Zim: The tragedy of a supposedly educated populace
WHAT exactly has gone wrong with some Zimbabweans?
Why are some Zimbabweans so angry and so bitter? Why do some Zimbabweans ooze so much negativity?
Why is there so much self-hate among some Zimbabweans? Why are some Zimbabweans always pressing the self-destruct button?
The obsession to speak bad about the country has reached alarming levels.
This is not in reference to opposition politicians – we all know they will be singing for their supper.
This is not in reference to mercenaries like Hopewell Chin’ono – we all know these mercenaries survive on dirty money.
This is in reference to some Zimbabweans who are supposed to be educated and who are supposed to have that critical eye when looking at issues.
One of my Nigerian friends always laughs at me saying: “You Zimbabweans claim to be very educated but it is the educated people in your country who are your biggest problem. They have become so educated that they no longer love their country.
What kind of education is that? In Nigeria, we differ a lot but we never tear each other apart and we never attack our country unnecessarily.”
For some time, I was in self-denial. I thought this friend of mine was not sophisticated and even educated enough to lecture me about the educated lot in Zimbabwe.
Then a few days ago, I came across an article written in April 2021 by Coronation Global Frontiers investment analyst Floris Steenkamp titled: “Zimbabwe and the investment case for Zimplats.”
Before writing the introduction to the article, Steenkamp threw a quote by author and philosopher Aporva Kala, which says: “Your perception may not be my reality.”
In the article, Steenkamp wrote: “Over the past few months, we have spent a lot of time talking to businesses in Zimbabwe. These conversations highlighted the gap between perception and reality. Firstly, they emphasised how Zimbabwe has completely disappeared off the radar of international investors. Many companies mentioned that no other investors had spoken to them recently — some had not spoken to investors in almost two years.
“Secondly, there have been dramatic changes in the country over the past year. While we are not saying that the issues in Zimbabwe have been resolved, we think that people underestimate the significance of these developments and we suspect that the international investment community is completely unaware that management teams in Zimbabwe are the most upbeat they’ve been in years….
“For the first time in years, companies in Zimbabwe are telling us that they are confident enough to start investing and expand capacity. Our recent meeting with Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube highlighted that the country had become much more investor-friendly. It was also clear that the positive developments we are seeing today are the results of a plan that was started three years ago…
“The Government is showing a lot of discipline in resisting the temptation to print large amounts of money and in addressing the fuel and maize subsidies … What is particularly positive is that agriculture output is not only improving as a result of better rainfall, but also because of better planning.
Similarly, the increase in precious metal exports is not just because of higher prices, but also due to policy changes that encourage investment in the mining sector.
“We know that Zimbabwe has seen several false dawns. Many difficult hurdles still need to be overcome before funding from organisations like the IMF becomes a possibility … When we look at Zimplats, we believe that investors are blinded by their negative perceptions of Zimbabwe, and, as a result, the company trades on a valuation that offers a very compelling risk-reward profile to the long-term investor.”
Quite insightful, well-thought and spot on! The positivity throughout the article tickled my curiosity.
Who is this Floris Steenkamp and what is this Coronation Global Frontiers all about?
Steenkamp is a veteran investment analyst with more than seven years of investment industry experience.
He joined Coronation Global Frontiers in 2014 and has quite an impressive curriculum vitae. On the other hand, Coronation Global Frontiers was founded in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1993 by a group of investment professionals. As at June 2022, the company says it was managing a whooping US$35,7 billion in client assets.
“We believe we are one of the largest and most successful managers of institutional and retail assets in Southern Africa …We have an integrated global investment team that is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. We have offices in London, Dublin, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and Namibia,” the company proudly claims on its website.
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