By Munhamu Pekeshe

MY friend Samaita called from Raffingora farms literally begging me to come and see a gem he had just discovered.
He was almost breathless as he described the exploits of a poorly equipped young musical outfit he had discovered.
He described the group as raw, but well-endowed with creative talent.
Currently the group plays museve and urban grooves for free at local beer gatherings where occasionally the odd soiled dollar is thrown its way in appreciation.
Samaita is convinced I can make a good profit if I invest in this group.
A few days before Samaita’s call, Chihera had recounted to me a moving account of her recent visit to the village.
She went with two friends; a Chinese from Singapore and a Dutch.
She was going to show them her empowerment projects among the poor in Wedza.
She and her friends spent the afternoon touring different projects before retiring to her homestead.
In no time they had been joined by a group of women from the village who had come to show their appreciation to these potential new donors.
The group belted church hymns non-stop.
Things took a different turn when the visitors retrieved their own musical instruments from the car.
The Chinese started playing, much to the amazement of the village women, mbira.
He belted Shona mbira classics like ‘Nhemamusasa’.
Wild applause gave way to stony silence allowing for long forgotten rhythms to fill the air.
An attempt by the Dutch to play his saxophone was met with polite disapproval from the captive mbira crowd.
Mbira had left this village in the 1970s.
The skill to manufacture and play mbira instruments used to reside in this village.
We had a long discussion with Chihera on why this was so.
She was of the view that the disappearance of mbira was partly a result of poverty.
Poverty had squeezed out time for leisure as people spent more time chasing basic survival.
Ironically it was poverty again that had brought back mbira sounds via the Chinese.
We also agreed there could be more to it as people still spend a great deal of time in church activities.
Later I continued to reflect on the mbira-poverty link.
Days later, attending a UNESCO meeting on culture, I was happy to get a copy of UNESCO’s Creative Economy Report.
The Report describes the creative economy as one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the world economy transforming societies through rising incomes, job creation and new export markets.
Besides the economic benefits, creative arts help to improve cultural literacy and significantly contribute to quality people centred development.
It enhances communities pride and identity as Chihera witnessed in the nostalgic journey the village women travelled through mbira sounds.
Could it be that if this village had nurtured its mbira manufacturers and players today this village could be attracting mbira apprentices from all over the world? And therefore not begging for development aid?
The UNESCO report contains three examples on the transformative potential of the creative economy.
One example is of a ‘Hip Hop Academy’ in a city in Senegal.
It trains young people in digital graphics and design, music and video production, promotional management and marketing.
It is helping young artistes perform more competitively in a global market that is constantly undergoing artistic and technological evolution.
Perhaps with the new Ministry of Culture we can see more establishments like Pakare Paye being nurtured.
Could this be the inspiration that Samaita’s discovery in Raffingora needs?
In Egypt Nagada company has become a global leader in supply of distinctive artistic products.
It was born out of the destitution of talented village women of Nagada who teamed up with Swiss and Lebanese partners to embrace artistic evolution and gain global competitiveness.
I thought of my own village in Unyetu.
Could we be sitting on some latent creative genius that can help catapult Unyetu to global recognition?
Could Unyetu, with help from the Culture Ministry and Comrade Zhuwarara’s Film School become the breeding ground for Zollywood actors?
In Thailand a small city has brought together artistes and economists to identify the city’s cultural assets and build on these to make the city a leader in provision of quality life attracting in the process tourism and business investors.
In Zimbabwe it shall be a long journey.
Walk into any public or private building and see how bare and vain the walls are. You can only see a variety of calendars.
There is nothing to show for our much celebrated stone sculpture.
You will not find any local paintings or fabrics; there is nothing to show for our creativity.
Zimbabwe is a country richly blessed in extractive resources.
Consequently not much attention has been paid to unlocking the economic potential of our creative genius.
It could be in the creative minds of villagers in places like Unyetu that the future of our economies lies.