WE LEFT Francistown for Bulawayo last Friday a little after 8PM since the border closes at ten. So there was no hurry to get home.
Sibindi’s half toner (truck) was laden with a new wardrobe and a second hand refrigerator, the sweat of a fellow diasporian who could not make the trip. We picked up a passenger, to offset the costs and bore down on the A1 to the Ramokgwebana border post.
The drive was uneventful except for a minor spat with kombi drivers who were not happy that we picked up their potential customer. There were no roadblocks on the Botswana side at this hour, unlike the other side.
The drive was uneventful except for a minor spat with kombi drivers who were not happy that we picked up their potential customer. There were no roadblocks on the Botswana side at this hour, unlike the other side.
When we got to the border our passenger suddenly developed cold feet. He had no papers and wanted us to smuggle him across, barely concealed at the back. He had made the wrong bet. There was no way we would have broken the law in Botswana, particularly after our own government arrested two rangers for “straying” into Zimbabwe a month previously. I could see us hitting the headlines.
Sibindi was firm, we were not human smugglers. I suggested that he negotiates his way past immigration, but none of us was prepared for what was to follow – the stuff of science fiction novels.
Our passenger, who had by now told us his life of woe, picked up his bag and simply walked through a cluster of itchy-trigger-finger border officers as if they weren’t there.
When he rejoined us on no man’s land, we asked him what had just happened and he nonchalantly said that he had just walked out of Botswana without as much as a stitch of identification!
As we drove toward Plumtree border post, the two of us concluded that what we had witnessed was surely beyond the normal and that our passenger “wayelento zakhe” – he had his things that caused a momentary time warp through which he could wiggle through.
At the Zimbabwe border, he told us he was fine ad simply vanished without even glancing at the border office door. He was home.
In spite of the fact that there were a few people crossing at that hour, the immigration queues were excruciatingly slow. It was much later that we discovered that civil servants were on strike in Zimbabwe and by inference, these guys were on a go-slow as they belonged to those classified as essential services.
By comparison, the ZIMRA (customs) officers were a cheerful lot, earning commission from the revenue collected, I suppose. It also explained why those at the gate were overzealous to the point of irritation. They even asked me if my underwear was new!
After running the gauntlet, we drove into Zimbabwe, preparing for the worst in police blocks. Sibindi assured me that at 11PM they would be too tired to mount any, and he was right for the next 80 kilometres until a lone barricade jumped at us in the thick of nowhere.
Fundraising, was my assumption, and I was right. Police officers at home drool at the sight of foreign number plates; these guys were rabid in comparison.
We were made to park the truck before being bombarded with a barrage of questions that would have made the Spanish Inquisition look like a boys scout outing. We had to produce papers for this and that item and at one point they threatened to make us take down the items on the truck so that they might search them for weapons, of war I suppose!
It was at this stage that I assumed my “official” tone and asked them matter-of-factly if they wanted to be bribed. That really shocked their socks off because they returned all our documents in the blink of an eye and waved us on.
As we drove towards Bulawayo, I thought about how little things have changed in as far as public officials are concerned. However, a real shock to me was how the traffic between Zimbabwe and Botswana had been reduced to a trickle. Apart from the odd bus of cross border traders, the border was very quiet by any standard, a sign of the times, or perhaps a reversal of fortunes.
Saturday morning in Bulawayo has always been busy. The ladies will be dressed to the nines desperate for the early catch. By comparison, the guys are scruffy, as if they slept in the clothes they were wearing. Their demeanour is business like, sent out of the house to look for the elusive rand or dollar to feed the kids. Yes, there is so much to buy, but the cash is hard to find.
This state explains the civil servants’ strike that has reached a deadlock. The Public Service Commission has declared it illegal and said that they will not negotiate until the public servants return to work. The workers on the other hand say that they have heard that one before. It will be another year before the employer does anything if they do.
What is odd about the work stoppage is the unprecedented unanimity of workers’ representatives. In the past, some splinter organisation would resist going on strike labelling it as unpatriotic. Not this time though, one teachers’ union has threatened to go BACK to work because they feel that the strike is being used to discredit the leaders of one of the parties!
Another thing is that life goes on! You can hardly notice that there is a strike going on apart from the fact that the kids are playing catch at home.
I also managed to attend a parliamentary public meeting at the City Hall on a private members bill to amend the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). Now if there is an emotional issue, it is this Act. The verdict was unanimous, that POSA should not be amended but rather repealed altogether.
The chairman had a tough time reminding the audience that it was beyond their mandate to repeal the Act. The contribution that took the cup was from Busani Ncube, CIO of a certain youth organisation, eh, Chief Information Officer (in case you get ideas.)
To raucous laughter from the sizeable crowd, he railed against the item in the Act that makes it a criminal offence to propose to a female police officer in uniform. He said that men ran the risk of being arrested if the said officers did not take too kindly to their “lyrics”, which he said was a violation of young men’s rights to express affection to pretty police officers.
The deputy chair, the Honourable Reggie Moyo MP who was equally in his element, responded by saying that he should be patient and wait until the said officers took off their uniforms after duty!
In general, if this town hall meeting is anything to go by, then the constitution making consultations will be very entertaining indeed. Another feature of these meetings is the fact that Zanu PF MPs were not used to be told in the face what they did not want to hear. It’s a total mind shift for them to be in the firing line instead of telling people what they think is right for them. I could see them twitching behind the ornate desk as the audience spoke their mind.
As I returned to Botswana, I could not help but think back on the few days I had spent at home. The power cuts are still unrelenting to the extent that the much lauded eastern suburbs are no longer attractive to live in. You might as well be living in rural Domboramavara. One even wonders where the punitive tariff is going.
But it’s not all gloom, far from it. There is news of new diamond discoveries in Chipinge, meaning that things are looking up … as long as they don’t end up in some chef’s pocket.
usibeka ekhaya mfoka mhlanga thina esadliwa emazweni,kuyabongeka
Thank you Lenox I enjoyed reading that. As for diamonds in Chipinge, I honestly hope so…we need a miracle. Muchangana muyungu….only with money in his pocket. knk!!
mfoka j.ilihlo lakho ngelami.ingithathungibeke ekhaya. i never miss your articles. kwelinyilanga sizohlangana ko mhlanga. thank u. ej.
correction. ungithatha ungibeke khaya
many thanks Lenox. makes very interesting reading. Zimbabwe is still Great!
Thanks for your article Lennox. I enjoy reading your articles so much as they are not “bitter” and politically orientated. Keep up the good work…..I can hardly wait for the next one.
I enjoyed reading your piece Lenny. I can relate to your observations since I spent just over a month between December and January equally between Zimbabwe and South Africa. Zimbabwe has a long way to go especially if one takes into account the level of corruption at the BeitBridge border post. Zimra is losing thousands of dollars to corrupt officials who take bribes to let people bring in goods without adequately paying duty if at all. It will take a few generations, if at all, to instill integrity in the average government employee in Zimbabwe. THE AVERAGE ZIMBABWEAN CIVIL SERVANT DOES NOT HAVE “COUNTRY” AT HEART. And the truth is the majority of civil servants in Zimbabwe are Shona. Amazingly, these people are generally quick to call others “tribalists” yet we all know who is tearing the country down as we speak. IT IS HIGH TIME WE CALL IT AS WE SEE IT.
I always enjoy your offering Lennox. Light hearted but informative in a humorous kind of way. Keep them coming. Mshefana, you do not have to spoil a good thread. Thanks Mhlanga.
Lizovuka elihle. jusamele amamenene atshiye eze politics. its looking good though back home. got drunk every day in Dec ngama can e 5rand!!!
lol Lennox it is always a delight to read your blogs..hahah would like to know how that guy managed to go thru with no bother.. however yours is a talent , ever thought of writing a book?
Wayishaya mfowethu