January: A Challenging Month For Many People

Ike Vavi
Correspondent | Monday February 1, 2010 00:00

The sweat on his face cannot be attributed to the scorching heat outside as it is relatively cool inside the shop. The man is boiling because of the psychological stress he is going through.

My greetings are simply received with a quick wave and a pretentious smile. The little shopping basket he is holding in his hands is my main focus.  As he goes for the smallest size of the blue crystal sugar, he smiles at me, shakes his head and says, 'This is January my brother,' I simply nod in agreement.

Outside in the parking space, there is absolute silence as if the day has been declared a non- driving day or drivers are on strike. This is despite the fact that there is usually a serious shortage of space. My counting exercise confirms that there are only four cars in the parking lot.

The nearby ATM machines are deserted with no one in sight. My mind flashes to the long queues and the sweating that usually characterises this place during busy periods. The only people who are in the vicinity are security officers. They also seem bored as one of them greets me with a wide yawn. January is a problem. This is a common chorus that is sung by many people after the festive season. One of them is 27-year-old Tanyala Mangisi of Tutume. 'January blues is a pandemic that usually ravages most homesteads as the aftermath of the festive season becomes evident,' she explains.

'The main source of this calamity is the failure by most people to plan for the future. When it comes to money matters, most people are not cautious. We live for today and do not care about tomorrow,' she says.

She maintains that most people cannot resist the spending pressure that comes with the festive season. 'If you have children, there is this old tradition of having to buy clothes for them during this period. This goes with the conviction that that period should be spiced up with preparations of delicious food for family and friends,' she says.

Blessing Mushure of Kwekwe, Zimbabwe says that the festive period is perceived as a time of happiness. 'Happiness by its very nature is expensive and as such, people are bound to spend a lot of money during the festive season,' she says. She says that the burden becomes unbearable for those who have school going children. 'They have to find money for the school fees and for the uniforms,' she says.

'The festive season is an event that comes at the same time every year. This therefore suggests that people should be in a position to device ways of handling the pressure to avoid falling into the same trap every year. We must get into the habit of always looking forward as we plan our lives.'

For her, the festive season spending can be planned to avoid any inconveniences in January. 'For instance if someone intends to throw a party during Christmas or New Year, they can always start saving for it in January. This will ensure that they save enough for such an event,' She says. Mosetsana Mudongo of Themashanga maintains that: 'It is high time people learnt to prioritise in terms of spending. We need to identify those things that matters most in our lives. If we can do that, I am definitely sure that Christmas parties and New Year gigs will not be the number one priority for most people despite the fact that we spend heavily on them'.

She says that it is during hard times such as these that concepts and social interactions mechanisms such as Motshelo bears fruit. 'For those who had joined Motshelo, the situation does not look that bad. They had enough food to waste during the festive season and would not worry about the school fees as that is covered by the dividends they got from their respective Motshelos,' she declares with hope written all over her face.