The Round Table: Let’s Engage, Converse and Solve

Credit: Dumie King

Capital and Social Inclusion

Imagine such a scenario, you have worked hard your whole academic life, you have just realized that the only route to achieving your long goal of your specific career choice is through education therefore you fight as hard as you can to reach the top of your game. Years have come by and your goals seems to get closer and closer, in a few days time you are writing your final exam that will determine whether you will qualify or not. The following year your dreams have manifested into reality and bam!!! that degree comes knocking on your door and you attend to it, you are finally qualified. You follow the usual ritual one has to follow when they graduate, sending C.Vs trying to sell yourself in the job market, hoping to land in the best firms out there, fingers are tightly crossed. It is here that you realize that perhaps you are not the only graduate and perhaps there are millions of you out there fighting for just a handful of opportunities. Finally you land in a reasonable firm, your start up salary is not what you had intended but you don’t mind, as long as you have landed a spot it is fine. A couple of hours later you bump into that old friend who seems to be one of the execs or in a much better position that you and curiosity as to know they managed to land up such a position hits you so you find indirect means to ask. Finally you hit the nail, “How did you do it?”, and they respond, “Connections my friend, connections” and a few days later you learn that the boss is tight buddies with the fellas dad.

Now let me go of track a little bit and try and school some of yall with some terms that many of us are already familiar with and these

The Ambiguity of Post-Colonial African Politics: Part 1-How African liberation Movements Betrayed Communism and Socialism

Within the case of Africa and every nation that dwells on its beautiful soil the recurrent theme which is pervasive everywhere in African politics has been the Liberation Struggle. I have grown to adore my fellow African super heroes, yes superheroes, not like spider man or iron man who are fictional and fighting fictional battles but much more brave super heroes who gave sacrificed all they can to help unite and mobilize their countries and liberate Africa from the shackles colonialism. From Tanzania where our fellow Julius Nyerere’s passive resistance liberated our fellow people of Tanzania, where Kwame Nkrumah freed our fellow Ghanaians and then to the south were the victorious campaigns of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Steve Biko, Sobukwe and others in Apartheid South Africa, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo in Rhodesia brought independence from the exploitative rule of the White supremacist and  racial minority. An aspect about the African struggle that was outstanding for me became more apparent when I thought of the pan African Zulu quote “Umunutu Ngumuntu Ngabantu” which translates to “a person is a person because of people”. This quote sterns and denotes a sense of togetherness and unity and power to achieve results once people work together and when grasping on the context of Africa, one would notice how most African countries assisted each other in the liberation struggle hoping to usher in self- determination and all this was done in the spirit of Ubuntu and ideology of African Socialism. However should the whole concept of “Ubuntu” be limited only to the confines of Africa or perhaps it also makes sense within international politics and relations as well? What I am emphasizing is that this aspect of Africa’s historical epoch of decolonization and the liberation struggle can also be understood when we appreciate the contribution of the international community through individual countries like Cuba and the Soviet Union or through an ideology like Communism. However despite the helping hand of such countries and the ideology which brewed a sense of identity among our nationals, contemporary Africa is one that has shun upon Communism and bent towards the western ideas of Capitalism fueled by Neo-Liberal doctrines that might have been the reason why the continent found itself being the victim in the era of the Slave Trade and colonialism.

TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

By Bakani M. Ncube

Picture taken from Bloomberg

When you look at Africa and attempt to make comparisons of her countries, regardless of what category you are using as a yardstick, there is one constant and that is that South Africa tops the charts in most, If not all sectors. You look at education and it boasts being the home of the prestigious University of Cape Town; she has the best economy in Africa and the most liveable city in Africa. Travelguru recently named her (again) the most beautiful country in the world in a list starting with Nepal at No. 20, going through Switzerland, Argentina, China, the USA, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Namibia (No. 5) and climbing to South Africa at No. 1. Therefore, it is no surprise that there has been and still is an exodus of Zimbabweans, who have become an export commodity for the global village, to the neighbouring country that has a myriad of pull factors.

South Africa, according to SW Radio Africa, has an estimated 3 million Zimbabweans living within its borders and obviously earning their salaries in Rands, which were adopted as one of the Zimbabwean currencies “during the period between 2009-12 which was marked by an economic rebound following the introduction of the multiple currency system, with the economy growing at an average rate of 11.0% per annum” according to the African Economic Outlook and this Article looks at what it means for us as Zimbabweans to be using the Rand and more importantly, the ramifications of working in South Africa while your family lives in Zimbabwe as the Rand’s value has been steadily falling this year, reaching a five year low in recent weeks. 

African Seeds

African Child, You on Your Own

The above quote echoes the famous quote of Steve Biko, “Black man, you on your own”. I have decided to utilize it for my own personal agenda, yes my agenda is so personal that it affects all of you as well you might as well call yourself a victim. It is to contribute to Africa’s greatness, its very sad that the thought of our continent’s greatness and pride being restored has become a fantasy to some however for those who share my sentiments let us Engage, Converse and Solve.

Let us come together and continue to have pride in ourselves, for this is where it all starts, we cant move forward believing in the idea that Africa is just a mere small boy who lives according to the dictates of his bully Brothers. We carry so much potential, wealth and heritage. Its not in the land or in the mines or in the waters, it is in us, within our veins going all the way to our hearts and souls and never let the enemy take that away from us. Among us are people with great capacity and knowledge to be very innovative to produce great African machines and technology, among us are people of great intellect who will impart the wisdom on how to restore the continent, among us are men and women of diversity, of different capabilities, talents and people who want to serve their purpose and among us are also the vibrant youths, who fill all the corners of the earth, these are the key and solution, these are our future leaders, these are the only hope we have and these are we.. US.

Let us Strive, persist and never give up on being the people we want and ought to be, times are indeed hard however determination while having foresight of nothing but the vision will be the only fuel you need to run your engine of potential and inevitable success.

As I conclude I shall leave us with a powerful quote by Martin Luther King Jnr, “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving“.

Josiel Muroti

Photo Cred: Tinotenda Chemvura

 

Memoirs of the Burundian girl

This is a story of a Burundian girl who left her country in pursuit of receiving the best education with aspirations of going back home, however her circumstances have been affected by the broader political instability of her country. This the story of Gretta , the story of her pain, her worries and her fear. The Round Table wanted to get a much personal perspective on this issue rather than just accounting what was going on, so as to get a first-hand view of how it feels being a youth who suffers due to forces she has no control of.

Songs of Sorrow- Operation Murambatsvina(restoration of order) more than a destruction of property

This is an account, a journal, a story from the heart by Tatenda Kaponda which explicitly illuminates the realities of most Zimbabweans. It is truly a story with power to bring change in the community.

My Home Part 3: Ashleigh Manyakaidze’s Perspective

The Round Table met up with a lovely lady from Bulawayo, what attracted us to her was her story and rising career, having started being serious with the music industry just a year ago she has advanced herself and has backed up musicians such as Jeys Marabini, Takesure Zama Ncube (Ndinokuregerera in advance hit composer and singer) many gospel choirs and she is part of an up coming modern Afro centric band called Roots. Her name is Ashleigh Manyakaidze, she is only 20 years old and I can guarantee you she is going places and we glad to have connected with her.

Pictures that tell a Story

Captured by: Dumie ‘king’ Manyathela

Without love for ones self, without love for your own identity and origins, without love for your African brothers and sisters, without avid nationalism for ones own nation and without African pride we can not build the continent we want. Love your Continent, Love your Africa. The Round Table