The Sunday Mail
THE challenging economic times we are living in are such that an ordinary person would have to borrow to pull through.
No matter how thin, fat, tall or short one is, borrowing is like a small cross each and everyone would have to carry for much of their life.
People’s hands have become too short and pockets too deep such that they need help to be able to pay for things they need or those that appeal to them.
Described in various lingo such as “kukwereta”, “kuronzerwa”, “chikwereti,” “balance of payment support”, “chikwembe,” “chikwembaldo or “gwemblaz”, debts are what most people or companies are currently swimming in at the moment.
Our reasons for borrowing, however, differ.
Some people borrow out of need, while others do so just for the sake of it.
Well, there are some people who find themselves on loan sharks’ doorsteps to get large sums of money just to keep up appearances.
It is not unusual, gentle reader, to get a hard and persistent knock from a distressed neighbour during witching hours.
“Sorry to trouble you, Sir. My son is very sick. Can you lend me $100 to buy medication? I will square you as soon as I get paid because it is just two weeks before I get paid,” is a common line you hear from people in the ghetto.
Some will exert so much pressure to wring cash from you that they can even follow you to church.
“I am sorry for having to disturb you this much. A troubled soul is restless. My wife has fallen sick and is at the point of death. I just need a thousand bucks to take her to the doctor. I have no one else to turn to and please do not turn your back on me. Please, please, please,” they will tell you using your clan name and totem, even when you never at any point volunteered this information to them.
Women, too, are notorious for borrowing household provisions like maize-meal, cooking oil, soap and even vegetables from each other.
Some women in communities in which we live are well-known for always being in need of assistance from others.
Living next door to such characters is as if you would have committed a crime.
They will use every trick in the book to get something from you even when they have not paid back what they previously borrowed.
It can be worse if you are well-heeled and don swanky apparel.
Such characters will be on your doorstep whenever they have been invited to a party, wedding or social gathering looking for clothes to look dapper at these events.
In the ghetto, it is not unusual to be visited by a neighbour who somehow only discovers that she has run out of maize-meal while cooking.
“Ndapota vasikana ndiwedzereiwo hupfu hushoma sadza rangu raramba kukora (Can I have a bit of maize-meal to thicken my sadza),” they will tell you while feigning a smile on an expectant face.
People who rear chickens always have to contend with neighbours and relatives who take the birds on credit to satisfy their craving for a salty chew in these trying times.
But borrowing is not limited to women.
Men are also notorious for borrowing just for the sake of it.
A good number of them borrow to please their friends.
In fact, they borrow to be able to buy friends another round of beer.
They do so frequently that they end up owing lots of money to so many people.
Some guys end up in debt after stupidly borrowing money from a loan shark known to them on behalf of a friend.
They can also borrow to please a new woman in the neighbourhood, but wait until their amorous overtures have been spurned to see how they can be sore losers.
So many things are being bought on credit these days.
Women of easy virtue also offer their services on credit, but if you fail to pay on the agreed date, the whole neighbourhood will be given graphic details which you would ordinarily want to keep private.
Igombototo nemashura ezviratidzo.
Younger guys have often landed themselves in trouble after being involved in accidents with vehicles they have borrowed to impress women they will be chasing after. Borrowing has become a way of life for most people.
For others it is a lifestyle.
They borrow money from three friends today and borrow from another trio when the debt is due tomorrow.
But this business of borrowing is not without its challenges.
It often results in physical confrontations when the borrower fails to pay back. There are characters who should never be lent any money because they end up beating you up for demanding that they pay you back.
Others have been turned into signposts whenever someone is looking for directions because of their predilection of not paying back whatever they borrow.
“Mukasvika pamba peuya wekusabhadhara zvikwereti munozongo verenga imba nhatu kurudyi, haiwa munenge matosvika,” you hear people say.
Inotambika mughetto.
