Lovemore Ranga Mataire The Reader
Awarding-winning author Ignatius Mabasa deserves another accolade for his individual efforts in reigniting a reading culture in Zimbabwe through his books and his publishing company.

Mabasa has debunked the myth that to be popular and respected one must write in English, a colonial language associated with sophistication and a passport to social mobility.

Mabasa’s quest is to ensure that Zimbabwe retraces its footsteps to the early 1980s where people had an insatiable desire for knowledge that it was some kind of status symbol to be seen reading at public places.

But is Mabasa merely afflicted by nostalgia for a bygone era? Has he missed “the bus of humanity” that is set to render his efforts mere relics of an era that has since been overtaken by current dynamics of technological advancement?

In an interview with Herald columnist Beaven Tapureta, Mabasa said reviving a reading culture is not a hopeless endeavour. He believes the task must start at harnessing and nurturing children at a tender age, feeding them with a literary diet that raises their appetite for more knowledge.

“There must be an amazing hunger and appetite for reading culture, children tend to be good at being structured, at comprehension and developing an inquisition and imaginative mind,” said Mabasa.

Mabasa acknowledges changing times. Whereas during his youth, there weren’t many television sets in the whole community, today smartphones have literally become the “be it all” in being the source of knowledge and entertainment.

However, while it is true that the advent of technology – internet, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, etc – have empowered people in hitherto unimagined ways, the platforms have actually diluted a deeper search for knowledge and in turn dwarfed original thinking and creativity.

It is a sad reality that while Zimbabwe is credited for having the highest literacy rate in Africa, this has not translated to reigniting a reading culture. The reasons for this stunted growth or decline in reading culture are far and wide.

First, there is need to re-orient our education system from being premised on merely passing an exam to the building and enhancing of an individual’s knowledge. It is my humble submission that a lot of students at universities merely read to pass exams and not to broaden their understanding of issues. It is commonplace at universities for someone to pass an examination by simply “googling” critical analysis of a book or a subject area without necessarily reading the book or wrestling at a deeper level with the subject area.

Consequently, universities and colleges are producing students with distinctions but barely remember what they have learnt in their post-college years.

The second reason for the declining reading culture lies in the demise of the Literature Bureau, which in the early years of the country’s independence played a pivotal role in the publication and promotion of both Ndebele and Shona literature. In his address at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair this year, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said his ministry had plans to resuscitate the bureau.

Founded in 1957, the Literature Bureau was a Government agency for the promotion of indigenous languages through subsidised publications. It is often credited for the prolific publication of Shona and Ndebele literature. While its birth may be murky, the bureau later became a beacon and medium for African sensibility.

The third impediment to the revitalization of a reading culture in Zimbabwe is the high cost of books, worsened by the economic environment, which has rendered books as luxury instead of a real need. Most public libraries, schools, colleges and universities lack the financial resources to constantly purchase relevant books and a as a result rely more on donors who often donate books that have little relevance to their daily needs.

The advent of technology must not be negatively viewed as another source of a lethargic reading culture. Instead, policy makers must come up with ways on how technology can be utilised in ensuring that books that have relevance to our daily lives are also available on all platforms frequented by all learners.

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