choose and even become one. Like in most countries gays and lesbians lead a well to do lifestyle, they have lots of money and only Heaven knows where that comes from. It would be a strange thing to find a poor gay or a lesbian struggling in life.

It has often been said that desperate times need desperate measures and converting from Uncle Bob’s life’s lectures on homosexuality has been another option for desperate Zimbabweans. Just as women do, men now bleach their bodies so as to lighten their complexion and look attractive.

Considering all that is happening and that which has sucked most young Zimbabwean men and women, Joburg is now a little Las Vegas, the “sin city” where pleasure shapes people’s line of thought. And Reverend Jessie Jackson said where there is pleasure there is always danger.

HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are in abundance in these areas where pleasure dictates the mood of the day. Despite the knowledge of the consequence of leading such a life, many have chosen to “enjoy the moment” and earn a living, send money back home and support their families.

The body bag always hangs next to the First Aid kit. Sins of the flesh have seen people drop like flies. HIV/AIDS is taking its toll while gays and lesbians are beaten to death as the conservative elements of society take the streetwise route of weeding them out.

And when all is said and done and one cannot breathe anymore it all goes back to the widowed old lady in rural Lupane or the stuffy two roomed house in Mbare who has to find scraps to fend for the litter of offspring left behind by those that went to Joni/Joza.

Zimbabwe - a Hand-to-Mouth Nation

Prudent management of finances for individuals, companies and even nations demands that reserves be held to provide a cushion against unexpected changes in circumstances.


For individuals, one would still need money for things like rent and food, in the event of losing a job. Companies would still need to pay salaries and other costs even if sales temporarily dry up.


For countries, foreign-exchange reserves are held to protect against external crises and assure lenders that the country is able to meet its debt obligations.


Although there is no standard cast in stone on how much reserves a country should hold, a common rule of thumb is that reserves that can cover three months' worth of imports are generally adequate.


Countries with export-based economies such as China, Japan and Saudi Arabia are able to maintain large reserves which would be able to cover more than two years' worth of imports. These large stashes of foreign currency usually allow these countries to influence exchange rates to keep their exports attractive.


Other countries typically target to maintain a few months' cover. America, the issuer of the world's reserve currency, the United States Dollar, does not need as big a buffer as other countries do. Its holdings can go as low as a month's cover without causing concern.


In its Article IV consultation report on Zimbabwe released in September, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed that Zimbabwe was holding international reserves covering only 10 days of imports.


Effectively, the country had no cushion against external shocks. Not only was the cover maintained inadequate, but there was no foreseeable solution to the situation. As it currently stands, government does not seem to have any feasible strategy to increase reserves over time.


To build up reserves would require either sustained current account surpluses or substantial capital inflows.


So how dire is this situation and to what does it translate?

Firstly, for a country which is highly dependent on imports for critical supplies such as food, medicines and fuel, it means that in the event of any interruption in foreign currency inflows, we are only covered for 10 days! That is a very vulnerable position to be in.


As a nation we are surviving from hand to mouth.


Another reason why it is not desirable to maintain such low reserves is that this affects the creditworthiness of the country. In the eyes of potential lenders, a country with low reserves is highly likely to default on debt repayments.


Zimbabwe is already US$10,7 billion in default on its debts and the country's creditworthiness has been compromised. Increasing our reserves and perhaps making token repayments would signal to financiers that the country is on a path to recovery.

It is unrealistic to expect Zimbabwe to achieve a reasonable balance of payments surplus in the short term as there are many structural adjustments that need to be made for this to be possible.

One of these is to improve the balance of trade by boosting exports and minimising imports. Exports can be boosted by increasing productivity and, therefore, output. This is especially so with exporting sectors such as mining.

To achieve this, a significant amount of capital inflows is required, either as debt or foreign direct investment. This brings us back to the issue of having policies which attract investors. To date, most major mining houses have not reached their full operating capacity and lack of capital is their number one impediment. Mining products already constitute 66% of exports and have potential to contribute more if production is increased.

Another way to deal with low reserves is to decrease imports. In doing so, it should be borne in mind that the country is heavily reliant on imports of food, clothing, fuel and other basic necessities which cannot be done away with.

Decreasing imports would therefore have to be done in a methodical way which targets those imports which are not essentials and which could be substituted with locally-produced goods. Increasing import duty on such goods is one way of discouraging their importation. Grey import motor vehicles are perhaps the most often cited example of undesirable imports. Curtailing their importation would need to be accompanied by the establishment of a reliable and safe public transport system.

In the long term, even food imports could be substantially reduced through increased agricultural production. In fact, increasing agricultural production would then feed into the manufacturing sector, reducing input costs and making them more competitive relative to imported processed foods.

Zimbabwe has been self-sufficient before in food production and adopting the right policies can get us back there. Agricultural technology has improved greatly and there is potential to surpass even the previous production highs and have enough surpluses to export.

Although not an immediate concern since the country is in default anyway, negotiating for debt amnesty is another way of avoiding future obligations.

Applying for relief as a 'Highly Indebted Poor Country' under the IMF-World Bank joint programme would be one way to do it but so far government is reluctant to take this route.
- COLLINS RUDZUNA

Zimbabwean women police officers make inroads as members of the ‘blue berets’

For Assistant Police Commissioner Charity Charamba, who served as a peacekeeper for three years in Liberia, being the third-highest ranking official in the mission had its gender challenges.

“I had to assert myself, because at first the male colleagues, both at the senior and lower ranks, treated me as if I did not know my duties and at times, did not acknowledge my presence,” she remembers.

Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in the world where the number of female peacekeepers from the police force nearly meets the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations recommendation of at least 20 per cent female representation.

Zimbabwean peacekeepers discuss challenges. From left to right: Superintendent Sithulisiwe Mthimkhulu, Superintendent Rosina Mamutse, Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba, Superintendent Jessie Banda, Superintendent Kani Moyo, and Assistant Inspector Muchaneta Isabell Ngwenya. Photo Credit: UNDP/Sirak Gebrehiwot

Of the 1,063 officers of Zimbabwe’s police who have taken part in eight peacekeeping missions worldwide, a total of 189 of them (18 per cent) have been women. The first woman served in East Timor in 2000, seven years after the police began participating in peacekeeping missions.

From providing security to women and girls as they go searching for wood for cooking, to providing support during elections, to ensuring food supplies can reach refugee camps safely—the work of peacekeepers starts at dawn and ends after most other people have gone to sleep. Far away from their own friends and families, UN peacekeepers serve a critical role in maintaining peace in post-conflict countries. Assuming senior-level positions while on mission comes naturally to Zimbabwean police women who already hold senior posts at home, explains Assistant Commissioner Charamba.

“We are provided with equal opportunities within the police and given the chance to rise and to participate at all levels. Women are heads of several of the country’s provinces and the head of the training depot is female,” she says, adding that Zimbabwe’s Police Commissioner General promotes women’s advancement within the force. She says working internationally gives women blue berets the chance to see different types of police practice and to share experiences.

“I have been on the Zimbabwean Police Force for 31 years and I work in the Victim Friendly Unit as a gender trainer. I’ve always wanted to be one of the blue berets and my dream came true,” says Superintendent Kani Moyo, who served for 15 months as a Gender Police Advisor and Officer in Charge of Training in Nyala with the African Union/United Nations Hybrid peacekeeping operation known as UNAMID, in Darfur, Sudan.

Superintendent Sithulisiwe Mthimkhulu, who has been on peacekeeping missions in Sudan and Liberia, recalls facing barriers because of her gender, but also because of cultural differences. “In Darfur, Sudan, before independence, the local people looked at you as if you were different, because you are a woman in uniform. Also, being a Muslim country, the local male police officers did not take it lightly receiving orders from a woman,” she recalls. During her missions, Mthimkhulu has worked to motivate women through sports, literacy classes and other activities to become interested in all aspects of police work and she assisted them in establishing a police women’s network.

Studies show that in many countries, women peacekeepers often become role models for the local women and girls, as the custodians of peace and security and the authority they can turn to. “I learned a lot from the police officers I worked with on missions and there has been a lot of cross-cultural learning about policies and other issues,” says Superintendent Jessie Banda, who served as a Communications Officer for a year in Kosovo, and as a Community Policing Officer for 15 months in Darfur. “I look at the United Nations as an organization that unites people,” she says.

The four women peacekeepers interviewed by UN Women Zimbabwe say that their pre-deployment training prepared them well for their missions as it included training and mentoring of local police officers, community and gender policy, as well as how to investigate and provide counseling to rape survivors. However, they say learning more about the laws, especially gender-based violence laws, and about cultures of the countries where they are deployed would enhance their preparedness in the field. - United Nations - UNWomen

Cowards of Stone House

The term ‘Zimbabwe’ is the Shona derivative of ‘big house of stone’ - a reference to the historical edifice supposedly built by the Rozvi from about the 11th century onwards. This amazing architectural genius - the ‘acropolis’, elliptical building and its iconic conical tower and walls with distinctive chevron pattern in Masvingo – is said to have played both defensive and ceremonial roles for the Rozvi people.

At every stage of human life, mankind has had to either defend themselves or cower behind high walls, usually in a state of beleaguered surrender. But for all their courage, our Shona and Zulu forefathers eventually succumbed to the might of the imperial gun powder. Not even walls, short stabbing spears, assegais and spirit mediums could save them. Yet they displayed valour.

Watching democratic Barack Obama and republican Mitt Romney presidential candidates slugging it out on global television reminds me of one thing: Zimbabwe’s inherent political cowardice. It is a fact that Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo vanquished colonial power and ushered in a semblance of democratic independence. Yet the fear of popular enlightenment has again sent ZANU-PF cowering behind imaginary walls of denial. The party insists that local presidential debates are unnecessary.

The answer can only be that Mugabe’s ZANU-PF controlled ZBC is so petrified of political competition that the closest that democratic parties are ‘hosted’ on local TV is when they are derided and ridiculed at ‘news time’. The thought of Mugabe debating on ZTV primetime - say against MDC presidential candidate Professor Welshman Ncube – sends shivers down the spines of ZANU-PF cronies. Their premonition is accurate - the old man’s archaic political ideology would be demolished!

The tragedy is how this fear also permeates deep into the veins of Mugabe’s administrative structure. Minister Patrick Chinamasa during a BBC interview aired worldwide last week made it absolutely clear that no MDC presidential candidate would be ‘allowed’ to win an election. The implications of this statement are that neither Tsvangirayi nor Ncube will be permitted to air their view points on local Zimbabwe television, let alone debate face-to-face ‘American style’ with Mugabe. “Zimbabwe’s national broadcaster is an example of a public media institution that has been hijacked by the state for narrow partisan political purposes”, adds Media Alliance Zimbabwe. In an act of superficial benevolence, Tafataona Mahoso, the ZANU-PF exterminator of media freedom, issued two new radio licenses to loyal ZANU-PF interests and companies to create a false impression of media multiplicity. Radio and television make a more lasting impression. That is why ZANU-PF is marooned in an impenetrable cocoon of cowardice. I can imagine how much time Mugabe’s media cronies George Charamba and Jonathan Moyo spend ‘glued’ to CNN television programs ‘analysing’ US presidential elections. What act of valiant hypocrisy! Why do they not invite our own ‘democratic presidential candidates’ to debate with Robert Mugabe? Simple. Fear. They purport to promote ‘heroic liberation values’ yet are afraid of pitting – or is it exposing – Mugabe’s retrogressive political ideology against modern day reality. The fact is their presidential candidate has nothing much to offer other than post-revolutionary rhetoric and false promises of empowerment. His is an ideology of illusion, deceit and threats. If not, I urge Mr. Mugabe to confront MDC candidates head-on on local television – moderated by an independent professional. The Zimbabwean incumbent president must not continue to hide behind the proverbial formidable ‘conical tower’ of authoritarian dictatorship. Written by Rejoice Ngwenya, a Harare based liberal and political economist.