eBusiness Weekly
Clifford Shambare
During the run up to Zimbabwe’s political independence, the Rhodesians strained hard to accommodate mentally, the transition to black rule. In the process, they demanded to have the name Rhodesia somehow, retained in the country’s name. So they made a number of propositions for the country’s new name.
At first they proposed Rhobabwe, but after some thought on the matter, they settled on Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. To consolidate this position, they went into an internal settlement with Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa, a United Methodist bishop, in 1978.
To me and my compatriots at that time – those who had just graduated from the University of Rhodesia and had radical political ideas – the whole matter, especially the Rhobabwe version sounded laughable.
As I continued to mull over the issue many years later, I began to appreciate their sentiments over the matter. To them, Cecil Rhodes epitomised everything they stood and laboured for, mentally and physically. They expressed these sentiments through the written word and song.
I remember a poem, “Rhodesians never die” and a song “We are the shumba drinkers”, a sort of eulogy to the Lion Lager beer that they were drinking in the bush during the “Bush War”, both by Clem Tholet, a singer-song writer who also happened to be a partner in the advertising firm of Matthewman, Banks and Tholet. (Tholet died in Cape Town, South Africa in 2004, aged 56).
This was a eulogy with a heavy irony in that, considered from another perspective, Tholet and his band implied that the Rhodesians were so brave as to literally drink a real lion!
This elucidation so far, demonstrates the Rhodesians’ patriotism (to Rhodesia, not Zimbabwe!), their general do or die attitude, focus and tenacity. On the other hand, they were quite astute on the business front.
In this respect, they were good on the practical hands on aspect, as well as innovation. The latter enabled them to go into import substitution in a way that really helped them to beat British economic sanctions.
In terms of education, a limited proportion of them had a basic education up to the advanced and degree levels. However, the majority went only as far as the Junior Certificate and Ordinary level after which they went to obtain qualifications in the technician field.
And although initially, they had obtained their trades certificates from Britain, they later built the Harare Polytechnic, the Bulawayo Technical College and the Bulawayo School of Mining.
Meanwhile, their system assiduously prevented blacks from learning the same skills though trade union protection legislation. So the latter could at best, only obtain lower level qualification, if any, for same.
As a result of these attributes, the former were able to run the economy successfully. Overall, this is the system that was deliberately designed to keep blacks outside the mainstream economy.
Come the period just before independence, and the Rhodesians suddenly found themselves needing blacks to cushion themselves from nationalisation by the feared incoming “Mugabe regime”. The result was a huge gap between black management and lower level black workers.
Sadly, both of these categories of people lacked hands on experience in the manufacturing industry, and so they continued to look up to the Rhodesians to run the economy. And subtly, to them, over time, this situation became the norm.
The interesting part of this whole matter was the connection of that economy to the Western capital markets. And because ordinary blacks were not privy to the workings of this system, they remained largely ignorant of its existence, while the more enlightened – the business leadership – took it for granted.
On the other hand, the generality of blacks in the country were even proud to be associated with Britain, the country from which the colonists had come. Some even claimed that they were British. (I remember someone from my home area with the name ‘British’).
This is the mentality that has placed the current business leadership at loggerheads with the current government at the policy level. In this respect, government is patriotic to Zimbabwe while they are still patriotic to Rhodesia.
At this juncture, the matter becomes even more interesting, though sad. The generality of black Zimbabweans are now in a state of disbelief of their current predicament, some sort of cognitive dissonance. They appear not to fully comprehend the mechanism and consequent implications of their disconnection from the Western capital system. This is in spite of ZIDERA – an American piece of legislation which most of them still do not understand; they are not even aware of it anyway.
That said, the sad reality is that the Zimbabwean is now in ‘real Africa’, as some African economic analysts have pejoratively joked. This is a condition in which he subconsciously longs for the Rhodesian days, hence the assertion among the older generation that, “In those days, jobs were not scarce and prices were low”.
And personally, I have occasionally heard some reasoning that, “It is better to be oppressed with a full stomach than to be a free but hungry man”. Does this situation remind you of any similar one?
In order to better appreciate my position on this matter, let me draw you to the economic condition of the whole African continent (Zimbabwe included) in the context of the world economy. In doing so, let us use the GDP per capita adjusted to purchasing power parity (PPP).
The following is all 2018 data on GDP per capita adjusted to PPP: World US$11 142,6. EU US$36 569.7; Europe and Central Asia US$25 107.3; OECD members US$40 410.5; Sub-Saharan Africa US$1 585.8 (Source The World Bank: current data.worldbank.org)
At this point one can see clearly, that Zimbabwe is indeed, part of Africa with its relatively backward economic (development) condition.
It is this condition that Zimbabweans appear not to be able to cope with mentally, hence I have termed it, “The Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Syndrome”. I believe it is this same condition that has led them to follow the Rhodesians wherever they have emigrated to – be it Australia, the UK, New Zealand, South Africa, the USA, and elsewhere.
I also believe it is the same condition that has thrown them into a state of hopelessness while at the same time, wishing for FDI to come and rescue them from their predicament. And this is the same hopelessness that Elias Pacheso is so impassionedly talking about in his January 17-23, 2020 Business Weekly article.
Personally, like Pacheso is elucidating in his piece, I believe it will take a lot to restore this hope. To me, our situation here, resembles – but is not exactly the same – as the American Great Depression starting from 1929.
I intend to come back to this issue but perhaps, attacking it from a different angle to Pacheso’s, in my next articles. In any case, this is a challenge that requires a cooperative approach from all those of us who can contribute something, not the least of which is both the political and business leadership of this country.
And while we are still at it, do you know that the Tripatite Negotiating Forum is back at work? They started off at the Kadoma Ranch Motel from January 15-18, 2020. Long live Zimbabwe!
Shambare is an agriculturist cum economist and is reachable on 0774960937.
