Zimbabwe @33 - 'A-loota-Continua'

Zimbabwe celebrates 33 years of independence today; and as the country of my birth enters these uncertain waters of middle age; I am left wondering whether I should be celebrating this milestone or cringing away in embarrassment at this young adult who seems to be eluded by the peace, maturity and prosperity that begins to show in the course of one's life round about this time.

With human beings; at 33 one is considered to be entering the very certain years of consolidating all the investment and time that the parents would have put into one's young life. Most people are married by this stage and settling into the life of being a parent and indeed a contributing member of their society.

Zimbabwe's birthday celebrations will have none or very little of these attributes to celebrate; and a brief treatise of each of the major considerations of the well being of nations will perhaps illustrate my point;

Political:
At 33, Zimbabwe is in the throes of a forced marriage that seems to be headed for the divorce courts; and as all of us celebrate in hushed tones the birth of a new constitution; we do not know whether the parties to this marriage will respect this document. We enter our 34th year with hearts full of uncertainty and trepidation. The two major political parties in the country, Zanu-PF and MDC-T, continue to do this amazing dance of madness around key issues like devolution of power, powers of the military, press freedom and indigenisation; whilst the smaller MDC, led by Professor Ncube, continues to make inaudible noises like the black sheep of some mega rich family.

As we enter this vital period in our life, we hope, like a divorcee finding true love at last, that the politics of our country will begin to show those signs of maturity and common sense of purpose, so that we can take our place in the region, and indeed in the league of nations, and become, once again the powerhouse that we were not so long ago.

Economic:
At 33, most people have an idea of what their income is, how to spend it, and the lucky ones are even beginning to save for those rainy days ahead. Zimbabwe finds herself in the very interesting scenario where the few connected individuals are starting to wake up to the reality of what their esteemed positions can do for their pockets; and so the looting continues. With the reserves of diamonds estimated to exist in the Marange area in the east of the country, Zimbabwe should, at 33, be in a position to sustain herself and her citizens, and yet three quarters of the population live on less than a $1 a day.

The ill-conceived Government of National Unity (GNU) has failed to marshal the country's resources into a common pot for the good of the nation, and the country flounders on the brink of famine and hunger as the dry season approaches. Farmers are, in the majority, of the so-called "cellphone farmer" variety; who have, in most cases, never even seen their farms and only call their labourers from exotic locations to check if the farm is okay. Production has taken a big knock over the past few years of drastic mismanagement by those in power.

The GNU, led by the Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Ministry, in the person of the eccentric Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, has recently embarked on a policy of indigenisation that is bound to scare even the most courageous foreign investor away. South African companies have held crisis meetings with government to try and find compromises to this draconian policy, which requires all foreign companies to lodge 51% of their shareholding to local indeginous people - A workable policy in most places in the world; only if executed properly, for the people, and not for the few connected individuals, as happens in Zimbabwe.

Social:
At 33, Zimbabwe is a country of grandmothers, grandfathers and young children. An estimated 3 million, mostly economically able Zimbabweans are scattered all over the world; in most cases doing unpalatable, menial jobs long rejected by locals. In countries like South Africa, occasional flare-ups of xenophobia tend to remind Zimbabweans that this is not their home, and time and again, such flare ups end up in fatalities.

The GNU and whichever political structure will take up after it after the up-coming elections must ensure that there are programmes in place to bring back Zimbabwe's very talented and able human resources base from all over the world. Granted, a lot of the Diaspora community may not be willing to take up residence within Zimbabwe until such a time when they are sure of the direction and benefits of such a move.

At 33, Zimbabwe must begin to collect her offspring and bring them home. Socially, children are growing up in strange and foreign lands and the loss of identity amongst this generation is beyond belief. It is a major crisis that the country needs to put time and resources into, and one hopes that there will not be a generation lost to this madness.

All in all, as a Zimbabwean living in the Diaspora, I feel like a parent who has not stayed with their child for the last fifteen years of his life; and a part of me wants to embrace this day and celebrate with my country men and women; but a part of me feels like taking the rebuke stick to my country and, especially to her leaders, and screaming at the top of my voice; "Grow up, you are 33!"
Happy birthday Zimbabwe!!

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Thamsanqa N.Ncube is a Finance and Operations Manager with the United Nations in Pretoria. He writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted at thamsanqa.ncube @live.co.za