View source for Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo

{{Short description|Zimbabwean nationalist}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo (MK)
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo Indigenous Commercial Farmer.jpeg
| birth_name = Paul Mkondo
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1945|12|23}} {{Flag|Zimbabwe}}
| birth_place = Fort Victoria, [[Southern Rhodesia]] (now [[Masvingo]], [[Zimbabwe]])
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|05|09|1945|12|23}} {{Flag|Zimbabwe}}
| death_place = Avenues Private Hospital, [[Harare]] [[Zimbabwe]],
| resting_place = Toma Village, Chief Svosve, Hwedza, Mashonaland East.
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|18.6167|S|31.5667|E}} {{Flag|Zimbabwe}}.
| residence = Hwedza, Highfields, Old Marimba Park, Harare; Highlands, Harare; Inyatsi Farm, Mazowe.
| education = Chemanza Mission School, Wedza, Mashonaland East; Tegwani Mission (now Thekwane High School, Bulilimamangwe, Matabeleland South.
| alma_mater = [[University of Zimbabwe]], <br> [[Keele University]], <br> [[University of Southern California]]
| occupation = Businessman, Philanthropist, Philosopher, Nationalist, Farmer, Police (Sergeant Major-Reserve), Conservationist, Academic, Entertainment Promoter
| known_for = Financial Insurance Guru, Real Estate, Transport Business, Nationalist, part of the first group of [[Gonakudzingwa restriction camp]] political prisoners, Black Economic Empowerment, Indigenous Commercial Farming, International Music Concerts Promotion, Club HideOut 99 Owner, Philanthropy & Entrepreneur
| movement = [[Chimurenga]];[[ZANLA]]
| boards = ZANU PF Banking, Finance & Treasury Committee, Southampton Assurance, IBDC, Danhiko, Z.R.P., R.E.I.Z, Taxi Assoc.
| spouse = Dr. Maud Mkondo
| parents = Tangi Mhova Mkondo
| website = http://pmib.pmibinsbrokers.com/
| office = [[ZANU PF]] Treasurer [[Mufakose]] Constituency
| term_start = 1980
| term_end = 1996
| office1 = [[ZANU]] Treasurer (Internal)
| term_start1 = 1972
| term_end1 = 1980
| predecessor1 = [[Enos Nkala]]
| successor1 = [[Emmerson Mnangagwa]]
| party = [[ZANU PF]]
| relations = Tariro Paul Mkondo
| office2 = Constitutional Commission of Zimbabwe, Deputy Chairman of Mashonaland Central
| term_start2 = 21 May 1999
| term_end2 = 20 February 2000
| office3 =
| term_start3 =
| term_end3 =
}}
'''Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo''' (23 December 1945 – 9 May 2013) was a Zimbabwean nationalist, he was part of the first group of [[Gonakudzingwa restriction camp]] political prisoners, he is also a Pioneer Insurance Executive, [[Business magnate]], Academic, philanthropist, conservationist, pioneer Indigenous businessman and entrepreneur.
==Early life ==
Mkondo was born of [[Karanga people|Karanga]] heritage in 1945 in Fort Victoria, (now [[Masvingo]]). He was the third-born in a family of 18 children, and he was the second son of Tangi Mkondo. Paul grew up in Nerupiri Village in [[Gutu]] a district of Masvingo Province. He later moved with his father Tangi Mhova Mkondo, who was a farm manager, to Schoora Estate in Marandellas (now [[Marondera]]) in [[Mashonaland East]] Province.<ref name="herald">{{cite news|url=http://www.herald.co.zw/paul-mkondo-born-to-serve-the-people/ |title=Paul Mkondo: Born to serve the people |publisher=The Herald |date=15 May 2013 |accessdate=10 October 2013}}</ref>
== Education and training ==
Mkondo did his Grade 1 to Grade 3 at Schoora Estate Primary School. After Grade 3, Mkondo moved to another farm in [[Wedza District|Wedza]], which became known as Edridge (Duva) Estate, he worked as a stable boy looking after horses, later becoming the butler. During this time, his father Tangi Mhova Mkondo joined fellow migrants recruited by Witswatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA/ WENELA) to work in the gold mines of [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]]. This was in order to pay for the controversial hut tax imposed upon black Rhodesians by the colonial government, as traditional subsistence farming did not generate enough income<ref>{{Cite book|title = Labour, Class & The International System|last = Portes & Walton|first = John|publisher = Academic Press|year = 1981|isbn = 0-12-56-2020-9|location = London|pages = [https://archive.org/details/laborclassintern0000port/page/34 34]|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/laborclassintern0000port/page/34}}</ref> to afford the tax. Mkondo had to work to support his mother and the rest of his siblings at a very young age. During the weekend he started weekend business of trading at the local market. He later went to the Chemhanza Mission in Wedza, a district of the [[Mashonaland East]] Province in 1957 to complete his primary education from Grade 4 to Grade 7. Mkondo then went to high school at the Tegwani Mission near [[Bulawayo]] in the [[Matabeleland South]] Province. At Tegwani Mission (now Thekwane High School), he met his fellow nationalists such as [[Canaan Banana]] and [[Edson Zvobgo]]. Mkondo was also classmates with union leader [[Gibson Sibanda]]. Mkondo led the biggest student protest against the Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965. This resulted in him being black-listed and outlawed, resulting in him being one of the first political detainees at [[Gonakudzingwa restriction camp|Gonakudzingwa Restriction camp]] alongside [[Joshua Nkomo]]. Mkondo, during summer, used to enjoy the Outward-Bound Camps, which were held at the [[Outward Bound]] Mountaineering Centre in Melsetter (now [[Chimanimani]]) in the Manicaland Province. He became a part-time instructor which helped him pay his Secondary Education. Mkondo during this time also trained individuals on bushcraft, scouting, and how to survive in the forest.
Mkondo went on to become a full-time "Outward Bound Instructor" where he trained another future nationalist, [[Moven Mahachi]], who later planned the escape of [[Robert Mugabe]] and Tezvara (In-Law) [[Edgar Tekere]] to Mozambique, alongside Chief [[Rekayi Tangwena]] (whom he had befriended as an Outward Bound instructor) with the assistance of [[Samora Machel]]'s [[FRELIMO]] party. After a few years as an Outward-bound Instructor and Scout in the Eastern Highlands, Mkondo decided to continue his education. He enrolled at [[Bulawayo Polytechnic College]] to train in hotel catering, a course that was sponsored by the Rhodesian Breweries (Natbrew) and [[Anglo American plc|Anglo American]] Corporation. He was one of two black students accepted at the time for this course. The student who achieved the highest marks was to be offered a scholarship to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Management at Blackpool Technical College (now [[Blackpool and The Fylde College]]) in the United Kingdom. Mkondo came first among the other students in the course, but was not offered the scholarship because of his colour.<ref name="herald" /> This was his first personal taste of racial discrimination, as he believed the scholarship was a lifetime opportunity to help him provide for his family. Mkondo then relocated to Highfields Harare, obtaining a job with the prestigious Park Lane Hotel in Salisbury as an assistant kitchen manager. Due to an altercation with some soldiers at a wedding, Mkondo was fired and later barred from future employment at any catering establishment. He sought out another job at Salisbury's Federal Hotel, but again cited discrimination by the predominantly [[Coloured]] guests.<ref name="herald" />
== Entrepreneurship ==
Mkondo decided to open his own business in Lochinvar and purchased the Club Hideout 99 with approval from the Rhodesian Liquor Licensing Board and the municipal authorities. This site later became an important meeting site for supporters of the [[Zimbabwe African National Union]] (ZANU), and stored weapons for the party's militant wing, the [[Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army]] (ZANLA).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/07/29/demise-hide-99/|title=The demise of Hide Out 99 - NewsDay Zimbabwe|work=NewsDay Zimbabwe}}</ref> Mkondo also participated in a series of urban bombings, such as the sabotage of petrol installations in Epworth. Throughout the 1960s, he worked as an insurance & financial advisor. His business acumen and strong work ethic made him start a garage and taxi business in Machipisa, Highfields. Mkondo eventually founded his own taxi company, ''Sharaude Glen Noah Taxi Services'' (Pvt) Ltd, which came to own the second largest taxi fleet in Rhodesia. At some point he also served as president of the country's Metered Taxi Operators' Association.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whoswho.co.za/paul-mkondo-716857 |title=Paul Mkondo &#124; Who's Who SA |publisher=Whoswho.co.za |date= |accessdate=10 October 2013}}</ref>
== Political activity ==
Mkondo organised underground meetings for some of the political leadership, as many were his former teachers and colleagues from Thekwani High School in [[Plumtree, Zimbabwe|Plumtree]].<ref name="Paul Mkondo Dies">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsdzezimbabwe.co.uk/2013/05/paul-mkondo-dies.html |title= Paul Mkondo Dies |publisher=Newsdzezimbabwe.co.uk |date=9 May 2013 |accessdate=10 October 2013}}</ref> Some he had known since he had lived with them in Highfields Township in Salisbury (now [[Harare]]). When the Rhodesian Bush War intensified after 1972, Mkondo sent his wife abroad for medical training with ZANLA.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} Mkondo intended to close his business and follow her into exile, but was dissuaded by [[Herbert Chitepo]] and ZANLA commander [[Josiah Tongogara]], who recommended he stay inside Rhodesia and assist with the postwar economic reconstruction when hostilities ended.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} He was, however, appointed to ZANU's Treasury and Finances Committee in recognition of his sympathy to the nationalist cause. On the committee, Mkondo worked closely with fellow ZANU supporters [[Enos Nkala]], [[Bernard Chidzero]], [[George Tawengwa]], Ben Mucheche, Tobias Musariri Sr, and others to fund ZANLA's weapons.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.herald.co.zw/musariri-fought-to-the-end/|publisher=The Herald|accessdate=21 November 2013|title=Musariri fought to the end|date=6 September 2012}}</ref> He was also utilized as a liaison between the ZANU leadership detained in [[Gonakudzingwa restriction camp]] by the [[Rhodesian Security Forces]], and those such as Mugabe, who had fled to Mozambique. With no travel restrictions, and being a well-known successful businessman in Southern Africa, Mkondo took trips abroad to promote ZANU's cause with international figures such as US President [[Gerald Ford]], diplomats [[Henry Kissinger]], [[Andrew Young]] and [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref name= "herald"/> He was instrumental in persuading the Ford administration to have a meeting, which resulted in the [[Geneva Conference (1976)|1976 Geneva talks]] between black nationalists and Rhodesian prime minister [[Ian Smith]].{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}
Following the election of Mugabe as prime minister in March 1980, Mkondo helped many former guerrilla fighters re-integrate into civilian life.<ref name="Paul Mkondo Dies"/> Mkondo was the favored candidate to represent Zanu for the Gutu South parliamentary seat in the [[Masvingo Province]], where he was born and raised. Instead, Shuvai Mahofa due to gender equality issues was selected by the Gutu Zanu Provincial leadership led by Vice President of Zimbabwe, Dr. [[Simon Muzenda]], which Mkondo cordially accepted and then fully supported her tenure, as she was a Clans woman (VaTete) and an able politician.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ir.msu.ac.zw:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11408/1880/Tarugarira%20thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=A Historical Study of Zimbabwe's African Elite: Configurations, Networks, and Transitions c. 1900–2013|access-date=2018-07-10}}</ref> Mkondo, in terms of international business, turned down many executive opportunities to work in [[Fortune 500]] and [[FTSE 100 Index]] multi-national companies overseas, opting to remain in Zimbabwe.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}
== Indigenous commercial farming ==
Paul Mkondo was an established commercial farmer. He started farming Zimbabwe's staple maize in the late 1970s in Lochinvar and Southerton in Harare.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} He also was the first indigenous commercial poultry farmer to have his own brand, titled Paul Mkondo Poultry.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} In the mid-1980s, Mkondo purchased Inyatsi Farm at competitive commercial agricultural property market rates at that time from a white farmer in the Mazowe-[[Mashonaland Central]] area.<ref name="herald" /> He joined the [[Commercial Farmers' Union]] (CFU), and was one of the founding members of the Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union (ICFU), formed in 1992 to represent black commercial farmers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sam Moyo and Walter Chambati|publisher=African Books Collective|year=2013|title=Land and Agrarian Reform in Zimbabwe. Beyond White-Settler Capitalism|page=257}}</ref>
[[File:Paul Tangi Mhova Mkondo Indigenous Commercial Farmer.jpeg|thumb|Paul Mkondo in tobacco fields on his Commercial farm in [[Mazowe]], [[Mashonaland Central]]]]
Mkondo, was the Vice-president for the Affirmative Action of the IBDC organization,<ref>{{cite web|last=Muchinguri |first=Walter |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201305100317.html |title=Zimbabwe: Insurance Guru Paul Mkondo Dies (Page 1 of 2) |publisher=allAfrica.com |date=10 May 2013 |accessdate=10 October 2013}}</ref> he was also a founding father of the indigenization and black economic empowerment of the Zimbabwean economy{{synthesis inline|date=December 2013}} alongside similar business moguls such as Ben Mucheche (President),{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} John Mapondera (Former President),{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} [[Strive Masiyiwa]],{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} Chemist Siziba (former president),{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} Jane Mutasa (IBWO),{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} and [[James Makamba]].{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} This group worked on indigenization laws with the support of the President [[Robert Mugabe]], and the Vice-presidents [[Simon Muzenda]] and [[Joshua Nkomo]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zbc.co.zw/news-categories/blogs-a-features/9985-time-to-remember-father-zimbabwe.html|title=Time to remember Father Zimbabwe|author=Thembinkosi Mangena|work=zbc.co.zw}}</ref> the group formed the basis of the [[Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act|Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act]] of 2007.<ref name="economist">{{cite news|title=Blackening the Economy|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date= 13 September 2007|accessdate= 29 April 2008|url=http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804332}}</ref>
== Death ==
Mkondo was in the [[intensive care unit]] post-surgery for a month whilst waiting for his multi-disciplinary international medical consultants to medically air transport him to the [[Milpark Hospital]] for stabilization in South Africa, but their efforts were delayed by the local team. Mkondo died on 9 May 2013, in a Harare private hospital titled Avenues Clinic in Zimbabwe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zbc.co.zw/news-categories/local-news/31621-paul-mukondo-dies.html |title=Paul Mkondo dies |publisher=Zbc.co.zw |date=9 May 2013 |accessdate=10 October 2013}}</ref>
== Legacy ==
Paul Mkondo was the first African insurance executive and financial advisor to be recognized with the elite Life Million Dollar Roundtable International (MDRT). In the independent Zimbabwe he officially represented Zimbabwe and presented the new flag to the MDRT Organization with the blessings of the first [[Prime Minister of Zimbabwe]] H. E. [[Robert Mugabe]], nicknamed Jongwe. He was also on the MDRT standing committee. Mkondo was the first African President of the Life underwriters' association.
Mkondo and VaMutanga were the first pioneering African Indigenous Businessmen in Rhodesia to establish a licensed Restaurant and Night Club backed by Amai Mutanga's Blessing.
Mkondo was also the First African International Music Promoter in the Highfields in the 60s.
The protagonist Simbai Saul Muhondo, in Samuel Chimsoro's novel ''Nothing is impossible'' is based on Mkondo's biography (the period from Mkondo's Birth to 1983, (when the book was also published). The book was well received and became part of the national education syllabus in English literature during the 80's.<ref>Chimsoro, S.(1983) ''Nothing Is Impossible'', Harlow, Penguin Longman.</ref>{{S-start}}
{{S-off}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Enos Nkala]]|}}
{{S-ttl|title=Treasurer (Dura ReMusangano) [[ZANU]]}}
{{S-after|after=[[Emmerson Mnangagwa]]}}
{{end}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mkondo, Paul Tangi Mhova}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Keele University]]
[[Category:People from Wedza District]]
[[Category:20th-century Zimbabwean businesspeople]]
[[Category:People from Masvingo Province]]
[[Category:People from Harare]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in insurance]]
[[Category:Rhodesian businesspeople]]
[[Category:University of Zimbabwe alumni]]