Common Misconceptions and Their Realities of Zimbabwe

So I’ve been thinking about some of the misconceptions that people in and outside of Zimbabwe that they have and their realities. This is my own opinion before you try lynch me. So here goes nothing… or something…

MisconceptionEconet is the largest and best network in Zimbabwe


Reality – They are the largest probably in terms of market penetration. Most people have at least two or three even econet sim cards. I have two. However Econet have a blatant habit of stealing your calling airtime/credit. In fact one of my cousins put money on his phone and they took it without him making any phone calls or browsing the internets. He called customer services and they told him they were processing the refund. That was three months ago. They had stolen a total of USD$1. They also were taking money from people for one of their random side products and telling people that they had to opt out. So you are going to take my money and tell me its my fault for not refusing the product. I should be able to opt in if I am interested, not have to opt out. They also love spamming me. I don’t know about the other people on this rather crappy network. Below is an example of their spamming me… even when I tell them to stop they keep doing it.

4 1 2 3

Check out the date stamps of HOW OFTEN they were messaging me. Like what the actual fuck.

Apart from being spamaholics they don’t offer anything in return for the airtime that people load up. Now Telecel on the other hand is a proper mobile network. They don’t spam me, their network coverage may not be as wide as Ecocrap, but once a month if I load up USD$5 on my phone, I IMMEDIATELY get USD$5 cross network… for free. Furthermore for the rest of the month everytime I load up USD$1, I get USD$1 cross net. So if you wanna continue getting your money stolen from you, go for it. #TellSomeone

Misconception – Zimbabwe has the most corrupt Government in the World

Reality – All governments around the world have corrupt people in them. The level of corruption is relative to the countries. Sometimes it is a little ignored if the basic services that the nation require are being met, then it’s not as bad. There is no such thing as a corruption free government in the world. However the government here in Zimbabwe is very good at showing you the finger while doing it. Not all of the guys in the government are corrupt. There are a few who are actually honest and try and do their job more than anything else. Then you have the Minister of Water and Environment or something like that who is building a 50 room mansion. Really? You have cabinet ministers who decide they need new Discovery 4’s at the cost of around USD$1.6million, but now civil servants bonus’ have been cancelled for the next two years. Their acts of corruption are literally heroic. Nothing happens to them. Unlike normal countries if a member of the government is caught doing something shady, they step down. Here, they simply carry one.

One of the most laughable situations I must say is a few years ago there was a big drive to indigenisation. The government wanted organisation to try and cede 51% to local individuals. A company called Brainworks was set up to try and help organisations restructure to meet this target. The company would take a fee for helping the organisation meet the target, Brainworks was set up by the now Minister of Water and Environment. Fishy….

Misconception – Zimbabweans are happy people

Reality – We are. We are still trying to be. We never used to complain as much as we do now. We are not burying our heads in the sand as much. We aren’t as hopeful either. We still smiling. We are fortunate probably because of our stoicism. Otherwise I think we would have burnt half of Harare down. So I guess we are kinda happy. But happiness is relative. My happiness is different to the street vendors happiness.

Misconception – Zimbabwe is a beautiful country

Reality – It is a beautiful country as long as you stay outta the urban areas INCLUDING our capital city. Rubbish is an eyesore as refuse collection is all but non existent, they are various burst pipes that can be found not spewing out water but spewing forth sewerage. So it is beautiful if you avoid some of the urban areas. Otherwise there are a lot of rocks, trees and mountains… and wildlife


Author: ensigntongs

Husband, dog owner (two dogs), music junkie, electro jiving, movie loving, beer liking, "alternative", fun loving, carefree, occasionally hangry, PS3 addict, funky house head bopping, willing zombie response team member, whiskey drinker, conspiracy theorist, android loving, Kenny Rogers respecting, life and fun loving member of planet earth! I am also a construction professional currently working for a property developer as a project manager.

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