Sundaymail Editor
Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo
I watched TV in bewilderment last Monday as the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria unfolded. Cameras captured the collapse of high-rise buildings that crumbled to the ground like a deck of cards, killing thousands and injuring many more.
It looked like a horror movie meant to just pump up adrenalin but, alas, this was actually happening.
Thiås was thousands of miles away from here but it felt so close. Everyone watched with gaping mouths. It was real horror. It was something that no one would want to experience, even in 50 lifetimes.
We have watched with sadness and disbelief as figures of the dead rise from 1 000 as counting commenced on day one to 25 000 as of yesterday and still counting. Some have been rescued alive in their numbers, too.
Cases that struck the most involved two new-born babies, where one of them was still attached to its mother via the umbilical cord when he was rescued.
The baby survived but the mother was found dead by her side. Surely, God has His way of doing things. How the baby could survive such trauma and circumstances for more than 48 hours is inexplicable and not easy to comprehend.
In another case, all five members of a family were found alive. Many stories of loss, sadness and in some instances joy after finding loved ones alive have been told by the media.
But out of all this, what got me thinking hard was not the magnitude of the earthquake but the very fortunate circumstances that Zimbabwe and a few other countries that are not on fault lines find themselves in.
We need to count our blessings. We are far removed from such occurrences. There is so much that we take for granted. No wonder some in our midst are always looking for the highest point to shout to the world about our challenges without using the same platforms to say just one positive thing about their country.
Except for the devastating Cyclone Idai a few years ago, Zimbabwe is largely spared from natural disasters of such magnitudes. It remains largely foreign such that our children can be excused for not understanding what an earthquake or a volcano is except the bit taught in geography lessons at school.
Yet these tragedies have shaped the lives of many who have lived to tell the story in the particular countries or regions where such disasters are a periodic occurrence.
We must be thankful of the geographical characteristics that make up our country.
Just imagining what it would cost in terms of funds and energy to restore the parts of Turkey and Syria hit by the earthquake brings a migraine headache. This brings into perspective the fact that we are a blessed country and we need to behave in consonance.
There is more to be thankful for than to complain or murmur about. I am not saying we should be blind to our challenges or desist from pinpointing where we can do better but I am saying we need to sober up and be thankful for who we are and the advantages and pleasures we enjoy that remain mere wishful thinking or remote dreams for others.
We have vast tracts of land to plough, we have water bodies to draw from, we have the sun and rains that have come down in abundance. We have factories humming away in our industrial sites or even clamouring for attention. Let us maximise on these endowments and develop Zimbabwe.
We have at least 49 minerals in the country’s belly waiting to be exploited and so much more that would turn our adversaries green with envy. We should surely count our blessings.
Construction boom
It is often that the state of any economy can be noted by activities in the construction industry.
Along ED Mnangagwa Way (formerly Enterprise Road) and places dotted around Harare, there is a lot of construction taking place. We have new malls being built, such as Highlands Park and Madokero. We also have smaller malls along Churchill Road, while the face of Second Street going north after Samora has also improved greatly.
We also have individuals being active in constructing office buildings and houses. These are tell-tale signs of an economy in ascendancy. Zimbabwe is headed somewhere more glorious.
Globally, it is recognised that the construction industry mirrors the health of any economy. Indeed, it is men at work as it is about a functioning economy.
A dying one would have no such activity. Everything comes to a screeching halt. Not so with Zimbabwe.
I got to hear this week that one would have to be patient when sourcing bricks as most of the companies have long lists of orders which they are battling to fulfil.
It is not because they had cut production but that they have big orders emanating from the high construction activity all around.
It is now taking several weeks to get orders done. Demand is outstripping supply. This is a challenge we can live with.
The mantra about building our country brick by brick finds expression here. The increased activity shows that investors have confidence in this economy now and in the long term.
We have an economy that is rebounding from years of recession. We need to be alive to the opportunities. The desire by Government is to leave no one and no place behind.
We need to build our country, literally and metaphorically. We must make the necessary investments from which we will derive financial gains.
Other sectors of the economy are also following suit. Capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector is being escalated already, with figures upwards of 65 percent. Agricultural production is breaking records left, right and centre.
Maize production alone is expected to rise to three million tonnes, the highest since 1984.
Tourism is also a low hanging fruit.
We have innumerable resorts, the right weather patterns and a hospitable people. All these factors make us an attractive destination for tourists.
We are also a nation at peace and there is no threat to life for visitors.
So, where some are wallowing in self-pity and dejection, others continue to strive and prosper, building edifices and making noteworthy investments in real estate. This is not only heart-warming but also instructive.
It says a lot about the pedigree of people we have in our midst. Where some may perceive a crisis, others are seeing opportunities.
Where some consider the glass half empty, others see it as half full. Where some see challenges, others see opportunities. Where some see just restrictions, others see expansion.
Everything hinges on attitude. A pessimistic one condemns one to stagnation and worse still, regression. An optimistic one engenders hope and makes one ride the tide. It has been noted that optimists are better off financially than those of a pessimistic disposition.
The reasons are easy to discern. Optimists do not look dimly on situations. They see what others do not. They are filled with hope and energy. They believe that all situations can be overcome.
They are invigorated and see opportunities. They possess a never-say-die attitude.
Conversely, pessimists are negative, fixating on challenges.
That makes them lethargic.
They are often drained of energy and become myopic. They typically lack drive and ambition. They are victims of their faulty perceptual skills.
In the meantime, the construction industry booms. Quite a number are making very solid investments.
Harare’s landscape is changing and so are other parts of the country. Let us keep at it.
The year is moving fast and appears pregnant with opportunities. Let us grab them all.
In God I Trust!
Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.
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