THE statement that writers are chroniclers of society is best exemplified by prolific author, Pauline Chirata-Mukondiwa, whose latest novel Zvinobvinza succinctly dissects how endemic corruption has torn apart the country’s fabric.
Zvinobvinza is Chirata-Mukondiwa’s fourth publication after the novel Mhere Yezevezeve and poetry collections, Memories are Forever and Tsapi Yerurimi Rwaamai.
Chirata-Mukondiwa told NewsDay Life & Style that corruption and its repercussions will be experienced by future generations.
“The cost of corruption has a contagion ripple effect which can assume generational proportions and can be difficult to arrest,” she said.
The story in the novel revolves around several sub-themes such as the impact of migration on families, a lived experience for many Zimbabweans driven to eke out a living in the diaspora as the economic gridlock at home shows no sign of letting up.
“The story subtly touches on building a house that you will live in. What kind of house will it be? Will it be a home? Will you look forward to going there? Or you will join the already long passport queues to ensure you leave the country and go to even some of the world’s most hostile places to black people to do any job,” Chirata-Mukondiwa quipped.
The heartfelt story is a fictional account of contemporary Zimbabwe, where there seems to be no respite from the agony inflicted by the mishandling of national resources.
Chirata-Mukondiwa said as a writer, she was not divorced from the experiences of fellow Zimbabweans and, through the book, sought to rally her countrymen to take on the elephant in the room.
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“I would like us to be inspired to interrogate our space and how poverty, as in economics of the stomach, is normalising corruption for the ordinary people,” she said.
Chirata-Mukondiwa’s repertoire of writing skills saw her sketch fine characters who appear as real as flesh-and-blood people.
“The narratives I hear have real people. I end up seeing these people, touching them and feeling, somewhat, what they feel and, to some extent, walking in their shoes,” she noted.
Zvinobvinza, which literally means the country is leaking, showcases how corruption has robbed people of national pride.
“There is evident deterioration and a people who are ashamed of who, and what, they are. They are running away from themselves. A passport is a prized possession on a bucket list,” she reiterated.
“The book shows the unashamed face of corruption in our society. It also touches the deterioration of Ubuntu.”
Chirata-Mukondiwa said history shall judge the current generation harshly for standing aside and watching the country go down the drain because of corruption.
