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By Tawanda Tamirepi
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history.
Rockefeller became the richest person in America, controlling 90% of all oil at his peak. Oil was used throughout the country as a light source until the introduction of electricity, and as a fuel after the invention of the automobile. Furthermore, Rockefeller gained enormous influence over the railroad industry which transported his oil around the country. Standard Oil was the first great business trust in the United States. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and, through corporate and technological innovations, was instrumental in both widely disseminating and drastically reducing the production cost of oil. Although his company and business practices came under criticism, Rockefeller remained the most remembered and celebrated philanthropist.
This Rockefeller narrative has taught me the importance of philanthropy and made me understand that there is always criticism whether one does good or bad. Today I want to talk about our own Rockefeller who is doing great things as far as philanthropy is concerned.
We have talented people in Zimbabwe who have the capacity to do wonders anywhere in the world but they lack motivation. A good example is our soccer players. Talented as they are, they are failing to raise the flag of our beloved country because they have no motivation.
Nevertheless, the grand entrance of Kuda Tagwirei into our local football has brought excitement and huge expectations. He has come at a time when our football was on the deathbed, with very little hope of ever reverting to the heydays of high morale and unwavering support on the part of the fans. Both the fans’ and the players’ morale was at the lowest ebb. It is a fact that the country’s two football clubs Dynamos and Highlanders were financially crippled. They were not able to pay the players and staff their salaries despite the skimpy nature of the same. Fortunately, these giants are now able to even buy foreigners and pay them handsomely, thanks to Sakunda’s mega sponsorship.
The mammoth sponsorship deal worth 5.3 million United States Dollars runs for three years and we all hope our football will improve. There will be stiff competition among our talented local players as they shall try to impress so that they end up playing for either Dynamos or Highlanders. Also, those that are currently playing for these giants will work hard to secure their positions. This will definitely change the complexion of our football. It was actually unbearable to see giants like Dynamos and Highlanders withering away in such unimaginable fashion. The morale was at its lowest ebb. Fortunately, Kuda Tagwirei has vowed to change all that and put Zimbabwean football back where it should be.
In life, every person needs the motivation to realize their full potential. The lack of motivation and reasonable sponsorship contributed to the decline of our football. I have been watching Dynamos and Highlanders before the Sakunda Sponsorship deal. You could see the level of demotivation as players displayed poor play. There was no commitment and the matches were very dull and ‘unwatchable’.
Interestingly, soon after the mega-deal, I witnessed momentous change. The morale was restored. The players’ confidence was also restored. The players are now a marvel to watch. All I can say is that football in our country has improved and it is showing signs of further improvement, thanks to Kuda Tagwirei’s lucrative deal.
We are now going somewhere as the nation in terms of football. We now have the capacity to attract foreign players. This has huge benefits economically and I will touch on the importance of football in scaffolding the economy at length in my next article. Football in developed countries scaffolds economies in various ways. I believe we are blessed as the country to have John D in form of Kuda Tagwirei.
When the country was totally under siege from Covid-19, Tagwirei played a very important role to save lives and indeed many lives were saved. Arundel Hospital has been giving out free medication. Many Covid-19 patients were treated and over 330 patients freely got services like X-Ray, CRT, and MRI scans. Furthermore, he donated over ZWL 200 million dollars for vaccines to help the country fight Covid-19.
Our John Davison Rockefeller has been building Churches in the country so that believers get places to worship. Many churches benefited and they are still benefiting from Tagwirei’s benevolence. He has been promoting the youths and capacitating them with much-needed skills to improve their lives. Many youths were helped to venture into sustainable businesses like farming, mining, and other income-generating projects which improve the lives of the youths in the country. He donated millions of dollars towards youth funds so that the youths who have their business ideas get funds. He also funded the Presidential heifer program in the country. This is the kind of empowerment our youths need to become productive. This has created employment.
Tagwirei himself came a long way. He tried every business including poultry at a very small scale, farming and he worked for local and international financial institutions. This has made him acquire business skills and knowledge which he used until he became who he is today. We draw a very important lesson from this: hard work pays off.
Knowing that ‘Blessed is the hand that giveth than that receiveth’, Tagwirei continues to uplift people including the disabled community. He has initiated interesting programs which have seen disabled people able to realize their full potential. Kuda doesn’t want to see people suffering. He doesn’t want to see the country sinking. We all know that the disability community has for a long time not been given the opportunity to fully realize their potential as well as participate in development processes. Fortunately, Tagwirei’s programs have given the citizens latitude to participate in nation building.
Tagwirei’s generosity has seen him empowering the youths, building the churches, sponsoring aspiring Members of Parliament as well as embarking on initiatives that propel the country’s economy. As a thinker, Kuda takes time before venturing into something. He is indeed a hard worker and an inspiration to many people. To be successful, you also need to take risks. Kuda himself is a risk-taker. Above all, he is a cheerful giver. I have learned a lot from this business mogul and I hope we will all learn.
Tawanda Tamirepi can be contacted at tanteminvestments@gmail.com