By Tatenda Gapa

SCHOOL heads and teachers are critical components in the effort to do away with colonial hangovers that affect some elements of society particularly children.
While independence was attained some 34 years ago, some vestiges of colonialism have remained and continue to hamper development.
The West has continued to exert its influence on the country and continent through various media such as films and music.
The former imperial powers have also continued to have a strong hold on the continent’s education systems through provision of literature used in the various educational institutions.
And invariably this has led to production of African citizens that have more faith in Western systems and total disregard as well as lack of respect for African products and ways.
Former colonial powers have not given up on their exploitation designs and have adopted subtle measures to continue their agendas that are setting back the continent.
Addressing various school heads from Harare and Chitungwiza at Girls High School in Harare, Zimbabwe Heritage Trust (ZHT) Chief Executive Officer, Cde Pritchard Zhou, said the West has adopted ‘soft power’ to achieve its designs in Africa and many have fallen for this form of power and control.
Soft power refers to the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it wants without force or coercion.
For example, Zimbabwe has become a huge consumer of foreign products despite the fact that some of these are available locally and in abundance.
Last year alone the country spent about US$1 billion importing groceries from as far as the United Kingdom.
Cde Zhou said it was critical for influential and opinion leaders such as teachers to increase the awareness of their pupils.
“The West has resorted to using the education systems to foist their agendas on the continent,” he said.
“They are using the education system to penetrate the continent as they are in control of publishing houses that produce literature that is biased against the continent.”
Telling the Zimbabwean story, said Cde Zhou, must begin in key institutions such as schools.
However, he said those imparting knowledge must fully understand the issues, data and its sources.
“For example, the literature on slave trade is written from the perpetrator’s perspective and not the victim’s side,” Cde Zhou said.
“The West,” he said, “sought to create a generation of Africans that lacked knowledge of its true history and hence easy to exploit.”
He said opinion leaders should contribute towards restoration of the true African identities.
“Africans have been under foreign domination for far too long and this has left them without a proper identity,” he said.
“As a result, in today’s world, African women boost a seven billion dollar industry of foreign hair because they do not like their short ‘kinky’ hair that ‘looks dirty’ because it is black.
“African women are the biggest market for this foreign hair because they feel the need to look like white in order to look and feel good.”
On sanctions, Cde Zhou said it was imperative for opinion leaders to explain how and why the country had survived these illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the British and its allies.
He said how the country has managed to resist the regime change agenda must be explained too.
“Zimbabwe has the highest minerals per capita,” he said explaining the country’s lure to the West.
“The country has a large base of minerals with a small population and we have been able to survive on these.”
Zimbabwe’s land and vast mineral resources were the reasons for a protracted liberation struggle that other African countries did not experience.
The country has the highest gold base in the world and is second to South Africa in terms of platinum.
As a result, the country continues to be of interest to the West.
However, it is important to note that as is always said, white people never have permanent friends in Africa, but permanent interests hence the need for Zimbabwe to be careful when dealing with the West and its ‘soft power’.
More organisations, said Cde Zhou, had to come up with materials produced by locals that told the Zimbabwean story.
“We have done a number of things so as to promote the Zimbabwean story and have it told from a Zimbabwean perspective and not from a Western perspective, but more still needs to be done,” he said.
“There must be more focus on providing platforms for our local writers whose material is not being produced by West-owned publishing houses.”
The ZHT publishing arm, Heritage Printers has already published some books that are now in circulation in schools.
The most popular of such material is the literature study guide by Dr Augustine Tirivangana and books by writers that include David Mungoshi and Dr Felix Muchemwa.