By Luke Tamborinyoka
Dambudzo is the Shona word for misery or suffering. As a nation with a President called Dambudzo, it came as no surprise early this week when, for the third consecutive year, Zimbabwe was ranked the most miserable nation on earth.
According to Steve Hanke’s Annual Misery Index, which analysed 157 countries using metrics such as unemployment, inflation, bank lending rates, and percentage change in GDP to determine its rankings, Zimbabwe was, for the third year running, ranked the most miserable nation on the globe.
In the rankings of the most miserable countries on earth, Zimbabwe was followed by Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, and Sudan.
The index cited widespread corruption as one of the contributors to the country’s economic crisis. It also mentioned violence and poverty in Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabwe is marred in corruption. This has only activated a deepening economic crisis and its troubles don’t end there; violence is rampant and widespread, tens of thousands are descending into poverty”, making Zimbabwe the gloomiest nation on earth to live in.
But the misery rankings come as no surprise.
In April 2022, Zimbabwe was also ranked number 145 out of 146 on the happiness index, only above Afghanistan. The World Happiness Index Survey was done by Gallup poll ahead of the UN-designated International Day of World Happiness.
The irony is that for a country so rich in its vast mineral and other wealth, it remains hugely shocking that we would be ranked as the most miserable and unhappiest people on earth.
But then our wealth is being stolen by the political elite and their cronies as confirmed by corruption scandals such as the Gold Mafia scandal, ZECgate, Pomonagate, Goatgate, and many other scandals in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa himself and his family have been implicated.
As I have stated earlier, Dambudzo means misery. And perhaps the President, through this government-induced misery and unhappiness that has now made a global mark, is all out to prove the efficacy of his name!
Our misery and unhappiness, which have seen us top the league on this earth, are largely self-induced by dint of an avaricious and gluttonous political elite that has no concern whatsoever about the welfare of the citizens.
Yet, individually and collectively, no one in Zimbabwe wants to be miserable and unhappy, regardless of names that are suggestive of misery such as Dambudzo, Madzudzo and Shupikai.
Like every other people, Zimbabweans aspire for happiness.
Common names in every other family in this country include Fadzai, Farai, Thabani, Happymore, Thabiso, Njabulo, Jabulani, Rufaro, Lovejoy, Everjoy, Mufaro, Tafadzwa, Tafara, Happiness and Smiling.
All these names denote a yearning for joy and happiness that is deeply ingrained in the citizens of this country.
In fact, in other countries, the pursuit of happiness is a rallying clarion call that unites all their citizens.
We have seen it before that it is possible to bring back the lost laughter and the happiness to the country’s homes and the streets.
Zimbabweans are almost united on the sentiment that the era of the inclusive government did away with misery and managed to engender some semblance of happiness in this our troubled land.
Dear reader, I am not in any way calling for an inclusive government. Hell no. I am only saying with a caring leadership, it is possible to bring back the smiles on the miserable faces of Zimbabweans.
The song “Dollar for two Yakauya naTsvangirai” when Zimbabweans chorused that it was Morgan Tsvangirai who made basic services affordable is testimony to how Zimbabweans remember with nostalgia how the competent hand of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his new team in government brought some respite in their lives.
In the final analysis, when misery goes away and happiness engulfs a country and its people, the happiness goes beyond the kitchen where affordable food is cooked and prepared.
The happiness permeates to all rooms and sectors to spawn an unprecedented era of both production and reproduction.
Indeed, when misery goes away, happiness creeps even on the matrimonial bed!
Among my own immediate family members, we last saw sets of twins during that happy era of the inclusive government.
That is when Tinotenda and Tinovonga as well as Angela and Angel were added into the family.
But that’s a long gone era. All we can do now is to reminisce.
Dear reader, happiness is more than sensual pleasure. It is a state of mind.
Today, the country is saddled with huge challenges and the lot of Zimbabweans are an unhappy people.
A concept, happiness is multi-dimensional. But the pollsters in the 2022 happiness index that judged us an unhappy people looked at several categories including gross domestic per capita, social safety nets, life expectancy, freedom to make choices, generosity of the population and perception of internal and external corruption levels, among other factors.
Students of political science will recall that putting a premium on happiness has been with us for ages. It is an integral part of the political theory called utilitarianism, a political school of thought that emerged around 1786.
Utilitarianism is a theory of morality and politics that prescribes actions that maximise happiness and the well-being of the people.
Utilitarianism is consequentialist, which means it emphasizes ends over means, the end being happiness.
One of the well-known utilitarian theorists was Jeremy Bentham, who coined the phrase the greatest happiness to the greatest number.
The utilitarians introduced the notion of a felicific calculus because they believed happiness could be measured, which is why happiness continues to be measured to this very day.
But utilitarianism had its own fair share of critics who argued that happiness was a qualitative concept that could neither be measured nor quantified.
As a political theory, utilitarianism has its origins in the philosophy propounded by a Greek philosopher called Epicurus who believed that happiness was the ultimate human pursuit.
For Epicurus, the elements of happiness included tranquility, freedom from fear ( ataraxia ) and freedom from pain ( aponia ). Given the State-sanctioned violence that continues to reign in our country and has caused massive pain and fear among the populace, Zimbabwe remains a miserable and an unhappy nation even by the antiquated standards set out by Epicurus several centuries ago.
Mnangagwa will go down in history among those characters who squandered the goodwill initially accorded them by others.
After the atrocious years under former President Robert Mugabe, under whom Zimbabweans knew nothing except unhappiness especially in his latter years, everyone thought nobody could be worse than the old dictator from Zvimba.
But it turns out the coup in November 2017 was also a putsch of whatever remnants of happiness were left after the tenuous years of Robert Mugabe.
The recent reports of Zimbabweans being miserable and being among the unhappy people in the world come as no surprise.
Indeed, misery and unhappiness have engulfed every sector.
The teachers are not happy. The doctors and nurses are not happy.
The rest of the civil service, including our uniformed forces, are not happy. The war veterans are not happy. The ordinary citizens are not happy. The pensioners are not happy. The villagers in the countryside are not happy. Informal traders are not happy.
And we are all miserable and unhappy that we are unhappy.
The only happy people are the few at the very apex of the State and their associates of tenderpreneurs and oligarchs who include one Wicknell Chivayo and Kuda Tagwireyi, among a few more others. The rank-and-file in Zanu PF is miserable, like the rest of us.
Under ED’s so-called New Dispensation, we have plunged far below the happiness datum line. This is evidenced by the fact that high blood pressure and stress-related ailments have overwhelmed our equally ailing health institutions.
It is not uncommon to find or meet up with someone in the street engaging in a loud monologue as they ponder about this or that problem
Indeed, our happiness level has sunk to plumbing depths under Mr Mnangagwa.
No wonder we have officially become one of the most miserable and saddest people on the planet!
Conclusion– Happy Again
However, notwithstanding our now globally-acclaimed misery and sadness, we, the citizens of this great country, are determined to be Happy Again, to borrow a lyrical verse from Winky D.
I have no doubt in my mind that it is only a matter of time. But as a nation, we shall be happy again.
And this will certainly happen well within our lifetime!
Luke Tamborinyoka is a citizen from Domboshava. He is a journalist and a political scientist by profession. You can interact with him via his facebook page or his X handle @luke_tambo.
