CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY

CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY

PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY NEWS ‘Livestock Markets’ by Muhle M. Masuku 02/10/11

Most institutions in the livestock industry are suffering from chronic amnesia, confirmed by a dichotomy that exists between the previous and current way of doing things. Indeed, organisational culture has been seriously eroded, itself being ‘the set of shared, taken for granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about and reacts to its various environments’ (Schein, 1966)

I believe values, ethics, rituals, customs, ideology and norms collectively form an organisational conscience. Employees tape into this conscience to keep them in line with the organisational goals.    

The livestock industry was not spared; firstly, the post independence era saw scores of whites leave abruptly and secondly, the land redistribution exercise that had the same effect and thirdly, the recent economic down turn that saw massive brain drain to the diaspora.

A FAO text says, particularly in its early days, Zimbabwe faced some fairly serious problems, especially the loss of experienced staff between 1981 and 1985. As a result, both institutional memory and technical expertise in dealing with farmers were lost. This was compounded by the arrival of new staff who had limited practical knowledge of dealing with farmers and providing technical expert advice.

The problem resurfaced again in the last decade. In a recent interview, the Matebeleland North Provincial Agricultural and Extension Officer, Mr. Dumisani Nyoni mentioned what I feel resonates with all agricultural institutions that “Staff exodus due to economic meltdown and political instability robbed AGRITEX of its technical expertise and institutional memory. Agricultural colleges produce agricultural scientists largely equipped with biological sciences and not extension work. As students, they don’t learn the sociology, philosophy and psychology of the farming communities, subjects they only come across during in-service training.”
He reiterated that practice is the best teacher and that it takes four to five years to produce a mature Agricultural extension worker. Therefore it follows that millions of dollars are lost through paying unproductive personnel, largely due to inexperience and lack of mentorship at the workplace. I can confirm that some radarless institutions are just perambulating without any set goals, operating like misguided missiles endangering the lives of internal and external publics, reminiscent of the Shakespearian ‘meteors of a troubled haven.’ There is a leadership crisis at various levels of agricultural institutions. Surely henceforth, we need definite institutional directions lest we continue in this disastrous course.

A large contingent of experienced managers, officers and even general hands were hoodwinked into believing that the grass is always greener across the borders, and today are scavenging and believe me, ready to catch the first flight, at the slightest hint of a job back home. The most effective speech is not a sermon but a witness, so take it from me because I have been there.

Our hats-off to the Ministry of Education that took back its very own, without a question and it doesn’t surprise me coming from the fountain of knowledge. I would love to see this ministry infect other ministries with this rare wisdom to save some institutions from imminent dearth.

Many institutions are set on rediscovering the wheel, committing millions of dollars to known errors. Everything is in our hands and it is up to us to take positive or negative choices. Like the Ministry of Education, we must swallow our pride and choose options that would diminish any shame to our beloved country. Surely a positive choice would bring joy and a constructive contribution to our society. By contrast, we have damned the positives and chosen the negative, thus steering this country to a palpable discomfiture.

We can not rid ourselves of this scourge unless we go back down memory lane to reconnect and only then, can we clear our foggy lenses for a better world view. We must avoid the temptation of underestimating the seriousness of problems in the livestock industry, even if they appear small today. Problems are like a pregnancy. They will grow till they are obvious to everyone; by then people will be completely disempowered and hungry. A hungry man is an angry man.   

There is no substitute for experience. Indeed, there is no way a house built on sand can withstand the test of time. Emuva kuphambili, kusasa kuyizolo (tomorrow is built today).

  

I am humbled by some messages that urge me on, thank you.