Opinion / Columnist
Zimbabwe undergoing a very worrying and disturbing financial period
28 Nov 2014 at 08:13hrs | Views
Zimbabwe is currently undergoing a very worrying and disturbing financial period and it is only right that many people must feel concerned. That is understandable. However, a sizable number of people have gone beyond just being concerned- they have hurled insults at President Mugabe and accused the Zimbabwean government of shuttering the dreams of many millions.
In fact so serious is the criticism against the Zimbabwean government that many now label Zimbabwe as a hopeless situation. The truth is different. Whichever way one chooses to look at it, there is no question at all that Zimbabwe is one of the few most progressive 21st century nation states.
President Mugabe's serious investment in the education sector (for which we have become universally notorious as a nation) is not to be underestimated. I personally believe that whatever challenges any country might experience, as long as it has an educated population, it is guaranteed to rise up again.
Nor is that all. Many countries might have many attractions- including nice, wide meandering roads, huge shopping malls and economies that glitter on the surface. But how many people in those countries can actually stand tall and say I own a portion of this economy? The levels of inequality in some of these countries are simply frightening.
And yet for all our supposed troubles- we have one valuable asset which most of the so-called advanced countries can only dream of and that is: OWNERSHIP. Indeed I spoke to one renowned American billionaire a few weeks ago who expressed the view that it is much easier for a Zimbabwean citizen to become a millionaire in Zimbabwe than it is for an American citizen in the US.
He said the only reason why westerners are opposed to President Mugabe is that President Mugabe's policies are disadvantageous to foreigners but extremely favorable to Zimbabweans. The American billionaire told me he had personally come to terms with President Mugabe's position but was deeply bitter that, in his own words, "99% of Zimbabweans still can't see what Mugabe has created for them".
Listen my good friends: while it is possible for a Zimbabwean to get a decent job in a foreign country that allows him to live a reasonably decent life (and there aren't many such opportunities by the way) there are MORE opportunities here (even as sanctions continue to destroy our economy) and BETTER prospects of really making it BIG- If only we can look closely and embrace the opportunities that have been created for us.
In fact so serious is the criticism against the Zimbabwean government that many now label Zimbabwe as a hopeless situation. The truth is different. Whichever way one chooses to look at it, there is no question at all that Zimbabwe is one of the few most progressive 21st century nation states.
President Mugabe's serious investment in the education sector (for which we have become universally notorious as a nation) is not to be underestimated. I personally believe that whatever challenges any country might experience, as long as it has an educated population, it is guaranteed to rise up again.
Nor is that all. Many countries might have many attractions- including nice, wide meandering roads, huge shopping malls and economies that glitter on the surface. But how many people in those countries can actually stand tall and say I own a portion of this economy? The levels of inequality in some of these countries are simply frightening.
And yet for all our supposed troubles- we have one valuable asset which most of the so-called advanced countries can only dream of and that is: OWNERSHIP. Indeed I spoke to one renowned American billionaire a few weeks ago who expressed the view that it is much easier for a Zimbabwean citizen to become a millionaire in Zimbabwe than it is for an American citizen in the US.
He said the only reason why westerners are opposed to President Mugabe is that President Mugabe's policies are disadvantageous to foreigners but extremely favorable to Zimbabweans. The American billionaire told me he had personally come to terms with President Mugabe's position but was deeply bitter that, in his own words, "99% of Zimbabweans still can't see what Mugabe has created for them".
Listen my good friends: while it is possible for a Zimbabwean to get a decent job in a foreign country that allows him to live a reasonably decent life (and there aren't many such opportunities by the way) there are MORE opportunities here (even as sanctions continue to destroy our economy) and BETTER prospects of really making it BIG- If only we can look closely and embrace the opportunities that have been created for us.
Source - Psychology Maziwisa
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