The Sunday Mail
Book Review
Edmore Zvinonzwa
For several years now, there has been scholarship on identity crisis and alienation but all the time there was very little from practical life situations than we see in The Loneliest African in Africa?, a book by Chivhu-based Macdonald Mamina.
Published by Planet Plus Sustainability Solutions, The Loneliest African in Africa? contains 12 short stories which address critical issues such as financial literacy, lifestyles and diets, environmental health, environmental pollution, governance as well as cultural awareness.
The author says the urge to write “The Loneliest African in Africa?” came when he did the Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
“After being exposed to massive burning of waste in Harare where I lived, I wrote the first story, ‘Who will fight for the people of Zimbabwe?’ in July 2017. The government responded positively by effecting the ban on kaylite use. Sustainable development is also in sync with our culture before colonisation. We lived in harmony with our environment. I began the journey of re-discovering my identity as an African, which I had also lost like the majority, culminating in the book The Loneliest African in Africa?.”
Mamina explores environmental pollution at length and spotlights the burning of plastics and kaylites, which has far-reaching repercussions on all life.
The 74-page book also contains key lessons on sustainable waste management, while at the same time criticising urban residents for not challenging local authorities when they fall short on this.
The author also takes a dig at manufactured foods which he argues have led to many illnesses in the world today. He instead is an admirer of natural foods.
“In addition to the poisonous wastes that we dump in the environment during the manufacture, use and disposal of a multitude of (unnecessary?) products, we get polluted by the food we eat and the beverages we drink on a daily basis. This pollution is exacerbated by the fact that we now live hurried lives and have lost interest in growing or cooking our own food and drink, we do not even care where our food comes from or how it is produced.” (p19)
Mamina is forthright and unwavering on his stance on some foods human beings consume regularly, well-knowing their side effects and their effect on human health. For instance, he writes:
“The unfortunate thing about food and beverages is that we take them so frequently that it becomes habitual and addictive to do so. … Even if we know that excess sugar is not good for our health, we justify our consumption of large amounts of sugar sweetened foods and drinks saying, ‘they are too sweet to resist’.” (p19)
He looks at issues like passive smoking, to which many innocent Zimbabweans are subjected in the public places they frequent but unfortunately those who smoke do not even consider the impact of the smoke they puff out to those who do not smoke.
Mamina explores the merits of Pfumvudza, despite the misinterpretations it has attracted as a result of the politicisation of the noble programme.
One of the things that Mamina does not subscribe to is the obsession with gathering material wealth. “One could argue that we are now addicted to acquiring more and more material possessions, and when we fail to do so, we become sad and depressed. Society, and the education system, has given a narrow definition of the things that are addictive: alcohol and drugs.” (p25)
Mamina looks at the tragedy that Africa went through in its history, from slavery to colonialism, arguing these left Africa poorer and their effects are still being observed today.
He makes reference to famous financial literacy writer Robert Kyosaki who defines an asset as something that brings money into one’s pocket and a liability as something that takes money away from the pocket. He advocates for marriages to bring together people who have financial literacy so that there will not be any squabbles in the home.
“In the capitalist world, decisions about money have to be made every day, and in a marriage … Conflicts over money make many couples unhappily hang on in their marriages, clutching their wallets closely and recounting their money every now and then.” (p4)
Macdonald is a holder of a BSc degree in Agriculture, Soil Science from the University of Zimbabwe and a Post Graduate diploma in Sustainable development from Stellenbosch. He has worked as a relief teacher, Soil Scientist at Addax Bioenergy in Sierra Leonne and Volta Limitada in Mozambique. He is currently based in Chivhu, Mashonaland East Province.
The Loneliest African in Africa?” − a must-read book − is currently available at National Gallery of Zimbabwe offices in Harare and Bulawayo, the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, Innov 8 outlets as well as Heritage bookshop while it will soon be available on Amazon.
