DEAR EDITOR—A while ago a white man once said that if you want to hide something from a black man put it in a book. I hate to harshly criticize my own people, but the commentaries and arguments we hear on Zimbabwe sometimes point to this remarkable ‘truth’.
I have seen and heard many a commentator on Zimbabwe who are ignorant of the issues being discussed and often replace facts with emotion and mindless opinion. I hate to be so brutally frank, but it had to be said. Many of these experts find it fashionable to just criticize the government without giving themselves time to reflect on the future and how they can positively contribute themselves - today or sometime in the future. Mugabe bashing has almost become a songbook that everybody sings from. i think people should grow up and learn to think about possible scenarios to get themselves out of their problems without 'gundamusaira'.
We are all unhappy and sad about the state of our nation; but I don't know how a whole nation can think in concert and 'sing the same song'. Those who stand in front of people day-in-and-day-out and repeat the same mantra about hopw eveiul and how bad Mugabe is without giving concrete solutions and ways out might as well stay put where they hail from and feel sorry for themselves.
I read an article on the Zimbabwe Guardian a while ago which criticized ‘political and economic commentators’ from Zimbabwe. That article was spot-on. Many of these commentators should give themselves time to read about Zimbabwe and what exactly caused the problems we currently experiencing in the motherland before they make a shameful spectacle in front of the world. I find it ridiculous to see the marked difference in depth between a BBC correspondent (interviewer) and some excitable Zimbabwean political commentator, that just goes there to repeat a mantra we have heard a thousand times: "Hee Mugabe this, Mugabe that..." We are tired of these shallow commentators.
A few days ago, I heard a Zimbabwean 'economics commentator' who spoke about the hyperinflationary climate in the country, but failed to even mention the word ‘sanctions’ in the whole interview. How could one make such a mistake when discussing inflation in Zimbabwe, especially when they are an 'economics expert'? What do they teach in political economy these days? How do these people become experts overnight? This is ridiculous and bizzare, to say the least. He (the 'economics commentator') used all the reasoning he had learnt in his ‘elementary’ economics class about “too much money chasing too few goods,” etc, etc.
The ‘economics expert’ as he was called by his interviewer also failed to mention that the IMF and World had squeezed the Zimbabwean economy and contributed to the heavily skewed structure we see today. The interviewer failed to ask questions on the role of sanctions in creating the hyperinflationary environment we see in Zimbabwe today. All they could talk about was how quickly the rate was dropping and how many Zim dollars it takes to get a pound. Ridiculous stuff! What should I do with that kind of information? I need solutions and rational analyses, not these shallow junior school debates.
The IMF in Zimbabwe has abrogated its role of ensuring world economic stability; and has been complicit in economic destabilization. The twin Bretton Woods institutions have been used by its principal powerful shareholders from Britain and the U.S., in particular the IMF, to penalize Zimbabwe for its national policies, especially the land redistribution exercise.
This is not to exonerate Zimbabwe from bad policies, but how could an ‘economics expert’ miss this brute economic reality?
This 'commentator' also failed to explain that when Zimbabwe defaulted on its IMF debt in 2001, the IMF refused to reschedule its debt, or offer alternative lines of credit or other support to ensure stability. Yet, the IMF has learnt such support to countries such as Argentina which defaulted on their sovereign debts. This was either missed or not understood by our expert.
Many other issues have been discussed which have shown ignorance on the part of the interviewer and the interviewee and such parroting by these individuals has poisoned the ever-gullible Zimbabwean population. Emotion has substituted facts in most cases and what should be intellectual debates have been reduced to ‘cheap pub talk’.
I think institutions that hire these people should vet them properly and not just throw ‘anything’ to discuss otherwise complicated and significant issues. I cannot believe the BBC sometimes when it asks the same ignorant people to come on the programme. Sometimes I feel like they are trying to say: 'Look how dumb Zimbabweans are!' Zimbabweans have a reputation of being very literate. That reputation is slowly being eroded by those who just hop-step-and-jump onto TV platforms they know nothing about and discuss issues that expose their naivety. I have noticed Sky News has stopped inviting Zimbabwean political commentators and are substituting them with informed ‘African’ ones. We are the only country where our issues are discussed by other nationalities on TV. This is because we never delve deeper into issues and take a step back and learn. We are quick to jump in front of lights, like rabbits that jump in front of a moving car in a daze and get hit.
Philip Mukaronda—Opinion
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Nehoreka • jekanyika@googlemail.com
Subject: gudhu
Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:19:49 • Good Phillip, points taken, lm now moving from my cave and study more than just speaking english
world citizen • n/a
Subject: Philip
Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:07:05 • what you speak about is even worse among Black Americans. It's getting better with the guy in the streets, but among the so-called Academics or intellectuals, it's ridiculous to hear them repeating verbatim what they read in the Western press.
I really don't think such people are that ignorant of Imperialism's tricks.
I think a lot of Blacks really do believe that we are supposed to forever be Wards of Whites. They really think Whites have all the answers and without them, nobody can survive.
This--even as they watch the western system deteriorating before their very eyes.
Mugabe is a visionary.
Everything he's doing in Zimbabwe for that Nation's future welfare, is right and any honest financial planner, or Nation Builder will tell you that.
You cannot forever depend on outside forces for the very food you eat, and you can't depend on a handful of citizens to grow food and generate the wealth for everybody.
In the future no Nation, who is not in complete control of their resources are going to be able to survive except as slaves, and by the whim of those they depend on.
Zimbabwe is going to thrive but the rest of Africa are going to go backwards because their Leaders didn't have the foresight to make the right choices now in a world that is changing by leaps and bounds.
In ten years, look for Zimbabwe to become the breadbasket of Africa again. They now have more independent farmers than the rest of Africa put together. How anybody can not see the benefits and wisdom of that move, as regards the future--is beyond me.
Capitalism is dead. It's a total failure and has never generated any real wealth or progress. Even these Billionaires and millionaires have nothing but say so. That's why the West can't give up Africa. A decimal on a computer screen is nothing. Gold, diamonds, oil, copper, land, water, magnesium is real resources.
Real wealth comes from empowering the people, not accumulating the fruits of their labor by printing money from thin air.
But it don't matter if it's Capitalism, communism, Monarchy, Dictatorship, or whatever, any system that don't empower the people under it, is doomed to failure. And any system that does will always at the least, be able to eat.
You can't leave it to others to make , and provide what you need and expect to be free, or even fed for long.
lessie • na.
Subject: STILL WATERS RUN DEEP
Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:37:02 • You said that Zimbabweans have a reputation of being very literate.
You are correct that we in Zimbabwe are able to hold our own in any English conversation word for word and perhaps this is part of our downfall because we are able to express ourselves in English better than any other African black state. Even our street kids must be the most verbal and able to converse in English than any other street kid on the continent. but they are not learned.
I have heard parrots string whole sentences without knowing a thing about the subject on what they are imitating words because in fact they were merely copying sounds phonetically. they open their mouths and talk but cannot think about what they are saying.
being able to speak a language does not mean you have studied a specific subject and are able to talk about it in depth. this is why we suddenly have all this fundis in our midst. incessantly repeating rumours to create a situation is another fault of ours.
i can spell and pronounce any legal phrase (provided its in English and not Latin) but I have never studied law and am no lawyer and could not
discuss in legal jargin cos i have no indepth knowledge of the subject.
Chief Negomo (aka Oliver Mtyambizi) • chiefnegomo@yahoo.com
Subject: A THORN IN THE FLESH
Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:55:21 • Philip well done for expousing such great multitudes of naivity and ignorance that has engulfed our felow comrades.I watched aljazeera a couple of days,meanwhile david monyae in SA was reiterating facts after facts,some guy in london was busy singing praises for the oppresor and all he could do is to call africans leaders thugs,murderes and thieves.U c we have heard this many times and such utterances does nothing apart from just demystifying one's ignorance.
Sorry to say this,but this is mostly an abundance character of most opposition supporters in zim.Like wat philip mentioned,not to sideline some bad policies that were also promulgated by the state,the none UN mandated sanctions have reduced the people of zim to nothing.Last night was some Dr,and Editor of some zimbabwe newspaper in UK,,Aaaa one wonders how they came up with their doctorate.For the 1st time,Morgan sounded like a leader and his tone could have guaranted him a position had he been like that.I
Contrary to the lackaidaisical and capricious postulations by the so called Dr, one would have mistaken Morgan to the Dr and the semi dr to some high school prefect.Vana vezimbabwe you should shun these interviews and one way of gauging your possible embarassments is to do a quick check on your own i.e if you simply think the problem in zim is Mugabe,If you think western interference in the whole world is the answer to the world problems,If you got no clue on the real history of native zimbos,If you want to further your part-time economic refugee status,then your mind is not broad enough dont go.
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