NATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

MODULE 1

ZIMBABWEAN HISTORY, NATIONAL INTERESTS, AND HERITAGE,

Contents:

TOPIC ……….. ……. PAGE

1. Introduction……………………………………………………..01

2. History of Zimbabwe……………………………………………02
2.1. The Great Zimbabwe State…………………………………03
2.2. The Mutapa State…………………………………………..04
2.3. The Rozvi State…………………………………………….07
2.4. The Ndebele State…………………………………………..07
2.5. White Settler Occupation of Zimbabwe……………………10
2.6. Crimes Against Humanity; -- Colonization and Slavery …..15
2.7. Consolidation of Settler-Colonialism in Zimbabwe ………21
2.8. African Nationalism And Organized Resistance To colonialism
……….. .. 30

4. Cultural heritage…………………………………………….

5. Political Heritage

6. Economic heritage

7. Civic responsibilities

8. Acknowledgements

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1: INTRODUCTION

NASS- The background

There is no educational system that is silent on the values that are accepted and cherished
by that society. Education is about values in other word behavior change in all the
domains of education that is the psychomotor, the cognitive and the affective. A
skilled artisan or accountant with no sense of his position in society at the family level or
at work or society in general is a social misfit and a drain to national wealth because of
the need to either hospitalise him because he has AIDS or incarcerate him because he is a
criminal and a danger to that society. A strong sense of belonging or identity,
responsibility and accountability are the things that can be defined as patriotism.
Economic giants today and in the past are and were the most patriotic. In Zimbabwe
today the sense of belonging has eluded both young and old and this is due to
selfishness, greed and the collapse of the extended family due to western values. A
culture of greed or a mafia and mercenary attitude pervades all sectors of society in the
banking, retailing, manufacturing and civil service. The need to change attitudes and the
need to inculcate correct values is not only urgent but imperative now and in the future.

NASS -Definition
NASS can be defined as civic education designed to make all Zimbabweans who go
through tertiary institutions become responsible citizens who are patriotic and can
therefor be mobilised to participate in national development. .
Civic education is typical of and in all educational systems and is not unique to
Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was the odd case in that it did not have this kind of emphasis in
its education as much as Zimbabwe was the odd case in relation to National Service.

NASS-Purpose
NASS therefor is about positively changing or enhancing the attitudes of participants
with respect to their national identity and with respect to translating the political gains of
the Second Chimurenga into economic gains in the Third and Fourth Chimurenga.

2.0: ZIMBABWEAN HISTORY…

Zimbabwe has a beginning in the distant past as witnessed and testified by the Zimbabwe
ruins as well as in the recent past as embodied in the ethos of the Second Chimurenga
war. The second chimurenga in essence establishes our ‘enduring political tradition” and
ethos. Standing on a hill allows one to see as far behind as he is able to see as far ahead .
Mathematically expressed this would be, “one is able to see as far ahead proportional to
the distance he/she is able to see as far backward.’ History is therefor relevant not only
for today’s events and policies, but allows us to shape our future and avoid the pitfalls of
yester -year.

2:1 PRE COLONIAL HISTORY

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2.1.1 The GREAT ZIMBABWE STATE

 State was most powerful before the 14th century i.e. 1500.
 It was called a state because it could raise an army and force the payment of tribute
and was involved in international relations.
 The state was built by a group of people and they were basically the shona people and
who had much wealth in the form of livestock..
 The Shona built the stone capital commonly called Great Zimbabwe which became
the centre of social, religious, economic and political life..
 The king was termed “Mambo”. The name of Great Zimbabwe means “house of
stones” that is “Dzimba Dzemabwe”. Similar “dzimba dzemabwe” were built
across the country for chiefs on rulers who were loyal to the “mambo” at Great
Zimbabwe.

Historical evidence

 Historians have used the oral traditions to try to explain the history of the Great
Zimbabwe state . However, there is little that we normally get from the oral
traditions because the Shonas have no written records.
 Documentary evidence written during the Mutapa state by the Portuguese and
records found in Arab writings have an account on the Changamire and Mutapa
states.

Archaeological Evidence

 Archaeology in the form of clothing found at the Great Zimbabwe and some of the
evidence including bones, copper and iron tools.
 These have been used by historians to show the social economic and political
activities of the people at Great Zimbabwe.
 The structure at the ruins consist of 2 complexes “the Acropolis”or temple area and
the external enclosure which consisted of a large number of stone buildings.
 Excavations in the external enclosure yielded stone, glass, bead, and brassware,
 sea shells, iron ware, iron axes and hoes.
 Local goods included ivory, gold, beads, soapstones, chisels etc.

Social and Political Organisation

 By 1200 a ruling class had emerged which was strong enough to organize almost the
whole population to build a high surrounding wall made of granite blocks.
 The Great Zimbabwe rulers exercised power a number of chiefdoms who paid
tribute to the mambo at great Zimbabwe.
 Other chiefdoms may have been independent but connected through marriage and
trade.
 The ruling class controlled trade.

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Purpose of the stone structure

1) Security
2) Religion
3) prestige monument.
4) occupy slave labour

Causes for the Decline or Collapse of the State

 The state had become overpopulated leading to a shortage of resources.

 There was increased emigration
 Shortage of resources i.e. salt
 Civil wars
 Declining soil fertility
 Some dispute that Nyatsimba Mutota left Great Zimbabwe because he had failed to
succeed and left and formed the Mutapa state..

2:1:2. THE MUTAPA STATE

 The founder of the Mutapa state was Nyatsimba Mutota who left Zimbabwe in
search of salt or after a succession dispute according to oral history. Mutota went to
the Zambezi Valley where he defeated some weak communities who were already
settled there such as the Tavara or the Dzivaguru people. Mutota As a result earned
the title ‘ Munhu-mutapa’ a praise name which means Lord of Conquering.

 Before the succession dispute, King Chibatamatosi, Mutota’s father had ordered
Mutota to find salt.
 Initially the king had sent his servant Nyakatondo who had returned with salt and
reported on the abundance of elephants in the area.
 Prince Mutota traveled north leading a large army. He built his capital a “Zimbabwe”
on the slope of Chikato hill near the Utete River.
 Part of this Zimbabwe remains to this day at the bottom of the escapement north of
Guruve.
 Mutota formed an alliance with the Tavara High Priest, Dzivaguru. Upon the death
of Mutota, his son, Nyanhenhwe Matope took over and co-ruled with his half sister
Nyamhita who occupied the district of Handa hence she is often referred to as
Nyamhita Nehanda. The two ruled the Mutapa Empire stretching from the Anngwa
and Manyame Rivers, north to the Zambezi and west to the Musengezi and
Mukumbura Rivers.

The Mutapa Language eschatology and customs

 The people had the same shona language, customs and culture similar to the peoples
of the Great Zimbabwe state. The term “Shona” was not used until the 19 th century.

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 The Ndebele people described the Karanga ie. Mutapa language and area of control
as “entshona langa” which means a place where the sun sets or a place to the west.
 Nowadays the term Shona is representative of a number of related dialects (in
Zimbabwe) one of which is Karanga.
 They believed in a god whom they called ‘mwari’ who is claimed to have spoken
through the spirits of the ancestors and they listened carefully to spirit mediums i.e.
the Mhondoros.
 Religious ceremonies were held to honour the spirit mediums where music dancing
and feasting occurred (Bira). The senior spirit mediums were Dzivaguru in the north
east, Nehanda in the central and Chaminuka in the west.
 At the cultural level the society was closely knit with the family being the nucleus of
society as well as being the foundation of the nation. The basis of this arrangement
was a high degree of morality with crime, starvation, delinquency, prostitution,
divorce and almost all known present day social ills being unknown. The law was
highly developed to deal with cultural issues and less defined in terms of commerce.
Criminals even murderers were rehabilitated with the law seeking to reconcile the
injured and the culprit and compensate the victim or his relatives in the case of
murder. When a person was murdered life had to be paid with life and invariably a
young woman from the murderers’ family had to be given to the victim’s family.
Inevitably, this created a bond between the two considering that at birth or death
there are things that no one could or can do except the relatives of a woman. This is
in stark contrast to equivalent European law which was and remains punitive and
divisive.

The Mutapa Economy

The state existed for almost 500 years in one form or the other. During its peak it was the
heart of a powerful empire which controlled the Zambezi River trade route and received
taxes from foreigners. Not only was the economy based on trade and taxation, tribute
was also part of their economy. The people of the Mutapa provided a variety of goods
for trade. Trade made the Mutapa ruling class wealthy and the state became strong.

 The people paid tribute to the Mutapa tax collectors and elephant hunters paid tribute
in the form of tusks ..
 The Mutapa encouraged the gold miners to do the dangerous mine work in return the
miners had to sell the gold to the Mutapa.
 He taxed all imports and exports, every trader paid tribute, every visitor gifts, people
brought disputes and complains to the Mutapa and paid fees for his judgement.

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The Mutapa Political Structures

 They had many advisors and ministers to govern the state.

 Some of the emperors’ wives were also officials, greeting visitors and handling their
business and as members of his royal court they became very powerful.
 Munhumutapa, his wives and officials wore expensive jewellery and clothes made
from cotton and silk. Most people wore skin aprons.
 A large army was maintained which traveled long distances, patrolling and collecting
taxes and cattle and brought new communities into the empire.

The Portuguese Factor In The Mutapa State.

 When Matope died, succession disputes arose. In 1494 Chikuyo Chisamarengu

became king and was the first to receive a Portuguese visitor named Fernandes who
brought rice, cloth and guns as gifts.
 The acquisition of more guns increased Mutapa’s power such that he was in a
position to assist his ally Makombe of Barwe to take control of Manyika.
 In 1530 Neshangwe became the new king after Chisamarengu had died. He took over
Mbire province earning the praise name Munembire.
 He introduced the old custom of chiefs sending their ambassador to rekindle fires at
the king’s palace.
 In 1550 Chivero Nyasoro succeeded Neshangwe and after him Nzou or Ntemba an
unmarried youth, took over and ruled with his mother Chiuya.
 Negomo and his mother Chiuya received a Catholic priest Father Goncalo da’
Silveira who wanted to convert them to Christianity. Muslim traders at the king’s
court (vamwenyi) did not like this and plotted to kill Da’ Silveira. They
subsequently strangled him and dumped him in a pond.
 Goncalo’s death angered the Portuguese and when they sent an army to revenge his
death, it was defeated.
 In 1607 Gatsi Rusere asked the Portuguese’s for assistance to fight his rival for the
leadership and in return they were given mines.
 The people of Mutapa refused to tell them where the mines were because of earlier
experience with Portuguese Prazeros(land/ prazo holders)(this is where the name
purazi comes from) who took their land.
 More Portuguese arrived and forced them to work in the fields. The Portuguese
formed private armies and became wild and lawless.

The Decline or Collapse of the Mutapa State

 The decline was precipitated by the Portuguese private armies and this led the Mutapa
Nyambo Kapararidze to try to expel them.
 He was unsuccessful in this and was overpowered and in his place a puppet Mamvura
Mhande was installed.
 After Kapararidze, the Portuguese chose other Munhumutapas who would obey them.

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 An 18th century Munhumutapa moved his people to Mozambique where new chiefs
were appointed to restore order.
 Chioko was the last ruler to use the title Munhumutapa. He led a revolt against the
Portuguese but was however crashed in 1817 and so ended the legacy of the Mutapa
state.

2:1:3. THE ROZVI STATE

 The state arose from plundered wealth by the Rozvi under Changamire Dombo
(1634) believed to having been a powerful ruler. He was very wealthy and claimed
that his father was a mwari and his mother a virgin. The Rozvi capital was at
Thabazikamambo near Bulawayo.
 By 1680 he was at his peak and his state was spread between the Zambezi and
Limpopo rivers and even into areas like Mozambique e.g. Sena.
 The Rozvi Changamire received tribute from smaller chiefs.
 By 1830 – 1860 the state existed in name only.

 Decline and Collapse Of the State


Collapse of the Rozvi state was as a result of Mfecane ‘or time of trouble” caused by
Nguni tribes who had fled from Tshaka or broken away from the Zulu state in
present day Natal
Zwangendaba crossed the Limpopo with his group and fought the Rozvi ruler
Chirisamhuru.
 The state was further weakened when Kololo Sebitwane in 1836 fought and defeated
the Rozvi. Mzilikazi turned west into Gaza and then north with his group and
finished the remnants of the Rozvi state between 1837 – 1840.

2:1:4. THE NDEBELE STATE

The Founder of the State was Mzilikazi son of , Matshobane and grandson of Zwide.
Mzilikazi joined Tshaka under Zwide. He was a chief of a small clan called Khumalo.
He suspected Zwide of the death of his father Matshobane.

 Mzilikazi was sent to recover cattle and he did not surrender the cattle to Tshaka and
fled north.
 He left Natal in 1821/ 1822 with 300 men. The name Ndebele was given as a
nickname by Tswanas and means people of long shields. Mzilikazi increased his
side through conquering and incorporating weak tribes such as the Tswana and
Suthuland some people voluntarily joined Mzilikazi . He was defeated by the Boers
at Enthumbane in the Transvaal. The Ndebele crossed the Limpopo river in 1837 –
1846 and settled at Inyati near Matopo hills.
 They easily routed the weakened Rozvi and brought adjacent Shona areas under their
control. They conquered Shonas such as the Kalanga and Venda.

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Political Structures

 King was pre-eminent in the Ndebele state. Mzilikazi was the supreme commander
of the army, highest judge with power over life and death. He was a religious leader
who presided over important religious ceremonies such as Incxwala.
 King however didn’t rule alone but with two advisory counsels, the Mphakati and
Izinkulu indicating that king was not a dictator.
 The Mphakati was made up of original Khumalo chiefs i.e. those who had left Natal
and knew Zulu military tactics.
 These made the most important decisions although they could be vetoed by the king.
 The Izinkulu was made up of other chiefs especially those who were incorporated in
the Ndebele state..

The Ndebele Economy.

Many European historians misunderstood or deliberately distorted the bases of Ndebele

economy. They argued that the Ndebele were nomads and therefore had lots of time for
raiding the Shona. This was not entirely true. The following were the basis of Ndebele
economy:

 Herding –This was the most important economic activity owing to the fact that Ndeng
initially were not permanently established in Matebeleland. The Ndeng kept large
heads of cattle, sheep and goats.
 They acquired some of the cattle along the way while others were obtained through
the conquered Rozvi and others were received in the form of tribute from the Shona
while others were obtained through raiding.
 Agriculture- The Ndebele had fields in which they grew crops such as millet,
sorghum, water melons etc.
 Agriculture was however, not very popular with the Ndebele because of climatic
conditions.
 Hunting and gathering - Hunting was very popular in the Ndebele state. Their kills
ranged from large animals e.g. elephants and buffaloes to small species e.g. buck and
rodents. Men usually hunted while women concentrated on gathering.
 They gathered wild fruits, grass seed and insects. Gathering was important in the
Ndebele state as far as it supplemented organised agriculture.
 Trade - They traded internally i.e. amongst themselves and externally with the Shona
The Ndebele traded their cattle and gold for grain, corn, cloth, iron, jewellery, beads
etc.

- Mining - The Ndebele occasionally carried out some mining activities to a limited
extent. They traded gold with the Portuguese. Mining was done mostly in winter- after
harvest when people didn’t have much work in the field.

 Tribute - in the form of cattle, grain and to a certain extent women from those tribes
under their control

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 Raids/plunder - They raided the unsubdued Shona tribes for cattle, women, young
men and grain.
 However, it should be realized that the Ndebele didn’t always raid the Shona. Only
those who lived near Ndebele settlements were raided occasionally such as the Shona
in the Masvingo, Mberengwa, Gweru and Kwekwe areas.

Ndebele- Shona relations

The myths and realities.

 Many European historians wrote that the Ndebele always raided the Shona and that
the Shona were on the verge of extinction when settler colonialists came to
Zimbabwe. They used this as an excuse to influence the British government to
colonize this country and the missionaries used this argument more than the ordinary
settlers.
 The reason why missionaries encouraged the British government to occupy and
destroy the Ndebele Kingdom was because they had failed to convert a single
Ndebele man.
 The truth of the matter is that there was co-existence between the Shona and the
Ndebele had the occasional raid as a common feature of this relationship.
 In the early stages of the Ndebele settlement i.e. between 1840 – 1870 the Ndebele
were pre-occupied with their own security, internal problems such that they could not
always fight the Shona.
 It is also true that some Shona people never experienced Ndebele raids up to 1890
especially those Shona people living north of Harare and Manicaland.
 Those Shona chiefs who refused to pay tribute e.g. Chief Chivi or Bere were major
targets for raids. Ndebele raids did not interfere with The economy of those Shona
chiefs who paid tribute and moreover some Shona chiefs aided the Ndebele and
some stole or raided the Ndebele to recover stolen cattle.
 The Ndebele actually encouraged good relations and there was some level of inter-
marriage.
 The Ndebele adopted the Shona deity “mwari”/umlimu’ and followed the Shona
traditions of ancestral worship..
 The state was divided into 3 district social groups based on history namely:

a) Abezanzi

These were the superior class which occupied most important positions. They formed
the aristocratic ruling class. These were the original Khumalo who had left Natal and
constituted about 15% of Ndebele population ie. the Hadebes, Khumalos,
Mkwananzi.

b) Enhla

These were 2nd most important groups in the Ndebele state. They were Sotho and
Tswana who joined the Ndebele on their way to Zimbabwe. They occupied important

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 military positions in the Ndeng state and they constituted about 25% of Ndebele
population.

c) Amahole

These were the least important in the Ndebele state. They were made up of the
Kalanga and other Shona speaking people who were conquered and absorbed by the
Ndebele and made up 60% of Ndebele population. However, the hole who proved
themselves in battle also occupied important military posts in the Ndebele economy.
Due to continued inter-marriage most of these groups lost their identities ie the
Moyos, Sibandas, Ncubes, Gumbos.

THE EUROPEAN COLONISATION OF ZIMBABWE

 White settlement in the region was established as early as the 1650s at the Cape In
South Africa. This was a re-supply post for fresh water and food for the East India
trade. The Dutch settlers at the Cape were soon displaced by the British and pushed
North. The discovery of gold on the Rand and diamonds led to the continued jostling
for control between the British and Dutch settlers for the good part of the two
centuries from 1700 through 1800. Hunters and missionaries who were the trail
blazzers for British colonisation spread the rumor that there was a bigger Rand in the
area occupied by the Ndeng across the Limpopo.

 Cecil John Rhodes who came to South Africa because of ill-health joined his brother
at the Kimberly diamond fields and became rich and directed his attention to the
rumors of an “el dorado” or city of gold to the north.

 Rhodes was an imperialist at heart. His aim was to bring under British Control all
African territory from South Africa to Egypt.

 Rhodes believed in British superiority and thought that it was a British responsibility
to civilize Africa the so called dark continent.

 Other imperialists were also interested in Zimbabwe namely; the Boers from the
short lived Transvaal Republic, Germans from South West Africa and especially the
Portuguese.

 The Grobler Treaty

 In1887 the Transvaal government sent its representative Piet Grobler to negotiate a
friendship treaty with Lobengula assuming he was the ruler of all the territories north
of the Limpopo. The agreement - known as the Grobler treaty provided for a Boer
Representative to be resident at Bulawayo and Lobengula would assist the Boers
( in the face of British threats) if required to do so.

 In response to the treaty, Rhodes influenced the British government to send a

representative to Bulawayo to negotiate a counter treaty..

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The Moffat Treaty

 John Smith Moffat representing the British government negotiated and signed the
treaty in February 1888. According to this agreement Lobengula was to cancel the
Grobler Treaty. He would also not enter into any agreement with any European
power without the consent of Britain.

 The Moffat Treaty was supposed to be a treaty of friendship between Lobengula and
the British government but in fact was the first step in the collapse and subjugation of
the Ndeng state.

The Rudd Concession

 Agreed and signed in October 1888, it led to the occupation of Zimbabwe by the
white settlers through the British South African company. Rhodes had formed this
commercial company to spear head the occupation of this country.

 The Rudd Concession was entered into between Charles Rudd representing Rhodes
and Lobengula . The Rudd delegation consisted of three people namely; .

1. Charles Rudd

Rhodes’ old friend since their days at Oxford University. He was therefore an
embodiment of Rhodes’ self interest.

2. Rotchford Maguire

Was a lawyer and his expertise in the legal language was going to be useful in
tricking lobengula.

3. Francis Thompson

He was nicknamed “Matebele” because he was fluent in Nguni languages

including Ndeng. He had a perfect knowledge of Ndeng custom. His presence was
therefore meant to influence Lobengula to sign the agreement. Rhodes was
careful in the selection of the Rudd team.

Lobengula didn’t want to meet this delegation let alone sign the agreement, the evidence
is that:

1) It took the delegation about 6 weeks to meet Lobengula.

2) The delegation bribed Lobengula’s most trusted senior, Induna Lotshe, who
influenced Lobengula to sign the agreement and for that role Lotshe was executed
together with his family.

3) Lobengula was influenced by several whitemen he trusted such as Moffat who

misled or lied to him that the Rudd delegation represented the queen.

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 4) Because of both internal and external influence, Lobengula signed the Rudd
Concession in October 1888, the terms of which were;:

a) Lobengula was to receive:

 Monthly pension of 100 pounds sterling per month.

 1000 enfield riffles and 100 000 rounds of ammunition.

 A gunboat to be placed on the Zambezi valley to guard against Portuguese invasion..

b) Lobengula was to grant Rhodes;

-Granted Rhodes and the BSAC exclusive rights over all minerals and precious metals in
Mashonaland and Matebeleland.

 Not more than 10 white men would enter the country.

 They would dig only one hole.

 They would surrender all their weapons to Lobengula and actually become his
people.

The Royal Charter

 Armed with the Rudd agreement Rhodes had to have the political protection of the
British government. Rhodes therefor sought and got this protection through The
Royal Charter, granted in October 1889. The document in effect declared that the
Rudd concession had effectively made the territories of Lobengula British territories
under the administration of the British South Africa Company (BSAC)and by that
virtue restricted Boer and Portuguese expansion. Some German hunters advised
Lobengula on what was meant by the document and he tried I vain to repudiate it.

 He sent two of his Indunas to the queen accompanied by E A Mount and Charles
Helm to inform her that he was no longer interested in the Rudd Concession . The
indunas were deliberately delayed and the repudiation was too late.

 To reverse the Rudd agreement, Lobengula granted Edward Lippert a German

businessmen a concession for a period of 100 years to mine in Zimbabwe.

 Rhodes bought the Lippert Concession and made his position even more powerful.

The Pioneer Column

 Rhodes’s next step was to organize a group of men who were going to form the first t

settlers in Zimbabwe.

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 The group was called The Pioneers made up of 200 settler volunteers and chosen
from thousands of applicants from all over Europe and South Africa.

 Supported by 500 troops, the group was promised 2 000 acres and five gold claims
each. The Botswana protectorate provided 800 African labourers..

 Fredrick Selous guided the settler group because of his knowledge of the country as
a hunter. The group crossed Into Zimbabwe in March 1890 and built fort Tuli. The
column turned east avoiding the Ndeng state and established Fort Victoria
(Masvingo) On 17 August 1890 the Column reached Fort Charter (Chivhu). From
Charter the column reached Harare on 12 September 1890, raised the british flag the
Union jack and, and called Harare Salisbury in honour of British Prime Minister at
that time. This marked the completion of the occupation of the land.

 Leander Star Jameson, Rhodes’ personal friend was appointed the first governor of
Mashonaland.

The Anglo - Ndebele war and the Occupation of Matebeleland.

The members of Pioneer Column were largely disappointed with the amount of gold they
got in Mashonalnad.

 They thought that Matebeleland was a little closer to South Africa so a second Rand
could be found in Matebeleland.

 The white settlers also admired the big cattle found in Matebeleland and the attractive
land (rich grazing lands). They even believed that Lobengula’s capital was built on
top of a gold mountain.

 It should be borne in mind that the occupation of Matebeleland was inevitable and
unavoidable. It was to complete the occupation of Zimbabwe and , as the BSAC was
bankrupt, it needed gold, hence Matebeleland was their own way out of that big
problem.

 To do so the BSAC had to destroy the powerful and landed Ndeng state and Leander
Star Jameson needed an excuse in order to attack the Ndeng state. He created
conflicts to justify war between whites and Ndeng.

Precursors to the war

1.The Boundary Line

 According to Jameson, Mashonaland was not part of Matebeleland.

 Jameson drew up his own boundary line to separate Mashonaland from Matebeleland.
He then restricted Lobengula’s rule to Matebeleland.

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 Lobengula never acknowledged the division of Mashonaland and Matebeleland.

 He claimed the whole country as his and to make matters worse, the boundary line
kept on shifting towards his capital thus reducing his area of influence.

The war - 1893

While Rhodes and BSAC were busy establishing themselves in Mashonaland the Ndeng
were trying to avoid any conflicts with the whites. Since the settlers were interested in
Matebeleland, Rhodes and his people were busy finding ways of attacking the Ndeng The
whites admired the Ndeng’s rich grazing lands and suspected gold deposits.

Causes of the War of 1893

1. The Victoria Incident

 Whites employed the Shona people but the Ndeng still regarded later as their subjects.

 In June 1893 some of the Shona people led by headman Gomala stole 500 metres of
telegraph wire.

 They were ordered to pay cattle as fine. They paid this fine using cattle that belonged
to Lobengula and which they had had stolen.

 Lobengula claimed the cattle to be his and they were returned to him.

 Soon after this event another Shona by the name of Bere is alleged to have to have
stolen cattle belonging to Lobengula.

 Lobengula sent an impi to punish the Shona chief and his people. As a result Shona
servants on European farms were killed and some fled to Fort Victoria for protection.

 The Ndebele Indunas,Manyao and Uumgandani pursued the Shona people who
sought refuge in Victoria.

 The indunas demanded that the Shona be handed over but Lendy, the magistrate of
Fort Victoria refused and the Ndeng were ordered to vacate Fort Victoria.

 Lendy followed and caught up with Umgandani ’s party and killed all of them and in
response Lobengula mobilized 6000 soldiers.

 The Victoria Incident triggered the war but the issue at stake was that the white
farmers believed that there were rich gold deposits in Matebelaland and had long
planned on how to get there

They also saw the grazing land and good cattle herds of the Ndebele as a recipe for
prosperity even if they were to find no gold.

14
 The powerful independent Ndebele state was seen as preventing white settlers from
getting enough labour for their mines and farms.

Preparation for war

 By September 1893 Jameson had organized a force of over 1000 well armed white
settlers aided by missionaries from South Africa.

 Jameson promised each of them 2400 hectares of land and 20 gold claims each if the
Ndeng were defeated.

The Battles

 The white armies left Salisbury and Fort Victoria in October 1893 and moved south
west towards Matopo ready for a show down with the Ndeng.

 In a battle, that took place along the Shangani and Mbembesi Rivers, the Ndeng impi
was heavily defeated.

 On 3 November after just a month of bloody fighting the invading forces entered the
Ndeng capital, Bulawayo and Lobengula set fire to the city and fled north where he
vanished without trace to date.

 The 1893 war marked the complete conquest of Zimbabwe and an end to Ndeng
Supremacy.

3. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.

15
Slavery is the highest level of degrading another human being. Slavery is as ancient as
human existence. The practice was pronounced under the Roman empire and at that time
it also assumed its commercial undertones. This practice was perfected by the former
Roman colonies in Europe when they enslaved Africa. Never in the History of mankind
was such atrocities, insensitivity, and cruelty and inhumanity perpetrated by human
beings upon other human beings. Slavery was the most crude method of exploiting other
human beings and in its wake came colonisation which by definition is slavery with a
humane face. The latter like slavery leads to the exploitation of other man by other man
by other means other than brute force.

It is not possible under The United Nations Charter for a nation to unilaterally attack or
annex the territory of another state and where this has happened of late as when Iraq
attacked Kuwait the UN unanimously agreed to reverse the annexture through force of
arms. To colonize another state is therefor the highest form of state irresponsibility. The
USA under false claims of existence of weapons of mass destruction attacked Iraq in
2003 and there was a global outcry against the war. Colonization nevertheless took place
many centuries before the UN came into existence but that does make colonization any
less a crime against humanity. Colonizsation was perpetrated by the very nations that
were vociferously opposed to the Iraq Kuwait invasion and yet many serious human
rights violations were perpetrated by the colonial powers in this process. In Tasmania
Australia, the aborigines on the island were wiped out to the last man by British settlers.
The Spanish conquistadors demolished whole empires and civilizations in the Americas.

SLAVERY

1. The discovery of gold and silver and agricultural potential in South America or in the
Americas created the need for disciplined workforce.

2. Inability of the local or native Red-Indian population to withstand organized

disciplined labour.

3. Existence of disciplined agricultural and industrial culture in Africa.

4. Indigenous or Red-Indian inability to withstand European diseases e.g. small pox,

syphilis, gonorrhea etc.

5. The existence of a greedy and guliable or naïve chieftainship in Africa which

captured and sold its own kith and kin for a bottle of fire water that is gin.

 Commercial activity therefore contributed much to the consolidation of slavery. The

trade in Europe did not provide sufficient profit because of the problem of exchange
values. But the trade with unindustrialized countries in Africa and America was
more profitable because of the use values.

 This system of trade was a system of robbery based on plunder, piracy and slavery
and colonial conquest.

16
 To consolidate accumulation or profit in England, the joint stock company was
devised and several of this new economic tool were formed, e.g. the Adventurous
Russia company and the Africa company. According to Nassau, a well known
academic of the time, the objectives of the Africa company were, “ …to kidnap or
purchase and work to death the natives of Africa without mercy.” The Eastland
company had the monopoly and right to trade with the European hinterland. The
Levan company in which Queen Elizabeth 1 was a major shareholder became the
East Indian company.

 The Fuggers company in Germany was first a merchant company and later became a
bank and financed all Germany wars of the period.

 The Fuggers company in return for financing war was paid through the form of
trading concessions, colonial land and through revenue from colonial mines.

 As contact with Latin America or South America increased, the company turned to
Africa for cheap labour.

 It was the nearest continent with a population used to organize labour which was also
disciplined in many respects. The Uterecht Treaty of 1713 gave English Merchants
the right to supply South America with 5 000 slaves every year and a special
company was formed to supply these slaves.

 Most of the gold and products from the plantations from South America ended up in
British towns.

 The continued enslavement of African peoples between 1646 and 1680 resulted in 70
000 slaves being taken to South America. However, only 46 000 survived the
translocation. The slave trade was part of the triangular trade between Europe,
Africa and South America .This trade was very profitable to the European
companies and the African Royal company which was the slave company paid a
dividend of 300% despite loss of half the “goods/cargo” that’s despite the death of
more than half the slaves en route to the Americas.

 There is therefore a co relation between Europe’s expansion/development and slave

labour from Africa. The methods used by the companies especially British firms,
was to capture other countries’ export markets through colonisation, protectionism
and unequal exchange.

 Europe therefore did not undertake its industrial Revolution without the plunder, the
enslavement and the destruction of the native people of Africa.

COLONIALISM

 Colonialism was a product of European merchants or European commerce. The

former (the merchants) later supported and financed the political institutions or their
governments in their wars of conquest and colonisation and they also participated in

17
 policy making . Colonisation therefore was therefor an economic necessity. The
reasons or causes of Africa’s colonisation were or are:

a) Facilitated protection of monopoly markets of each European trading nation.

b) Allowed easy access to tropical markets.

c) Allowed access to natural resources essential for industrial activities.

d) Allowed expansion and creation of new markets which had no balance of trade
problems.

e) Colonization facilitated the unimpeded imposition of the religious super structure and
beliefs of the colonizers on the colonized peoples.

f) For glory and imperial prestige.

 African slavery had existed in Europe from about the 16 th century but the need to
exploit the wealth of South America saw slavery reaching a climax in the 18 th
century. Slavery however, came to an end when it stopped serving the purposes and
interests of European commerce.

 The dynamics of European production and exchange changed and no longer required
slave labour. Britain banned slavery in 1807. Slavery however, continued or even
grew after this banning. In 1833 slavery was internationally banned but it did not die
until a 100 years later and to the shame of Africa still lingers on in places like the
Sudan.

 Slavery was not abolished because Europe had repented of its weakedness but
because commerce could not benefit as much from this evil practice.

 Once slavery was abolished, it was replaced with colonization.

 The commercial revolution in the 16 th century expanded trade beyond Europe and this
created a conservative class of merchants and landlords. Commercial merchants were
a class which could not fully satisfy their accumulation potential in Europe so they
turned to foreign markets.

 Primitive accumulation in Europe, that is, getting rich through violence and other
dishonest means, was extended and practiced in foreign lands through colonization.

 The merchants and conquerors destroyed several civilizations in Africa e.g. the
Ashanti kingdom and the Aztec Civilization in central America.

 Earlier, five crusades had been wedged or undertaken in the Middle East and this
almost destroyed the Arab civilization. The crusades were less about religion and
more about plunder and theft and robbery. The amount of wealth stolen in this

18
 manner although substantial could not last long and the result was to exploit the
mines and the agricultural potential in Africa and in South America.

 In South America where more gold and silver than in Africa existed, the mines could
not be exploited using local labour so they resorted to stealing people from Africa.

 This form of exploitation eventually gave way to paid labour as a more profitable way
of accumulating wealth.

 Development or industrialization in Europe is therefore directly linked to both

colonialism and slavery.

THE BERLIN CONFERENCE 1884 – 1885

 Before the Berlin conference in 1884 commercial contact had long existed between
Europe and Africa and in trying to protect their commercial interest, Europeans had
fought many wars and for almost a 100 years between 1700 and 1800 Europe was at
war with each other because of commercial or economic interests. With the growth
of England and France as the major military powers, the wars became less and less
However, when German became a powerful nation towards the end of the 19 th
Century, the following scenario developed in Europe;.

 The possibilities of renewed conflict became real.

 The British passed The Navigation and Frauds Act, The Navigation and Staple acts
etc. with a view to monopolising trade with the so called ‘new world’ and ‘the dark
continent.’

 Portugal fearing wars between Europe and Britain, suggested or requested Otto Von
Bismark, the Germany chancellor, to convene a conference for all interested parties
with trading or commercial interests with Africa. This led to the infamous Berlin
conference. The objectives of the conference were:

1. To lay down the rules for the partition and exploitation of Africa.

2 .To prevent war by so partitioning Africa.

Summary of Contents of the agreement at the Berlin Coference;

1.Freedom of navigation on all major rivers in Africa.

2. Colonization or establishment of protectorates to be entered into voluntarily between

European powers and African Chiefs.

3. A colony to be recognized only where there was visible occupation and evidence of a
written protectorate agreement.

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PARTIES TO THE BERLIN CONFERENCE

1. German

2. Belgium

3. England

4. France

5. Italy

6. Portugal

Contents Of Protectorate Agreements between European Powers and African

Chiefs/Kings.

1. Parties to the agreement- a). African chief and, b). a European commercial company.

2. Subjugation or surrender of title to land.

3. The location of the land, its size and general description.

4. Surrender of all political, judicial and military power.

5. Creation of a monopoly trade area.

6. Duration of agreement i.e. infinity or for ever and ever.

7. Rewards for the chiefs and the people, alleged or claimed improvement of their lives
through European civilization.

8. Surrender of all rights to minerals and other resources.

RESULTS OF THE BERLIN CONFERENCE

1. Led to the scramble for Africa by European powers (nations) through commercial
companies or by commercial companies.

2. The establishment of concessions which were unfair and never explained to the
African chiefs.

3. Resistance or rejection of the concessions by African chiefs when they understood the
implications of the agreement.

4. Use of force by European powers to break resistance and to fully colonise Africa.

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THE EFFECTS OF COLONIZATION

1. Balance of trade dis-equilibra i.e. negative trade relations between Africa and
European countries during and after colonialism through a new form of relationship
called Neo-colonialism..

2. Exploitation and depletion of Africa’s natural resources without benefit to Africa.

3. Underdevelopment of Africa since there was no technology transfer to facilitate

industrialisation (investment was only in infrastructure to enable exploitation of
resources).

4. Cultural decimation/destruction.

5. Dependency on European economies.

6. Loss of individual and national identity by Africans during and after colonialism

7. Super enrichment and development of Europe and the their extensions in America
and Australia.

Reasons for the colonisation of Africa.

1. Abundance of natural resources e.g. minerals, rubber, elephants (ivory).

2. Fertile soils and ideal climate in Southern Africa and Kenya..

3. Africa was the source of many major rivers.

4. Existence of a money economy in Africa..

5. Possibility of establishing colonies and monopoly markets.

6. Little to no meaningful resistance

CONSOLIDATION OF SETTLER COLONIALISM IN ZIMBABWE

Early Settler Administration.

 With the Ndbele state in ruins and the Shona state machinery crumbling in the face of
superior settler firepower , the BSAC proceeded apace to consolidate its grip on the
country. The Transvaal Boer state however posed a great challenge to Rhodes’ plans
In 1895, Jameson withdrew most of the company’s armed personnel into the
Transvaal to fight the Boers but was crushed and the scenario for the Native
rebellion in Zimbabwe developed.

THE FIRST CHIMURENGA.

Cuses of the War

21
The Ndbele Revolt

1. The land Issue

 The reserve system or translocation of native Zimbabweans to infertile dry

inhospitable holding areas was introduced.

 In 1894 the first reserves were set up in Shangani and Gwaai.

 After the defeat of the Ndebele, the settlers seized their 6 000 acres displacing many
natives and those displaced became fulltime labourers or squatters.

 The settlers started ill treating the Ndebele like they were doing the Shona.

2. FORCED LABOUR

 The British South African company introduced hut tax to force the Africans to go to
work and in order to raise revenue.

 Livestock was seized to force men to go to work for the settler.

 To solve their labour problems, the company introduced forced labour. The chiefs
were instructed to recruit able bodied men and hand them over to the BSAC as
labourers- “chibharo”. The Shona and Ndebele so enslaved ran away into the hills
to escape.

 The presence of white settlements contrary to the agreements entered into.

 Again this did not please the Ndeng who wanted to claim their ancestral land back as
in the reserves there was food shortage and starvation at times.

 CATTLE

 Soon after the defeat of the Ndeng in the Anglo Ndebele war, the whites confiscated
the Ndeng cattle numbering about 250 000.

 This drastically reduced the Ndeng herd and the Ndeng wanted their cattle back as it
was a sign of prestige.

 TAXATION

 This was imposed on the Ndeng for a dual purpose

i) It was indirectly made to force the Ndeng to work in order to pay tax.

ii) It was meant to increase the company income.

22
Abuse of Ndebele women by Native Shona policema.

 In order to stop this abuse, the Ndebele had had to fight the whitemen and the
employment of their former vassals the Shona as policemen did not please the
Ndebele as they were now told what to do by these Shona policeman.

 NATURAL DISASTERS

 It was at that time that natural disasters occurred. These included drought, rinderpest
a cattle disease and locusts. Africans gave these natural disasters a religious
interpretation, they argued that the presence of the whites had angered their ancestors
hence these natural disasters and they then found it necessary to drive away the
whites in an effort to bring the natural disasters to an end.

THE ROLE OF SPIRIT MEDIUM

 These were very instrumental in bringing about a concented effort to drive away the
white man and they used a variety of methods. They passed information on the
progress made in the preparations for war. Some prophesied that the fighters would
be protected by their ancestors. They also provided medicine which they claimed
made the fighters bullet proof.

 They gave general encouragement to everybody and in some cases they threatened
death to all those who showed no interest.

RESULTS

 Africans were defeated because of the inferior weapons that they used which included
spears, shields, bow and arrows against the whitemen’s machine guns, cannons and 7
pounders.

 Disunity and dis-organization among the Africans also led to this defeat as some
collaborated with the whites.

 Leaders and spirit mediums were captured and killed thereby leaving the Africans
direction less and leaderless.

 Africans lost faith in their spirit mediums in particular and in their religion in general
leading to many Africans being converted to Christianity. However, although the
Africans were defeated, their efforts need to be recognised. It was the first time that
they had fought a common enemy as a united people.

 It was also important in that it laid the foundation for future wars of resistance that is
the 2nd Chimurenga etc.

 Notable heroes and heroines of the First Chimurenga were people like Nehanda,
Kaguvi, General Magwegwe and Mkwati of the Ndebele army, Chief Chingaira,

23
 Mashonganyika, Muzambi, Maremba, Zvidembo, Mazhindu, Manyongori,
Gunduza, Mvenuri and Gutu.

Repressive Settler Legilation which dispossed and dehumanized Native

Zimbabweans

Almost two hundred whites lost their lives during the first Chimurenga war and many
thousands of Africans died in battle and in the reprisals that followed up to and during
1898. To secure their position the settlers enacted many pieces of legislation that
effectively proscribed or limited African economic, cultural and political freedoms.

The Native Reserve Order In Council: 1898.

Effectively removed all native chiefs who were anti- settlers and replaced them with
puppet settler administrators. The act also created reserves or cantonments in dry
inhospitable areas.

The Hut Tax: 1903.

Enacted to raise revenue for settlers and to forceblack men to go and work for the white
man.

The Dog Tax and Land Bank acts: 1912.

The land bank act provide d new white settler farmers with free tillage for five years and
the same period as grace before commencing to repay loans from the state ownned Land
bank.

The European Produce Act: 1917.

Discriminated against natives in so far as agricultural production was concerned with

respect to quantities they could market or the prices they could fetch.

The Morris Carter Commission:1925.

Divided the whole country into agro-zones based on rainfall patterns from the highest
rainfall region 1 to the lowest rainfall region 5. Natives were trans- located to regions 4
and 5.

The Land Apportionment Act: 1930.

In 1930 whites who numbered 50 000 were allocated 49 000 000 acres of
prime land while blacks who numbered 1 000 000 were allocated 28 000
000 acres of the worst land in regions 4 and five. The translocation of blacks
was accompanied with untold violence and starvation and malnutrition
became endemic. More government officials were employed country wide

24
and effect while rule and these included native commissioners and police
man. A land policy after 1905 was affected which started to impoverish ty
blacks and to keep them politically ineffective. Africans were also
excluded from government through strict qualifications e.g.. The right to
vote was given to males over 21 days with an annual income of 50 000
pounds or with property worth 75 pounds. The Land Apportionment Act of
1930 confirmed and legalised the displacement of Africans that had been
ongoing earlier.
Up until 1906, ninety percent of Southern Rhodesia’s agricultural produce came from
black farmers and many whites did not like this state of affairs. As a result, the Rhodesia
Native Labour Bureau (RNLB) stopped blacks from competing with whites and
between 1908 and 1915, 1.5 million acres of the best land was taken from blacks and
given to whites. New boundaries were created to exclude fertile high rainfall areas from
newly created reserves. The latter were located in semi arid areas. Blacks in regions 1,2
and 3 were made to pay higher grazing fees and taxes. Since many could not pay they
were removed and settled in reserves which were situated far away from markets and rail
and tarred motor roads. By the 1920s, 65% of the black population had been forced into
reserves. This led to cycle of poverty among Africans which persists up to today -2004.

The Maize Control Act:1935.

The act protected white farmers from black competition in maize production.
2 grades of maize were made, A grade for whites and B grade for blacks. A
grade fetched a higher price while B fetched a lower price.
 Whites also paid less for maize they bought from blacks.

The Cattle Levy Act:1934.

 Whites paid less on the market for cattle bought from blacks.

 The government paid more to whites for their cattle.

 This system impoverished the blacks who were loosing out through this fraudulent
commercial arrangement. As the blacks became poorer in the reserves they migrated
or translocated to towns..

Industrial Conciliation Act:1934.

 Blacks were denied the right to join trade unions.

 Higher paying jobs were reserved for whites, that is skilled and semi-skilled job.

 The act was latter ammended to allow natives to become nurses and teachers.

25
Racial Discrimination Act:1934.

 The act barred social inter-action between the races for an example it was an offence
for a white to share a toilet with a black man or to mix in schools, hospitals, or hotels
even cemeteries.

The Land Husbandry Act: 1951.

 The act barred any African family from owning more than five herd of cattle or eight
acres of land in the communal lands.

The Tribal Trust Land Act:1965.

 The act segregated the ownership of land between white areas and black areas.
Natives could only occupy land in communal lands without holding title to it. In
Towns natives could only lease property and no black man could own a house in
town until after 1980.

The Land Tenure Act:1969.

 The act divided the land on racial lines and designated the best 45 000 000 acres as
European land and shared among the 250 000 whites and the worst 45 000 000acres
was designated as native land to be shared by the 5 000 000 blacks.

 The act also barred the races from encroaching in the other race’s land.

 PASS LAWS

 All black males were required to carry a pass or identity paper which any white man
or police officer of any race could demand at anytime anywhere. This restricted
black freedom of movement from place to place.

AFRICAN REACTION TO REPRESSIVE AND RACIST LEGISLATION

After the collapse of traditional resistance in 1898 Zimbabwe was ruled by the British
through the BSAC. Africans were speedily brought under control and since company
rule was increasingly becoming inadequate and incapable of running the country, the
British gave the settlers two options to either join South Africa or to establish
responsible self government. In a referendum in 1923 the settlers chose the latter. The
more the settler regime became repressive the more the African spirit of resistance

26
blazed. Early resistance took crude forms such as jamming of factory machines or
refusing to work on farms and in mines. More refined resistance took the form of strikes
and joining trade unions.

 Between the 1st. and 2nd. World wars the vehicle for political agitation among blacks
were the trade unions. The African Railway Workers Union and the Reformed
Commercial and Industrial Workers Union were the first and most effective and they
also were non tribal.

 Bulawayo the industrial city of the nation at the time saw more political activity
originating and directed from that quarter. In 1945 the ARWU called a strike that
paralyzed the whole network from Mutare to Ndola in Zambia’s copper belt.

 In 1948 a general strike paralyzed all industrial and commercial activity in all cities in
the country.

 The white settlers connived to create the federation of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland
(Southern and Northern Rhodesia, ie Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi)and by the
early 1950s this absorbed the attention of the natives since there were many false
promises associated with the creation of the federation. The federation was
eventually created in 1953 and its major features were the following;

 Polarization – all major manufacturing activity was concentrated in Southern

Rhodesia..

 The communications infrastructure tended to serve and favour Southern Rhodesia

with the Federation railways and airlines being headquartered in Southern Rhodesia

 The University and all other institutions of higher learning were in Southern
Rhodesia.

 The settler colonialists embarked on a process of ethnic cleansing designed to rid

Southern Rhodesia of all its native blacks and Trans locating them in Northern
Rhodesia and replacing them with what were perceived as docile migrant laborers
from Zambia and Malawi.

 White settlers established permanent homes in Southern Rhodesia dashing any hopes
of early self determination for all the members of the federation as long as the
federation existed.

 1955 The city National Youth league was formed and it was a purely workers
movement operating in the urban areas.

 Church leaders also sympathized with their black congregations’ political

aspirations. Some churches criticized the settlers in their sermons and hymns.
However there were many racists church leaders who used religion or Christianity
to subdue and indoctrinate their black congregations to accept a subservient role.

27
 These racist apologists were happy to continue with the policies of segregation in
church, politics and the economy and the result was a proliferation of many
independent African churches.

 In 1957, September 12, the African National Congress (ANC) was formed and it was
a merger between the old ANC and the City Youth League led by Joshua Nkomo. It
demanded majority rule.

 It co opted the rural peasantry and organized mass resistances against the Land
Husbandry Act (1951) and it urged the peasants not to cooperate with the
government. Garfield Todd, the federation premier (1953-1957) who was a liberal,
argued for accommodation of African demands but the avowed racists in his cabinet
called for repression of all African political activity. As a result Todd was deposed
in an internal coup for giving in to black demands and David White head became
premier and in 1959 e SR-ANC was banned and hundreds of blacks thrown in jail.

 1959 to 1965 saw a host of new repressive laws come into effect such as;

The Native Affairs Act 1959

The Unlawful Organizations Act 1959

The Preventive Detention Act 159

The Emergency Powers Act 1960

THE law and Order Maintenance Act. 1960

 Internal pressure on the settler government produced more and more repression
and the nationalists resorted to pressure Britain to reign in the settlers and to give
independence to blacks but Britain refused.

 January 1960 the National Democratic Party was formed and replaced the SR-ANC.
Joshua Nkomo was elected president and the leardership of the party consisted of
Ndabaningi Sithole, Herbet Chitepo, Robert Mugabe, Bernard Chidzero, George
Silunduka, Jaison Moy, Leopold Takawira, Josiah Chinamano, Dumbutshena etc.

 1961 The NDP was banned and the same year ZAPU was formed in December.

 1962 December the Rhodesia Front was elected premier in Southern Rhodesia and
the party represented the hard core white racists determined to wipe out all resistance
to colonialism and Winston Field was then premier.

 1962 September ZAPU was banned.

 1964 August ZANU was formed due to disillusionment with the politics of tolerance
and accommodation and the party was led by Ndabaningi Sithole.

28
 1964 ZANU was banned and all prominent nationalists were either in prison or in
exile.

 1964 saw the beginning of violent African resistance to colonialism with many acts of
sabotage . Of note is the action by self styled General Chedu who led 100 youths
calling themselves the Zimbabwe Liberation army. The same year ZANU recruited
and trained the first armed resistance to colonialism and the Crocodile group drew
first blood when they attacked a police station and killed a white farmer in
Chimanimani(Melsetter).

 1964 Ian Smith was elected premier of the settler government.

 1965 November 11th. Ian Smith’s Rhodesia Front made a Unilateral Declaration of
Independence. This made the country an illegal state and although Britain still
claimed to be the legitimate ruler they failed to bring to justice the settler regime. At
about the same time the little island of Anquilla in the Pacific made a UDI and Britain
did not hesitate to reign in the rebels.

 UDI led the nationalists to adopt armed resistance as the first option to gain self
determination and the Smith regime went on an all out campaign to stifle African
aspirations and institutionalized arpertheid or racial segregation as the system of
governance and social and economic life. The same year a state of emergency was
declared. Such a declaration has the effect of suspending some or all civil liberties
and allows the state to take extra judicial measures to deal with the crisis. What
followed were many years of state terrorism and murder to which the Africans
responded by intensifying the armed resistance - the second Chimurenga war..

 By 1963 the nationalist had secured external bases in independent African countries
like Egypt, Tanzania and Zambia to train their armed wings. Zanu’s armed wing
became the ZImbabwe National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and ZAPU’s armed wing
became known as the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). Training
also took place outside Africa in places like Cuba, China, and Russia.

 1966 at Chinhoyi the first externally trained ZANLA combatants clashed with the
security forces and all seven members of the group were killed.

 1967 August ZIPRA in alliance with the South African National Congress’s armed
wing Umkhonto Wesizwe deployed four groups of 20 combatants each group. The
majority of combatants were killed in and around Wankie district. Rhodesia airforce
began to violate Zambian airspace and another larger group was deployed by the
alliance and again was decimated.

 The South African government in response sent troops into Rhodesia and the Smith
government passed the Law and order maintenance amendment bill – 7 September
1967. The law provided for a death sentence on any one caught with arms of war

29
 Late 1969/early 1970 the Front for the liberation of Mocambique fighting the
Portuguees in Mocabmique formed an alliance with ZANLA and with more
experience they provided training and logistical support which proved invaluable and
led to the opening of the eastern front. Mass mobilisation became the preferred tool of
the armed resistance and met with great success. Rhodesia and Portugal began joint
operations in 1968.

 1972 December ZANLA scored success with the attack at Alterna farm Centenary.

 1974 April in a coup in Portugal General Sipinoza deposed the premier Salazaar and
brought immediate independence to Mocambique, Angola and Guinea Bissau.

 1974 John Vorster South Africa’s Boer premier initiated Détente a policy of
accommodation designed to neutralize the armed struggle by promoting internal
reactionary African nationalists in Zimbabwe. This stalled and almost derailed the
armed struggle especially with the death /assassination of Herbet Chitepo on 18
March 1975 in Zambia.

 Chitepo became the chairman of Dare rechimurenga an organisation formed after the
banning and jailing of the nationalist leaders in 1964 and his task was to prosecute the
war while the leadership was in prison..

 1972/1973 in response to guerrilla offensive the keeps or cantonments were

introduced in all war fronts to deprive the fighters food and other support.

 1974 Internal rivalry and dissent rock both ZIPRA and ZANLA and the OAU force
the two to combine their armed efforts.

 1975 December ZANLA AND ZIPRA form the Zimbabwe people’s army (ZIPA)
and armed resistance gathered momentum in early 1976 as ZANLA intensified
operations in Gaza, Tete and Manica provinces or fronts or regions according to
ZIPRA terminology.

 1976 In bombing raids on camps in Mocambique, Rhodesians killed many refugees

and guerillas at Chimoio and Nyadzonya in Mcambique and Freedom camp
Mulungushi, and Chifombo in Zambia.

 March 1978 the so called Internal Settlement was reached between anti war and
reactionary black groups in Rhodesia.

 April 1979 the ANC’s Bishop Muzorewa was elected prime minister in sham
elections and temporarily the Zimbabwe Rhodesia hybrid state existed and it was not
recognized by any state except South Africa. It was during this period that some of
the most gruesome murders were perpetrated against refugees and the armed
resistance with the authority and concurrence of Bishop Abel Muzorewa’s
government.

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 South Africa unable to meet the human and economic cost of the war in Rhodesia
pressured Smith for a negotiated solution.

 1979 October the British under international pressure convened the Lancaster house
talks. The parties to the talks were the British government, the Patriotic Front(ZANU
and ZAPU) and the internal group Muorewas ANC and Smith’s Rhodesia front. The
talks could not reconcile the demands of the parties especially on land but both
groups hoped against hope that they would win and be able to maintain their claims
and positions from a legialised position.

 1980 March l in internationally supervised elections Muzorewa failed to win a single

seat in parliament , Smith only got his reserved 20 whitemen’s seats, ZANU(PF)
swept the board with 79 seats and ZAPU(PF) got 20 seats from all of Matebeleland
and ZANU –Ndonga got one seat..

 Independence saw many unrepentant whites emigrating to New-Zealand Australia

Britain etc. where they continue to reminisce nostalgically about the war and how
Britain sold them out.

 1980 April 18 Zimbabwe became an independent state with Robert Mugabe as

premier. The new prime minister offered Josshua Nkomo the titular head of state
position but he declined to accept although several ministries were headed by his
other fellow ZAPU colleagues.

 1980 massive arms caches belonging to ZIPRA and which were suppose to have been
surrendered to the state are discovered and ZAPUs properties with caches are
confiscated by the state. Disturbances of a tribal nature erupt in Bulawayo in
Entumbanen and some people are killed and the army is sent in to reign in rogue
ZIPRA elements and some these flee to the bush

 1982 Former ZPRA elements with clear support from the Arpetheid regime in South
Africa begin a campaign of sabotage, murder and destabilisation in Matebeleland and
the Midlands and such names as Gwesela, Ndevu eziqamula inkomicho became
household names for their notoriety. Hoods, Conjwayo and other South African
saboteurs and agents provocateurs are apprehended in Zimbabwe. South Africa
unleashes a war of destabilization of all frontline states with rebel movements
RENAMO in Mocambique and UNITA in Angola wrecking havoc to the economies
of all Front line states..

 1982 In response to the rebellion by some ex ZIPRA elements the Fifth brigade is
deployed in Matebeleland and the Midlands and development stalls in the affected
areas as hundreds of Shona civilians perish at the hands of dissidents and thousands
of Ndebele civilians loose their lives in reprisals by the Fifth Brigade..

 1987 December 12 after protracted negotiations spearheaded by Zimbabwe’s first non

executive president Mr. Canaan Banana, a unity agreement is signed between ZANU
PF and ZAPU PF. A new party ZANU PF is created and Joshua Nkomo became a co

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 vice president with Simon Muzenda. All dissident to be incorporated into society and
no charges to be preferred against them and similarly no charges to be preferred
against any member of the Fifth Brigade.

 1980 saw the end of all formal or legal racial segregation but this evil and immoral
practice continued and exists unabated to date. The new government made strides to
correct the colonial evils in the following areas;

1. Universal free primary and secondary education..

2. Free medical and health care

3. Policy of reconciliation towards the former settler

colonialists to which they have to date spurned.

4. Land distribution under the willing seller willing buyer

basis.

5. Integrate and demobilize the belligerents

6. Indeginisation- enabling the native Africans to own and

control business.

7. Expanding trade with the region and the world at large

 1991 A foreign driven Economic structural programme from the IMF and World
Bank was adopted. The programme required Zimbabwe to liberalize trade, that is
allow free movement of goods from outside, restrict or cut expenditure, and devalue
or allow the local currency to float.

 1998 due to ESAP food rioting took place in the major towns due to the negative
effects of ESAP.

 1998 August the Zimbabwe Defense Forces are deployed to the DRC to help the
beleaguered Kabila regime.

 1998 November Nearing the end of the restrictive 20 year non compulsory acquisition
of land close in the Lancaster agreement, a Land Donor Conference is organised and
many foreign donors pledge to assist Zimbabwe but not a cent is remitted.

 1999 The labour Union leadership break ranks with government and threatens to form
a political party under the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai and in September the
same year this actual happens in the form of the Movement for Democratic change...

 War veterans receive lump and monthly gratuities and in the build up to the 2000
elections The labour leardership cum opposition party slides more and more to the
right and is seen supporting settler colonial interests in land commerce and industry
and receives massive monetary and moral support from the same quarter. This

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 alliance also receives massive external assistance from foreign interests like the USA
and UK governments directly or indirectly through such organisations as the
Westminister Foundation etc.

 February 2000 a new draft constitution is taken to the people in a referendum and
labour, the opposition together with civic organisations mobilise the electorate to
reject it because allegedly it confers too much power on the president but really
because of the ‘no compensation for land compulsorily acquired for settlement “
clause in the constitution.

 2000 February realising the near success of the landed white class in derailing the
land redistribution by using political parties they funded and helped to found,
Veterans of Zimbabwe’s 2nd. Cimurenga and landless peasants occupied white owned
farms and forced government to make appropriate legislation to fast track land
distribution – The Land Acquisition Act 2000.

 200 June in parliamentary elections the new party almost upset the ruling ZANU(PF)
party and wins 57 seats to 63 for ZANU PF.

 2000/2001 the opposition near success gives impetus to Britain to ostracize the
Mugabe regime and begins to talk about regime and forces its friends to impose
sanctions on Zimbabwe to ruin the economy in order tomake the electorate vote him
out of power. Inflation rises steadily and local white employers on the whole do
everything to arm twist the electorate to vote Mugabe out of power.

 2002 Presidential elections are won by the ZANU PF candidate and the MDC refuses
to concede defeat or to recognize the new government and goes to caught to challenge
the election results and alleges intimidation vote rigging etc.

 2003 the nation is in a political stalemate with threaten invasion from Britain and
America and court challenges to the presidency continuing and the opposition top
leadership is arrested and taken to court for trying to assassinate the president.

 2004 The 2003 scenario continues but inflation begins to fall and a general optimistic
expectation pervades the nation as preparation and campaigning for the 2005
gubernatorial elections get underway.

ZIMBABWE HERITAGE

The heritage of any nation is based on that nation’s enduring political tradition. In the
USA, the national heritage is a deep rooted political legacy born out of the war and
rebellion against Great Britain and this is embodied in the term REPUBLICANISM. The
French, who are fiercely proud of their heritage, have the French revolution which
climaxed in the storming of the Bastille palace and the slaughter of the nobility as their
national heritage. Similarly, the young nation of Zimbabwe has the ethos of the second
Chimurenga as the national and enduring political tradition. The second chimurenga
ethos embodies political, cultural as well as economic principles which define and

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continue to sustain us as a nation. To destroy any nation, all one has to do is undermine
that nation’s heritage hence the continuing psychological war by the enemies of
Zimbabwe to distort and demonize not only the second chimurenga war but those who
participated in that war and especially the heroic leaders of that struggle.

A heritage can be defined as an enduring legacy, a definitive event, achievement,

tradition or theory to which the peoples of a specific nation rally around, and have
emotional attachments and for which they are prepared to defend and to go to war if
threatened or violated.

SOCIAL and CULTURAL HERITAGE

Culture in Zimbawe reflects the major ethnic and tribal groups in the society The
demographic statistics show that the people of Shona extraction constitute about ninety
percent of the population with the Ndebele at 2.5%, Tonga, Venda, Kalanga, Cewa
Nambia, Shangaan and other smaller groups constituting about 7%. The white population
has dwindled to less than o.1% of the population. Inspite of their small number the
Ndebele influence on culture is fairly strong not only on the smaller groups but has
rubbed on to the Shona tribes adjacent to them. The reverse is also quite true. Culture is
dynamic. As a result it is a correct generalization that there is such a thing as African
culture in Zimbabwe as opposed to European culture. There are at most only variations in
customs among the various African groups in Zimbabwean society but the customs are
either the same or closely resemble each other. Zimbabwean African culture has the
following major elements;

-Nuclear or extended family

- recognition and respect for age, parents and authority.

- Respect for hard and honest work .

- acceptance of good morals in terms of dress, sex, and marriage .

There has however been a strong negative influence due to the mass media on the African
culture in Zimbabwe. Television radio and the print media have done much harm in
undermining the superior African culture by encouraging foreign tastes and habits in
terms of diet, dress, the family, marriage, sex and the extended family. The first culprit
has been the African family with divorce (unknown and unthinkable in pure African
culture) wrecking many families. Disease due to sex before marriage and prostitution has
grown to pandemic levels especially AIDS related ailments. The white mans’
consumption or spending patterns have also spread among young Zimbabweans and they
are finding the extended family unbearable. Greed and exclusiveness are the hallmarks of
the white mans’ culture and this is spreading fast among urbanized Africans. Unlike the
white person in Zimbabwe, the African does not have sufficient expendable cash and
as a result debt and unfulfilled desires and wants are making the lives of many
Zimbaweans miserable.

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African culture remains the superior culture in that it keeps society and the nation
cemented. Moreover such social ills as prostitution, pandemics, street kids, crime and
political opportunism( kutengesa nyika ) because of greed would be non existent. All
these ills are a result of lack of self respect and lack of personal identity due to wanting to
be a white person eg. Michael Jackson who straightens his nose or an African woman
who wears false hair extensions to look like a Caucasian or preferring to speak in a
foreign language and not vernacular..

The legacies we have as Africans in terms of diet are also unchalengable in that
traditional diet consisting of small grains legumes and African fruits, vegetables and nuts
naturally prevent such diseases as obesity/kusimba - a common feature of most urbanized
woman and the major cause of high blood pressure, hypertension, osteoporosis and
infertility.

In medicine, traditional herbs and a good diet remain undoubtedly the panacea for a long
healthy life and the solution to such problems as AIDS more so than condoms.

Marriage and the family are the economic base of any society and nation. Premarital sex,
divorce and sex for money and perversions such as lesbianism homosexuality, drug
taking including alcohol directly attack and undermine the family and as such society. A
multiplicity of sexual partners before marriage will always lead one to either multiple sex
partners in marriage or lack of satisfaction with one partner in marriage.

In religion opinions vary but the facts remain. In African culture the fundamentals of
Christianity are firmly embedded. Respect for age, parents and authority, good morals
that is no fornication or adultery no perversion that is no homosexuality, taking care of
the needy etc. are biblical positions that remain unchangeable. In short the white mans’
culture is not only incompatible with Christianity, it is in fact the antithesis and a direct
attack on everything Godly, that is , it is devilish.. The problem between African religion
and Christianity is not lack of morals in African religion, but methods of accessing God
or worship. Indeed this writer is convinced there is lots of superstition with respect to
methods of worship in African religion in as much as most main line and emerging
Christian churches are thoroughly paginated. It is only right and good therefore to
promote and maintain our morally superior culture while adopting correct Christian
methods of worship.

Our religious inheritance will therefor remain for all time our good cultural values or
morals .

The values of any society therefor serve to define that society’s identity. History has
much been distorted by painting the African culture as irreligious to the extent that it is
almost the accepted value among most young Zimbaweans to be immoral because a
White Christian has an immoral value or practice for an example walking naked or partial
naked in public despite the fact that this violates Christian principles. The Black person
should there for not use the Whiteman’s values, or morals or immorals as the case may be
as the reference point for good or bad values but should use traditional practice as the
point of departure and compare that with biblical principles which remain unchanging

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Our values as Africans clearly identify and portray us as a people who shun immorality
graft corruption and laziness. We respect family and authority and hard work. We believe
in God and we have no room for atheism in our culture.

The second chimurenga also defines our political and economic values. At the economic
level the legacy of the second chimurenga and our heritage from that event is that the
resources that are God given belong to Zimbabweans irrespective of race or creed or
tribe. Thus the land as resource number one belongs to all Zimbabweans. White
Zimbabweans with very negligible exceptions believe that land and all ill gotten gains
from the international crime of colonialism and accompanying ethnic cleansing and
segregation are legitimately and exclusively the property of those former criminals.
Whites do not want to share our land with us . We have said we will equitably share our
land with whites and that remains and will always remain the Zimbabwean African’s
morally right and correct position. Any so called Zimbabwean therefor of any race who
departs from this position is not only a threat to the interests of the Nation, but is in effect
and in essence declaring that the second chimurenga was not won and lost, that is, won
by the Africans in Zimbabawe through much blood and joy, and lost by settler
colonialists through by much blood and tears. It amounts to a declaration of war.

Through hard work and self- sustaining economic policies, Zimbabweans with land
firmly in their hands, can engage other nations at the economic level and benefit from the
comparative advantages we have in terms of skilled disciplined labour, good climate, an
abundance of minerals and varied flora and fauna - domestic and wild. Economic activity
therefor should benefit Zimbabweans first and foremost and this should happen through
an internal driven economic programme and not one that is externally driven. Political
liberation simply relates to universal common suffrage being available to all citizens.
This was gained fully at Lancaster as manifested in the result of the 1980 elections and
subsequent elections whether presidential or gubernatorial. Such a gain is hollow and
empty and absolutely useless if it is not used to bring about economic emancipation.
Political emancipation there for leads to and of necessity must lead to economic
emancipation. This has eluded not only Africa but most of the former colonies through
the practice of neo colonialism by the former colonizers and the USA and most of the
developed world. The war for economic emancipation is the last war and it is the most
difficult war in that it is now being fought at the psychological level through global
media houses and the agency of corrupted local comprador/reactionary/collaborator
journalists who raise and imagine and publish false notions of the freedoms of
expression assembly and association. This leads to people as it were shooting themselves
in the foot because they through a corrupted democracy – one in which the voters’
perceptions have been warped in favour of their colonisers - vote into power those who
perpetrate their economic subjugation. The battle for perceptions is an unfair war, and it
is most cruel and criminal because of the open aggression through demands made on
former colonies under the guise of human rights.

At the political level the second chimurengas’ heritage is that as a people we are
sovereign and can determine our own destiny without outside interference and through
democratic processes designed to safeguard our hard won independence. (see governance
under legal and parliamentary affairs.)

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National resources.

Zimbawe is endowed with many natural resources which in certain instances places the
nation on the strategic resources map of the world.

Land

Zinbabwe’s land mass is about - million square miles and has a very conducive climate
being neither too hot nor too cold and has an average rainfall of about 1500 ml.

Minerals

Zimbabwe has the following minerals; chrome, iron, coal, gold, copper, tin, emeralds.
Diamonds, platinum nickel.

Our Chrome, platinum, nickel and coal reserves are of global strategic importance
because they are ranked in the top five in terms of quantity and quality. Unfortunately
control of these minerals is still in foreign hands and as a nation we also are not yet
adding value to them.

Wild life

The three major game parks in Zimbabwe are second to the combined Kenyan and
Tanzanian wild life population of the Serengeti game park. The big five wild game –
elephant, buffalo, giraffe, lion and rhino are more abundant in our game parks than in any
other park in the world..

People

With a population of about 14 000 000 people Zimabwe is still sparsely populated
considering that our land mass can sustain seventy million people with optimal economic
utilization. The plus about this population is its literacy levels –about 87% and its varied
skills base from which even the most advanced nations are tapping into. Through many
tricks especially after the 2000 parliamentary elections, the Western countries have not
rested in trying to spark a civil war in Zimbabwe which they will use as a pretext to
directly interfere in the politics of this nation. Thatchell the infamous homosexual has
been quoted as saying that he is not only organizing but sponsoring a group consisting of
personnel in Zimbabwes’ armed forces and in the diaspora to militarily bring about an
end to the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. The West Minister Foundation And even much
earlier the Heritage Foundation a USA right wing organization are trying and had tried to
use opposition parties in Zimbabwe to engage the Zimbabwean armed forces . On the
whole the people of this nation have refused to be used in this very destructive and
dangerous way and have democratically expressed their wishes at the polls. The people of
this nation save those who pipe and beat the drum of this nation’s enemies remain
resolutely united in the face of an unprecedented onslaught from Europe and the USA. o

NATIONAL SYMBOLS.

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The National Anthem

Born and inspired by the war of liberation, the national anthem is as it were the rallying
point of the nation. Authored by Professor Mutsvairo, it describes and narrates in a few
words our origins, history, beliefs and aspirations.

The National Flag

The national flag represents state wood and together with the court of arms they are the
official and visible tokens of the state and its authority and existence. The flag is also a
product of the war of liberation. The red star represents our socialist ideals and the
Zimbabwe bird proudly points back to our distant origins and prowess as a people and
nation in antiquity among the great civilizations of the world. The white background on
which the above two are superimposed represents our desire for peace and tranquility
within and without. The red stripes symbolize the blood of the heroes who died liberating
the country, yellow our mineral resources, green our flora and fauna and black the
indigenous African natives of this nation. It is incumbent upon every Zimbabwean and
any foreigner on our soil to acknowledge our statehood by standing at attention when the
flag is lowered where ever and what ever one is doing. Standing at attention is not a
religious act as some over zealous and misguided so called Christians think. Kneeling or
bowing down in reverence is a religious act reserved for God that is why Shadrech and
his other two friends were thrown in a furnace. Nowhere in Christian writing is standing
erect an act of worship or homage. It would be only right and fair to refuse to kneel to
the flag for every Christian. It is only right and fair for every Christian to stand erect in
recognition not homage of those who rule them.

The Great Zimbabwe monument.

Located near Masvingo town , it represents unparalleled architectural design and

construction and stands as a direct insult to those who have ridiculed Africans of
possessing no scientific psychological make up or achievements or capability. It was used
as a palace and a temple by the kings of the great Zimbabwe period and latter dynasties.

The Victoria Falls.

A natural geological formation from years of erosion, the feature has few rivals if any and
has water plunging a hundred meters forming thunder and mist from which its more
appropriate Tonga names is derived from –mosi a-tunya the smoke that thunders. It is the
nation’s prime tourist resort attraction.

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Disasters

As technology has advanced so has disasters or accidents associated with it and at

the same time what appears to be natural disasters have also increased. Management
of these disasters has become a major science and the role of each citizen in disasters
has become an imperative. Major disasters can be listed as,

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-disease pandemics eg. AIDS, SARS and Ebola

-Floods as a result of unusually high rainfall due to industrialization or broken dam

walls

-Drought due to changing weather patterns as a result of industrialization.

-Accidents at the work place e.g. airplane crashes, gas leaks, nuclear contamination.

etc.

-Earthquakes.

 Disease management is first and foremost an individual responsibility. Correct

dietary and sexual habits are the first front line. Each individual is a national
resource and eating junk food or recklessly imbibing in drugs or alcohol destroys
that line as much as taking irresponsible and immoral sexual behavior like sex
before marriage or infidelity within marriage. With infectious diseases, each
individual should take note and report any suspected infections and quarantine
self or the affected victim.

 Floods, earthquakes and workplace disasters require the nation to rally behind
those affected by donating food and clothes and shelter. It is also necessary to
avoid flood and quake prone areas and to take heed to quake or flood warning.

 Industrial accidents are a manmade problem which require social responsibility

to minimize the risks. There is no such thing as safe technology. The issue at
stake is risk minimization and management.

 Droughts have always been there before the white man’s agriculture and
especially exotic crops such as maize. Despite droughts, Africa was not found
unpopulated as a result. A banana plant does not grow in Gokwe as naturally as it
does in Rusitu valley in as much as maize thrives in Peru but is prone to drought
in Zimbawe. Maize is a stock feed that grows well in its homeland in South
America but is prone to drought in Zimbabwe. On the other hand small grains
thrive in Zimbabwe and are highly nutritious for humans. The paradigm shift in
our dietary habits will go a long way towards national food self sufficiency
because eventually sooner rather than latter even irrigated crops will fail when
there is no flow in the dams. There is no other credible long lasting solution to
drought at the family or national level than reverting to the small grains.

 :In defense of the Nation

 All stable nations thrive on patriotism. Patriotism relates to each citizen’s ability
to identify with his nation by being able to distinguish between party political
issues and national issues. Sovereignty, land and defending the nation are not

39
 party political issues but national issues to which every real Zimbabwean must
stand up in defense.

Patriotism means ;

- Defending the nation physically and in armed combat when called upon to do so by
the authorities in power or individually when the situation so demands like in the case
of unilateral superpower attack.

- Defending the nation through positive publicity. The nation’s greatest and most
potent enemy today is the one amongst us who agrees to spread falsehoods about the
nation’s politics and economy. Other than the dissident menace, Zimbabwe has been
the most peaceful nation at par with countries like Botswana and Namibia.

- Supporting the nation through correct tax payments

- Practice environmentally friendly practices e.g. avoiding littering, pollution etc.

- Preserve the national asset that is oneself by avoiding graft, crime, corruption, greed
and harmful behavior such as premarital sex, drug abuse etc..

- Respect and tolerate other races, tribes, religions opinions and beliefs.

- Cherish unity in diversity among the various stake holders in spite of differences in
approaches.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROLEMS FACED BY ZIMBABWE SINCE 1980

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

 Need to develop rural areas to stop rural-urban drift and to correct a hundred years of
colonial rule.

 Redirect economic priorities to serve the whole population rather than a small white
section of the population.

 Bring health. Education, and shelter to all Zimbabweans.

 Recurring drought - 1983, 1992, 1997, 2002 as it negatively affects the national
economy and agricultural production.

 Deal with unfavourable terms of trade.

 Stop the shrinking in the economy and reverse growing unemployment.

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 Resolve inflation and the Devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar against major
international currencies

 Gradual increase in prices of basic commodities due to speculation and profiteering.

 Falling commodity prices in the international market.

 Dis investment due to a more vigorous indegenisaion economic approach.

 Political interference in the nation’s politics through the sponsoring and creation of
opposition parties with a foreign agenda..

 The brain drain

 Corruption

 Decline in moral values leading to AIDS

HOW THE GOVERNMENT HAS SOLVED THESE PROBLEMS

 Drought in Zimbabwe has been partly alleviated by importing grain from abroad and
construction of dams and also creating grain strategic reserves seeds packs given to
peasants to help them recover from droughts. Of major importance has been the
redistribution of land and reducing pressure in the congested rural areas and settling
people in areas with fertile soils and high rainfall.

 The Ministry of Employment Creation and indegenisation have gone some way in
creating employment.

 Externally originated and driven economic policies have been abandoned in favour
of home grown solutions

 Profiteering and speculation which fueled inflation have been checked gradually
restoring sanity to the financial sector.

 ESAP has been abandoned by the government and attention has been redirected to the
East Asian economies to encourage investment and cooperation..

 SADC and COMESA Union trade arrangements have been adopted to encourage an
increase in international trade.

 However, Zimbabwe has not managed to solve all problems.

 Cost sharing in Education and Health have been instituted to alleviate spiralling
costs..

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 Indigenisation, affirmative action, creation of SEDCO, The Land bank land
redistribution etc have all gone a long way towards alleviating the unemployment
problem.

 New monetary policies together with an anticorruption drive has seen inflation
decreasing slowly but gradually.

 Reawakening of the peoples’ moral values and their culture as a solution to

decreasing and ultimately wiping out STDs and AIDS infection.

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