African leaders must travel to rural areas by bus

TRAVELLING from capital cities to rural areas using public transport like long distance buses could go a long way in inculcating servant leadership in African Presidents and ministers. Such experiences would also lead to better people-oriented policies.

Imagine the President Emmerson Mnangagwa boarding Zvishandwa Bus Service at Mbare bus terminus in Harare to Nembudziya in Gokwe North.

To fully appreciate the reality of public transport, the President could wear a T-shirt, some jeans and a cap so that he appears like any other passenger. No need for suits. However, for security reasons, he might just be accompanied by two security personnel, one seating at the back of the bus and the other somewhere in the front. At Mbare, the President would witness how able-bodied young men who should be producing food in farming areas and working in manufacturing industries have been reduced to aggressive touts fighting for passengers to earn a few dollars.

He would also see countless vendors selling the same items to passengers, either inside the bus or from outside.

How public transport moves food and people

In addition to more passengers getting onto the bus, along the route at Kuwadzana bus stop, the President would see more goods being loaded onto the carrier, already full with diverse items like beds, wardrobes, bags of fertiliser, cement and fresh commodities like potatoes and tomatoes. He would also get to know that food vendors from Gokwe North travel by night using the same buses to come and hoard food commodities from Mbare market when such commodities should be coming from Gokwe North to Harare.

At Norton bus stop, the President would see more passengers getting onto the bus including a blind young man. As soon as the bus starts moving, the President would hear some of the most powerful words from the blind man as he begs for assistance from passengers. Speaking in Shona, the young blind says: Handisi kukupai mhosva nehubofu hwangu hama dzangu asindirikukumbirawo rubatsiro ndigonewo kurarama. (I am not blaming you for my blindness, but just appealing for your assistance so that I can also survive like everyone else).

Such powerful words of appeal are very difficult to ignore and the President would join other passengers in giving the blind man some dollars.

In Kadoma, the President would witness how the bus stops for more than two hours to load more passengers and goods. Around the bus, the President would see more than 200 food vendors selling similar drinks like Pepsi cola, Mirinda, Coke as well as homemade pies, biscuits and roasted maize.

Being observant, the President would notice that, among the drinks being sold there is no indigenous drink like maheu and masvusvu, but industrial processed drinks which have negative longterm effects on consumers.

Appreciating the state of rural roads

When finally, the bus leaves Kadoma for Gokwe North via Sanyati, the President would come face to face with the poor state of the road especially from a place called Makabheji which is a few kilometres after Patchway where the tarred road ends. Together with other passengers, the

President would endure a 90km bumpy ride to Sanyati business centre. When the bus arrives at Sanyati, the driver switches off the engine for two hours while the bus crew eats some free food at the nearby makeshift restaurant. Meanwhile, food vendors would be surrounding the bus shouting what they are selling to passengers, most of whom are already very tired from the bad road and hot weather. When the driver and conductor eventually decide it is time to continue with the journey, the President would see more passengers getting onto the bus while those with no bus fare will negotiate with the driver and conductor to seat on the bus carrier. At the next road block, the President would witness how national police receive bribes from the bus crew to allow an overloaded bus to pass through.

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