Rethinking ‘hydro-politics’ in Bulawayo

TODAY we continue with the review of Prof Muchaparara Musemwa’s publication, Water, History, and Politics in Zimbabwe: Bulawayo’s Struggles with the Environment, 1894-2008. As the discussion unfolds, this week I will also touch on other happenings which I will relate to the discussion at hand for the past two weeks. Of interest is the fact the water debate has not been only going here; other press spaces have also been covering the subject. On Monday, the 16th of January, Bulawayo 24 (a private online correspondence space) published an article by Eddie Cross titled, “Zimbabwe water crisis — The background”. For record’s sake, Eddie Cross is a revered Zimbabwean anti-establishment economic analyst with strong connections to the Rhodesian order which he publicly dispels for modern political relevance. But we all know, once a Rhodesian always a Rhodesian.

In a capsule, Cross’ article asserts that Zimbabwe’s (Bulawayo) water crisis is a result of state ineptitude and does not dare to talk about the environmental factor of the problem. Instead, all fault is attributed to the central government which he was part of during the Government of National Unity (GNU). Using a contrast, Eddie Cross submits that Rhodesia had a well-structured public service system, particularly in the area of water supply. However, Professor Muchaparara Musemwa’s research reveals Cross’ concealed and unfounded glorification of colonial governance. Cross’ point in the water debate is reflective of the common abuse and arrogation of history by individuals with a public ordained “expert” claim to national dialogue. Cross and other authoritative intellectual figures like him pose as credible sources of information and are blindly endorsed by irrational discipleship to polarise Zimbabwean politics. As a consequence, this fractures the expected rational and candid culture of public dialogue. It is sad to note that we have endorsed dishonesties, lies and deceits reproduced as public knowledge by bitter Rhodesians.

I classified this (Rhodesian) culture of misrepresenting and reproducing colonial immorality as moral standards of civilising the colonised the as the “good makhiwa mentality” when I was reviewing David Coltart’s memoir. From a linear point of a racist belonging Coltart and Cross do not only belong to the Rhodesian glorification epistemic cabal of colonial hangover vanguards in modern Zimbabwe.

They are the founding fathers of the antiland reform Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Though they now belong to different formations of that party; what is common about these two Rhodesians (Cross and Coltart) is their fake and unnatural claim to Africanness and rightful belonging to Zimbabwe. Coltart traces his rightfulness and entitlement to Zimbabwe from 1820 through his maternal grandparent. Cross only traces his claim to this land from 1867 and quoting from his website, he writes:

“My great grandfather came out to southern Africa in 1867 as a Baptist missionary to the Eastern Cape. He played a significant role in the country of his adoption and founded several Baptist Churches in South Africa. My grandfather became a Magistrate and rose to become Chief Magistrate of the Republic of South Africa and at one stage played a key role in the Smuts administration that was defeated by the Nationalist Party in 1949, paving the way for the formal adoption of apartheid — an ideology that was to dominate South African politics until 1994.”

Just like Coltart whose family prospered as a result of looting Xhosa herds of cattle, as history tells of such colonialists, Cross is not only an ordinary representative of the colonial class. He is belonged to a privileged colonial family with deep roots in missionary and legal entitlements.

The same legal and religious power used to repress the Africans at the same time eroding their cultural identity and arresting their access to wealth. To maintain that hierarchy of hegemony, in 1940 on the 17th of April one Edward Graham Cross is born. By no coincidence, he had special interests in Agriculture (like the rest of the Rhodesians at the centre of colonial capital) and was also an economist:

“I started work in 1957 and took a Diploma in Agriculture in 1962 and a degree in Economics in 1968. I worked largely in Agriculture — first doing resettlement of people in the Gokwe/Zhombe districts and then as an economist with the Agricultural Marketing Authority, becoming Chief Economist in 1976.”

This is a common character of all White/ Rhodesian political entrepreneurs from Roy Bennett (an ex-force of Afrophobic British South Africa Police) right up to Coltart and Cross. Their place and relevance in Zimbabwean politics is guided by selective amnesia when it comes to the cruelties of the Rhodesian government. They always distort the realities of Zimbabwe’s current state of peace and political stability with their re-membering which dismembers. As such, when I read Cross’ analysis of Zimbabwe’s water crisis from a historical point of view, I juxtaposed his reason with that of Mucharaparara Musemwa’s research grounded submissions only to realise that there is more to polarisation and glorifying a dark past than the truth whenever Rhodesians unpack Zimbabwean issues. As such their pathological affection to unmaking, dismembering and dismantling the memory we are creating for the future must be exposed and challenged.

Challenging the lies and the easy claims of victory

There is no doubt that the colonial system transition was colonially guided. It is the emergence of nationalist post-independence epistemic disobedience to the colonially set transition which saw the seemingly nationbuilding “philanthropy” of Rhodesians like Cross vanishing:

“In 1999 I joined the Movement for Democratic Change and was made Secretary for Economics in 2000. I am now the Policy Coordinator General for the MDC and sit on the National Executive. In 2008 I stood for the Constituency of Bulawayo South and won the seat against several other candidates with a majority of 58 per cent. In 2013 I ran again for Parliament and doubled my majority, retaining the seat for another 5 year term. In Parliament I sit on both the Budget and Finance Committee and the Public Accounts Committee.’’

Therefore, when Cross condemns failure of today’s government in exchange of Rhodesian eulogies one needs to understand that Rhodesians have maintained a radical loyalty to their past. This is confirmed by one book I once reviewed here titled, Rhodesians Never Die: The Impact of War and Political Change on White Rhodesia, c.1970-1980.

The title of the book substantiates a culture of brutal colonial defiance to a long gone reality which is still resident in the minds of unrepentant colonialists. This is why Cross will continue to make Rhodesian praise claims which demonise public service efforts of Zimbabwe’s current government as indicated in the aforementioned article published by Bulawayo 24:

“In the pre Independence era the Town planning authorities and Central Government planned that each City/Town should have roughly three years supply in storage at any one point in time. At that time with population growth doubling every 20 years and urban populations growing at six per cent per annum with the drift from rural areas to the urban centers, this meant that we had to build a major new dam for raw water supply every five to 10 years. Urban Councils were left to build their own dams with State assistance and water sales constituted a significant proportion of income to Councils on top of electricity sales, license fees including vehicle licenses, rates and taxes.”

This claim to Rhodesia’s excellence is not exhaustively in touch with the realities and experiences of the Africans whom Musemwa writes about.

We may have our challenges, but it does not mean that we have totally failed. It does not mean that there is no hope for improvement. We do not need to reflect on standards set by Rhodesia to determine the present and the future. The solution to Zimbabwe’s problems is not Rhodesian academic yardsticks formed against the ruling to demonise the victory of our liberation successes and our continued aspirations never to make Zimbabwe a colony again.

Nhai nemi futi? In other news — of lies and easy claims to victory. Followers of Zimbabwean politics were hit by a fresh exposure of lies and claims to easy victory. That woman; Linda Masarira! However, having digested the “Cross-lie” coming across the Linda Masarira saga was more comic.

The celebrated “anti-Mugabe firebrand” posted pictures of her distended face on social media. As if that was not enough, she went on to claim that her live-in boyfriend, Makomborero Haruzivishe’s had disappeared inferring that he had been abducted by her erstwhile attackers.

Later, it so emerged that Makomborero was never kidnaped as Linda’s false alarm suggested. However, I don’t blame Linda for taking this easy route to consolidating her easily gained political fame.

This is because anti-establishment activists have always exploited the MDC metanarrative of misrepresenting and sabotaging the country’s image. Those prominent in the game of lying make it to the top in opposition politics. This is why some Rhodesians would lie and make their followers believe every lie that comes out of their mouths. Mayibuye!

Richard Runyararo Mahomva is an independent academic researcher, Founder of Leaders for Africa Network — LAN. Convener of the Back to Pan-Africanism Conference and the Reading Pan-Africa Symposium (REPS) and can be contacted on rasmkhonto@gmail.com THROUGH your widely read and very popular newspaper, may you please spare me space to say “wake up to the city of Bulawayo’s department of roads?”

As a rate paying citizen I would like to air my greatest dissatisfaction in the manner in which the city’s department of roads is doing. Again can I take this opportunity to ask the city fathers if they are driving along our roads or are they are flying, again may I ask council why it’s important to employ people who will spend the whole day running after vendors who are the rate payers and to have our roads in the state they are in today?

Sons and daughters of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo the city is ours and lets all do things that serve the city and its people.

On behalf of the people of Bulawayo I would like to ask the whole council management to abandon flying just for one day and drive around the city roads and feel the discomfort the residents are feeling everyday, you would call for an emergency meeting to attend to the devastating state of the city roads.

It is now common knowledge that when driving its either you will have a tyre out or loose a ball joint because of the pits on our roads which are no longer potholes, for example may you drive off Main Street to Northend and turn right along Collen Brander up to the Romney Park round about.

Also drive along the first right turn along the same road facing from the Northend Engen garage. Don’t forget Taylor Road which turns left from the same filling station, Herbert in Northend is one of the worst affected. A section of Mahatshula North is not tarred and is virtually unusable in the rainy season.

After this don’t leave out City-Pumula road where the road is worse than a gold panning area.

How can a qualified person employed by the country’s second largest city fill potholes with sand during the rainy season? Let’s be serious with rate payers money. Kombis plying Kingsdale and Queenspark are paying to Zinara but nothing is being done for them.

If you can’t maintain your roads may you please come with a donor and make it a dust road with gravel. The road to the new town houses at Ascot are tarred, whose place is that and at whose expense was the small road tarred?

Our city fathers should put people first and their pockets later.

Again may I call the city fathers to go around the city taking out your sand that you placed on the roads which is being washed into drainages.

Are you not receiving your allocation from Zinara? If you get it please wake up and attend to the city roads. People are not happy.