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Dr Mangudya

Isdore Guvamombe Reflections
Dear Dr John Mangudya, Governor, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Hearty greetings from the land of milk, honey and dust or Guruve!

This is the first time that this villager has written to you, suffice to say an owl does not fly during the day for nothing, when you see it flying, something is after its life. Firstly, may God and the ancestors bless you and give you more wisdom, guidance, courage and astuteness in executing your duties, for the good of this great nation!

This time of the year, we the villagers have little to do except beer drinking binges under the old Muchakata tree, since we have just harvested our crops and our livestock are freelancing and roaming wild and free. Only the cold spell has taken us aback, a bit but we are soldiering on. We now have time to listen to the radio and read a few newspaper pieces before we roll them into tobacco cigarettes. But while we smoke and drink and gather, the discourse on bond notes has taken centre stage. We wonder what animal it is.

Now, you the good Governor of money, let me tell you that here, everyone from the youngsters to the elders with cotton tuft hair up to our spirit medium, Karitundundu, the ageless autochthon of wisdom and knowledge, are at a loss about the bond notes we heard you are about to introduce.

How different is this bond money from the money that was printed on bond paper by your predecessor Dr Gideon Gono?

Apparently, when you introduced bond coins, we were wondering which metallic bond paper you used? The coins do not seem to lose value.

I hope you understand that we, the villagers are literate but not educated. In the previous financial hiatus, we found it hard to count the trillions, since most of us can hardly count beyond our fingers. That time my daughter Concy got married for two billion but within two days, I realised it was not enough to buy even a loaf of bread. I can safely say she is cooking there for free.

Now Governor, kindly explain to us the villagers, how this new money will work. We are aware that this is not our real money and surely, our elders here say, you only talk about a hunch on the back of a crocodile after crossing the river. But for us, we want to be sure what the river crossing point looks like before we start crossing.

We are used to campaigns where we ask are taught about new issues and we ask questions until we are satisfied. Why is it that we have not seen your officers in our villages, explaining to us about the new money? We are not ashamed to say that even our learned sons and daughters who visit us from towns, though they rarely do these days due to their poverty — are unable to explain to us what bond money is. Each time we ask them about this bond paper, they chew their tongues and waffle.

I am sure, dear Governor that the majority of Zimbabweans whom you want to serve with the money are not any wiser than we the villagers and are equally at a loss. By this instalment, dear Governor, the story about bond notes has not been well packaged and needs repackaging for the understanding of all and sundry.

It is the bond or bonding that many people do not understand. This villager was recently in a chicken bus to Harare, where the subject was very hot but at the end of the day no one was able to explain fully what bond notes are. I was lucky to be offered a lift in an elegant Mercedes Benz on my way back to the village. It was quite a beast, comfortable, fast and sleek! But even that high status owner could not explain the bond money. You see the economy is biting so much that even Mercedes Benz pirate these days. We used to know them as status symbols.

Dear Governor, even those you see driving nice cars in Harare do not understand the bond notes issue. Even those you see donning executive suits. Our people are afraid of what is about to come. Do village elders not say a burnt child dreads fire? It might turn out to be a good idea but many people do not have an iota of knowledge on what is coming. By this instalment, dear Governor, we the villagers, encourage you to take the project to the people so that we understand.

You might be aware that when you see a lizard nodding, don’t think it is happy or understanding you or worse still, in agreement with you. It is its nature!

Yours sincerely

The villager.