Online Reporter
Bishop Lazarus
Water is the essence of life. Actually, water is life.
Out of it comes an abundance of life. They say 71 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water, while the human body is made up of between 50 percent and 75 percent of the life-giving liquid.
And while a human being can survive for up to three months without food, it is impossible to live beyond three days without water.
Our forebears understood this.
Annually, they would beseech the gods through elaborate rainmaking ceremonies to intercede on their behalf with the Creator — the giver of life — to guarantee good rains.
The supplications also invariably involved the annual pilgrimage to Njelele — also called Mabweadziva in Shona or Malindidzimu in TjiKalanga.
It is a place where the gods dwelt.
It is at this place where rulers from the Monomotapa Empire and other principalities used to come to pay homage.
It is at this place where King Lobengula got the prophesy of the coming of the man “without knees” — the whites.
It is also at this place in the sacred Matopo Hills where Joshua Nkomo — according to his autobiography, “The Story of My Life” — got the prophesy of how Zimbabwe was going to be free after a long war.
And this is not a tall tale, by the way.
“I cannot explain this event,” Nkomo wrote is his book, “but it happened, and the prophecy came true.”
So, rainmaking ceremonies were an integral part of our culture as a people. Their importance did not so much lie in conjuring rain but in appreciating and celebrating it as a gift from the grace of the Lord.You see, this world is too complex for us to fully fathom.
As mere creations, we will never understand the Creator. Sometimes all we have to do is to reconcile ourselves with the mysteries of the world through faith.
Romans 11:33-26 tells us: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things.”
Bishop Lazi once told you how Pathisa Nyathi (may his dear soul rest in eternal peace) insightfully explained to BBC’s Zeinab Badawi in July 2017 the twin significance of some of our local traditional dances to history and rain-making.
He talked her through why most dancers in local rain-making ceremonies wore black and strapped leg rattles that would chatter to the sounds of throbbing drumbeats.
“The first thing that we need to know is that music and dance are art forms, and art is expressive. It is a form of documentation,” he said.
“Africa did not write, but this is not to say Africa did not document. Africa documented through visual art, through performance art. And it tells a lot about the people, their history, their values, their perceptions and their worldview. It is all about symbolism.
“The colour black is a cloud pregnant with water, and then there were these leg rattles, and then that is when now it is raining — cha-cha-cha-cha-cha. The sound from the drum — going boom! boom! — is the sound of thunder. Then you have created the sound of rain. And then their movement — the choreography — it is the twirling clouds.”
It was a powerful interpretation of a sacred African dance. He powerfully concluded: “There are people who think that we understand this world through the eyes of one culture. I don’t believe that one. This world is too complex to be understood, interpreted by one culture, but what has happened is that there are cultures (Western culture) that think they are superior to other cultures and their view of this world is the view, and this has been the problem.”
The power of wise leadership
Last year, we were, however, not so lucky with the rains, as a short, sharp 2023/2024 season characterised by scant rains made communities in the region and beyond both vulnerable and desperate.
They say it was the worst drought in 43 years.
This would mean it was even worse than the drought experienced in 1992, which was once regarded as the worst in living memory.
For some of us who lived through this period, it was painful, as we had to make do with that unpalatable yellow maize (Kenya) that tasted like tar, which we nonetheless used to get after queuing for hours on end.
It left more than one million cattle dead in Zimbabwe alone and millions in the region at risk of hunger.
So, ceteris paribus (all things being equal), last year should have been catastrophic.
Yet this was not the case.
In fact, Zimbabwe not only outperformed expectations but smashed production records in various sectors, in the process tempering what could have been a very tough year.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Buoyed by pragmatic policy responses, gold production jumped to a record 36,48 tonnes, eclipsing the previous record of 35,3 tonnes recorded in 2022.
Fortunately, output rose at a time when gold prices jumped by 27 percent to around US$2 800 per ounce during the year.
This was driven by three factors — large purchases by central banks, especially in China; US Federal Reserve’s monetary easing; and safe haven status amid the geopolitical tensions.
Optimistic forecasts for this year range from US$2 900 to US$3 000 per ounce.
For our teapot-shaped Republic, this is significant in more ways than one.
It means the continued build-up of our vaults and reserves, which is critical for the sustenance and durability of our newly introduced currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG).
And also remember that gold is a significant source of foreign currency for our economy.
With an increase of both production and revenues from this critical sector, exports have been concomitantly rising to record levels, soaring to US$7,3 billion in 2024, up from US$7,2 billion.
This is part of a continuing trend over the period of President ED’s leadership, which has seen shipments progressively rising from US$4,66 billion in 2019 to US$4,9 billion in 2020, US$6,35 billion in 2021 and US$7 billion in 2022.
Output in the agriculture sector was similarly impressive, particularly at a time when the country was smarting from the fallout from the El Niño-induced drought.
The record-breaking streak in wheat production continued, with a haul of 563 961 tonnes last year, surpassing the previous season’s yield of 467 905 tonnes.
Also remember that the national annual demand for wheat presently stands at 360 000 tonnes.
We are also notably on the cusp of another milestone in milk production, as output jumped to 114,7 million litres in 2024, which is significantly more than the previous peak of 100 million litres realised in 2005 — close to 19 years ago.
Considering that we need about 120 million litres per year, we are ever closer to our planned goal to meet milk self-sufficiency.
All these achievements and successes happening against the backdrop of the most punishing drought in four decades, as well as the added inconvenience of sanctions from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU), further gives credence to ED’s philosophy that we should stop resignedly moaning about sanctions and do something about it.
“Takaita masanctions edu atidzorera shure, asi iko zvino hatichafaniri kuramba tichichema namasanctions. Nezvatinazvo, tikabatana tinosimuka. Nyika yedu inosimuka. Matoona kuti tava nesolution in the area of agriculture and the area of food security. Tava nesolution nemasolutions in manufacturing,” he famously remarked on January 13, 2018.
Surviving Trump
As the Bishop stated last week, America, more so under Trump, would most likely dictate the global political and economic climate and weather.
Barely seven days in office, his actions are already reverberating across the world, not least his administration’s decision to pause foreign assistance and new aid for the next 90 days (or three months).
Some are already fretting about the impact such an action will have in their jurisdictions.
But not Zimbabwe.
If the past 25 years have taught us anything, it is the virtue of self-sufficiency and leveraging domestic resources to drive economic growth.
This is what has made the Second Republic hugely successful; in fact, more successful than the countries that have been conditioned to depend on aid as a critical part of their sustenance.
Well Trump, whose governing philosophy is putting America first, as he should, will teach them a lesson.
None but ourselves will develop and modernise our country.
Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazibalo.
We are the people we have been waiting for.
Bishop out!
