ZIMBABWE’S founding executive president, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, would have turned 101 yesterday.
With each passing year post his death, Mugabe is becoming a saint and source of hope among Zimbabweans as they lose faith in the current leadership.
What started as the 21st February Movement has since grown into a full public holiday now known as the Robert Gabriel Mugabe National Youth Day.
Some, for some reasons, just want to call it National Youth Day.
Mugabe did a few things that stand out for the youth.
He was a staunch supporter of education and sports.
It is understandable that as a former teacher himself, education had a higher place on the ladder of his priorities.
Between 1980 and 1990, the golden decade of Zimbabwe post-independence, Mugabe superintended over the construction of thousands of public primary and secondary schools, vocational training colleges and even the infamous night schools, where those disadvantaged by the war of liberation could get an education and pursue their dreams.
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The government then even had a fancy title for practical education — education with production.
Many became artisans like builders, carpenters, welders, auto-electricians, mechanics, farmers, plumbers or even electricians.
Mugabe, while he may not have been a sportsman of note, was an enthusiastic sports supporter.
He was there at cricket matches, tennis tournaments and sometimes at the rugby field.
These were elitist sports, but that may be from his background at the Catholic-run Kutama Mission in Zvimba.
It may be remembered that Zimbabwe had competitive teams in cricket, rugby and tennis.
The country was on the international stage.
It inspired a lot of urban and rural youth to venture into these sporting disciplines, besides athletics, soccer and netball.
Public education was generally free.
Parents paid nominal payments such as general-purpose fund — an account responsible for the upkeep or building of new education infrastructure.
Mugabe was known across the globe as a pan-Africanist with ideological clarity.
He was an orator par excellence.
Listening to Mugabe speeches was inspiring be it on local, regional or international politics.
Probably this comes from his extensive reading on various subjects.
Mugabe was a nightmare to seasoned journalists.
They knew they had to be well researched before interviewing him or lest they would face a free public lecture.
In my regional trips, I came across many people who hold Mugabe in awe.
He was a mythical politician, a man most Africans easily associated with his ideas.
The moment one mentioned they are from Zimbabwe, the next question was invariably how was Mugabe.
Mugabe even established the Basic Education Assistance Module, mostly known by its acronym — BEAM.
This was a social safety net to assist children from poor families to access public education.
The fund catered for peasants and even the urban poor.
Recently, I was shocked that BEAM funds had been diverted to build luxury villas for the Sadc Summit held last August in Harare.
It had been a public secret that the Treasury under neoliberal Mthuli Ncube has not been disbursing funds to the Primary and Secondary Education ministry timeously.
However, diverting BEAM funds to Sadc Summit is diabolic.
This week, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, had a Press conference with senior journalists from mainstream media.
The main issues that came up included the Zanu PF proposed constitutional amendment to extend Mnangagwa’s term to 2030 and corruption in the form of tenderpreneurs.
Mnangagwa dispensed the term extension proposal by arguing he was a constitutionalist and would leave office when his term expired in 2028.
He did not specifically say he was opposed to the proposed constitutional amendment or publicly ordered those calling for it to stop it.
The issue about BEAM funds did not come up, despite it affecting thousands of schoolchildren across the country.
It became clear that private education is becoming popular among thought leaders or opinion makers.
Neoliberals have gained one over socialists, even in a poor country.
There wasn’t any talk on ballooning foreign debt or deteriorating economy.
These were treated as peripheral issues, yet they are existential threats to Zimbabwe’s survival as a country.
Mnangagwa had some curious thoughts about the US sanctions on South Africa.
He said sanctions would give South Africa an opportunity to grow its economy.
I wonder if it occurred to him that Zimbabwe is still limping two decades after the imposition of sanctions on the country by Western countries.
It did not occur to Mnangagwa that if South Africa’s economy is destabilised, it will have negative repercussions on the Sadc region and probably experience a new wave of xenophobia.
The most shocking response by Mnangagwa was on Wicknell Chivayo.
The President said with a straight face that Chivayo was a philanthropist and those who had any evidence of corruption against him should report him to the police.
Mnangagwa curtly closed that conversation and the mbinga culture will take root.
My heart sank, it flashed across my mind — why the public declaration of assets by public officials is not taken seriously.
As I reflected on Mugabe, my thoughts wandered and were tempted to compare him with his successor, Mnangagwa.
Mugabe had his weaknesses like the Gukurahundi atrocities, which he termed “a moment of madness”, and failure to know when to leave the political dance floor.
But he had a sense of developing his people and believed education was the key.
He appreciated regional solidarity and above all had good intentions on the youth, beyond just telling them to make money.
National Youth Day should be a moment to reflect on posterity.
What is it that we should leave for the next generations?
How do we harness the potential of youth for development?
What lessons can we carry and amplify from history?
Happy birthday Gushungo and may your ideological clarity be multiplied among today’s youth.
