This article was first published in The Patriot in 2016.
THE production of goods and services makes up the backbone
of the country’s economy.
Zimbabwe earns foreign currency from exporting these goods
and services.
When such exports are low or non-existent, the country’s
economy stagnates; our capacity to import tools, equipment and raw materials for our industries is significantly reduced.
These matters are self-evident.
But when one listens to Zimbabweans mourning about their
hard times, one would think the majority of citizens do not
know which side of their bread is buttered.
I have been interrogating the paradox where, despite our high
educational achievements, we seem to be struggling to put our economy back on its track.
We continue to play the blame game, but even our sympathisers are getting tired of hearing the same stories; sanctions and corruption.
This is especially so, given the well-renowned courage and resilience of Zimbabweans who took on a well-armed colonial army with highly motorised regiments and a sophisticated air-force and defeated it hands-down on the battle-field.
The Zimbabwean liberation fighters were foot soldiers and carried the bulk of their weapons on their shoulders.
They encountered many obstacles, some costing the lives of thousands.
Still they persisted, drawing courage and inspiration from the spirits of their ancestors, such as Nehanda, Kaguvi,
Chaminuka, Mukwati and Murenga.
Many of those involved in thehard-fighting abandoned their education to join the war.
Where is that fighting enterprising spirit today?
Today the enemy is back in full force, relentlessly pushing for regime change.
The nature of the war has changed from a physical hot war to an economic war being fought to win the hearts and minds of Zimbabweans.
Engagement yes, but re-strategise!
Remain in charge of the agenda; surrendering is not an option.
Colonialism was epitomised by abject poverty visited upon the black population through a programme of persistent looting of indigenous resources including land, minerals and livestock.
Heavy taxation forced Africans to work for the whiteman so they could earn the required money to pay taxes.
As part of efforts to develop a labour force, whites allowed a limited number of blacks to acquire basic education.
Church missionary schools played a leading role as they wanted the gospel to penetrate more easily.
Educated Africans could access what were considered elite well-paying jobs such as teaching, nursing and clerical duties.
The employed bought clothes, food items and other goods normally associated with the white privileged colonial masters.
Blacks assumed all whites were educated because they could speak English.
All whites belonged to the privileged class.
For Africans, because they could not change their skin colour (many have tried), education became the only way to access privileges associated with the colonial masters.
Speaking English topped the agenda of educational achievements.
Africans in Zimbabwe have pursued educational achievement with a single-mindedness that borders on obsession.
African parents will readily dispose of family assets to afford school and college fees for their children.
In general, the colonial experience is one that left Africans with no alternative but instruct their offspring as follows:
‘Go ye and acquire (through education) the whiteman’s wisdom and return to liberate us from poverty and arduous work’.
The Africans went to school in Africa, the US, Europe or wherever.
They learnt and returned, but not to the village of origin.
They stopped in the cities and towns, in the schools and colleges.
They became the educated class, assuming the role and privileges of the erstwhile colonisers.
They avoided physical work and considered education the licence for not engaging in manual work.
It is my contention that our educated elites, including even their children with just five ‘O’- Level passes, consider themselves to be above manual work.
Manual work, productive work, is for the less-educated.
One would be forgiven for concluding that Zimbabwe’s high literacy rate points to the number of citizens who look down
on manual work on account of their being educated.
It is common cause that our educated youth are unwilling to take up jobs that require physical exertion.
Since God instructed that man shall eat his sweat, how do all those who shun physical work expect to earn their livelihoods?
The ‘Diploma disease’ has resulted in thousands of Zimbabweans registering for undergraduate and postgraduate
degree programmes in a wide array of mostly socio-economic study areas.
When they complete their academic programmes, they expect to be promoted and to get huge salary increments.
The question is: Can we measure a quantum increase in labour output as a result of the qualifications?
Are the salaries linked to productivity?
The tragedy for Zimbabwe is that themore educated people expect to do less work.
The ‘chef’ mentality is so strong and is a major negative force hindering productivity in many of Zimbabwe’s enterprises.
And now turning to polytechnic colleges which are now degree-granting institutions.
Can we say the degree status will partly shield the polytech graduates from being looked down upon by those others with
theoretical degrees from universities?
It will be good for Zimbabwe if the polytechnic degreed graduates maintain their work ethic and culture of producing
innovative goods and services.
We cannot eat degrees, but goods that are produced by the ingenuity of the educated.
The challenge will be when the degreed technical work-force also claim liberation from hard work.
In Zimbabwe, the educated do less work and prefer to supervise those below them.
The result is less competent and experienced persons remain on the shop floor to carry out critical tasks to generate marketable goods. Productivity suffers.
Our competitiveness on the international market will also be compromised.
In agriculture, extension workers are encouraged to acquire higher qualifications.
First it was diplomas and now degrees.
The degreed personnel see themselves as supervisors and may be reluctant to walk around the farms. Technical advisory support to farmers then suffers at a time we are calling for higher productivity.
Given that we need to generate goods and services to export and bring in the much needed foreign currency, how do all
these highly educated, but unprodutive citizens, promoted into higher offices, hope to enjoy the good life?
Are many companies not on their knees partly due to exorbitant salaries that cannot be sustained by the low production base?
When brilliant engineers and scientists get appointed to administrative office jobs, laboratories and research work stations lose out.
In short, productivity suffers.
How do we sustain a competitive edge in our research and development?
In Zimbabwe, we have a culture that says the educated are liberated from hard work.
If we do not address elitism in our education system, we shall find great difficulty in translating our educational achievements into economic prosperity.
In advanced economies, the educated work hard, mentally and physically.
We must hold our educated elites accountable for production on the shop floor.
If our captains of industry are supervising effectively, let productivity increase!
If there are challenges let them think hard and find solutions.
That is what they get paid for!
Let the educated elite go to work at all levels of our economy. Zimbabwe’s economy must thrive.
It is work or perish.
