African dreams betrayed!

Letter from America
By Ken Mufuka

The passing away of Brother Bornwell Chakaodza serves to emphasise the fact that our dreams have been betrayed by our leaders.

Chakaodza was a great mind and a patriot. When he was asked by the rulers of the country to defend the fort against the onslaught of the rising Movement for Democratic Change in 1999, he answered the call with a willing heart and mind. As editor of the The Herald, then the leading newspaper of the day, his job was to colour the news. I know for certain, because he told me so, that he was willing to go along with some suggestions, if the rulers could see reason. His reason was that he could hold the fort temporarily while the government recalibrates in order to take account of economic realities.
The government refused to recalibrate, instead forcing him to make a choice, either prostitute himself, or leave. The best example of refusing to calibrate was that of Air Zimbabwe. Dubbed "the best little airline of Africa" in 1980, it employed 250 people, flew a neat little fleet of 18 airplanes, with 18 "captains." As I speak, it employs 100 "captains" for five airplanes, 1 400 stalwart employees, and "packages out" its chief executive officer every 12 months with millions of dollars.
Chakaodza fought many battles within the corridors of power about such unreasoning until somebody told him to shut up and do what he was told. The light shined on his Damascus Road. He was being asked to prostitute himself. He told me; "Sekuru, I could no longer stay at The Herald." Others say he was "packaged out." African intellectuals have paid a heavy price by unreasonably supporting governments in the hope of receiving crumbs from King Midas' table. Chakaodza paid twice. When he was packaged out, his pension collapsed under the weight of zeros to less than US$10 a month.
Unless African intellectuals abandon ship and refuse to prostitute themselves, we will not cross the Jordan River. My white brother Charles Frizell advises that many Zimbabweans remain "mentally colonised and believe that some foreigners are bound to know more than them locals."
I am surprised by the truth of this advice. Take for instance the current debate about paying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) what we owe them. Super brains want to persuade us that we must fork out US$700 million for the IMF so that we may be regarded in some favourable light by those alligators.
In the meantime, Lobels, Cairns Foods, Lever Brothers, Kadoma Textiles and others are now moribund. Finance Minister, Tendai Biti has the right idea, but pegs his loans at 30 percent. The US bailed out their banks for free. Does anybody hear me?
These brilliant brothers have not considered restoring the pensions, insurance accounts, and savings accounts of millions of Zimba-bweans whose savings certificates are still frozen in our banks. Until these accounts are restored and guaranteed by the diamonds and platinum earnings, Zimbabwe's wealth will remain locked up in their vaults.
East Germany came under a similar cloud at some stage when their money disintegrated. West Germany assumed the responsibility and restored the people's savings.
Our brilliant intellectuals are busy, even as we speak, suggesting these same guarantees, to the IMF and WB and their aunts and siblings. They are completely shameless.
From the Limpopo to Kenya, there is not a single ironworks that makes ploughs, automobile chassis, or assembles motor vehicles. There is not a single factory that makes lawn mowers or automobiles in the whole of Africa. Surely, with 600 million souls, Africa can support at least one automobile maker. The Zimbabweans intellectuals sing songs of sovereignty while destroying the foundation we once had and the head start that gave us an advantage. The Queen's children invented the Hippo grinding mill, named thus because it originated in Hippo Valley. Chibuku was invented in Masvingo and so were Colcom sausages. We have a lot to be proud of.
I curse these intellectual prostitutes for two reasons. They destroyed what was already there. The once proud companies are now shells of their former selves, Zambezi Coachworks, Lever Brothers, Cairns Foods, Kadoma Textiles and Lobels, the name that means bread. They, as Chakaodza realised to his horror, thought the world should march to their discordant drum.
As patron of the Zimbabwe Global Forum (a loose federation of diaspora organisations) I have been recently made aware of our white brothers, driven into exile, who want to return to Zimbabwe. These white Zimbabweans and their black counterparts have prospered in Pharaoh's land. Include the brothers at home; there is no area of knowledge which is outside our circumference.
We are in the situation we were in 1980 when vast numbers of patriots were waiting to return home.
Obviously, as long as this generation of colonial freedom fighters is embedded in power, we will not cross the Jordan.
I returned home in 1982, with a plan I had borrowed from US museums, to make Great Zimbabwe Monument self-sufficient by increasing visitors to 100 000 a year from 12 000. I was forced out.
Verily I say unto you, this generation of vipers will kill any dreams.