Tendai Ruben Mbofana
These were usually cars, buses, and trucks (lorries) – with the most popular amongst us being the first two.
As much as we also loved those toys bought for us by our parents from the shops, our favorite were the ones we made for ourselves using wires.
In spite of the various amazing shapes, sizes, and designs in which those manufactured by toy companies were – the best, we always felt, were the product of our own hands.
They made us not only feel immensely proud and satisfied with these wire vehicles, but the driving experience was next to none – due to the long steering wheels and how we could maneuver them in all types of terrain.
Further to the joy and enthusiasm was the fact that these designs were our very own creations – bringing out the imaginative and creative side within us.
To cap it all off, whenever these ‘vehicles’ were involved in some mishap or accident, we needed not worry – as we were able to readily fix any problems, or even dismantle the entire thing and create something completely new.
The experience was so realistic that we actually believed we were driving real cars, buses, and trucks.
We genuinely felt that we had our own cars or were drivers of busses and trucks – a dream most of us harbored at that age.
Nonetheless, in all this ‘realism’ there was no denying it that it was all pretense and play.
Nothing was real.
These were just toys made out of wire.
I had the same thoughts today, as my mind was taken back to those joyful, innocent, and adventurous childhood years.
Yet, it was not due to a sense of nostalgia that these events were brought back into remembrance.
It was all as a result of gnawing unshakable frustration.
This was after I had spent hours unsuccessfully trying to open websites I wanted to browse, on top of repeatedly failing to send or receive emails.
Even uploading this article onto my blog has been a huge nightmare because of poor network.
In spite of Zimbabwe boasting of three mobile network operators – which were never shy of proudly showing off their presence in the country – it appeared as this was all a fallacy and sham.
I was reminded of the toy wire cars of our childhood.
It would seem the whole Zimbabwe story of a huge pretense, and nothing is truly real and genuine.
As the citizenry, we have conditioned ourselves into believing that Zimbabwe was a normal country, as every other on the planet – possessing all the things present and experienced elsewhere in the world.
Indeed, we can easily be counted amongst countries with internet and mobile communications connectivity, and we even have apps (applications) designed right here.
Additionally, we are home to a number of industries and companies that supposedly produce goods and services that are to be found in other nations.
Of late, there has also been a proliferation of so-called ‘malls’ – which, in Zimbabwe’s case, are effectively small shops stacked together in a building selling more or less identical products – most commonly clothing and basic household wares.
Who would not think our country was just like the rest of the world?
Nonetheless, as with the wire toy vehicles – despite the façade of reality – this is all fake.
I have already touched on the poor and always appalling internet and mobile communications connectivity.
In addition, the goods we are buying from these mushrooming ‘malls’ are largely below standard and never last for long, that is, if they function as claimed at all.
It is never shocking buying a shirt, pair of trousers, or shoes that tear, or fade, or wear out after only a few washes or weeks of wearing.
Even established local industries and companies have become notorious for manufacturing attractive looking goods – which hardly live up to expectations due to shoddy and half-baked workmanship.
Irrespective of endless promises and assurances of these products’ claimed ‘high quality’, that is seldom the case.
It is even worse for our SME (small to medium enterprises) sector – who, in attempt to strobe the torrid economic times in the country – have resorted to operating all manner of so-called ‘home industries’.
A few weeks ago, my mother was involved in a minor car accident, after which we took her vehicle to a local panel beater.
To say we were terribly disappointed with the dreadful job would be an understatement – which was largely on account of the panel beater’s lack of proficiency as well as the absence of relevant tools and equipment.
This extends to the construction sector – where quite a significant portion of the country’s infrastructure built in the recent past is all sub-standard and deplorable.
In fact, whenever there are adverse weather conditions – such as heavy storms, strong winds, or floods – the most negatively affected are those buildings, bridges, and roads constructed over the past few years.
As if to validate my assertion, a bridge built only five ago in Cyclone Idai-affected Chimanimani is reported to already be cracking and posing a danger to motorists and other travelers.
In my small town of Redcliff, a light rainfall is more than enough to cut off electricity supplies!
We can even return to the world of technology – where those apps designed in Zimbabwe never seem to do what they are meant to do – which seemingly bring out error messages at every click.
All these issues subsequently point to the country’s economy – which has been in the intensive care unit for over two decades.
In other words, our economy is a huge fraud!
No wonder we can even pretend Zimbabwe actually has a currency of its own – yet never able to purchase anything (due to its rabid depreciation) and can not be exchanged in any foreign bank for other currencies.
Over the years, we have convinced ourselves that we are in a normal country with normal goods and services comparable with the rest of the world.
However, that is far from the truth.
We are living a fantasy and delusion.
Zimbabwe is nothing more than a car made of wire!
One day, this reality will hit us like a ton of bricks when it all comes crumbling down.
- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: http://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
Ask Rutendo, he’ll beg to differ..in his view Zimbabwe is now like a Rolls-Royce that’s getting a buff and polish ready to shine.
Reuben gets it sometimes, but misses it most of the time. There’s this naive, outmoded Salisbury boy that just won’t leave his psche. Maybe it was that plane ride to Australia that permanently displace his thinking. A very reductive, sad guy.