adminThe Herald, July 14, 1979
USURY, popularly known as “chimbadzo” among blacks, is fast becoming big business in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
All over the country on pay-day, workers come home minus half their wages, having lost the other half to a money lender.
The eventual sufferer is the immediate family, which is denied the basic necessities of life.
Charging a dollar for a dollar lent, the money lenders are unscrupulous operators who take advantage of the worker’s inability to budget his pay.
Those who have made it to the top often own beautiful houses in the suburbs and drive expensive cars.
To do their “dirty work”, they employ middlemen and strong-arm men who visit the factories to collect and issue loans.
Failure to pay on time means an extra interest of 50c a dollar. Total failure invites a severe beating or confiscation of property.
Between them they have prescribed areas of operation and it is considered an offence to invade someone else’s territory, territories are those companies and institutions with large numbers of staff.
Asked why employees resorted to “chimbadzo” Mr Walter Mparutsa, personnel officer of a company employing about 750 black workers of different grades, said: “Admittedly their wages may be low, but most cannot budget.
“It is mostly the drinkers and gamblers who become victims and once there are in the grip, they can never get out of it.”
Despite repeated warnings to their employees that they faced dismissal if they were found taking “chimbadzo”, some persisted in visiting the moneylenders, who operated from outside the premises, he said.
As a result of taking “chimbadzo”, families are affected. Rents are not paid on time because the man must pay back the money borrowed.
A sociologist said that once a person got hooked on “chimbadzo”, it was difficult for him to extricate himself.
“He will borrow money to pay school fees for his children, rent, food, and clothing, and he will go to anyone who will give him the money even it means paying back double.
“Because these illegal moneylenders are more readily available with their cash than banks or employers, people go to them when they are desperately in need of money,” he said.
He said the only way to put a stop to it was to prosecute the operators and impose heavy deterrent sentences without the option of a fine.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Usury has a very long history, and it is practiced in most countries across the world although it is largely regarded as illegal in most countries due to the need to protect people from predatory loan practices.
Usury is an addictive practice and for some people it creates a vicious and destructive cycle that will be difficult to break. Many people have lost their property and have also sustained injuries after failing to pay back their loans.
People especially those in employment need to ensure that they budget properly and live within their means to avoid getting into debt.
It is important for people even those in formal employment to create multiple streams of income to boost their coffers.
Online Reporter