I feel pity for most black people especially Africans like
Zimbabweans, we tend to feel for the white person more than our own, if it was
Caesar Zvayi who got this roasting we wouldn't even bat an eyelid. If we see a
white beggar we feel like crying, see a black one feel like running them over
with our car. I believe Professors should distinguish themselves, if they write
like Zvayi they will be smashed onto the curb. Racism & putting down black
people has become hidden and subtle, indeed we are ridiculed then come out
clapping for these people. Here is what I think of some of the views expressed by Diana Jeater in a series of tweets aimed at Nelson Chamisa the young presidential aspirant. Diana is someone who has deep understanding of Zimbabwe so she is not speaking from a position of ignorant outsider:
Diana says: "I like the call for Big Ideas not Big Men.
But I didn't get a strong sense of the transformation #Chamisa promises. Much
of the programme seems reactive & retrogressive, boiling down to 'we're not
Zanu'.
Maybe I am not great with English language but how much of a
change is it to move from politics of personalities to that of ideas? I think
it is huge but Diana says this is weak. Continues to say this is retrogressive
but how so? In moving to politics of ideas we are going backwards? How does a
shift towards ideas become "we are not ZANU"?
Diana says: "A call for Big Ideas is not in itself a
Big Idea. #Chamisa's only Big Idea seems to be changing the government. There
were a lot of technocratic fixes, but most of them are in Zanu-PF's programme
as well."
Diana is being naive, she knows Zimbabwe intimately, she
knows our problem with ZANUPF has been living up to the promise, it boiled down
to implementation since the 1980s. So does it matter if MDC has some of what
ZANUPF has? What we are looking for is implementation, she deliberately feigns
ignorance like Stephen Suckar.
Diana says: "Value Added. Yes, it makes sense. Don't
export raw, but process. Mining, specifically. But this has been Zanu policy
for a decade! And Zanu's 2011 ban on chrome ore exports was lifted in 2015
because there wasn't processing capacity & the sector collapsed"
Here is the hidden rebuke towards Chamisa, the same shown by
Stephen on HardTalk, when Africans dream big, it seems to offend white people
especially the British in this case. Diana is saying Chamisa better not try,
look your fellow countryman failed at it, you have no capacity. Of course at
the heart of it is what the British want out of Zimbabwe, resources after
leaving EU. If we restrict our exports we hurt them bad, South Africa another
major exporter is moving to nationalise mining & the British are heavily
invested the Anglo-American head office is testament. Stephen went at Chamisa
as well for these dreams, if you thought it was about a fast bullet train think
again, it was about being offended by a dreaming black person. Of course we are
colonised in our minds we don't think beyond the surface hence we have heroes
like Sankara, Lumumba, Luther who we celebrate after death. In this moment we
do not see what Chamisa managing gold processing will do for Southern Africa.
Diana says: "Produce more within the multi-currency
system (unclear how) & focus on technology to develop 'smart' agriculture.
Means what? As I observed to Chinamasa at #CHAfrica last year: if it's not
serious about climate change, any new agricultural policy will fail."
Diana might not know how we do the business of farming, with
hoes and animals. What can technology do for output and ease of farming? Bringing
tractors in every village is smart agriculture. Where you need 6 cattle, 6
people working from dawn to 2pm you have one person finishing a whole field in
30 minutes. She somehow thinks if it does not address climate change then it is
not worth it. Who created the problem of climate degradation? Is it not the
western capitals eating beyond what is necessary? Africa is vastly raw but
somehow we are being told to address a problem that is created far away. Our
carbon emissions might be less than London alone. So where are our priorities
to be?
Diana says: "Revisit all existing partnership deals
with government to make sure they are not 'shady'. 'Shift relationships with
foreign investors'. Yes, but speak *carefully*. Mishandled, this sounds like
'Chinese Go Home'"
Imagine in UK they discover that something is not right
about a Chinese deal, what will they do, speak in hushed tones or go megaphone
and prevent the Chinese products? Is there any quietness on the UK's desire to
send many Africans back home? Has it impacted them in any way? In other words
we must accepted being raped by Chinese and give them vaseline in the process.
Hidden in this seemingly smart advice is the desire to allow other dirty deals,
if Chamisa is to go after the Chinese he will soon scrutinise the British
deals. Does it make sense to pay $9 billion to former white farmers urgently
for a country having $4 billion revenue? Have we been paid for colonisation and
resources that were plundered?
Diana says: "...get migrants in UK back working in Zim
health sector. But it's presented as a voluntarist aspiration, not a strategy.
How will MDC create these jobs? AND replace lost remittances?"
How is bringing back our people in NHS not a strategy to
bring efficiency into our health sector? These are people exposed to advanced
healthcare, know how to better treat patients and run hospitals. She asks how
will MDC create these jobs? I am just an economist and thought jobs are already
there. What is our nurse to patient ratio? Somewhere around 1000 citizens per
nurse, for doctors this is worse. Ideally we need to cut the number down to
about 1 nurse per 200 citizens. That would mean employing at least 30,000 new
nurses. Then she asks about remittances, she somehow thinks people back home
are mostly reliant on remittances. If the people come back they will starve to
death. But an economy that is functional does not need remittances for upkeep.
Conclusion
Other points like rigged elections have precedence in
history so there is no need to repeat here. Overall she says a lot of bullshit,
some points are designed to show us as incapable. We must not try to do things
our own way because we lack the capacity. Unfortunately most of us are trying
to fit in with white people. Tendai Biti used have this mindset raving about
IMF/WB. Now at least he has been disabused of that notion, he believes in the
ability of our people. When Chamisa takes power those who think it is not
possible can wait and watch, some of us are raring to go with an enabling
environment. If you talk of Smart Agriculture we have young men like Tony
Togara who have been dreaming and scheming since like 2016. Many of our people
cannot think outside the box but watch out for the smart who are quiet and have
ready business plans seeking an environment that is not greedy like ZANUPF.
Many of you will see young billionaires emerge and think how foolish we were to
think their dreams were wild.
