Chokwadi Chemahara

Nhasi handisi kuda kunyora chirungu, ndirikuda kutaura nyaya yangu nechekwangu.

Ndirikuda kutaura kuti sei senyika uye sevanhu vatema in general tisingabudiriri. Mukatarisa Africa ndo makazara hondo, zvirerwe nekusagadzikana kunyanya nyanya parudzi rwedu rweveganda dema. Sei zvichidaro makambozvivhunzawo here?

Dambudziko ratinaro nderekuti tinezimweya rehuroyi pakati pedu. Handisi kutuka vanhu asi ichi ndochokwadi. Hatina rudo pakati pedu hatina kubatana uye hatisumudzirane.

Umwe wedu akada kuti abudirire vazhinji moyo yedu inofara kana awira pasi. Mukatarisa chero nguva dzeslavery chaidzo I was reading on the slave trade hapana kana varungu vaipinda muinterior kuti vabate vanhu isu tisu pachedu tainobata vamwe vedu. Kuti islavery ipere vakatoita ban kunana England asi muno supply yaiva tiii.

Mukataarisa mapolitical disputes arimuno hatigoni kugara pasi kuti vanhu vataurirane asi tarisai muone varungu vakauraya mudzihondo vazhinji nekutitapa for hundreds of years panguva ye colonialism takaregerera asi kuti tiregererane tigadzirise nyika pachezvedu hatizvigoni. Vanhu vanotoona zvirinani kutanga dzihondo, kupisirana dzimba nekutemana nematemo, for what?

Kuti utange bhizimusi muno makwikwi. Asi pakauya umwe wekunze anoita kupihwa matax holiday yekuramwirwa. Vanobva kunze vanobatwa semazai asi varidzi venyika tichitwa suku nasai. hazvisi muno asi mu Africa yose. Kuti tisimudzirane pachedu hatizvigoni. Corruption tinoitirana pachedu mari toendesa kunze kuti inovaka nyika dzevamwe. Ukati utange chako ushingi hwese nechido zvinopedzwa nemanegative comments anbva kune vamwe vedu.

Mukatarisa pachezvedu tinodzvanyirirana, vakuru mumakambani vachidya rifa nemakutukutu emahundreds of thousands asi vashandi vepasi vanenge vachidya nhoko dzezvironda. Vamwe vedu ndivo vanotora vana vevanhu kumisha kuzovashandisa sevasikana vebasa senhapwa chaidzo for peanuts.

Vanhu tinodzadzvanyirirana pachedu. Tichijutana,kubirana, nekusekana pane kuti tisimudzirane nekubatsirana. Vanenge vabudirirawo vacho vamwe ndovanovhairira vamwe pane kuti vabatsirewo vamwe. Vanobatsira vamwe vacho vanotoda kunamatwa chaiko. Panekamwe futikamweya kehumbimbindoga katinako, vamwe vanorasa mabacon nemazai mumabin vamwe vachiseva nemunyu chaiwo. Mufungo uripo newekuti chero zvangu zvichifaya. Chero mwana wemuraini akasaenda muchikoro ndezvake. Asi tinokanganwa kuti koakaita rombe zvichaita a cost musociety yedu.

Mumweya wehuroyi uhwu mune kunyengedzana futi kuriko. Bootlicking yakawandisa murudzi rwedu. Vatungamiriri kwese mungave muchechi kana mumakambani kana munezvematongerwe enyika vanhu vanokanganisa plus ma ideas emutungamiriri haasi pese paanenge achishanda. Zvino pakati pedu kunyanya vanenge varipedyo nevatungamiriri vanoita kupesvedzera nyangwe kwakanangwa kuri kumawere. Unozwa voti Wabaya! Waseva! Leader muri shuga! Mukuru Muri Chitubu Chewisdom! Huroyi ihwohwo, Ndozvirikuuraya mainstitution edu izvozvo. iko kuhutungamiri uku nyaya yekungoda kunzi ndini ndinoziva zvese uye kusapa vamwe mukana.

Zvekunedzimwenyika ndozvatinoda asi zvedu tinodzikisira pasi.Huroyi uhwu ndohwatinetsa sevana veZimbabwe neAfrica ndo zvinoita kuti tive chiseko all over.

Tikabvisa mweya wehuroyi uhwu husingadi kuti tisimudzirane zvese zvatinodyara hazvibudirire.
Hama tinofanira kureurura. Tosvika riini serudzi rwemaAfricans
tichingova vanhu vanova chiseko nekumakisa pasirose so. Mwari vakatipa zvose zvakatikwanira nepfungwa sevamwe asi tinofanira kureurura Rudo, Kubatana nekubatsirana zvive matiri.

Education system yedu inofanira kuti iitwe overhaul to include mavalues eubuntu. We need kuti vana vedu vadzidziswe kushanda pamwechete. Maethics neLeadership chaiyo necharacter development zvinofanira kudzidziswa. We have to solve the crisis of values kubva kuzasi kuECD chaiko. Kumachechi hero basa.

Mwari anezvikuru zvaakatirongera asi tinofanira kuzvinatsa pakukanganisa kwedu.

Baba MK

(Originally Posted on Facebook Here)

Reflections of a Zimbabwean Youth on Africa Day

Africa we are the most endowed continent but the poorest. 65% of the total population are youth, we are the poor and downtrodden. Those who we look up to as our mothers and fathers are the ones who are ochestrating our demise, those who are trading the future of generations for Range rovers, mansions and foreign whisky. Many of us on the continent are fighting old mens wars. They butcher their own for trinkets in swiss accounts.

Today I was listening to Winky D and Shisnoman on the track -survivor. The lyrics are powerful and they speak to our lived realities as a generation. We are indeed a generation that is desperately trying to survive. From the outside when they see us on the street corners they say we are a useless generation but where are the opportunities?

We are talented but we have been deprived to exhibit our gifts.
Every small business that we start they destroy. Thousands that were employed in the musikas and kombies they removed so.that they can oil their own Zupco tender deals and support their supermarkets where they are shareholders.

How long will they continue to kill our dreams? Many years later after the independence of the continent our children continue to learn under trees and in mudhuts. People still die of cholera? You only think about investing in local hospitals because you cant charter private jets out of the country because of Covid? Where is your conscience, where is your ubuntu? Where is your humanity? Where is your shame?

These foolish, old and greedy madhalas must fall.These old men who prowl on young girls who are are the same age of their grandchildren.
One day and that day is coming the poor will have nothing to eat but the rich corrupt politician. You and your croonies, your houses of straw of a fake sense of self security will soon be blown away.

https://youtu.be/9vwywjfOrEw

A Franciscan Blessing -May God Bless You With Discomfort, Anger, Tears, and Foolishness

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger, at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

Zimbabwe at 40 Where is our Canaan?

Lets be honest, If you are fourty years of age and you cant feed and clothe yourself and your family and depend constantly on hand outs what is there to celebrate?

I think it has been a cliche to call every independence day – ‘Happy Independence’ As a people we must be brutally honest with each other, what is there to be happy about? What have we accomplished?

I love my country and I have a lot of respect for those who sacrificed their lives and limbs for us to be independent. However, the question that begs for an answer is what did they sacrifice for?

40 years -a full generation- has passed and as a people what do we have to show for it? Our
Chidren still learn under trees. Our economy is a mess. Corruption is rampant. Our hospitals are in a state of derilict. Our people are poor, there are no jobs for the young people. The only new things are the shiny cars of our dear leaders and other symbols of power. Life is miserable for the general population and only sweet for the governing elite and their politically connected croonies.

Ian Douglas smith must be smiling in his grave. the racist sentiments that the black man cannot self govern are a damning indictment on ourselves as a people that seem justified. Our nation is desperately polarised across political, tribal and racial lines. Our leaders across the political divide are failures, the only thing that they are good at are sloganeering and giving excuses.
They know the right thing to do but they are too puffed up with pride cannot find reason to unite and save the people.They through their actions and inactions they have sacrificed many at the satanic alter of poverty. While even in this Corona crisis, when other countries are preparing stimulus packages we have nothing meaningful to give to our starving people. Even for the alms that we desperately seek from the World Bank and IMF because of lack of diplomacy and reckless statements we have become an outcast, we have become a leper who noone wants to help.

We are the laughing stock of the region. Our people reduced to be squatters in foreign nations where they suffer untold hate and discrimination and xenophobia. Being a Zimbabwean has become nothing but a symbol of shame and stupidity, educated but failing to solve our problems, endowed with rich arable land yet starving, having all the gold and mineral wealth but still begging.

No, I will not celebrate today. There is nothing at all to celebrate. We have been in the wilderness long enough. We have nothing but sand on our plates. 40 years have come and gone. Where is the dream that so many young Zimbabweans who died in the liberation war died for?

Where is the Gutsaruzhinji?
Where is the democracy?
Where is the equality and shared prosperity?
Where is the freedom?
Where is the Unity?
Where is the work (Jobs)?

Where is our Canaan?

Soli deo Gloria.

Moses Machipisa.

(Originally Posted on Facebook)

Can Innovation Save Zimbabwe from the Corona Virus? – My Idea #SungaMucheka #Bophailembu

The fact is Corona is coming and its just a matter of when. Given the resources that we have as a country if we are hit we are going to be hit hard. Our health care facilities will have difficulty in handling the crisis given our limited medical staff and resources.

If we are going to beat Corona we need outside-the- box thinking. We cant think the same way that the more resourced countries are thinking. We don’t have ventilators like the US or the complex disinfecting equipment like the ones in China.

However not having enough does not mean we have nothing!

We have to innovate or die – literally. This is the time where we need to see our thinkers standing out. We need to have our young scientists engineers and virologists coming up with solutions that work locally.

My idea is, why cant we use a cloth as an alternative to a face mask????

Not many people can afford single use masks but certainly everyone can get some piece of cloth of old clothing.

What is needed is research for example

How many layers of cloth would be effective?

What type of cloth type would be best eg nylon cotton etc ?

How would one safely clean the cloth?

After how long would one need to change their cloth

How best could one remove the cloth without resulting in contamination?

These questions need scientific research to answer.

If these cloths were made mandatory in Zupco buses or Kombies or workplaces I hypothesise that it has the potential of reducing the risk of infection greatly given that the virus uses water droplets and not air particles.

The cloths would contain the virus if one sneezes foe example or minimise the spread zone.
Imagine if such a low cost high impact idea could be a implemented together with hand-washing nation wide in all public places, perhaps we wouldn’t even need to completely shut down universities and schools. – who knows?

I am keen to hear what other people especially those with expertise think about the idea and would be happy if there are experts out there who can assist with the research.

I hope that can be an idea that can save lives in this crisis that the globe is facing.

Also I am keen to hear ideas from other young innovators have that can save lives.

Please feel free to share or tag anyone who needs to see this or who can help the idea to be taken up for further research.

Soli Deo Gloria

Moses ‘Baba Mikael’ Machipisa

#SungaMucheka #Bophailembu

A letter to My Son

To my son Mikael Kudzaishe Machipisa,

My son, when you came both your mother Sharleen Bwakura and I cried.We cried because you were the most beautiful thing that we have ever seen. In you we see a great future. There is a lot of potential that God has planted in you. We named you Mikael because you are Gods gift to us and your presence testifies to us -Who is like God? We called you Kudzaishe, may your life indeed be lived in a way that glorifies God.

My son, as your father I want the best for you. I want you to grow in a place of love, safety and peace. I want you to have have all the opportunities that you can most which I your father never had. I want you to see the world. I want you to dream big and realise all your full potential in every way.

My Son the part of the world that you have entered is one which is in some ways beautiful but also in many ways broken. Its beautiful in that there are people of good will out there. There are also women and men of courage who continue to fight for what is right. There are people who have the heart to help and to give to those who are needy, those who defend the cause of orpharns and widows. My prayer is that you will also be counted among these.

The world is also filled with darkness- there are powerful people who are full of greed and violence who take advantage of the poor and weak. They plant the seeds of strife and division and advance the subjugation and impoverishment of the fellowmen.They are the masters of corruption and bad governance. These men and women loot money that is meant to improve the conditions of living for their countrymen to their own selfish ends. They deprive many of justice and support all forms of ungodly agendas. In the world my son, yoy will be judged unfairly, some times you will be discriminated by the colour of your skin, background, accent, with no regard to the merit of your skills ideas. In all these cases always keep your sense of self dignity and that of others intact. The love of many has grown cold and its its a dog-eat-dog situation. My Son, these are the cards we have been dealt. We did not chose them but it is how we play matters.

I have always been involved in politics in one way or another, not because I love it, but because I carry a conviction that we can change things for the better. I used to think that I was being naive but when I saw that those eyes of yours, everything changed. In the future now I have you -my blood -involved and the stakes are even higher on what needs to be done to secure that future.

A lot of people have told me that when you come it will be family first and nothing else would matter. This has justified all sorts of vile acts of corruption and greed – “Im doing it for my family.” they say. But as I was in the labour room with your mother, I also heard another baby cry in another rooms. Another part of the future being born. I asked myself is that baby also not like you also flesh and blood? Does s/he not also deserve a better future? As I move in the streets and I see the little ones with no shoes and in tattered clothes, are they not a reflection of the future too?

My son, everything else matters. My fight is no longer about myself and my generation. I’m almost thirty and our country is close to 40 years, a full generation of so-called independence.But what has this all amounted to? Nothing! Soon my clock will start ticking downwards. My Son, I don’t want your generation to see the same life that we have seen. We have seen disease, poverty, disasters and all sorts.of calamities that have taken so much because of bad leadership.

You are the generation that our hopes are invested. We will try our best and I hope you too will do us proud. My son as you grow, remember who you are and who your people are, remember the values of our people -hunhu,ubuntu -I am because we are. There is no glory in being successful in a sea of poverty. We climb by lifting others- that is our way Remember this is about “We” you must be that generation that can fully be able to look beyond tribe and cultural differences.

My son never look down on anyone but always offer your hand to help. Always defend the weak. Have the wisdom to know when to fight because sometimes you will have to fight. Respect women and always listen to your Mother, my son. Never compromise on your values and your beliefs. Above all my son, Fear God. without the fear of God people especially those with power and position turn into depraved monsters.

Life will not be easy. When we fall we learn rise up and move on. My son the life lived only in the pursuit of luxury and wealth is a vain life, make it an ambition to live a meaningful life to serve the greater good in whatever capacity you can with your resources and ideas.

My son, noone travels alone in life. We shape and are shaped by those around us.Choose those who surround you carefully. Even great people stumble when they do not have good counsel.

My son, the experience of life is exciting its filled with good bad and sometimes the ugly but there are two things about it which are true. Life goes on and life in general is relatively short. When you are in your darkest days my son, they too will pass, when you are at your best this too shall pass. Live knowing that beyond this life there is an eternity that awaits us. That eternity can only be secured in Jesus Christ.

Mikael, I believe in you and in your generation.
I will play my part with the help of God to raise you to become all that He intented you to to be come and to ensure that your generation will also stand neck to neck with the rest of the developed world with the full sense pride, worth and dignity that our generation was sadly denied.

We love you son. Your mother and you both.

Christ is King and to God all the Glory belongs.

Yours,

Baba M K Machipisa

It takes two to Tango: My candid opinion on Sanctions, corruption and Political Polarisation.

I have been part of the debate on sanctions for quite a while and I have had the privilege of having broad perspectives from both the political and business arena. I thought it necessary to pen my thoughts on the issue candidly.

The conversation of sanctions is intertwined with the economic situation that we find ourselves in as a country, the question being to what extent have sanctions contributed to the economic crises? There over the years we have had two camps, one which attributes strongly the woes of our economy on the sanctions. The other camp is asserts that corruption is the cause of all the challenges that we are facing and lack of political reforms. Listening to the conversation that Trevor Ncube had with Ambassador Nichols (US) it revealed how both these perspectives are deeply entrenched.

In my opinion the issues of sanctions and corruption are not mutually exclusive conversations. They are intertwined and this is what I want to argue in this post.

The Big Question: Who are the sanctions Hurting?

The argument here is this, are the sanctions targeted on a few political elites or are they hurting the ordinary person. On the sanctions list there are individuals and entities, mostly the political elites that have been targeted by sanctions. The big question is are sanctions affecting the ordinary person?

On the surface the targeted sanctions are just that, targeted sanctions. However it cannot be denied that their scope of affecting livelihoods goes beyond those of the political elites. Anyone with an international business or who needs access international financing will tell you this. Sanctions prohibit American companies to do business, where the people on the list have interests failure to comply resulting in very stiff penalties. Now for American companies trading with any Zimbabwean company caries a risk , whether perceived or real. We are a small country and our markets are very small compared to the risk that large investing businesses would carry. This is because the same elites are part of a web of diverse business interests. So for most American and European businesses the position on investing in Zimbabwe is “Why bother?” Genuine business people have suffered because of this and the private sector cannot access loans or explore overseas markets.

The reality is this, without FDI it is a mammoth task for our country to lift itself out of poverty. No investments means no jobs.The sanctions in this regard affect the ordinary Chipo and Jabu – the youth- on the street. The political elites on the other hand will not skip meals because of sanctions. Another argument that was carried by business at the sanctions hearings was that the sanctions actually entrench and incentivise a culture of corruption as the political elites “dig in.” If anything the real effect of sanctions effect on the political elites has been that they have only closed them access to going on spending sprees abroad.

On the other hand there is a school of thought that says that the issues are just a scapegoat and ruse to shift focus away from the real issues which is hurting the country -corruption. The reality the ground is that corruption has become ubiquitous and is bleeding the economy. The magnitude of corruption in our country has reached new heights. Government itself through the Auditor general made some damning revelations of corruption at the highest level in government. In my opinion there has not been enough political will to deal with the issue. Corruption fueled Arbitrage happening through cartels has become so endemic and this is hurting the economy and the ordinary person on the street there is no denying this.

What about the reform angle?

The lifting of Sanctions has been tied to reforms spanning across issues to do with human rights the democracy, property rights among other things some classify these into hard and soft reforms. Again in the broadest sense people look at this in two perspectives. Some people recognise Americas role as a super power of advancing principles such as respect of the law and human rights among others. The other camp looks at issues of sovereignty and that Uncle Sam (America) should not impose his opinion through sanctions. There is also another area where it is also pointed out that America has not been entirely objective and principled in regards on how it related to dealing with its allies who are human rights abusers, Egypt and Saudi Arabia especially the Kashoggi issue are cases in point. In this line of thinking America is percieved as just a bully which makes decisions on ally’s or foes solely on personal interests.

So what it is the real problem?

In my opinion both corruption and sanctions are real problems, which carry equal weight. The real underlying problem with us as a country is the toxic political polarisation. The issue of Sanctions and Corruption is mostly as other things viewed through the lens of politics whether Zanu PF or MDC. This is wrong. What Zimbabwe needs are reformers who are able to see beyond the political divide. We need to deal with corruption and governance issues with the same zeal as dealing with Sanctions. When it comes to our foreign policy our hand in partnership must be stretched based on both shared interests, principles and mutual respect.

It takes two to Tango. Sanctions are both a cause and effect of corruption and Corruption is both a cause and effect of sanctions. Both issues of dealing with corruption and sanctions are issues which must be tackled from the perspective of NATIONAL INTERESTS. These cant be tackled effectively by a divided people. The trajectory that our political leaders are taking us because of failure to sit down is a perilous which will in the long run affect everyone. I hope it will not be too late before they see this.

Soli Deo Gloria

Moses Machipisa

(Originally Posted on Facebook)

Moses Machipisa is the thought leader behind the ideology of Youthnism an Current Global Thinkers Forum Mentee. He is an Alumni of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Youth Leadership Training and Alumni Capernaum Scholar.Moses was a World Forum For Democracy Innovation award Finalist 2016. Moses is also a member of Activista Zimbabwe. He tweets at @MosesMachipisa.

African Youth: It is our duty to succeed.

Dear African Youth,

Our generation a generation that finds itself at crossroads. There is something that our leaders are not saying even so are hiding. The reality is that all the problems that we are seeing today if we don’t do something would have doubled in the next 10 to 15 years.
Population is growing, climate change is real and the older generation has not lost appetite for power. Corruption is already on the increase. Unless opportunities are created youth unemployment is going to be a disaster.The overpopulation that we are witnessing in our major cities is just a tip of the iceberg. There is going to be an increased and possibly unmet demand for food and water. We are going to see a rise in extremism and instability as we continue to have the growth of a young disenchanted population. Wars and revolution are on the horizon.

I don’t want to sound like a doomsday prophet but if we don’t put our act together the future is very grim. The flip side is that we have also within our reach a very unique opportunity of the demographic dividend. The rest of the world is aging whilst Africa is getting younger with current median age at 19. In the near future we are going to experience a very strong youth bulge.

What does this mean?

A young population is good because it means a larger population will be in the workforce. A huge young population will also mean a shift in demand for goods and services.
However we need jobs and opportunities for this young population. The coming generation has to be empowered to face the challenges of their time.

Our future challenges must be put in proper context of the opportunities that exist on the continent. Africa has become more connected online, we have a significant educated population, vast arable land, mineral wealth and a large African Diaspora. In the past years we have also seen the emergence of an African elite crop of entrepreneurs and an organic philanthropic sector. All these opportunities if organised to compliment the demographic dividend the continent we have a chance to turn the fortunes of Africa from poverty to prosperity.

The elephant in the room

Why are we not seeing early signs of growth if all the things that we have mentioned are already present. The elephant in the room is leadership – political leadership.
The current crop of leaders that we have whilst it has to be acknowledged and credited to them of their role which they played to dismantle colonialism, they unfortunately have failed to create the environment necessary for economic growth. This is where as youth we need to step in. The political environment is in desperate need for new ideas. We need to have young political players stepping up. Currently our parliaments have less than 3% youth when we are more than 65%/of the population. What a sham!

We don’t only only need youth in politics but different models of governance altogether. Inclusive politics which involves broad based representative governments are the best way to go. Governance should include all players including business, civil society, religious institutions etc.The youth must be mainstreamed across all levels of public leadership. There is also an urgent shift required to move our politics from the current populism towards a meritocracy. The first step in this is to ensure that there are deliberate steps that must be taken to build civic consciousness in the citizenry. Sustainable Africa democracies will require the population particularly the youth to participate fully in all governance processes. Youth must vote and youth must run for office. We need to develop a different political culture where politics is not seen as dirty and it’s players sleazy.

Who should do all this?

The responsibility for the future is upon those who have a vested interest in it. It is our generation that must square if with these challenges. If we don’t act now we would have not only condemned ourselves but our children and those who will come after them to a very cruel fate.

The future of the continent lies with us- we must seize it. We must unite and have common ideals and push for the true African renaissance that has been long spoken about. Those who are in the older generation who are genuinely interested in the future of our continent mentor us, guide us, support us and give us the space to lead.

For the sake of our dignity as a people, as African youth the fight that we are facing is one that we cannot lose. It is our duty to succeed. We have no choice.

An educator by training, Moses Machipisa is a young leader from Zimbabwe who has a strong interest in inclusive politics. Among some of his accomplishments his project on the application of social media in advancing youth civic participation was selected as one of the top three innovations in democracy at the World Forum for Democracy 2016. He is currently working on an emerging idea of youth integration in governance labelled “Youthnism” which was considered for presentation at the Innocracy Forum on Democratic Innovation Berlin, 2018. Moses is also currently leading one of the largest volunteer movements in Zimbabwe under the #ThisIsMyHome Campaign that responded to the 2018 Cholera outbreak in Harare and Cyclone IDAI post disaster relief among other projects. Moses Global Thinkers Forum Mentee 2019, an Alumni of the prestigious Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Youth Leadership Training, Harvard Kennedy Executive Education School Alumni, and Alumni Capernaum Scholar. He can be emailed on machipisamoses1@gmail.com

Closing Down Ecocash Merchants Is an Attack on The Poor

A reactionary in the words of Aneurin Bevan is “someone who is facing the future but chooses to walk backwards.”

Being reactionary is what best describes the move that RBZ took on the issue pertaining to shutting down ecocash cash in and cash-outs.

This closure is an ill-thought idea that will cost thousands of people jobs and affect millions of lives.

It is common sense that the future of money is digital. Digital platforms for transacting is where the world is moving. A lot of investment was made to get people people to adopt the technology here in Zimbabwe and the financial inclusion of millions that has resulted is something that is a matter of national pride.

Zimbabwe is marveled as one of the best countries in regards to adoption of mobile money which is by all standards one of the few positive things that we have as a country. Ecocash has employs more than 50 000 merchants directly and millions more depend on Ecocash to convinently.and securely transact.

Granted in the last few months we have had some rogue criminal elements abusing the facility. However this abuse must be put into proper context. There are questions that must be reflected on.

What is the reason for the abuse?

In my own view the issue was about supply and demand. The abnormal situation that we have found in our country is that money has become a commodity. This is very abnormal and the blame for this lies squarely on the the central bank. The demand for notes has to be met by government.

Who was abusing the facility?

It should also be investigated on who the players who were moving money are and selling money. In such a poor country as ours not many people can pull off such capital intensive schemes unless of course if they are connected to the elite politicians. We have also seen these money traders with brand new crisp notes obviously fresh from the bank, where we’re they getting them?

What was the scale of the abuse?

The abuse that was being done was mostly pronounced in Harare. However, Harare is not Zimbabwe and vice-versa. If you look at the numbers you will realise that most of the users who will be affected are in the rural areas where such activities were not taking place. Surely the whole country cannot be punished for the misdeeds of a few!

Who stands to lose?

The real losers in the shutting down of Ecocach facilities are not the culprits that were extorting the public who obviously have political connections, but the ordinary person mostly youth trying to etch an honest living. The real losers are the poor vendors on the streets and the poor folk in the rural areas. Shutting down someone’s business and livelihood just like that is tantamount to robbery! Government on it’s own stands to lose a lot of revenue in this, money that can be used to build schools, hospitals and roads and improve the livelihoods of the suffering people.

There is an adage that you don’t throw away the baby with bath water. The fundamentals must be put in place including cash supply. Regulations must be put in place to punish the connected elite few that we’re the hand behind the abuse of the facility not the majority of innocent users.

It should be realised that the growth of Ecocash was as a result of it being a solution to the cash crisis that our country continues to face. Closing down ecocash is a direct attack on the poor. Our country is already in a bad place, we are in a big pit and the government should stop digging. We need cool heads in the central bank. Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error, people are suffering enough as it is due to hyperinflation and government must not make it worse.

In regards to becoming a digital economy thanks to Ecocash and it’s innovation we were leading the pack and I hope the courts and government will do the right thing to take us into the future and not to the past.

Moses Machipisa

Heroes Day Reflection – The story of Esther.

Dear Zimbabwean,

As someone who is passionate about my country, its past and more importantly its future I took time to reflect deeply on the Heroes holiday.

Heroes day is a day that we remember those that fought for our freedom as a country. During this Heroes day I took time to contemplate on one of the most incredible Hero stories that I like. It is found in the bible.

It is the story of Hadassah (Esther). The intriguing part of this story is that although it is a Bible story there is no part of it that mentions the name of God. I would strongly encourage you to read it.

The story is about an orphan girl who ascends to become a queen. In this story the Jewish people are hated by a powerful man in the empire- Haman who hatches a plot to eliminate them completely (and almost succeeds). Unknown to Haman queen Esther herself is a jew herself. To cut the long story short there is a time where Queen Esther had to risk her own life to save her people by presenting herself uncalled to the Kings Court. Eventually the evil man and enemy of the jews Haman gets killed and an entire generation is saved.

What I found most profound in the story was when the news of the plan to kill the Jews was told TO Esther by his uncle Mordecai:

“Don’t suppose that merely because you happen to be in the royal palace you will escape any more than the other Jews. For if you fail to speak up now, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from a different direction; but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows whether you didn’t come into your royal position precisely for such a time as this.”

Ester (Est) 4:13‭-‬14 CJB

The story of Esther Chronicles how God intevines in the affairs of men to save his people and these are some of the lessons that can be taken from the story.

God prepares and elevates with power and influence those who He wants to use to save his people.

To whom much is given much is expected. With influence comes much responsibility.

The will of God will always stand. Whether you decide to be an instrument in Gods plan or not God’s plan is always ultimate. God will raise someone else if you are unwilling to take up His mandate though it may take time.

A great legacy will always pursue those who heed God’s call. Up to now (thousands of years later) the story of the rescue of the Jewish people through the bravery of Esther is celebrated. (Purim)

When God has privileged you with power and influence you have a moral obligation to speak out for the poor, the weak and defensless.

If you are called to be a solution for you people and you reject to answer to the cries of the people you will not be spared in the calamity that you were raised to avert.

Those who plot evil upon the innocent will eventually meet their fate at the gallows.

God will always provide escape to His people who are faithful to him.

I long for the day when we have our own Esther’s of influence answering the call to be a solution providers in Zimbabwe.

Christ is King and to God all the Glory belongs.

Moses Machipisa

(Originally posted on Facebook)