IT is almost sun-set in Chivero as I begin to write this piece.
The weakening and colourful sun, peering through the lush green indigenous trees and dropping into the lake’s still blue waters is a spectacle to watch.
I grew up under such sights, but hardly noticed.
A few travels and cultural exposure has me almost saying, “Beautiful sight.”
At a neighbouring picnic spot the radio is an intrusion in these serene moments.
But I enjoy the noise pollution.
It is the Bob Marley version of ‘No woman no cry’.
I time travelled backwards.
Not to Trenchtown in Jamaica, but somewhere close.
The time travel takes me to St Lawrence’s Gap in Barbados, 16 years ago.
There was lots of music and drink in the smoke filled space.
My host was giving me a historical tour of the Barbados economy.
From slavery and sugar plantations, abolition and rum factories to freedom, affluence, tourism and financial services.
I can only nod ‘jah man’ (no effect of the smoke!) at the ingenuity of a people that have rediscovered the value and competitiveness of their humanity.
My writing was interrupted by my friends’ return from a boat ride.
They were discussing rain or to be more precise its delayed arrival.
All week every evening and morning the sky has looked like in advanced pregnancy, but on each occasion has flattered to deceive.
Everyone feels sorry for the weather forecasters; they are consistently getting their predictions wrong as per established notoriety.
Ackim dry planted over a week ago and had some light showers.
The seeds still germinated and he has already started replanting.
This time last year we were drenched in rain during the annual ZANU PF National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi.
The general conclusion is that this will be a drought year.
The Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-ASSET) is anchored on food security.
Not through rain-fed farming reasons.
For the last 2 000 years our lives have been anchored in agriculture; small grains and cattle.
Oral traditions point to the possibility of a well-established Mwari worship at Great Zimbabwe.
Archaeology tells us that cattle, sheep and cowpeas were already widespread by the beginning of the Christian era.
A domestic economy anchored in these gave rise to state systems and associated complexity.
The Great Zimbabwe system developed from the 11th century AD and was in decline by the mid-14th century.
It was as good as abandoned by the 16th century.
Rainfall has been critical for these communities over two millennia.
It was critical for Great Zimbabwe’s strong agricultural base consisting of small grains cultivation and cattle ranching.
The economy was supplemented by income from long distance trade that was underpinned by navigation along the Save River.
Again this could only be guaranteed through good rainfall in the region.
The importance of rain to our ancestors is reflected in Mwari religious practices around ‘rain making’.
Most famous of Mwari rain shrines was Njelele in Matonjeni.
Every year August pilgrims trekked to Njelele on foot to perform seek rain. Women in particular were the supplicants.
Putting on their black spiritual attire the women, with men providing security to them, brought with them a variety of items, gifts and artifacts that were used in the ritual.
From Njelele the rain messengers took back home treated water from Njelele.
A welcoming rain prayer, mukwerera was then held in their villages the end of which signaled the beginning of the rain season.
When white settlers arrived in this country this was one of few practices they least interfered with.
In fact, they encouraged and reminded local leaders to observe the mikwerera practice.
Having pegged the choice red soils to themselves they now needed rain more than us.
Today our economic livelihoods are still determined by challenges of 2 000 years ago.
Great Zimbabwe prospered on abilities to control rain and its effects.
The gradual decline of Great Zimbabwe lasted over a century and has been attributed to the twin factors of changing rainfall patterns and realignment of long distance trade.
Declining rainfall would have resulted in decreased agricultural production.
Less rainfall would also have meant less inflows into Save River and consequently less trade goods being navigated along the Save River.
The resultant economic strain would have seen the political establishment of the time seeking religious solutions.
And indeed the post Great Zimbabwe situation points to duality of religion in political and economic affairs.
Today, as Ackim sadly observed, we can only rely on erroneous meteorological forecasts.
We have leant little from the last over 1 000 years.
Imagine if my friends in Barbados were to remain tied to slave, sugar plantations? That would be sad, sad indeed.
During the same period we became also global giants in gold production. Zimbabwe was Ophir of pre-colonial gold production.
Chinese, Arabs, the Portuguese and later the British carted out thousands of tonnes of the finest purest gold of the time.
In return we got imported cloth, gin bottles, guns and glass beads, all museum pieces now.
Our trade partners took the precious metal and today that gold is the foundation on which their central banks and economies stand.
Today gold remains a key extraction resource for the same clients.
It has now been joined by platinum, chrome, nickel and other Great Dyke crops.
In return we buy consumer goodies from the factories of our clients.
Sometimes I wonder whether our obsession with mining is not an obsession with poverty.
History and archaeology tell us the first Europeans found manufacture and use of cotton cloth widespread among the Karanga of Mutapa.
And that was over 500 years ago.
Archaeology has shown that cotton working is over 1 000 years in this country. The Karanga were well established cotton producers when the Portuguese first arrived in the 16th century.
According to one account, the dress of the king and his lords consisted of a fine cloth or silk hanging from the waist to the ankles and another much larger cloth, machira thrown over the shoulders like a cape with which they cover and muffle themselves.
A greater part of this machira drag upon the ground as a sign of majesty.
By the end of the evening, in the background of lake sounds, my worry had shifted from what went wrong with our pre-colonial economies to what is wrong with modern economies tied to past challenges.
Barbados moved from slave grown sugar to financial services.
Mauritius and to some extent Rwanda are showing us that you can build or discover new competitive advantages.
A happy and wet Congress comrades!