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Mzembi’s World Cup dream: If wishes were horses

Opinion & Analysis
Tourism minister Walter Mzembi is an energetic man and, according to President Robert Mugabe, one of the best in his pack.

Tourism minister Walter Mzembi is an energetic man and, according to President Robert Mugabe, one of the best in his pack.

RASHWEAT MUKUNDU

The minister has been largely responsible for the little in tourism growth that Zimbabwe has witnessed and he has not been shy or intimidated to tackle head-on the royalty in Zanu PF, who like parasites, survive on feeding where they have not sown.

These include the “chefs” who invaded conservancies and as well as others who talk violence that in turn dissuades tourists from visiting Zimbabwe.

Mzembi also dreams big, and sometimes dreams of as many things — some beyond reality. One such dream that he woke up from and told all of us was about Zimbabwe hosting the soccer World Cup.

As dreaming is a common thing in all of us, Mzembi cannot be faulted for dreaming of Zimbabwe hosting the World Cup in a few decades as this is his wish and dream.

Dreams are, unfortunately, just that, dreams, and as many of us have dreamt all sorts of strange things and have fought giants, flown like birds and when we wake up we realise we have just been dreaming.

Bob Nyabinde aptly put this in one of his songs, how he dreamt sitting in a sleek Mercedes Benz only to wake up to reality that he is asleep in an ox-drawn scotch-cart.

The unfortunate thing about dreaming out of the word when you are a government minister and dreaming beyond your bedroom is that you then start confusing the dreams with reality.

In other words, you start failing to make a distinction between dreams and the realities of one’s existence at a personal level and the realities of life of the millions of fellow citizens surrounding you.

In other words, you may start hallucinating in an attempt to live your dream.

As a national leader, when you confuse dreams with reality you start planning as informed by your dreams or hallucinations, building castles in the air when all you need is to do the simple and the basic within the realities of the real world.

I am, therefore, concerned that Mzembi’s dream may have been taken too seriously and the debate too far, when what the people are looking at are the simpler things in life that hopefully one day, when my children are mothers or grandmothers, will be made a reality or crowned by hosting the World Cup.

I don’t have a problem with Zimbabwe hosting the World Cup at any time as we wish and as resources make it possible, but right now Mzembi’s dream is indeed one of a kind when the morale of as many is that low because of the struggles of life.

These struggles are not about international recognition, but about food, health, roads, education, electricity, just to mention but a few.

I also note that Mzembi’s dreams are not even supported by the right attitude within the government and the ruling party Zanu PF.

In other words, while Mzembi is dreaming of hosting the World Cup, others in government and his party are dreaming of the real things in life, that is making more money by fleecing poor motorists, grabbing more pieces of land from whomever, scheming on how to rig the next tender process, dreaming on how to grab the next Miss Zimbabwe, Tourism, Curvy, Univeristy of Zimbabwe, Midlans State University, Miss this and that.

In essence, Mzembi is a dreamer wishing to drift away in the sea yet he is in the middle of the Sahara desert.

I repeat that I respect his dream of hosing the World Cup, but also repeat that such dreams must not mislead him from doing the basics, which is working to bring tourists to Zimbabwe and repairing Zimbabwe’s battered image, daily attacked from inside by those who swore to protect Zimbabwe’s interests.

Instead of roaming in Sadc talking about the World Cup, Mzembi must instead talk about the Victoria Falls among other tourist attractions.

Mzembi must not forget to do the basics like how, before we host the World Cup, his colleagues in the Transport ministry must fix our roads and make the National Railways of Zimbabwe work.

His clueless colleague in Energy must give us electrify and stop hopping from one plan to another. His colleague in Health must fix our hospitals, and stop celebrating the successful separation of Siamese twins as if this government ever contributed anything to that effort.

As Mzembi dreams, he must remember the many hapless primary school kids in all remote parts of Zimbabwe who learn in dagga houses, with no toilets, and the very basics like writing books and pens.

While Mzembi dreamt of Zimbabwe as a great country, that can raise billions to host the World Cup, let him not forget that Zimbabwe is a poor country, whose citizens are looking at greatness in terms of affordable housing and health facilities. Whose citizens are too poor to pay for local soccer matches hence the low attendance at the local stadiums.

Mzembi must dream like a Zimbabwean and not like a foreigner sitting on billions when the government he works for is failing to pay its workers.

In essence, the separation of dreams in which we fight giants and win, in which we fly like birds must immediately be forgotten when one wakes up.

And we hope the minister will soon concentrate on the basics on promoting tourism.

The minister’s dream is a good one, only that it is not expected of a Zimbabwean minister — at least at this juncture in our lives.

Zimbabweans are looking at the basics right now and it is a commitment to do the basics that will one day result in us hosting the World Cup.

The World Cup is not an indicator of success in any way, but it is the quality of life of your citizens, the most poor and vulnerable that tells whether we are a successful people or not. So I would rather this World Cup nonsense stop and we go back to debate the basics, as is expected of us.

Zviroto zviroto (dreams are dreams), Mugabe once said of his political foes, and we hope Mzembi wakes up soon to reality and to the basics.