By Liapeng Raliengoane (Lesotho)
When mentioned, majority of people who have never been to Zimbabwe imagine a poor, hunger-stricken country. One Zimbabwean youth wants this narrative to change.
Also, the Founder and President of Powerful Africa, Kudakwashe Muvavarirwa stressed that no man ever injured his mindset by looking at the brighter side of things, where others see problems, others see opportunities.
He highlighted that the issue is not about being a victim of the system but being a victor.
“It is definitely one thing to say a rich nation and another to say poor people. Zimbabwe is a rich nation but it is its people that are poor. Poor in terms of their mindset. Our eyes are useless if our mind is blind. We are running out of the country because our minds are blind to see the opportunities in the country. Sadly, the Chinese are seeing the opportunities that we do not see, as we run away, they are coming in,” he said.
“They see a blessed Zimbabwe rich in minerals, we see a cursed Zimbabwe rich in problems. When foreigners come, they acquire mining licenses, while an ordinary Zimbabwean does not even know how much it is to acquire a license yet he complains.”
Muvavarirwa is of a view that another thing that has done more harm to the Zimbabweans is the type of education they inherit. “Educational curriculum is not financial education. We cannot solve our problems with an education system that taught us to cram, pass and then forget.”
“We need to educate ourselves about agriculture so we can utilize the land we left at home. Educate ourselves with financial literacy so we can start companies. No one is coming to save us and running away from the motherland won’t fix anything. Let us be optimistic to turn what we have seen as problems to opportunities.”
“With as little as $60 USD, l bought fish fingerlings and l started my fish farming project. I am doing it in a swimming pool that was left by white settlers. Sadly, we have a lot of them but we cannot utilize them.”
“In our villages we have departed from, optimistic people are starting goats projects from as little as $100 USD. Some are even starting chicken poultry with as little as $10 and patiently wait for them to hatch.”
On the issue of farming, he said a lot of Zimbabweans complain about lack of capital. “We all do not have, but we can do something with our land and not just fold our hands. We might not have the capacity to plough one acre of land but we can plough a hectare. My point is we can do something with our land!”
“A lot of farmers have benefited from various initiatives like Command Agriculture and Pfumvudza. Sadly, a lot of Zimbabweans could not go for such opportunities. Others are Zimbabweans who do not apply for farms because they think people who only get farms are ZANU PF members. We need to challenge ourselves as Zimbabweans. This is our land, Zimbabwean land for Zimbabweans, opportunities in Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans.”
“Zimbabweans abroad, your land is here and its immovable. Come back home, whatever you need is here. Zimbabwe is the place to be. Your ancestors did not die for you to scatter abroad but for you to live in your nation.”
