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Victoria Ruzvidzo Business Focus
“The problem with Zimbabwe is that we have allowed the enemy to market the country for us.” These are powerful words made by Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa a fortnight ago when he prophesied about the economy. This pregnant statement depicts the actual state of affairs and the way we have allowed the international community to trample on our brand with impunity. This has come at a huge cost in terms of our rating as a global player, a tourist and investment destination or just as a legitimate member of the global community.

He said it was unfortunate that some Zimbabweans were quick to take to the international community anything that goes wrong in this country.

Indeed this country is the most misconstrued in the world in my view, and the general picture by the international community is of a country in serious turmoil where people are on the streets day and night killing each other and doing all sorts of things with reckless abandon.

Others believe many of us actually live in trees and that it is quite dangerous and almost impossible for one to drive to the airport to board a plane. Others, in this day and age, still think they would have to bring their own bath soap and toothpaste if they are to have a decent bath when they come to Zimbabwe for one reason or the other.

These are not fairy tales but real beliefs that some out there have about this southern African country.

Many others think we do not have proper governance structures in Government, institutions, in society and as families, with anyone supposedly doing everything that takes their fancy regardless of what the law says and how it impacts on others.

It’s so bad that other countries at war or grappling with high cases of terrorism are believed to be safer and more habitable than Zimbabwe. The sad part being that we have perpetuated these perceptions ourselves. Some among us have authored or originated these lies to advance their selfish interests.

A few years ago some fellow journalists from Africa that I was with in Switzerland asked me how I had managed to get to the airport to catch a plane when it was so dangerous to do so. I had a lot of convincing to do for them to believe that it was safe to move about in Harare and most parts of the country at any time of day and night, barring incidents of robbery, rape and the usual crime. Their beliefs were obviously incongruent with what was happening on the ground.

I always give an example of an instance that really shocked me when a senior banker once remarked to me that Zimbabwe fares poorly on the Global Doing Business index because of the reports that our own executives send to the World Bank, IMF and other institutions that keep their fingers on the pulse of the world economy.

A month ago I picked my friend from the airport who has been in the Diaspora for the past 13 years. As we came out of the airport she remarked that a lot had improved. The airport was now looking nicer and bigger. She was surprised that we even had funds to expand Airport Road currently under reconstruction.

“So where do people get the negative reports they give us when they come back from home. They tell us of a broken down country but I do not see anything as bad as they portray.”

Of course after coming into town the next day she spoke of how the central business district had now been invaded by vendors and that some buildings were now too old, requiring touch ups or reconstruction. But she still insisted the picture she had had of this country spoke of a country in turmoil.

We have so many negative stories that are told about Zimbabwe sometimes you would wonder if there is another Zimbabwe they could be referring to. It’s all not rosy . . . in fact far from it as we get reminded every day when we meander on the roads to avoid potholes, a futile mission in most cases because as you avoid one you get into another. But the picture out there is one of mayhem.

But who gives people the licence to exaggerate and even create lies that are readily accepted as gospel truth, largely for political reasons. Unfortunately the West and its institutions are usually too eager to publicise anything negative coming out of Zimbabwe and we have done much in feeding it with an unhealthy diet of untruths.

Those that quickly latch onto the impurities are naturally excused for using those lenses to judge or describe our country, a factor also informed by the audience at a particular time and the desired outcome in that instance.

As stated by Prophet Makandiwa, all this is because we have abdicated our responsibility to market this country and share the true picture. We have only fuelled the negative reports, albeit at our own peril. Of course we should not lie about the status quo but we are allowed to have hope and the faith, described in Hebrews 11: 1 as being “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Why have we allowed this to happen for years?

A scenario like this one would require Zimbabwe to put on an aggressive stance to counter the negatives and give the world a true picture of what the country is about.

There is need for a spirited campaign through the various forms of media available, including the medieval door-to-door international campaigns to disabuse the globe of the wrong perceptions they have about this our wonderful country.

We need a lot of literature on the country and what it can offer in terms of tourism, investment, trade, sport and other facets.

We need to urgently occupy the space that we have given away to the enemy for too long. We need to suck off all untruths and exaggerations so that interested parties are allowed to determine their engagements with this country based on facts and not the figment of someone’s imagination.

The danger of perpetuating certain perceptions is that they are eventually taken as facts and wrong decisions are made, at a huge cost to Zimbabwe.

It is a fact that Zimbabwe faces immense challenges today on the economic and political front but it is also a fact that this country is replete with opportunities. The New York Times rating that put Zimbabwe as a key tourism destination, coming number 14 out of “52 Places to Go to in 2015” is a critical point of reference. It states that Zimbabwe’s endowments in terms of tourism have been overshadowed by political developments and challenges in the economy, many of which have been exaggerated.

This endorsement of Zimbabwe as a competitive global destination adds positive currency to any campaign that tells the world who we really are. It is time that Government and its partners embarked on a major drive to promote this brand. It is also time that areas that need redress were attended to, to buttress what the New York Times has said about Zimbabwe while also seeking to improve the socio-economic climate.

The to-do list is very long given the challenges we find ourselves in as an economy but it can be done. We should all take collective responsibility pertaining to this country’s well-being. In fact most of those that visit Zimbabwe are always pleasantly surprised by what they see and experience. It is actually embarrassing in many cases that we have foreigners now trying to convince us that it is well with our country.

Those in the Diaspora, the corporate world, NGOS and every one of us should become Zimbabwe’s ambassadors and seek to market this country. Bad-mouthing it is something that always comes back to haunt us.

We should desist from such suicidal attitudes and put on a progressive mentality that will have the ripple effect of allowing our economy to achieve its potential hence a vastly improved standard of living.

In God I trust!

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