What is beauty when that beauty is obscured by the nastiness of sleaze, neglect and greed? What is the meaning and essence of independence when the masses’ misery is taken as an indulgence? How does one celebrate 44 years of lack of progress, a series of delusions, deceits or stress after stress? How can you proudly claim to be free, lovely and livable when you strain your neighbors? Isn’t that despicable? You share your border in the north with Zambia, in the far-flung west, your slant fondles Namibia. In the southwest and west, you relish a fraternal confluence with Botswana,…
Author: Ndaba Sibanda
By the 10th of April 2024, Zimbabwe’s new currency— the gold-backed ZiG had waged a surprise fast, fiscal battle and gained value for a second straight day , according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, thus ascending from 0.2% to 13.50% to the U.S. dollar. I got a call from my enthused Jamaican brother. “I told you so, we’re kickin’ the damn dogged ass of the dollar on our march from volatility to financial liberty,” he crooned and crowed. It is good to inspire confidence, still, this new kid on the block has several fierce and furious battles ahead to…
You land on the backdrop of mad money laundering, massive gold smuggling, failed fooling notes, volatility and scant gold reserves. Zimbabwe Gold, behold, don’t be another old odd story that gets sold or rolled corruptly over rotten hands that hold. They name you ZiG, not RiG but your wig will zigzag into stupor if they aren’t bold and fail to uphold basic fiscal values, we warn! Dosh, the fact that you’ve discarded the deteriorating, disastrous and disappointing Zimbabwean dollar into the bin of history isn’t ultimate. ZiG, you won’t RiG the economy: it’s a harsh fact,…
If info speaks the language of facts, misinformation and disinformation speak one of parody. Info empowers or authorizes, the two polarize or pauperize. The common cord about these two terms is that both are tied to false or wrong information. One is unintended, the other is purposed. As humans, we, every so often misconstrue or mishear bits of a newsflash, and this mishap can give birth to misinformation. When people get the facts wrong, they have incorrect information. Misinformation can be plausible and subtle. At times it filters over. In this digital age, social media is…
To define heroes is to determine their defining times and deeds. For, the works and legacies of real heroes speak for themselves. They speak the language of valor, values, honor and historiography. Dear readers, let us stride forward and thrust aside colonial biases, let us ululate, stimulate and accumulate our spears and wind back 131 years and feel and face the roars, rages and ruses of machine guns in a fearless and selfless fashion for the sake of this beloved land. In 1890 the colonial forces seized or occupied Mashonaland. They set their eyes on overriding King Lobengula’s gold-rich…
In this modern age of up-to-date apps, man expects things fast, without any delays and laps. He calls on the phone, shoots an email, and says dear. He utilizes social media to reach admirers far and near. Critics say things are rushed in this frantic, fast-paced craze, relationships are deemed false, hence they fizzle out in a haze. Or is it like elder critics who always reason that their days of youth were better , politer than those of their own young, no matter the tech truth? The winds of change are often in action, let’s…
ZESA, is there light at the end of the shaky shaft? A no-power utility. Son, you will have to put up with garbage, what else do you expect when you languish in a coo where lies are cooked ,colored, cuddled as the truth, the one and only way to a dreamland of honey, not hell. Where hearths, bulbs and stoves are alien to heat, light or cooking. Where dimness is expediently mistaken for brightness and beauty. Where vain and foul fawns and clowns will defend the indefensible. They will convict anything, everything, everybody— nature included. They will promote…
When I heard of the arbitrary evictions of poor persons, families, communities, of harsh and hurried demolitions without court orders, I sensed the odor of greed and deceit, questionable land resolutions to the delicate land question. In Zim, the start of Feb saw the pitiless pulling down of the poor people’s houses and other extra erections – all in the glorified name and refrain of seeking to address “the illicit and ill-fated land occupations and buildings”. Of course, land is the soul of the people. Isn’t it? Was it not a uniting point for African patriotism? Didn’t the…
Her being with its beauty and odds of interest and shift had been shattered: it was threadbare. Her young life was in a huge mess, in tatters, it had reached a dead end, so Lethokuhle thought. With an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy, she had thought long and hard, and made a decree. Her life was precariously suspended over a precipice: a simple, limp and slim thread set to snap into oblivion. It was a matter of time before she plunged into obscurity, she had written a suicide note, too. Dear mum, forgive me. I don’t…
When her husky husband walked into their wide room she woke up from her siesta with a jolt and an air of curiosity. Her strikingly oval face fast took on a convivial, ruddy tickled tint like the countenance of the high sky as she showered him with sweet pecks, honeyed nothings, curative caresses and cracks “Please tell me more about your dream, darling. You out-top the top skies, you surpass all the stars, the moons, in altitude, in magnificence, in magnitude, in …” She chortled, “Enough, sweet talker!” She added, “In fact, it’s about the gullible who lionise…
This is a big and bare fiasco and farce. How is it not a genocide, Charumbira? Do you ever empathize and sympathize? Are you going to be so conscienceless, deceitful, careless and heartless so that your disgraceful and driveling denial possibly prospers in burying, brutalizing, deleting, discoloring, distorting and duping historical evidence: facts and figures forever? How? At least try to get real, if not sleek! How is it not a genocide, Charumbira, when the myriad shallow graves are in grief, when the innocent were slain in great numbers, in a deliberate way and with the aim or…
Our strong scales are some souls’ traditional prescription, yet we aren’t that solid, they just constitute our fortification. Sometimes souls take us as reptiles, but we’re scaly animals. Our meat and scales in great demand, we’re those mammals. We’re caught and sold for dietary, medicinal or spiritual reasons. We’re an 80 million year-old species that faces a purge from legions! If it’s not about us being their daily delicacy, it’s about footwear, as in boots, or leather products as in bags, and belts they wear. They hunt us and turn our skins into lucrative leather goods, our startled scales into…
Please look around yourself whether you are in Bulawayo or elsewhere, virtually or otherwise, what kind of news, new development, play, person, action, farce or comedy has gently touched you with its elbow in order to alert or attract your attention? Has it made you recover yourself and focus? There is a belief by several people that some things happen for a reason just as some curious activities take place in order to prod us as citizens, observers, potential voters, supporters and attendees to wake up from our silly slumbers and trances, or to look at a specific state…
Inspired by the elegance and fragrance of the forest, the fun and feel of the flora, the peeping, hopping and gossiping birds, the goggling, wiggling and spine-tingling reptiles, she stepped forward into the savannah with interest. Her nature, her world wild, wide like wildlife, there was adventure and intrigue in Sihle’s soul as she trod through the flowering feisty shrubs, spotting the wise, wonted ants, birds and beasts— wriggling, winging, lounging, lumbering, living or loving. She sought to befriend, not to shun them, she hunted for their happiness and health, she had their love and wellbeing at heart,…
Food-wise, let us find out what is a recipe for disaster for me. Think of food, focus, fun, time, tact, skills and ingredients. Jan has been a month-long festivity where we touched on foods, foodies, all: our favorites. I don’t think cool cooking or catering is my area of specialty, burnt offerings can testify to that past of laxity and ashes. On that score, my writing appetite or mania is blamable, perhaps think of the idiom: too many cooks spoil the soup. How can writing be guilty? Food for thought. All cooking is an art just like writing,…
They espouse values of humanity, humility, unity, tenacity and love. The singers’ show in Bulawayo was a really riveting revelation. It was a thorough kaleidoscope of cute costume and a choreography of vocal diagnosis and hypnosis, the dance moves, graceful and deft. The skilful artists shaped a sanctuary of hysteria, their dazzling act, the dancing party-goers’ euphoria. What a lasting spectacle, it made a howling wind halt. Their attire was a fine film, a fascination, an explosion of color that made the sun take a second look at its sparkle, their vocal vitality and…
When Food Fundis Regurgitate, Orate And Even Irritate Fruits and vegetables, two mouthwatering words. Right? But one local foodie confesses that she finds the taxonomy and anatomy of fruits and vegetables a tad tedious at times. She feels that if vegans or fruitarians are funny and ecstatic, food experts can be baffling, frustrating , fussy and pedantic. Strawberries are not berries, tomato is fruit or vegetable!? Technicalities. It goes beyond how these taste, they say. Also consider how they grow. Enough of the lecture, hey. Fruit forms from flowers, vegetable from other parts. Dreary. If it has…
There is a time to let everything go, to renew and recharge the batteries. If only December could arise and come back twice or thrice a year, she fooled. Of course, her apparently foolish wish could not materialize, but a practice did. It was during the gigantic end-of-year breaks that Sisa holidayed at the massive Victoria Falls. Little did she know that the visit would turn into an annual excursion before it calcified into a fun-filled family tradition. What captured the entire family is the remarkable waterfall that is 108 m tall and 1708 m…
He went by the rather bizarre name of Nala, which means a bumper harvest. He was no grower but a gourmet— you may call him a person with a sharp and devoted palate. A funny foodie who could not finish flattering farmers and food scientists and other food figures for making sure he did not only eat his fill but also that he had access to his favorite food products was described by more than a few food bloggers and other food content creators and commentators as the most famished and famous food enthusiast in the entire world or…
The Oxford Dictionary defines food ‘as things that people or animals eat”. Some synonyms for food are: meals, nourishment, sustenance, feed, nibbles. Indeed this month we will tuck into these: foodstuffs, provisions, rations, refreshments, cuisines, comestibles, solids ,supplies, stores, edibles – and to whet my appetite, what’s your favorite dish? As far as my taste buds are concerned nothing beats a dish of isitshwala and amasi or a plate of injera with beyayenetu. Isitshwala is a maize or millet or sorghum dumpling. Amasi is fermented milk. Injera is traditionally made from teff flour. Beyayenetu: delicious vegetarian dishes. …
It’s that time again when lots and loads of ideas on social media and elsewhere will probably center on this year in review and the resolutions for the upcoming year. Let’s start with a cursory look at the year in retrospect, it has not been an easy one for several people and reasons– wars , worries, wildfires, hot temps and climate qualms etc. If one has nothing to rejoice about this year– be it on an individual or global level, that is fine, too. Why not celebrate the gift of life? It’s priceless. We forget that getting through…
A listening world would hear the children’s wailings, one that doesn’t pander to the whims of egos and wars, one not deaf to the humanity of empathy and sympathy, one not impervious to the sobs and throbs of childbearing, a sane adult’s duty is to be every child’s buffer and inspirer. What exactly is the import of civilization in the 21th century? What happened to shared values of love for the sanctity of life? The dependence, innocence and independence of children? Kids exude and embody the history, heritage and honesty of life. They exemplify purity, receptivity, wonder, the origin…
Convicted, they penned them and for humanity: poems, proverbs and stories, short and sharp— that were rare, riotous, relevant ,true-life, probing, compelling, creative, uncompromising and fearless. Their bravery and brevity jarred readers out of slumber and political pollutions and follies that dismally sought to link gallant King Lobengula with a mythical sugar deal, a tired mgodoyi narrative and lie peddled by colonialists and gukurahundists. The diverse readers were dared into being discerning, diligent, selfless, self-reflective, empathic, perceptive , assertive, positive, humble and honest; they were roused to detect fallacy from facts, to espouse maxims of self-love and self-…
Life time. Is it not a real realm to be learnt, loved, inhabited, reared and irradiated into a lovable legacy, an indelible talent that is tuneful, impactful and meaningful in the lives of others? With her soulful vocal sounds and an acoustic guitar, she hypnotized, swayed and seized our sore cores, her harmonies breezed ease into the broken hearts. I richly recall how her sensational Loliwe raged and rioted like an anthem in 2011, our staffroom in SA was not spared; then years later in Angola , my Portuguese colleagues would confess being her huge fans. Talk of…
She fished in lakes that were fishable. Her stanzas a ploy, her sunbeams a decoy. Her cantos were cloying, crawling carrots she angled with a lustrous, luscious ,luring live hook and line. Did she bait her hook with honeyed humor and hues like radio and TV programmes meant to entice hearers and viewers for ads? Or was she a charming, curvy server who consumed clients at a tavern like service stations are to fuel what carters and users are to eating places and other amenities? Did she drop pies ‘n’ promises like duping racers at an…
It is an irrefutable conflict threat multiplier in more than one way or shape or size or color. It has the effect of worsening political, social, economic and cultural tensions and conflicts. For it escalates cases and situations of water scarcity, food insecurity and resource competition. From time to time, it causes conflicts and violence as displaced groups fight for farming and grazing land. Environmental conflicts spring up as people’s clashing interests, views and values on land come to the fore. Climate conflicts happen as populaces differ on public land use, private land development ,waste…
One hundred and twenty thousand pounds, I hear will be wasted on judges’ colonial wigs. One hundred and twenty thousand pounds blown on what? On costly colonial headgears. Will the purchase of the pricey wigs boost access to justice or legal services for the ordinary citizens? Is someone somewhere in Harare reeling from a spendthrift drunkenness or colonial hangover? A superfluous and ridiculous outlay by any measure in a country where public hospitals lack essentials. An observation of a tradition that persists to pay palms to colonialism and perpetuate pauperization. The importing of legal…
You shouldn’t defile the reputation of artistic, ethical and respectful writers who think your intelligence is deceptive, defective and excessive when it comes to the writing and editing of their works. AI, hey, why hurl curveballs, distortions and suspicions at their pens and pads? Can you really impersonate their rareness, milieu and nature for you are unnatural? What about culture, tenets and nuances? Won’t you leave them alone to stay ahead of their literary game, and let them be who they are and allow for creativity to thrive? Won’t you allow for their voice and vision to decide…
*A female bullfrog can discharge up to 4 000 eggs in the breeding pool. This poem is a parody of political egos and excesses. The Swampy Songs Of Bull-something In a fabulous farmstead in Fulunye I saw peafowls: a muster of peacocks, a cluster of peahens and peachicks. What a colorful and cute sight. As I was passing through a swamp, I was held by the bullfrogs’ croaks, their sounds chilled me to the bone. As if they had emerged from their snug dens to entice females or to breed, they made deep bellows, what an…
One of the biggest and oldest football teams in Zim is Highlanders FC, and Mr. Sihwa is a diehard black and white attired Bosso fan. A vital refrain of the rain in the earth’s water cycle, pivotal to all life on our delicate planet, purrs of purity and vitality with its musicality. A modest, bright breeder with a robust frame, Mr. Sihwa is the sturdiest and smartest mentor and cyclist in the fast-growing town of Gwanda. This weekend, he has no choice but to align and defer principal plans to go out pedaling as the rain is…
