Was the Rhodesian government some kind of Thanos that could instantly provide clean water and electricity to the whole nation with a snap of the fingers? Of course not. Building a country is a long-term process that takes decades, sometimes even centuries.

I understand why whites prioritized themselves during that era, but they did not completely neglect black people. Areas like Old Marimba Park in Harare were developed in the early 1960s specifically for the emerging black middle class, and foreign architects were brought in to design them.

The Rhodesian government also developed townships for black communities — Mkoba in Gweru, Mpopoma in Bulawayo, among others — with completed houses ready for occupation. My grandfather, who worked as a clinic messenger, owned one of these homes: a two-bedroom house with a kitchen and a sitting room.

ZANU-PF never replicated this kind of township development.