Perception Management

In order to escape my office I regularly do airport transfers for our clients. Our clients are people from all over the world. They work for NGO’s and governments and visit Harare on certain “missions”; we have the occasional tourist and also business people who are sniffing out the opportunities Zimbabwe has to offer. They al have their own perceptions of Zimbabwe.

To simplify the issue of perception I have divided my clients in two categories: whites and non-whites.

Being a Dutch national, having been in Zimbabwe for 24 years, my European clients usually ask me why I am still in Zimbabwe. They sometimes find it quite mind-boggling that there are white people in Zimbabwe who have decided not to leave the country which not so long ago was labelled as part of the “axes of evil”. Throughout the years I have developed quite effective one-liners like: “The weather is better, there are no traffic jams and there is never a boring day in my life”. Being Europeans, striving for the ideal world, they do not give up and ask how you can possibly live happily in a country with political violence, corruption and ancient dinosaurs who will never give up power. “Because we do not solve problems, but we have learnt to live with them” is my standard reply , followed by my standard attempt to change to a less controversial topic, by asking “how are things in your country”? “, and they end up in a litany of complaints about their home country, making me feel convinced I made the right choice by staying here. I drop off the client who can start his mission with a cleared mind.

Our African clients have a different idea about Zimbabwe. The standard conversation starts with the client greeting me and asking about my welfare, then my response “it could be better”, followed by a 5-minute monologue which could be literally copied to a CNN advert promoting Zimbabwe.

“My good friend. You live in paradise! Tarred roads, wonderful gardens, Harare is clean, hotels are perfect, the people are friendly and highly educated. They work hard and are reliable. The weather is good, crime is low. What the hell are you complaining about?”. I have nothing to add, and again I am convinced I live at the right place.

The new minister of Tourism, Mr Walter Muzembi, went all over the world to change perceptions. He did away with the slogan “Zimbabwe, Africa’s Paradise”, and changed it to “Zimbabwe World of Wonders. Wow”, which was a good move, since we are indeed wondering how we survived the last 10 years of turmoil. I also proposed a slogan: “Zimbabwe, surprisingly better!”. The jury did not like it very much, “surprisingly better then whát?” they asked me, to which I replied: “their own perception”.