REALITY OF MUGABENOMICS In 2009 we, together with colleague Petros Chatiza, established Trinity Media and we launched The News Leader weekly publication. It had been a dream I had carried for over five years and I was convinced that the ability as well as capacity to do it was abundant. We enjoyed a massive take-off of The News Leader, which we published from South Africa. After only five editions, the paper was competing with the veterans on the market in terms of circulation and sales. On tenth edition we surpassed the market standards. However, as we continued to push on, the reality of Mugabenomics started militating against us, in the form of a huge debt hang over and failure to pay by the crucial advertising market. In short, we faced a scenario of having to find huge capital injections, and we pursued orthodox financial means to try and obtain the required capital and funding. There was no joy, because, the financial market was under severe stress and bleeding. The little opportunities existed in some pockets, which, in most cases required you to have some connections or to lick some boots to make it. It was common to find Zanu PF networks and links o the way to most possible opportunities and it meant both bowing down or even selling our soul to them. In 2012 I found myself in negotiations with a colleague who is a Zanu PF MP, and pursued possibilities of obtaining a capital boost for our paper. Inevitably, we got to a point where it became clear that my option was purely agreeing to sell our paper and soul for a Zanu PF project. I had been promised to remain the editor and with a 50-50 share structure, but I am sure, the inevitable would have happened sooner or later - of us being kicked out. Apparently, the Zanu PF team and faction that had offered to partner and capitalise our media house eventually established a weekly publication currently on the market and which is worse that the Zimpapers titles in terms of bias and propagating crude propaganda for the party. Those are not my major points here, but it is the fact that, as was the situation with our experiences, almost inevitably, 90% of entreprenuers and pioneers of projects in our country have been going through the same, and still do so. I was made to reflect on this after meeting colleagues who were lamenting about having gone through pretty similar experiences and became seriously affected to the extent of one of them committing suicide. They had invested in the IT industry. While Robert Mugabe and his family, together with the few in their gravy train, plunder the resources and opportunities of our motherland, the destruction they continue to inflict on the rest of business in the country is too ghastly to contemplate. Young and upcoming entreprenuers are the biggest losers. I have counted more than 15 media houses and publications that have emerged, battled and eventually collapsed in Zimbabwe, during the last decade or so. Similar patterns exist in other industries and sectors, with some being worse. That brings us to the fact that, it has become imperative and compelling for us to stop pretending and continue with the vicious cycles, but we must face the reality and first attend to the root of our deep-seated problems - the failed Robert Mugabe, Zanu PF regime. If we dont do that, it basically means going the same cycles of talent being wasted, brain drain, the economy further backsliding and other countries benefiting at our expense. We have to stand up and put an end to this, NOW.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 07:36:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015