Takudzwa Mazwienduna on Issues Facing Zimbabwe
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/01/26
Takudzwa Mazwienduna is a member of Young Humanists Zimbabwe. Here he talks about Young Humanists Zimbabwe.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How is the remote work and travelling schedule working for you, now?
Takudzwa Mazwienduna: It is very flexible, and there is a good work/ life balance. I love that I can manage to travel and experience different adventures, go to new places, meet new people and learn about new cultures, all while I work on my own time.
Jacobsen: What is the basis of the fictional book based on the exploration of the moral decay of religion in Africa today? I will add. It’s not simply Arab-Muslim colonial history and European-Christian colonial history. Even the earliest emancipated countries, like Ghana, are being attacked in a form of neo-colonial Christian evangelism, they’re targeting the legal system to enforce homophobic agendas, e.g., the Ugandan and Ghanaian anti-LGBTI+ bills.
Mazwienduna: The book looks into how authoritarianism is a feature of post colonial African culture, and explores how monotheistic, totalitarian religions like Christianity take advantage of this. The recent revelation of TB Joshua’s cult is very telling; a great example of how something like this plays out.
Jacobsen: What was the startup out of the State of Florida from the new girlfriend and you?
Mazwienduna: We run a Virtual Assistant company in the real estate industry remotely. We have real estate companies as clients who outsource their property management to us.
Jacobsen: How is Montenegro? I’ve never been there.
Mazwienduna: Montenegro is a very conservative country, but we like that it is very quiet. We haven’t stayed around much but we have set it as our primary base, buying property there has many benefits. On the 18th of this month we are flying to an island in the Philippines called Dumaguete. The last time we were there we were in Metropolitan Manila, an urban jungle. Now we want to explore island life, many digital nomads have recommended this for us.
Jacobsen: How long has the podcast been around now? What are some of the topics and themes covered for the secular and humanist audience of Zimbabwe in those media?
Mazwienduna: The podcast has been around for 3 months and they have covered secularism and cultural dynamics in Zimbabwe. The insights on that podcast are groundbreaking, and the podcast has the potential to become mainstream in the country. Zimbabwe is at a point where the majority of the population is ready to have these kind of discussions.
Jacobsen: Obviously, the biggest change is the development of Young Humanists Zimbabwe from the Humanist Society of Zimbabwe. What have been the main forms of collaboration and cooperation? Was the name change and incorporation to fit the name changes of IHEYO to Young Humanists International and IHEU to Humanists International? I noticed several organizations like this now. Ironically, Humanist Canada was already like this, or made its change before those others.
Mazwienduna: The original name of the Alliance was PICH Zimbabwe, but the we changed the name to align more with Humanists International.
Jacobsen: I like the idea of no particuclalry problematic issues for Zimbabwean secualrists other than cooperation as the mode now, especially as Uganda and Ghana have anti-LGBTI bills trying to be forced through their legislatures.
Mazwienduna: The Zimbabwean government is more concerned about the consolidation of power rather than persecuting minorities. The problems in Zimbabwe have more to do with politics and economics rather than secularism. The repressive laws that have been introduced in recent years like the Patriotic Act are mostly meant to discourage political opposition.
Jacobsen: I suppose the development of Zimbabwe and other countries will reflect the rest of the world now. Everyone simply competing for global intellectual talent, which, increasingly, is comprised of young highly educated, well-qualified women more than the men if simply taking the last couple decades of postsecondary institution attendance. What are the areas Zimbabwe most needs to catch up with the rest of the world?
Mazwienduna: I think cyber technology infrastructure is where Zimbabwe needs to catch up. As a remote worker, I could have stayed in Zimbabwe with a much lower cost of living, but that would be career suicide because there are 18 hour long power cuts everyday and the fastest internet is around 2mb/s. Zimbabweans are missing out on opportunities because of it.
Jacobsen: How is this flight of talent from Zimbabwe going to impact its economic and social development for the rest of the 2020s?
Mazwienduna: The flight of talent started in 2001 when our economy started going downhill after the famous land reform program. This accelerated the decline of the economy, and subsequently the standard of living. So it is not anything new to Zimbabwe, it has been going on for 22 years and the country has been rock bottom for a while because of it. Most Zimbabweans migrate to the UK, Australia and South Africa, and there have been huge Zimbabwean communities in these three countries since the early 2000s.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Takudzwa.
Mazwienduna: It’s always a pleasure Scott!
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