In an article published in the Sunday Mail On December 30, 2018, Zimbabweans are characterised as “gluttonous consumers”. This comes after there has been an outcry, especially across various social media platforms about the shortage of soft drinks over the festive period.
There is a tendency to overlook the success stories because they are ‘boring’ and rather focus on mundane things. Excerpts from the opinion piece read as follows
So Zimbabweans fretted and vented about the shortage of Coca-Cola over the festive season. Curiously, even grown-ups who found the funny side of it had to take to social media to cynically explain why the sugary water had become scarce. The symbolism is obvious: essentially, there is an attempt to explain the shortages within the context of a deteriorating economy.
There also seems to be a proud affirmation that Zimbabwe’s success story must be defined not so much by how much she produces, but essentially by what she eats and how much she eats.
Apparently, for many, it seems crucial issues such as changing weather conditions and their impact on local agriculture is not something worth discussing.
Even the miracles being performed by our small-scale miners through huge deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refiners is not the story for economists and analysts.
…. rather than see the rainbow, and the advances being made on many fronts, many have dug themselves into collective mourning. Sadly, our culture industry, especially the Zimbabwean Broadcasting Corporation, for one reason or the other, has miserably failed to align its storytelling capacity in ways that transform the national mindset.
Instead, doomsday leaders on social media and other communication platforms seem to be the ones directing the national mood.