Pastor Kuchiva
“Yes, alright. Alright. I will be there. Okay. Okay, goodbye.” Pastor Kuchiva set his phone down on his office desk and smiled. He turned his gaze out the window. It was a Monday morning and he was on his way to being a very rich man.
He had just got off the phone with Baba Toravanhu. He and Baba Toravanhu were going to meet with the car repairer today and discuss loaning money to aid him with his business, because of the desperate situation the man was in, Pastor Kuchiva had no doubt he would agree to whatever interest rate they would charge. And they were not planning to be merciful.
Yes, yes. Times were hard and money was hard to come by, but each man needed to make a living for himself in whatever way he could, and sometimes that meant doing so at the expense of others. And Pastor Kuchiva understood that.
He glanced at the watch on his wrist. He had about two hours to prepare and get to the meeting. Plenty of time to freshen up and get himself clean and looking like the wealthy businessman he was going to be.
***
Pastor Kuchiva parked his car in the parking lot of Cresta Lodge. Baba Toravanhu had decided that they would meet the car repairer, Munyaradzi Mananga, here. It was a neutral place and it would give them the opportunity to make a show of their money, the money that Mr. Mananga going to want a piece of. They didn’t want there to be any doubt in this man’s mind that they had the money to help his business stay alive.
Pastor Kuchiva pocketed his keys and stepped out the car. He wore his best suit, navy blue with a small pin on the lapel and his best dress shoes; shiny, polished and black.
He walked across the paved parking lot and then through the glass door. He turned left and headed toward the restaurant area.
The tiled floors were well polished and his footsteps echoed loudly as he walked over them. He walked into the restaurant and looked around for Baba Toravanhu. He saw him sitting at a table in the centre of the room. He was wearing a suit and looked intimidating and wealthy.
A man who Pastor Kuchiva assumed was Mr Mananga sat with him. He looked small and feeble besides the elder, which was saying something, because the man wasn’t particularly small. He was young, perhaps in his mid-thirties and lightly muscled. He looked uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat and kept pulling at his collar.
Pastor Kuchiva walked down the stairs and moved towards the table. Baba Toravanhu noticed him first.
“Ahh, Mr. Kuchiva,” he called out. He was not going by Pastor here. “Welcome, welcome. Come sit with us.” He gestured towards a chair beside him.
“This is Mr. Mananga,” he said as Pastor Kuchiva settled into the chair. “The car repairer.” He turned to their guest and said. “Mr. Mananga this is Mr. Kuchiva, one of our business partners.”
Pastor Kuchiva turned his gaze to Mr Mananaga and held out his hand. Mr. Mananga nodded at him and the two exchanged a handshake.
“Good. Good,” Baba Toravanhu said, “now that we have made introductions. We can talk business.” He turned to Mr. Mananga.
“So, Mr. Mananga. You repair cars.”
Mr. Mananga nodded his head and swallowed. “Yes. Yes. I have been in the business for six years. But, aah things are not moving. People are struggling to pay on time because of the money situation ,you know. It is very difficult to buy parts and all the tools I need.”
“Mhmm,” Baba Toravanhu said. “Alright. Alright. How much does it cost to get the things you need?
“Emm, about twenty thousand dollars. US. On average.”
“Mhmm mhmm,” Baba Toravanhu nodded, then looked around at the other elders and Pastor Kuchiva. It was a silent communication. They all seemed to agree that they would take on this man.
“Alright. Alright. How much money do you want us to loan you?”
The question seemed to make the man nervous. He swallowed and shifted in his seat.
“Thirty thousand,” he said hoarsely.
Baba Toravanhu raised his eyebrows. “That’s quite a lot of money.”
Mr. Mananga stayed silent and merely swallowed again.
“It is good for you that we have more than enough to give you, isn’t it?” He smirked. “Don’t worry, Mr. Mananga we can lend you that much.”
“Really?” Mr. Mananga said sitting up in his seat. “Oh, thank you. Thank you.” He face filled with a look of relief and joy.
“Yes, yes you are welcome,” Baba Toravanhu said, “But of course you know that you will need to pay interest.”
This deflated the man’s excitement, “Umm…yes. Yes, I do.”
“Mhmm. Yes. We will give you your thirty thousand dollars and in return for our generosity. For helping you maintain your business. You can pay us back sixty thousand in installments over 12 months.”
“Six-sixty thousand?” he stammered.
“Yes,” Baba Toravanhu said. “That is the amount we have agreed on.” He glanced around Pastor Kuchiva, who nodded in agreement. Each of them would get a good cut of this money.
Baba Kucheka spoke up “Of course, if it is too much for you…we can always make the offer to someone more willing to pay.” The possibility of losing funding for his business, the only funding that he may ever get, clearly frightened Mr. Mananga.
“But, I- I have a family. That’s a lot of money. I don’t know.” He stammered.
“Mr. Managa,” Baba Kucheka said, “We all have families. It is for them that we are working. It is for them that we do this business. We will help you with your business so that you can help your family by making more money. But if you don’t want this. Well -” he shrugged.
Mr. Mananga closed his eyes and took a breath. He opened them again. “Alright. Okay. That is fine. I will pay that.”
“Good,” Baba Toravanhu said, clapping his hands together. “And then there is the matter of collateral. If you fail to pay of this loan we will be forced to take your business. You understand don’t you?””
Mr. Mananga stuttered. “Ah- but. I-,” He sighed, looking far from happy. He seemed to realise that there was no way he could protest his way out of this. “Yes- yes, I understand.”
“Excellent,” Baba Toravanhu exclaimed. “We will deposit the money into your account and then you can start paying it back in instalments.” He sat back in his chair, “Nice to see that we are in agreement. Now that this is settled why don’t we have a few drinks and something to eat?”
A waiter came over and they all made their orders and ate. Their eating was punctuated with conversation. They spoke on the weather, the economy, wives and children, and then the bill came. Pastor Kuchiva paid it and then they all stood and shook hands with Mr. Mananga.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Mananga. ” Baba Toravanhu said. “We will keep in touch and we can organise to meet sometime next week to sign the contract. You have my number?” Mr. Mananga nodded.
“Thank you.” Mr. Mananga said again. He may not have been happy about the interest but he could not deny how important the money would be for his business.
“You are very welcome. It is going to be a pleasure doing business with you.” Baba Toravanhu said, nodding. “It is going to be a pleasure.” Pastor Kuchiva couldn’t help but agree.
