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Reasons
to be optimistic
Albert
Gumbo
July 07, 2006
I have not written
for a while. It has been a little bit depressing with inflation
hitting new highs, power cuts bringing the reality of our crisis
into every home nationwide and the circus with the civic movement.
Rather uninspiring material giving us very few reasons to be optimistic.
The life of a nation, though, cannot be measured in selfish terms
simply because it may be our nature to "look out for number
one." On this basis alone, I remain optimistic.
Nothing like
a full day listening to 5 teams of young university students in
the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) national competition to restore
some hope. This is my first reason for optimism. I have written
before about corporate citizenship and the role that businesses
can play in helping to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development
as a way of life for communities across the nation. On Saturday
1 July, I listened to presentations by teams of university teams
on what they have been doing, with active support from the corporate
and NGO world, to uplift communities and it was a refreshing and
most fulfilling experience. Group after group of young students
told us how they had helped communities regain some dignity by learning
how to be self sustaining. One of the things I have consistently
written about or repeated in interviews is the need to reduce the
dependency syndrome and help people help themselves and I implore
all those who are reading these words to support all efforts that
promote social investment.
The second reason
for optimism is the students themselves. Call me foolishly optimist
but when you see Zimbabweans passionately involved in preparing
communities for the future in a normalized economy, you have reason
to believe the country will be fine. We cannot all leave the country.
It is incumbent on all those people who have chosen to stay to do
whatever it takes within the confines of the law to prepare for
a normalized future. I might even go as far as suggesting that those
who have left do the same as the SIFE students. Instead of perpetuating
the dependency syndrome, that quite a few NGOs are guilty of, by
drip feeding families back home, those in the diaspora could instead
supporting projects that families can undertake to wean themselves
of dependency. It is not easy but it can be done. Why is it that,
in general terms, immigrant families of say Asians and Chinese are
able to within a few years wean themselves of "family assistance"
and go on to put others on the same path and thus create successful
communities. Zimbabweans need to do the same. Going back to my foolish
optimism, the human capital flight notwithstanding, I believe we
have well educated and well meaning people in this nation, not only
in SIFE, and I firmly believe that not all of them will leave.
This leads me
to the next reason for optimism. Together with a newspaper and an
NGO, the company I work for has introduced an awards incentive to
encourage companies to practice corporate citizenship. From the
presentations given by the students and indeed from press reports
in the past, it is clear that many companies, large and small, are
heavily involved in the business of corporate social investment
as distinguished from throwing cheques around. Admittedly, there
are instances where this is required but the corporate giving must
move more and more in the direction of promoting sustainable development.
When poverty escalates, crime, HIV AIDS, productivity and wealth
creation suffer. When I see evidence of the growing involvement
by companies right across the industry in efforts to save the environment,
reduce poverty by creating self employment, I have every reason
to be optimistic. These companies are choosing to "light a
candle, instead of cursing the darkness" and are doing a damn
fine job and should, therefore, be recognized for it. The Asakheni
(Let’s build) awards will do exactly that. We all have a role to
play. Get involved in pushing "sustainable giving" rather
than deepening the dependency syndrome though sympathy giving. The
less privileged do not want sympathy, they want dignity.
Finally, nothing
lasts forever and that is a good reason to be optimistic. The tough
times we are going through are nothing new in the world. I have
written before about Japan and Germany whose economies, immediately
after world war 11, make Zimbabwe look like a picnic and look at
where they are today. If Finland can do Nokia, Japan SONY and Toyota,
Germany Mercedes Benz, there is absolutely no reason why Zimbabwe
cannot do processed crocodile skins into finished goods, value added
mineral products, restore herself as a premier tourist destination
on the globe and indeed restore the agricultural industry from maize
to timber and everything in between.
It all depends
of course whether you see the life of a nation in terms of your
nuclear family or understand that for you to be sitting in front
of your computer reading this message, someone fought and died in
a war at some point in our history, without knowing who would benefit
directly from their efforts. Isn’t it time you took the same view?
Moan and groan when you have to, it is therapeutic! Afterwards though,
try and join those who are putting their shoulders to the wheel
far beyond boardroom profits, which in themselves are extremely
important to keep the pulse of the nation going. It is all about
lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness."
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