Mukomana-speaking.blogspot.com
By Tich
19 April 2010
Dear Petina,
The month of April is one that is such a blessing to the working folk. The four and three day official working weeks seem to be in a race to out-do each other. If you are resident in Zim your reduced working hours have the added bonus of Independence Day to add to them.
I fought so hard to avoid the temptation to actually look up a definition of the word; lest what I believe it to be is not what it ought to be. I barely fought down that compelling urge.
Just as I won that battle I came upon Petina Gappah’s column in the Sunday Times and thought; Damn I really must look up that definition after all.
Petina lists as the successes of independent Zimbabwe “the end of settler rule, the legal emancipation of women, enhanced standards of education and national cohesion”.
I beg to differ, Petina, as have numerous others in response to your column in The Gaurdian. While I will not go so far as to label you, an erstwhile author, a Zanu PF apologist I beg to put forward my thoughts on her take on the successes of Independence.
Ruling a country is about excercising power and the only real power that we can speak of is economic. Can we truly say that the people of Zimbabwe are economically emancipated. Did we not swap a ruling looting elite of caucasian descent for one led by the off-spring of Malawian immigrants? If settler rule indeed came to an end in 1980 why do we today as we speak have a debate raging over indiginisation without a single dissenting voice? Only Douglas Munatsi CEO of Abc Bank has come out to say that we do not necessarily need to indiginise but rather rethink allocation of government banking mandates. Even this is only for just one sector of what was once a vast economy.
I imagine it is because while the settler’s handed over political power they retained economic means. Their descendents who now claim to be as African as any black man still hold these means in their hands. How many poor white people do you see in Zimbabwe? Surely in a place where a dominant group is no longer such the random distribution of wealth and poverty will mean that any and all peoples populate both sides of the fabled tracks. Why is this not so in Zimbabwe? Why have young, vibrant, enterprising and bold Zimbabweans left Zimbabwe?
While I am not too conversant with changes in legislation that have resulted in the legal emancipation of women I suggest the fact that such emancipation is so qualified points to the truth that such emancipation means little else other than a statute in a big book somewhere. How emancipated are these women when the Border Gezi graduates raped and maimed countless women in the run-up to the last elections and if present reports are credible still do so with impunity. Why is the founder of the Girl Child Network sought out by the dreaded C.I.O? I put it foward it means little that the legal statutes and such are in place when the justice system that should uphold them is such a mockery and as a result cannot enforce these statutes. What comfort is legislation to a dispossessed widow if such statute cannot restore possession of that which is legally hers? The practice of offering nubile virgin girls as appeasement for ngozi is rife and oft reported in the NATIONAL PRAVDA. It continues unabated. What emancipation for women?
Enhanced standards of education – Petina, shuwa here? Really. One acronym. ZIMSEC. Need I say more? Where are the teachers? Working as security guards and restaurant waitrons in South Africa or as care assistants in England? Figures in the billions have been bandied about as being necessary to the rehabilitation of the education system by David Coltart. Is he insane? Petina do you know something that the rest of us do not? How many public schools has the government built since 1980?
National cohesion? When the mere fact that my politics does not agree with yours is enough reason for you to petrol bomb my car – an atrocity for which you are given immunity from prosecution (R.I.P Tichaona Chiminya) step forward C.I.O Operative Kitsiyatota. How cohesive is our nation. When a vast and prolific national resource is plundered for and to the benefit of a few how cohesive is our nation (Chiadzwa). How are we driving towards a common goal. When mass graves are filled in a time of peace and without a hint of civil war how do we have national cohesion. Going back some moons ago – I doubt the people of Matebeleland have much to say on that. Gukurahundi. A known fact. Now we have the Korean soccer team coming over to say and a government minister fully aware of the history and a veiled admission of guilt by Baba vaChatunga (moment of madness he called…a long moment if ever) asks people to be calm.
How cohesive are we?
There are successes in there somewhere I am certain Petina. I will be the first to admit that I am bitter. The rampant looting and plunder, outbreak of diseases, record obliterating inflation, hunger, poverty, unemployment, lack of remorse, vulgar pontificating, disregard for others, blatant self preservation and aggrandisement….I could go on – have made me rather bitter and I will be hard-pressed to see the successes of our 30 years of independence. Truly I agree with you that this does not mean I would rather the injustices of the past regime were thus perpetuated.
However I suggest that you dig a little deeper for these successes and not gloss over all that is not right. Of course there is always the danger of falling into the category of those that continue to whine over how Zimbabwe is now a basket case. But that is what it is.
Dig deeper Petina – I know you can.
All the best,
Tich
p.s please keep on writing. I enjoy your work immensely.
Posted by Tich