A Debt Of Honor, A Debt Of Gratitude

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now" - Chinese Proverb 

My Homeland. It is criminal neglect for any country in Southern Africa to fail to feed itself.

If a sufficient number of development minded, progressive (indigenous) people start development projects in their rural areas all over the country (coordination is not even necessary); the end result has to be, must be, palpable good for Zimbabwe. Let me also point you to the fact that it is not an oversight that I do not mention Western aid ANYMORE in my writings.

by Kudakwashe Kanhutu

I have always thought that there needs to be a thorough redrafting of the way people reach positions of political leadership in Zimbabwe. I have always thought that people should not assume positions of political authority until they have paid a debt of gratitude to society. Some people only go into politics because of vanity - to imprint their names in history books - and above all to amass wealth. Our next generation of politicians have to be different in that one aspect: one should not, cannot, no, must not run for political office until they have paid their debt to society. This debt is a debt of honour, and it is a debt of gratitude: the communities that fostered us were the happiest possible communities and we have to make an input towards their continuity. We have to use our talents to develop the communities we come from before we seek to represent them.

In this regard, I am buoyed by the fact that fate has gifted Zimbabwe a unique opportunity to realise her development potential. I am not alone in recognising that the political problems that led to our exodus from Zimbabwe must have a positive side. I will not dwell long on this, but the poor treatment we have received in our host countries has imbued us with the spirit to return and build a functional country so that we will never have to leave again. Most importantly, perhaps, most of us have managed to pursue university and college educations of our choice. Also, the contact and work experience (in a host of development fields) in different countries is a gift nothing but fate could have conjured up for us. If I am right, Zimbabwe is poised to be Southern Africa’s Switzerland in a few short years. What needs to be done is to harness the skills of returning individuals. The most important thing for me is that this should be done in an apolitical way. It should not be done under the banner of this or that political party. It just has to be the individual or individuals giving back to the community that gave them so much.

To give an example, my family followed my grandfather to a protected village in the Zambezi Valley, having moved from Chivhu. The place we moved to was a former ‘protected village,’ this was a cluster of huts closely resembling each other, housing innumerable families. On my first night there, since I was only five I wandered and got lost. To make it hilariously worse I only knew my grandfather's first name - John - so it was quite a mission to find my family. The family that found me waited until day break then took me to the Chief and I was reunited with my family, eventually. Indeed this sounds anecdotal but given the depravity of some communities in this world, this anecdote could have been a tragedy. Among many other things, this indicates my community was functional as we pulled together. My debt to this community is this: the children of the people that made my community so great should also live under the umbrella of safety and happiness that I found when my family joined this community.

Every single one of us  - except the most conceited - has a debt to pay to our communities. This MUST be paid in full before we can hope to be capable representatives. Of course, there have been changes as to what makes communities great - advances in technology, economics and knowledge have supplanted historical routes of acquiring basic needs. I will venture that it is not enough anymore to just help an old widow with the harvest. Sustainability of any project we undertake is the target.

In outline, my personal debt will not have been paid until I have built 3 libraries across Mzarabani District and supply them with books sufficient to start a civilisation. Until I have paid for sports field developments and supply all the schools with sports equipment such as footballs, volleyballs, netballs, standard goals, nets etc. IMPORTANTLY as lack of food security is the bane of our community, I want to construct an agricultural supplies depot where our rural farmers will get seeds, fertilisers, chemicals and farm equipment spares at token prices. At the same time my great wish is to also build grain silos here, the first in the area whose sole purpose will be to store grain that will be given back to the same rural families in drought years.

This project will be one whose success will not be evident for at least five years, which time I think is the minimum for anyone interested in uplifting their communities to make an impact. If a sufficient number of development minded, progressive (indigenous) people start development projects in their rural areas all over the country (coordination is not even necessary); the end result has to be, must be, palpable good for Zimbabwe. Let me also point you to the fact that it is not an oversight that I do not mention Western aid ANYMORE in my writings.

Strategy For The North

“Security is development” – Robert S McNamara.

I prefer having grain silos to having nuclear silos, that's just me.

The more I find myself talking eloquently on Nuclear Strategy, the more I realise that I am being co-opted into adopting other people's problems as my own. My position - properly conceived - should be that of fearing hunger more than thermonuclear weapons.


Strategy For The North


by Kudakwashe Kanhutu

Devolution of power has been touted in Zimbabwe for a long time by the opposition and some academics. If it were to be instituted, I would hope that it follows the system they have in Nigeria as described to me when I spoke to the Rivers State’s Executive Governor - Hon. Rotimi Amaechi - in London not so long ago. I was impressed by the potential developmental positives their system holds. The problem for me is that, in Zimbabwe, devolution has not been presented primarily to realise our development goals. Development is an afterthought. The main preoccupation is diluting the power President Robert Mugabe has over central government. Some even think it possible to create a separate Ndebele State as part of this 'devolution.' The debate therefore does not get serious consideration which it could get if it was presented purely as a development agency.

Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, Rivers State Governor.

Indeed - Zimbabwe on the verge of civil war - before the Government of National Unity on 11 February 2009 offered (albeit as an extreme), the possibility of this kind of devolution, separatism if you like. In a state of war it is reasonable that people must organise themselves as best as they can for their preservation. The government will have breached the social contract in failing to deliver order and security; therefore 'devolution' becomes the logical pathway. I considered the dynamics of that eventuality and identified the area where we would make our last stand had civil war occurred. Typically I proceeded from a sentimental dimension; my family has owned land here as subsistence farmers since the Rhodesian war. The area I am from, being conterminous with Mozambique, was a very active theatre during the Liberation War. My grandparents did not leave at the height of that war, and are buried here, which too means that this is the last place for me.

I am from the northernmost tip of Zimbabwe; our landmarks are the Mavhuradonha Mountain range to the south, and the Zambezi River to the north. The mountain range forms a perfect protective wall, which cuts us off from the whole country, accessible by road only at two points. The area therefore has physical attributes suitable for defensive purposes. Its main guarantor of safety from wars of greed however, has always been that it is devoid of mineral wealth, which is also why it is currently underdeveloped, neglected and overlooked by central government. Had civil war come, it would be different from the Liberation War which was fought in the rural areas. This time the war would be in the urban areas and diamond fields, as belligerents sought to control the centre of gravity of the state. We would only need to arm and arrange ourselves as an insurance policy against defeated units coming here and causing insecurity. The main challenge in war - had it come - would have been food security, and in peace it still is food security. 

Granted, I drew my borders with defence in mind, the area that is bordered by the Mavhuradonha Mountain and the Zambezi River would have been my theatre in civil war. This was not arbitrary; this is my place in the universe. 

"Each blade of grass has its spot on earth whence it draws its life, its strength; and so is man rooted to the land from which he draws his faith together with his life."

Did I not walk barefoot to Mahuhwe and back to pick cotton seed when there was no seed at Mzarabani Growth Point? Did I not as a school child scale the Mavhuradonha Mountain to unblock leaves that had stopped our water supply on the Tank Four line? Did I not walk barefoot to church gatherings in Hoya? How about the barefoot trips to Hwata, Kapembere, Mzarabani, Sohwe and Machaya for primary schools competitions? How about when I carried sacks of fish from the Musengezi River? Swam in the Sohwe and Musengezi Rivers? Nights spent in guard huts to light fires to scare away elephants and wild pigs from our maize crop? Braved lions and leopards in defence of our livestock? Or in the dry season, did I not drive our livestock to drink from the Musengezi River?

All these places I mention are within the confines of the Mavhuradonha and Zambezi borders and they hold a special significance for me. They are populated by the people I grew up with; a functional community I owe a debt of gratitude to. You only need to consider the acts of depravity widespread in the media in some countries to understand why I feel that I grew up in the best possible community. If I can contribute so that the children growing up here today are not subject to abuses that tend to occur when extreme poverty breaks up the fabric of society. If I can make a contribution that helps restore the dignity of families here. If I can initiate a sustainable strategy for development for this community, then this debt I owe will have been repaid.

The result that comes from thinking about our community faced with the extreme danger of war, is a realisation that our community must be made resilient against whatever challenge may emerge. The constant challenge is food security, any other challenge springs from this board. As exemplified by the ability of Zimbabwean politicians to, in every election, incite normally civil neighbours to violent hatred by buying them with grain.

My desire is to help create conditions of relative prosperity that will obviate the life and death aspect of elections. If our community can feed itself, our people cannot be incited into acts of violence against each other by unscrupulous politicians in exchange for grain. I am unhappy that people who live civilly with each other throughout the year turn to murdering each other in the two weeks leading up to elections. This dynamic exists chiefly because those who live in near starvation conditions can be made to murder for their next meal. My idea is to turn the land that lies between the Mavhuradonha and the Zambezi into an oasis, disregarding that politicians would rather the whole country was a desert for the sake of power.

Her Excellency Helen Clark, former New Prime Minister and current head of the UNDP with me at a UN Forum.

To this end there are three interconnected imperatives I have always held dear: security is development, community capacity initiated by constituents and, that agriculture is the most viable development option for rural communities. These ideas were reinforced for me when I had a chat with H. E. Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand and current Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. I think the first hurdle has always been people’s misconception that success in life, or development, is living in urban areas and working for a wage. The reality, however, is that (global inequities considered) in all agro-based economies such as ours, most people are better off making a living off their land. Efforts should be directed vigorously to sustaining ourselves on the land we own in the rural communities.

The primary goal for me is building capacity for self-sustenance. The requirements are quite simple but will need hard work as it will be a one man initiative to begin with. Three main things are needed, firstly, a large farm inputs depot which will make seed, pesticides, fertilisers and spares readily available in the area. The second thing required will be grain silos in the area and, thirdly, libraries to ensure that, with time, knowledge becomes easily accessible. A larger, ambitious drive would actually harness the waters of the Zambezi River for an irrigation scheme. Our proximity to the great river favours this, but that would be a longer term undertaking. The main idea is that if we succeed in agriculture and maintenance of our livestock, we will have taken a huge step in creating a key component of human security for our community. This will be the springboard for an across-the-board secure community which other rural communities can see and emulate. The big picture will be a functional country that does not depend on food aid.

Kudakwashe KANHUTU

Associations:

Durham Global Security Institute DGSI

University of Kent, School of Politics and International Relations

Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies

United Nations Association of the United Kingdom

University of London, Goldsmiths College [Classics]

[Progressive Nationalism in Zimbabwe]