adminAsk for Money Get Advice. Get Advice Get Money Twice. Before we continue and analyse the Bulawayo situation lets us look at Bulawayo as a separate entity, its own economy with its own Foreign Direct Investment’s be it within or without Zimbabwe borders. The demise of Bulawayo industries has been a song that has been sung and sung until it’s no longer music to the ears of the Bulawayo people, but who really is to blame?
The blame lies squarely on the people of Bulawayo themselves. Everyone keeps asking me “but MoB where is the money in Bulawayo?” At times I wonder if money is a better term couldn’t we have found another term that equally defines or means money without using the term money or probably find a suitable lingua franca just to define money. I don’t like the sound of money.
It’s got a certain ring to it that has come to mean something elusive therefore it’s no longer befitting for money to be called money in the Bulawayo sense. Maybe something that was once called money but to reduce ambiguity let’s stick to money for now so that everyone is on the same page.
Grudgingly because of this I always answer money’s is tied to you, you, you and me and when it’s not tied to you and me it is leaving Bulawayo at lightning speed but on the other side it’s trickling in.
Here is my little story as told by YOU and ME on a daily basis as we lackadaisically track our day to day activities not cognisant of what I call the bigger picture or grand scheme of things.
I wake up to linen and bed, all imported from Botswana and Harare industries, switch on my RSA bought LCD TV set to a SA subscribed bouquet paid for in rands made in Bulawayo. All these gadgets brought by “omalayitsha” paid in rands who spends most of his cash in RSA. As my alarm goes off (as today I woke slightly earlier , nightmares of having made it BIG ) one of my two phones iphone (USA product) and Karbonn (Asian product) I know it’s time to get up and go and look for money (that term again). Inside the house all gadgets are imported including toiletries and floor mats all in the name of quality/status or whatever feel it is but the fact remains all imported. The house is the only local thing as it was built so many dark ages ago.
The household has a Mhondoro maid, a Binga gardener and I am from Hwange. All the three subjects have families back “home”. All the monies being earned here in Bulawayo go to our respective home areas once we are paid (regardless of whenever that will be.) The fact remains we will ship it out of Bulawayo. Let me leave the house before I am late for whatever I need to do in the city centre. I have a dilemma on the type of car to use ex-Japanese vehicle, German made or the GM not made but RSA assembled one. I settle for the spacious GM, RSA imported vehicle since I have “meetings” on the streets so the right (wrong) impression is necessary.
If this type of misrepresentation was criminal a lot of businesses and business people would be prosecuted left, right and centre if you catch my drift as it seems prevalent in the Bulawayo circles. I am told in Harare it’s the popular game and as natural as death or taxes. Things we do for image or perception. At times I wonder why make an image/impression when its there. You only try hard if it’s non-existent. It’s like trying to sue someone for character assassination but before we proceed to look at the merit of the case we need to ascertain if the character of that respective person does really exist in the first place.
As I leave my neighbour uKhumalo greets me (power play dictates that he greets me first, one of those), a proud Bulawayo son born and bred elokitshini lakoBulawayo.
He complains about all his fours sons being in RSA and all they send these days are groceries, goodies and furniture but no cash (so no income from being a young usiphatheleni, poor me). His sons complain that Bulawayo is expensive kungcono sithumeze izinto kulemali plus omalayitsha are expensive nxa kuyimali. Even his daughter who got married in Australia is doing the same thing goodies and goodies and more goodies but no cash. In emergencies people are asked to sell goodies and will be replaced the following month. NO CA$H at all gets sent over these days and even at funerals it’s no exception. You have to sell some household item then it gets replaced in the following months to cover the funeral expenses.
As I cruise on the famous Plumtree Road. Reminiscing of those Botswana trips during those days, on a $250 Million road tendered, and won by Group 5(RSA firm). Yes $250 million United States Dollars or $250 million Obamas). Group 5 has all its foreign based specialised personnel. Oh they are doing a good job repairing the roads with no shadow of doubt but most of the $250 Million country wide will be shipped out of Bulawayo and Zimbabwe at large. It’s a shame though not avoidable right now.
To be continued next week
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