What would you do with US$1,000,000? How would you react if your church "prophet" asks you to submit a project proposal valued at such an amount? Obviously in the current Zimbabwe's state of economy, one would happily get the project proposal done and pocket the money. The rest will be history. Two church members from "prophet" Magays's PHD Ministries came to my home full of excitement and visible shock.
They could not contain themselves. They required my expertise to urgently draft a project proposal for "big" money. Their faces beamed with blessedness and peace in anticipation of a breakthrough in their lives. They believed what they had been told and were determined to do what the "prophet" had requested..
I live in Zimbabwe and I understand the value of the US$, both from an economic, and social points of view. I exercised my professional scepticism attribute and probed them for clarity. The two church members explained that the "prophet" had instructed church members to submit proposals for "big" money. I enquired how much it was and was shocked when told it was a whooping US $1,000,000 (One million United States Dollars) per group of 50 (fifty) people. Being a figure person I immediately calculated that this amounts to US$20,000 (Twenty Thousand Dollars United States Dollars).
I am known within the community for assisting on the subject matter and for successfully running my own projects. I, as usual asked many questions and made recommendations to say instead of asking for the $1 million, they should request $200,000 to be distributed amongst 10 people for ease of management. Obviously my probing and inquisitiveness appeared not to have gone done well with them for they did not come back to finalise the project proposal.
The last time high end politicians were campaigning in our area, they were only paying US$5.00 and a T-shirt to be voted into office for 5 years. This interprets to US$1 per year from a monetary value perspective.
I personally find this suspicious and I smell a rat. Even if this is empowerment of church members, I still doubt the business sense. The Zimbabwe Government has in the past tried to implement the concept of cooperatives but these failed to become major businesses. So what is in this for the "prophet"? Is this not a gimmick to boost church membership? I am not an authority to tell someone about what to do with their wealth, but any logical person would love to improve the lives of his church members. I see this as a strategy to give solace to people who are being retrenched and hence boost membership.
Be Careful of Free Lunches
There is nothing called a "free lunch". Always ask questions when someone offers you a gift. Desist from the tendency of just running after free offers. Free lunches come at a price. I have learnt that in free offers, "the devil hides in the details". Look at offers from a reality point of view. Remember the value of money. Let your condition of acceptance be clear to whoever is offering you.
Are "prophets" becoming politicians? If so, then we are in for a rough ride.
By: Magaya: When Prophets Become Politicians.
They could not contain themselves. They required my expertise to urgently draft a project proposal for "big" money. Their faces beamed with blessedness and peace in anticipation of a breakthrough in their lives. They believed what they had been told and were determined to do what the "prophet" had requested..
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| Prophet W. Magaya - When Prophets Become Politicians. |
I am known within the community for assisting on the subject matter and for successfully running my own projects. I, as usual asked many questions and made recommendations to say instead of asking for the $1 million, they should request $200,000 to be distributed amongst 10 people for ease of management. Obviously my probing and inquisitiveness appeared not to have gone done well with them for they did not come back to finalise the project proposal.
The last time high end politicians were campaigning in our area, they were only paying US$5.00 and a T-shirt to be voted into office for 5 years. This interprets to US$1 per year from a monetary value perspective.
I personally find this suspicious and I smell a rat. Even if this is empowerment of church members, I still doubt the business sense. The Zimbabwe Government has in the past tried to implement the concept of cooperatives but these failed to become major businesses. So what is in this for the "prophet"? Is this not a gimmick to boost church membership? I am not an authority to tell someone about what to do with their wealth, but any logical person would love to improve the lives of his church members. I see this as a strategy to give solace to people who are being retrenched and hence boost membership.
Be Careful of Free Lunches
There is nothing called a "free lunch". Always ask questions when someone offers you a gift. Desist from the tendency of just running after free offers. Free lunches come at a price. I have learnt that in free offers, "the devil hides in the details". Look at offers from a reality point of view. Remember the value of money. Let your condition of acceptance be clear to whoever is offering you.
Are "prophets" becoming politicians? If so, then we are in for a rough ride.
By: Magaya: When Prophets Become Politicians.
