Zimbabwe:- A case for colonial taxes

When my brother turned eighteen in 1973, he went ko Skomitshi to apply for ispeketsheni - a form of identity document which all boys had to have before they actually qualified to get the real isithupha when they reached 21. This temporary piece of identity document meant a number of things to both my brother and his relationship with the government. It was a warning that he was becoming a grown man - some kind of transition for him; it meant he was liable to pay tax and therefore he was allowed or forced by law to look for work to enable him to pay the many taxes that would follow him even in later life as there would be many additional taxes as he grew older. This was umthelo wekhanda - head tax, loosely translated.

There were so many taxes that we paid during that time, on top of the hut tax. The hut tax was that levied on households by the settler. Every household had to pay a certain amount of money to the government, and at times the head of the home was forced to work in colonial farms if they had no means of paying the taxes. Umthelo wekhanda was that which was levied per man-head in the family. All men above eighteen were supposed to pay this tax, whether they worked or not. This would see also a number of boys looking for work in farms or being forced to work for mahala at these colonial farms.

And the policing of these taxes was so thorough that there was no escape. Ong'thunywe-yinkosi, those angry, uncompromising and professional, khaki clad men from the district commissioner's office would ensure taxes were paid come rain, thunder or sunshine. They would arrive unannounced and announce' "Ngithunywe yi Nkosi!" iNkosi was the white District commissioners who were responsible for the development and discipline of tribal lands under them. Many a time, Ng'thunywe-yinkosi would get to a household and there was no money to pay taxes and they would capture a goat or some chickens and the tax was paid. Also liable for tax were the cows, dogs, bicycles, scotch carts and land. Can you imagine now how much tax burden we had to carry during the colonial era! For many of those who could not pay their many taxes, jail or free labour was an inescapable alternative.

The government was aware that when people provided cheap or free labour, it saved so much on the wage bill. Even those who stayed on farms were supposed to work for their accommodation, thus saving the government a lot of money. How then, did oNg'thunywe-yinkosi know that all these assets had paid tax? There was what was called icence - license - which was a metal disc attached somewhere where it could be seen clearly by anyone concerned. It had the date - like, ‘License 1978', and had to be renewed every year.  The dog had its license attached to the ear, njenge cici. Omabhalane bedibha enforced umthelo wenkomo - and ibhuku lenkomo indicated whether your cattle zithelile or not. Omabhalane would announce on every dipping day, that cattle taxes were due and had to be paid in full on such and such a date, or else the cattle would not be dipped or the owner will be arrested.

School fees, too, had to be paid or else your children would stay at home and never get an education. I remember in 1973 my father was out of work and all of us his children stayed at home until the following year when he was back at work and could afford the fees. The local council workers would come every week to call out those who had not paid fees and tell them never to set foot again in the school premises. On top of that, parents had to buy their children's tuition material and not expect the colonial government to give them freebies or hand outs. Pupils would be sent home because they didn't have a pen or exercise book or text book. This way, the colonial government made sure everyone paid equitably for their the education of their children.

Emasimini the government forced people to dig imigelo to guide water out of the fields in an organized or tamed manner, thus preventing soil erosion. They were aware that when the fields were so badly eroded, the victims would ask for new land, thus putting pressure on the land itself. Land inspectors would make random visits around October or November when the ploughing season started, to make sure imigelo were dug properly. In its part, it would send inspectors to check on the progress on roads, schools, land and livestock. This would force villagers to sell their cattle or goats to raise the various taxes demanded by the government.

The money that we paid came back to the people to upgrade roads or schools or council offices or clinics or vaccinate children or dogs. There was never a time when one would go to a clinic and be told there was no staff or medicines. There was never a case of schools being understaffed or teachers not paid. There were rarely cases of bus owners withdrawing their services because the roads were more holes than road. Cow diseases like foot and mouth were never heard of, and rabies was a very rare occurrence because cattle and dogs were vaccinated. In short, the colonial government was aware that communities must play a big part by contributing towards the development of their areas or homelands.

This, of course, was a bad system and was one of the reasons why we went to war in the seventies. We, black people, saw it as some form of punishment or slavery. We thought it was unfair. We thought it was unfair to pay for our land, our cattle, our dogs, scotch carts and our heads and huts.

Surprisingly, the colonial government was never broke. They identified many sources of tax that kept the government afloat even during the sanctions imposed on them by the whole world. Enter the black government - our government - and exit all these taxes. Look around you – everything including your own welfare has deteriorated beyond repair. Their action against taxes has backfired so much it could spell their down fall.

Services must be paid for - all of them. We can't expect someone else to pay for our roads or pastures or land or education. When a service is provided, no matter seemingly insignificant, someone somewhere has paid for it. Even that manna from heaven was for to the Israelites - but the material must have cost heaven a fortune!

Ngiyabonga mina!