Cultural Intellingence

Zambia's Smooth Transition into Fifth Republic

2011-09-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

The world watched as instruments of power switched hands almost flawlessly. This is one small step for Africa and a giant leap for Zambia!

Celebrate with us not because you like Zambia, but because we did it right for ourselves. This is about us.

I shall return....

When Parents Exchange Obscenities in Public, Children Take Notes

2011-03-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Many years ago in my seedy neighborhood, across from my home, there lived a family that was notorious for picking fights with just about anyone. No week went by without a fight-fest from some pub, some playground, some bus stop, to the house. The haggard-looking man on stilts drunken old para-loony father and the sack of potatoes-looking fire-spitting mother were no bystanders. They would slight, shove, push, chip-shoot, mock and torment their sons' adversaries as the fighting frenzy escorted by the block mob entered their yard. Armed with sticks and pebbles they would throw in a punch, stab and whip with great caution. Through the high pitched choruses of wanu-eeh-wanu! you would hear the mother hauling obscenities at the sons' opponents.

What I found particularly intriguing was the fact that all these ba shimabungi were mooching on this one poor elder sister. Shonse ntalamisoke shi, these fighting bobs had no jobs. They were not much of anything out a street fight anyway. And school to them was like a walk on hot coal. The oldest male who challenged himself to run the academic marathon met his demise prematurely when he got murdered in cold blood by his live-in girlfriend. It was rumored that she bludgeoned him using some heavy object. While he was lying unconscious, she drilled two straight holes into his chest, from shoulders down, using a 12 inch steel and poured hot water into them. Then she tied his head between his bent knees, kept him in a sitting position with hands tied to the back for eight weeks. Gradually the body began to decompose letting off a very disturbing stench but the girl continued to live mulya mwine mu kabini. The death of the only male who would have made something out of himself drove the older sister into a depression. When she passed away, all her assets were pawned off. Poverty reigned in the family once again.

But this family is not what this piece is about. Today I want to give an Irrational Thinker's Award to a group of public figures who always remind me of this family. Each time these politicians pen their mouths, a wrong combination of words come out. A colleague of mine in Atlanta wonders why Zambian politicians think they can operate the crowds and excite their base without a script. They either think every Zambian is naive or they don't know any better. My colleague adds that, campaign stop is a crucial time. It is synonymous with an elevator moment when you are allowed only 30 seconds to do your shtick. If you have anything worthwhile to say, according to the 30-second rule, you better deliver a well buffed no-nonsense presentation in that space of time. The rest of the time you would spend explaining what it may mean to different interest groups.

I have observed with utter disappointment the manner in which some of the politicians present themselves and how they feed off the excitement of their rowdy audiences. In place of managing that energy and excitement, they get drunk on it to the point of losing their heads.

This article, Sata is mad, says George Kunda, is essentially akasamuna nkunge.

I have always wondered where the Ng'wang'wazi, Eagle-eagle, and Kaponya get their training from to insult each other umoshacela. Little did I know they are subconsciously tutored by George Kunda, Michael Sata, Ronald Shikapwasha, Wynter Kabimba, Daniel Munkombwe, and a whole host of unscripted vile-tongued politicians who are old enough to be parents to these unemployed rolling stones. For some reasons, these guys have conditioned themselves to believe that they can deliver an earth shaking off the cuff impromptu speech.

If you attempted to go back in time, you would be hard squeezed to find a time when you would hear shikuluBanda and siBwalya trading obscenities pa katande mono. So you would wonder what their parents would say if they heard them and whether they would be, like Kacepa would say, doing sit-ups in the grave upon seeing their sons' insult slinging in public every time a mic is placed in front of them.

Desmond Tutu once said, his father advised him and his siblings not to raise their voices but the quality of their arguments. Based on this one-sentence piece of advice, one can begin to analyze the content of the speeches of the Zambian politicians for quality. Truth be told, politicians miss an opportunity to educate the electorate on important national issues. But then again, you can only educate another on something you have educated yourself first. What politicians seem to have taught themselves well is not the ability to articulate ideological and and policy issues but obscenities. Consequently, their children are learning nothing from them but the art of self denigration.

Folks these politicians are unwittingly developing a culture of politics that is devoid of respect and while we stand by and look. We must stop them. Challenge them that there is no message too difficult to deliver without wrapping it in obscenities. What they ought to realize is that as a nation, we will be respected only to the degree that we demonstrate respect for ourselves.

So, when somebody tries to put somebody down we should remind them that insele fiko. We should encourage them to learn Mama Inonge Wina's style of debate and manner of presentation - well thought out, succinct and enlightening. I am yet to see a politician rival that calm yet firm style of public presentation.

This month's Irrational Thinker's Award is bestowed on George Kunda on behalf of himself and his fellow self deprecating politicians.

The Zambian Economy through the lens of Ms. Nawakwi

2011-03-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

One major reason the Zambian economy is not doing very well is, it is being run by people who are not strong enough. What an interesting observation by former minister of Finance and now president of an opposition political party.

I have always doubted the accuracy of the stroke of the pen of the news scribes regardless of who they work for. There is always that personal effect that cannot be ignored. In following the logic in Ms. Nawakwi's arguments, I see a few flaws that underpin her claim that the people running the country are not strong enough. These words, having been uttered by a presidential aspirant, need to be examined a little closely.

Ms. Nawakwi does not say what kind of strength is not enough in the people leading the country. Whether she purposely overlooked that part or not, the lack of clarity on that part alone weakens her subsequent arguments. Let me preface what I am about to do here with the statement. Every time you set out to criticize somebody, outline the points of disagreement and then, one by one, assign reasons why you disagree. That way, even if your argument turns out to be weak, you would have demonstrated that your thought process was logical, you knew what you were talking about except you did not just have the necessary expertise to give a foolproof solution.

I will follow that same line of argument here.

1. Ms. Nawakwi says, "ideally, the mining companies were supposed to bank their monies locally and only externalize dividends and profits." Ideally? This is a policy matter that should be in place and applicable to all foreign companies wishing to do business in Zambia. What we may not know, however, and might very well have escaped Ms. Nawakwi's memory, is that there may not be sufficient low risk short-term investment vehicles for companies to put their operating capital in. Having been minister of Finance and having been involved in some of similar investment negotiations, she should have known that an element such as that is likely to be the cause. Outside environments may be quite attractive.

Foreign banks deposit their operating capital locally in Botswana because it is a policy, non-negotiable, in Botswana. We need to apply the basic concept of elasticity to our business environment when we are setting policy. One fundamental question we may want to consider is, "What would be the responsiveness of foreign investors to the formulation and implementation of policy X?"

2. Ms. Nawakwi says, "investors are nothing but people who are looking to maximise profits..." Ms. Nawakwi is right. People invest in various ventures in pursuit of profits. But that has always been the definition of an investor. And when foreigners come to Zambia with sacks of money, they are not there to spend their money, but to sow and reap. People who usually go to other countries to spend money with a different motive are either terrorists, money launderers, or tourists.

3. Ms. Nawakwi says, "unless we as Zambians realise that to create wealth, we need to create a wealthy middle class in this country and without this, the country is going to be perpetually toiling to support foreigners.” Ms. Nawakwi may have been wrongly quoted here but I think it is only fair for me to work with what we have. We do not create wealth by creating a wealthy middle class, but by creating an economic environment in which Zambians are set up to succeed. Most domestic policies we have in place are inconsistent with that ideal; from regulatory to taxation. The rules of the game and deplorable conditions of the communication and transportation infrastructure exacerbates the situation. Enforcing property rights, low interest loan guarantees, competitive commercial interest rates, and tax incentives would put us on a the path toward creating a Zambian middle class. Environmental conditions are essential.

4. Ms. Nawakwi says, “In this particular case of the exchange rate policy, the only way to address this imbalance in the trade pattern which does not favour Zambians but foreign capital is for us…specifically the minister of finance…to dollarise this economy even for one month.” Three things are wrong with her suggestion. First, the use of the word ONLY. That makes one think Ms.Nawakwi is floating the best thinking there is, a vocation that is a preserve of gurus. No disrespect but Ms. Nawakwi is no guru. Second, it is not in the purview of the minister of Finance to manipulate the currency in any color or form. In my experience and training, I have always understood this to be an integral component of monetary policy and the preserve of the Central Bank; in our case, the Bank of Zambia. It is important to keep the lines of responsibility straight and clear. Third, dollarizing the economy further erodes the respect of the Kwacha. A managed float, fixing the Kwacha to the dollar at a certain rate, might help. A few things need to be examined before this option is appealed to.

5. Ms. Nawakwi says, “Now these mines are earning dollars, let us have these mines pay our workers in dollars.” I disagree. Ms. Nawakwi, if we want the Kwacha to regain its respect, we must demand that the monies earned by the mines through copper sales must buy the Kwacha to effect domestic payments. The Kwacha will appreciate against other currencies including the dollar when there is an increased demand for it by other currencies.

6. Ms. Nawakwi laments over the trade imbalance. She says, “Now these mines are earning dollars, let us have these mines pay our workers in dollars.” I would suggest a policy that is inward looking. The drive to earn foreign exchange to enable us get what we can't produce domestically puts our economy in perpetual dependency. We need an import substitution policy that promote domestic manufacturing to meet domestic demand. An import substitution policy for a period ranging from 5 to 10 years would Zambia's self sufficiency. Simple logic in trade has it that we export when we have met our demand and excess of production over demand is what we export. We can switch policies from import substitution to export promotion when we have a solid and sustainable manufacturing base aimed at satisfying local demand. This means, trade controls have to be in place to protect certain industries and their pertinent markets.

Final Note: Perhaps the strength Ms. Nawakwi was referring to is the political will to formulate and implement policies that are Zambian centered. It is time we started looking after our interests seriously. The copper tide we are riding will last but for a number of years. It would be wise of us to think and work like copper would lose its value tonight. Efforts must be made to convert our copperdollar, if you like, to capital. Zambia is not the first country to go through this phase. What makes a difference, however, is how well it comes out at the end. If the economic growth we seem to be excited about is reflected and in the production of seasonal crops, we may very well be strong enough to formulate for ourselves policies that favor us instead of the foreigner. The growth of an economy in a less industrialized country should be measured by the extent to which it enables individuals to produce middle class incomes. Anything short of that is meaningless.

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Zambia not being run by strong leaders - Nawakwi

By Patson Chilemba

The Post Sun 20 Mar. 2011, 04:01

Nawakwi

ZAMBIA is being run by people who are not strong enough to drive the nation's development agenda, says FDD president Edith Nawakwi.

In an interview, Nawakwi said ideally all the mining companies were supposed to bank their monies locally and only externalise dividends and profits.

“But it is just the problem that we have had in this country where we are not strong enough. This country is not being run by people who are strong enough,” Nawakwi said. “Look at Botswana which has diamond. Where is their money (proceeds of diamond sales) banked? The answer is Botswana. Even if you go to Angola, to create business you have to have a local partner.”

Nawakwi said when the kwacha started depreciating, those in government said it was because of the global crunch and declining copper prices.

She said the copper prices had risen considerably yet the kwacha had continued to depreciate.

“I have repeatedly said that investors are nothing but people who are looking to maximise profits…unless we as Zambians realise that to create wealth, we need to create a wealthy middle class in this country and without this, the country is going to be perpetually toiling to support foreigners,” Nawakwi said. “In this particular case of the exchange rate policy, the only way to address this imbalance in the trade pattern which does not favour Zambians but foreign capital is for us…specifically the minister of finance…to dollarise this economy even for one month.”

Nawakwi said in this case foreign investors would begin to cash in their dollars.

“If you go to Zimbabwe you don't hear of Zimbabwe dollars, you hear of the US dollar and the rand, and the inflation rate is far lower there than Mr finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane's,” Nawakwi said. “Inflation rate, why? Because there is parity in the trade.”

Nawakwi said the kwacha could only be managed if the mines cashed in more dollars in the economy.

She observed that all the money that was earned from copper by the mining companies was banked out of the country with only a few dollars being brought back to pay Zesco electricity bills and wages.

“Nothing is paid locally,” Nawakwi said. “Even the subcontractors in the mines are from India if it is KCM Konkola Copper Mines. The Zambians are just given jobs of supplying paper. How can you then expect the Zambian kwacha to have any respect on the market?”

The kwacha was now trading in the range of K4,700 to K4,900 against the US dollar but was in the range of K3,600 when the global crunch started in 2008.

Nawakwi said since the 1970s the economic policy was tailored to support the copper mines.
“It made sense at the time when we as a country owned these copper mines. When I was minister of finance we borrowed US $6million from a private bank to pay wages. It made sense for us to ask for more kwachas because we were paying our millions in kwacha,” Nawakwi said. “Now these mines are earning dollars, let us have these mines pay our workers in dollars.”

She said the inflation rate was rising on account of several factors but key among them was the almost US $2 price for a litre of petrol.
“To resolve the problem over the exchange rate, let us dollarise the economy, get all those infesters investors, these tourists investors to bank their turnover profits locally and only externalise profits and dividends. Let us create a middle class,” she said.

Nawakwi said Zambia had been dubbed as one of the leading trading nations in Sub-Saharan Africa that was not a pleasant label for any country.

“We can't even manufacture tooth picks, except for toilet paper by Softex. We can't even manufacture salt, even if we have salt pans in Mpika. We have to import everything,” said Nawakwi. “Now I can assure you that as long as we do nothing about our current disadvantaged position and you have a currency which is locally generated like the kwacha, you are not going to see your currency improving at all.”

Love Lives

2011-03-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

There was a program that used to run on PBS in not too distant a past when I used to have a little telly time. It started with one of the most powerful yet simple phrases ever made by hue-man.Yes, pun intended. Folks, evidence is crystallizing around the basic fact that everyone else descended from Africans. It is not that I did not know, but I was reminded of this fact today by a colleague of mine. He is a professor of biology.

The phrase has found permanent abode in my mind:

Africa, the place where we first became human!

Today I want to borrow the strength and thrust of that epigram to talk about one topic whose essence has escaped even those once thought to be the wisest of men.

Love, the master of mimicry!

Quite close wouldn't you say? Well, Love has been mentioned in poetry, sonnets, and many a song. When it blossoms between two people, it is the most powerful force known to hue-man. Wonderful stories have been written about ancient lovers who were magnetized and bound together by love. And upon reading those stories, they conjure in our minds images of blissful experiences, the form and texture of which no special words exist for its ultimate definition. Many have tried to describe it, define it, and even deconstruct it to make it easy for those who find thinking to be quite a chore.

Still confusing. If not to you then see how much sense you can make out of the following.

There are as many ways to do the love thing as there are lovers.There is no known way of describing a feeling in succinct terms because everyone feels it in a very personal way. I mean, there is no school where love is a discipline or at the very least an outline in the curriculum of a known course of study. Or we would have seen eggheads of both men and women being protected from the scotching sun by crooked motor-boards fitting the accolade - Dr. Love fimo fimo. But there are none. The sad part is there may never be any person qualified to be an authority in matters of the heart. No man of any importance who came before me or will ever come on my hills should ever claim to know more about love than another. Doubt my words at your peril

In this piece I make my first attempt at helping us understand what love should not be.

Love is the master of mimicry. Love is not finite. Therefore, it fits any configuration of the kind of hearts in which it is assigned residence. For instance, it fits in your heart following the exact form of your heart. Your heart being the white-water environment of constantly changing tastes and preferences, highs and lows of tolerance, with no fixed frame of reference but that which is presented by the day - whatever that may be.

Love is the master of mimicry!

So then, what is love to one, and the determinants of it, is a totally different animal from that of another. I said doubt my words at your own peril. Because if what I have just said were not true, people would be able to connect in the plainness of love and remain stuck like glue for at least a century. One's desire and honest effort to learning to experience the same intensity of love and appreciation that the other puts one in a customized and personalized university . And when they sit to learn, word should be unambiguous, there should be no double meaning, and perceptions should not be of mirages but impartial feelings, solid enough for one to rely on.

Those who truly loved would not let, not for a single second, allow the once green garden of love turn into a desert full of rolling balls of dry rootless shrubs. For such situation prevail only when hopes, and perceptions are diametrically opposed to reality. This is how it is with everything else in life, though. Nothing is borne exactly in the manner it is initially conceived. Because life, as is known to mortals, is a constantly changing white-water environment.

In love as in life, the success of a relationship is not enough. Happiness is everything.

So then, again, because the environment is constantly changing, the success of a relationship between two people is predicated on each person's skill to train the other to understand the terms of happiness. Each of them should ask, what about me presents happiness to the other, is it the person of me or is it what I can do? Evidently, the questioner would not know until he or she is told. This is one instance where assumption becomes a root killer. Meaning, what one person does should not be misconstrued as an act whose intention is to deceive, dupe or disappoint. In the Zambian lingo ati amasetting. All efforts must be made to avoid entertaining the idea that the other lacks discernment as regards the partner's expectations. Nothing should be left to imagination. If you can do the heavy lifting, teaching the other person how to love you must be a weightless dumbbell.

That interaction between two people, who are predisposed to processing information in a wide a array of ways, it must be understood, and who's rate of response to the changing outer environment, and indeed their own, creates another being which must be fed well by both parties. Times and areas of congruency are few and far between. Love is separate and independent being from the two people involved. The health of this love-being depends on how well both parties understand its proper nutrition.

It's alive!

The form and shape of this new being is like the hearts of the two people involved tied together. It is uninsulated. It can potentially wilt, weather, atrophy, and die when it is forced to serve the interest of just one instead of both. However, it can be revived by improved communication. It's health improves when expectations are openly discussed and not assumed. Consequently, it bears happiness when what is discussed is taken seriously no matter how jokingly presented.

Let me see if I can outdo myself here. I want to distill all I have said above into one short paragraph. Here goes:

Love is only defined by the circumstances two people find themselves in. How it grows from that point forward is not dependent on what other people say or think, but what is communicated between the two. They can choose to communicate honestly and allow love to blossom and bear happiness, or they can assume things and obliterate all possibilities. I don't want to downgrade the importance of love by simply saying, it is communication. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Communication is quite essential and comes in many shapes, among them is what is said and how it is said, too. The most important question one should ask to get to the bone of love is, How do I feel when I am with him or her? The varying array and granularity of the response(s) to this question would discharge love from the ICU or condemn it to death. Oh, yeah, Love is mortal. It can die too.

That is why when communicating,

it is important to take time to

say what you

feel.

I end this note by saying, the more there should be to love depends on what is cast on and shared from the canvass of honesty. Illusions of romantic poetry and melodious sonnets are a luxury of aristocrats.

Lest I be misunderstood; I am not trying to be a love guru but a student of it.

And I take a little bow.

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

2011-03-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

Remember when the measure of a child's approbation included going to church on Sunday?

I remember back then as a child when we looked forward to going to the celestial Sunday rendezvous of the meek and the devoted. I remember my older siblings bathing me up and applying an imperceptible film of Vaseline Petroleum jelly to my little round face. But for my sausagy legs, a bit of lather from a bar soap helped bring out that natural mocha color. They would then slip me into an outfit maintained holeless for the express purpose of weekly special occasion. During the week, it was folded and tacked away in a suitcase, all the while drenching in the concentrated aroma of kambolokonya. You had to be a little bit eccentric child for your little nose to stand the nose-shriveling strong whiff of your clothes taken out of kambolokonya-filled suitcase. I hated it! But my mother it was allright. According to her, kambolokonya did not only give clothes a fresh scent but also kept utusumi at bay. I have to give it to her, my mother (peace reign upon her spirit) was one of the most witty women I knew.

Allow me to boast about her for just a second: My mother practically proved the theory of natural selection independent of Darwin. She did not know Darwin from Adam, yet what she did in her spare-time was such a marvelous display of differential reproduction of genotypes in action. I did not understand it until my second year in college. Imagine a woman who had never even seen the inside of a primitive lecture room conducted experiments year after year and came up with results that everyone who came into contact with them, wanted a piece. That was only one of my mother's strong points; what she missed out in school, she made it up in her personal undertakings. You could not help but be fascinated by her dedication and self application. She strove for excellence in everything she did. Her other strong point was, she raised me. I was not the easiest child ukukansha, but my mother excelled once again.

My mother also made me believe that to be umawana musuma, atemwa ukukula na mano, it was absolutely essential that you attended church on Sunday. Evidently, I loved my mother and so I went everywhere she said I needed to. I was umwana musuma, you would say or, mayo ali nkushishe bwino. She did a great job, if I may say so myself.

But that only lasted as long as I was under her watch. Ilyo twafumine pang'anda, twaliya ikata iciila and bright lights. Some of my siblings got tossed and battered by the violent waves of life. Unfortunately, they passed on a little too early. Others did pretty much follow mu nkasa sha mufyashi. I took a turn and got to be different from everyone else in may ways. The consequences of that are a topic for another discussion. Suffice to say, many who knew me as a child think there is a complete disconnect between the child they knew and the man he bore. I have grown, I say. Not in girth, mukushishinkana. This piece, however, is not about me. Neither is it about my mother. It is about what has happened to the sublime celestial groves I once craved.

To my mother's dismay, I drifted from the once sublime groves. I think houses of worship used to be places to be, to escape from the excessive daily toll we pay both consciously and otherwise. Not anymore! They are just as taxing and as corrupting as any trendy night club. Some are comparatively sicker than famous Chez Ntemba.

When we patronized them, even as children, we humbled ourselves before the gods. We paid homage to the gods in appreciation of the harvests and the good health. Those we perceived to be messengers spoke about being clean and wholesome. They advised the adherents to abandon worldly pursuits and seek righteousness. Some of them actually walked the walk too. Not all of them, though. Just some of them. In fact, few of them led exemplary lives. But the rest of them were stinking dirty rotten scoundrels - deceptive and cunning ba kateka, balelya nokuputilisha.

In today's churches, being humble and seeking atonement is not the aim. Rather showboating is encouraged. Congrgants are preoccupied with what used to be "ifya kunse." Now efya mukati. Ifilimba, ma-wee! There is no difference between icongo ca mu mashebeen ne ca mumacalici. Kuti banjo nga nailila, niteka fitalale. Abene ati tushanine ba YHW. Tufwenkwile ba YWH. Mwe benashikulu mwe! Ukufwenkula nsele nsele, cumi? Which wrong exit did the church take and when?

Another thing is, the talks are no longer about seeking righteousness. Talks are about umutulo and ways to generate more so that uletula uukulu. Those who can't meet the expectations, like myself, choose to stay away, because we don't want to embarrass ourselves again and again. But some who choose to stick in, steal.

I know people who fleece the government and tithe big. They even boast about it. They shamelessly claim that 'it is god who gave them the ingenuity' to fleece the government. Each time I hear such ridiculous words get sent out of their mouth, I ask myself, 'did the gods listen to humans more before than they do today?' I have been grappling with that question for a while and I am very close to accepting it as a fact.

I am actually beginning to believe that the gods are upset with us; they may have gone away and left us to our own vices. We have turned the sublime to the ridiculous and that is why we are having what seems like an endless stream of insurmountable problems. It is not only the Zambians, but all humankind.

I am here suggesting that to be well again, against incredible odds, we must go back to our ways - ku fishilano fyesu.

Emotion is the enemy of wise music craft

2011-03-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard the saying in ciBemba that "Bakolwe basekana ifipato," I thoguht it was restricted to our arboreal cousins.

I grew up in a komboni on the Copperbelt. I did not choose that seedy neighborhood for my nursery. This is the one time when I unknowingly ceded responsibility to the hands of other people and say, "the decision was made for me." I have not regrets though. Most importantly I worked hard to change things. As I say, "Every devastating blow carries with it the seed of strength." You can see, I lived to talk about it.

Others did, too. But most of those that I grew up with have passed on. This piece, however, is not about me. Rather it is about those that are coming on my heels. Those who are suffering the same belittlement as the komboni kids always do by the kids from ku mayadi. At the time I thought they were snobs. But in retrospect, I think they did not have much of a choice either.

I am not quite sure but entertainer Dandy Krazy could be one of those coming on my heels. In Krazy's view, the Award things are not working well for him. They fall short of meeting his expectations - whatever those expectations were. And using the best means available to him, he lashes out at them all!

I was about to label Krazy's outbursts as irrational when I noticed some other dude who sounded like a kid from ku mayadi decided to reduce Krazy to a mere caricature of a performer. As you will soon notice, Krazy did not mention a name. Instead, he, in no uncertain terms, indicated that he had an axe to grind with the organizations. But the dude who sounded like a kid from ku mayadi personalized the whole issue. He went for Krazy's jugular and tore the poor Komboni young man apart. This is not an attempt to stand in solidarity with fellow Komboni survivor, but to highlight the poverty of thought in some of our young men. This lack of tolerance for one another and patience to try and understand first before acting is a blight that is likely to be carried through to public office should these young men decide to run for office.

One can argue that the fussing and fighting we are forced to witness in public figures is rubbing off to the young generation. Those aspiring to and holding public office of any magnitude ought to realize that emotion is the enemy of wise statecraft.

I have highlighted with blue what I thought were incendiary comments and inserted my comments in brown.
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Kondowe urges ZAM to discipline Dandy

By Lovely Kayombo

Fri 21 Jan. 2011, 18:00

Dandy Krazy

FOLLOWING Dandy Krazy’s outbursts against the Ngoma and Born and Bred awards at a performance held at Breakpoint in Lusaka recently, the Zambia One Comedy outfit have expressed their disappointment with the singer’s behaviour and charged that he is ignorant over how much the organisers put in to come up with the awards.

In an interview with the Weekend Post, Zambia One director of productions Derrick Kondowe said the behaviour exhibited by Dandy Krazy is unacceptable. Having read the comments in yesterday's paper and assuming they were true, I will agree with Kondowe.

“First and foremost, I want to appeal to the executive of Zambia Association of Musicians to discipline the boy for embarrassing the entire music association. I am wondering who really is an ignoramus here. But I will let you be the judge. I should mention however that his term, boy, does tend to carry derogatory connotations when used in the context that he did. We need to educate these artistes before they go on issuing useless comments about the local awards because they have misunderstood the essence of the awards,“ Kondowe said.What kind of education would that be ba Kondowe, if I may ask?
He said the awards are meant to recognise artistes' efforts in order to motivate them to do more in their careers.

“Coming to Born N' Bred, an initiative by Innocent Kalaluka the producer of Smooth Talk, it came about to encourage musicians to produce videos that are internationally accepted. There seems to be this insatiable desire to please the 'international.' What manner of beast is this thing called 'international' that wants to be fed at the expense of the local Zambians? Born N' Bred was made out of personal sacrifice by Kalaluka and maybe they make money out of advertisements. And for them to even offer K1m prize money it should be commended. I would appreciate if this came from seasoned artistes like Danny ‘Kaya’ Siulapwa or the Sakala Brothers because these play live music on stage, not some chaps who board a Marco Polo bus to Lusaka with a scratched disc to come and play here in Lusaka and make disparaging remarks against the local awards,” he said. Up until this point, I was thinking Kondowe was concerned about the nature of the comments and not the the status and economic condition of the person who uttered them. Should it matter what mode of transportation Krazy used to travel? It is beginning to crystallize in my mind that Kondowe may not after all be a kid from ku mayadi.

I am beginning to suspect Kondowe is one of those kids we called "fuzi." The term, Fuzi, was used to describe a Seyfert who was always a step behind somebody but was always in the frontline protecting the image and the body of he that they envied. I love Danny and I think he cranks out some unique tunes all the time, but he does not always play live music while the Salaka bothers do. But be that as it may, not all musicians are going to have the luck of leading a band. There will always be somebody struggling on the fringes who would fit the description of a "starving musician." But it may not be by choice. Not every one was born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Some are born na mabula ya nkonde mukanwa.

Kondowe appeal to Dandy Krazy to apologise to the organisers of the Born N' Bred and Ngoma awards.
“ZAM is of the musicians’ organisations that can hold one of the most prestigious awards in the country but for one of the artistes to come and insult the existing award(s) is an insult to all the artistes, including myself. He (Dandy) should focus on improving his poor musical and video works rather than insulting the awards,” Kondowe said.

He said currently the music videos being shown on local television channels could not match or compete at international level.

“Our brother Jordan Katembula (JK) has improved on his works, therefore Dandy should emulate him because JK can attract corporate organisations to sponsor his music because he has made us proud. In all fairness, Kondowe should speak for himself. Some people feel JK does not not really measure up. Therefore, Dandy Krazy should not get excited over nothing when he performs in these bars and make bad comments, he only rubbishes ZAM…Let him behave like a role model because many people are looking up to him. Even the organisation that is sponsoring him cannot like to be associated with insults. What he is simply telling us is that when you drink the same sachet of ‘Krazy Berry’ he was advertising at Breakpoint, you become violent and begin to insult other people,” said Kondowe. So, Krazy has a corporate sponsor! And Kondowe knows there are people looking up to him? Kondowe is contradicting himself here.

At a performance at Breakpoint a fortnight ago, Dandy Krazy said he did not believe in the Ngoma and Born N' Bred awards because the prize monies they offered to winning artistes was insufficient and only belittled artistes.

He described the Born N' Bred Awards as useless and the Ngoma Awards rubbish.

Final Note: Let's learn to listen well, think rationally, and speak right. And most of all, let's learn to be tolerant of one another. We must not always push each other under the bus in a bid to please a foreigner. All foreigners have imyabo, no kubwekela balabwekela. Imyesu is you me and every Zambian looking out for each other.

Politics of Poverty: "I hold this truth to be self evident"

2011-02-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

This is one time that I could not resist the urge to read a lot into what somebody said. Judge me if you must but don't blame me. Mike's words were carefully selected and uttered repeatedly in what seemed like a rare moment of courage.

Mike is telling us, assuming the scribe quoted him accurately, that Zambian politics is about the self and not service to the people. "...advantaging yourself," he insists. Whatever happened to the reasons we engage in politics in the first place? Has differing on the methodologies and subsequent techniques of addressing concerns of a public nature taken on a different descriptor? I thought politics was it.

professor Mike Mulongoti just gave us a new definition for the word politics - advantaging oneself - (by any means necessary?) and, in my view, is the number one reason the majority of Zambians is poor. Ours is indeed Politics of Poverty. As one of my mutola nkhani friends once said, "...if everyone who is guilty of a crime were to be locked up, the entire government would be behind bars". I thought that was a profound statement. And why aren't they?

Anyway read on:

..........................................................................................................................

I'm better than Kunda - Mulongoti

By Patson Chilemba

Thu 17 Feb. 2011, 04:02

Mulongoti

Mike Mulongoti says he is better than Vice-President George Kunda and has challenged him and others to a public debate to prove who the best candidate is for the MMD vice-presidency.

Reacting to Vice-President Kunda’s remarks that he was the best candidate for the MMD vice-presidency because he was one of the principal legal advisors to the government and was better placed to serve with President Rupiah Banda, Mulongoti, who is works and supply minister and MMD vice-presidential aspirant, said he had explained about his proven track record in the party, and others should do the same.

“I do hope they can give us the opportunity to debate so that the public can begin to pass judgement on us. I am not averse to debate. I am not averse to the people passing judgement on me because after all I am accessing myself to public scrutiny,” he said.

Mulongoti said Kunda should show his achievements in the MMD rather than talking about his performance in government.

“We are talking about elections. I do not think we should now bring government work into the party because the party exists as an entity. So the party also requires support. So I made a declaration and indication of what I have done in the party and I am sure everybody can see what I have done,” Mulongoti said. “If the basis is performance in government, we will all start talking about government. All I can say is I welcome him Kunda in the arena. He is my brother and I hope he can compete in a very brotherly manner.”

On Vice-President Kunda’s apparent reference to Mulongoti to stop making insinuations against other party members, Mulongoti said politics was about advantaging oneself.

He said politics was about competing at an intellectual level.

“I don’t know what type of politics they are thinking of where we have a dialogue of the dumb. Politics is not a dialogue of the dumb. Politics is about advantaging yourself. Everything you say is about advantaging yourself,” said Mulongoti. “If now everything you say becomes a crime, who is going to compete with who? Politics is not for the faint-hearted.”

Addressing the press and cadres at the Lusaka province party headquarters on Tuesday, Vice-President Kunda said he understood how the MMD operated having provided legal guidance to the party and government since he joined politics.

He said he worked well with President Banda and that relationship should not be interrupted.
Vice-President Kunda said party members should not experiment with leadership but go for tested leadership.

Adopted from The Post. February 17, 2011

Politics of Poverty? Or not.

2011-02-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

In a responsive and responsible government, as in any efficient and effective organization, the architectural design is dictated by enormity and complexity of work to be done, and not by the number of imposa mabwe seeking position and title. Most rational thinking Zambians appreciate the fact that Zambia is a country populated by poor people, not because there are no resources to be converted to goods and services to meet their needs but victims of lack of political will to do the right thing. Their cultural value of contribution and service are overtaken by their overwhelming concern for pain in their belly. Doing the right thing, though, does not take much. All one has to do is pick out and prioritize the pressing issues, and look for people with knowledge, skills, abilities and proven experience to effectively address them.

A person vying for head of government should demonstrate to the electorate, beyond a shadow of doubt, that they have the skills of a selector of (wo)men, an absolute ingredient of a competent administrator. Subsequently, the chosen individuals need to be supervised. This means that the administrator must know what constitutes good performance, and lay it all out in no uncertain terms to those he or she hires to address the known recurrent societal issues. Additionally, a competent administrator would set up a schedule of meetings when he or she would be receiving status updates on work done toward achieving defined milestones. I call this step, receiving bundles of goods on behalf of the people. The quality of these deliverables would determine the level of competency the head of government has. To continuously enhance the quality of service, the administrator must sign compacts with his posse that clearly states that those who exceed expectations deserve a pat on the back. And those who fail to hit their marks, deserve a kick on the butt!

While kicking butt may sound like a therapeutic exercise for one's arthritic foot, avoiding it by hiring the right people for the right jobs would definitely increase the administrator's credibility. One can almost be guaranteed re-election if one did a good job of addressing, in time, the concerns of the majority, stealing notwithstanding.

This is the point, I think, old man Saunders is making in the article below. And because of his words of wisdom, I confer upon him the the title of Rational Thinker of the Week.

Zambia: Members at lower level causing pact problems – Observer

UPND supporters

Political Activist Dante Saunders has observed that the problems that have rocked the UPND/PF pact are being caused by the party members at lower organs. Mr. Saunders says from the meetings that he held with both UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and PF’s Michael Sata, it is clear that the two opposition leaders are still interested in the Pact and that all the wrangles in the pact are being caused by the leadership at lower organs.
The veteran politician says it is evident that some members of the two parties in the Pact are scared of losing their positions in their respective parties once the Pact leader is announced hence the misunderstandings.
Mr. Saunders has told QFM news that there is need for all the leaders in the two opposition political parties to reach a compromise and ensure that whatever decision they make is for the benefit of the nation.
Mr. Saunders adds that there is need for the political leaders to prioritize the interests of the entire nation before their personal interests.
Meanwhile, Mr. Saunders has urged all the political parties to consider empowering the youths in their parties instead of using them to ignite violence during elections.
Mr. Saunders has suggested that each political party reserve at least 30 percent of their parliamentary adoptions for the younger generation.
He says this will help in grooming the youths for future political responsibilities.
[Qfm]

Adopted from Lusaka Times, Feb. 14, 2011.

What Lessons can Zambian Politicians Draw from The Events in North Africa

2011-02-12T23:18:00.000-08:00

It is getting increasingly harder for me to restrain myself from continuing to believe that there is an unholy baptism that occurs between the campaign platform and the door to political office. Why else would people of good conscience go barefooted on a selfish path. They exhibit indisputable signs of good nature, inter alia, thoughtfulness, compassion, intentional, hardworking, purposefulness and discerning. They say the right things and those attractive characteristics cease to exist the moment they step into their new political portfolio. They quickly slide down the forget them hill. Thereafter their job description gets reduced to one sentence, "Filya bacenjele."

After analyzing the political stench, you can't help but begin to wonder why nations organize governments at all.If all they would do is defend their ideology, in the case where they have some, or shamelessly hop from one political party to another, where they have none, the usefulness of government is brought into question. This conduct may be the reason why some people think and say politics is a dirty game.

I am not quite sure that characterization is fair. Is not politics simply a divergent of views of how to address a societal concern? in some countries, increased dependence on government to find solutions to such concerns creates an ideological rift between people giving birth to political parties. In other countries, however, divergence of views does not exist; political opponents emerge because they too want to be called "leaders."

So they lie, cheat, steal, scheme, and kill if they must, just to be called "leader" of some sort. They turn into this cunning beast which casts spellbinding smiles upon the electorate by the day and turns around and spew mind numbing pungent smelling manure by the night. In the privacy of their own minds, they are not responsible to any one but themselves. They have a chance of a lifetime; put an end to their poverty on the backs of the hardworking men and women in their countries. We don't have to get into the specifics but each one of us has questions about how people go into politics and no sooner do they open the door to their new office than they amass so much wealth. And there we are thinking politics is not supposed to be a business.

To fully appreciate why politicians find it hard to let go of their positions, go to the extent of lying, cheating, stealing, scheming, and killing when they deem it necessary we must demand full disclosure of their pays and pecks. We need to know what makes Zambian politicians so stubbornly arrogant to the point that they feel they hold title to the piece of real estate called Zambia. We must know first whether they are qualified for the job. Then we need to know how many automobiles they get from the government, how many domestic staff they are allowed to hire, where they live and how much they get in housing allowance if they live in their own houses and how much rent the government pays on their behalf if they don't have their own, how much security detail and how much does it cost the taxpayer, do they get a percentage of loan or contract they negotiate on behalf of the people of Zambia, who puts gasoline in their assigned automobiles and how often, how many cell phones they have and who pays for their talk time, how much they get per trip and who approves them, where do they take their kids for education and who foots the bill, if they have a home that they did not have before how did they acquire it and can such an acquisition be supported by their pay, what do they do to deserve such a pay anyway?

As you can see, I can go on and on about waste and lack of self respect and responsibility and responsiveness in government. Would I be wrong if I stated that our government is top-heavy and therefore unable to live up to its expectations? How may ministers and how much are we wasting on them? As if there was no shortage of jobs in the country, some of them are both cabinet ministers as well as members of parliament - which is a conflict of interest in and of itself. But nobody seems to care! They go about their fake duty like we don't matter, we are only there to generate revenue for them to they can live comfortably on our backs!

The people of Tunisia had been pushed to their last thread and had no choice but to push back. Eguptos felt they had enough of that political garbage, they pushed back. Niger just caught the fever and people there too are saying they can't take it anymore! I hope Politicians in Zambia are taking notes.

The rate of unemployment in Egupto is 40%. Zambia's is 60%! It would not take much to bring the country's economic machine to a halt. The cost of living in Zambia continues to escalate, the gap distance between the rich politicians and poor Zambians is vast. Many Zambians are hungry and by extension angry. Again, it would not take much to ignite the Zambian population into furious mob of protestors.

Many people would like to see a similar fire alight in Zambia. But I don't and I have a good reason for that. My late parents taught me that "Uwa mano asambilila pa cipuba." I may be naive about this one, but I have a strong feeling that Zambian politicians will look at the events in north Africa and choose to stop being arrogant. They don't own Zambia. If they want to last long and continue to receive a salary for the work they have not done, they need to start listening to the concerns of the people. Here are some of the issues that they need to begin giving a serious thought:

1. Sell off ZNBC - it has been a political mouthpiece for politicians in office. Plainly it costs a lot yet it yields no benefits to the people.We can do without reading/watching the adventures of fat cats.

2. Sell off Times of Zambia - Zambia Daily Mail and ZANIS. Like ZNBC, these institutions are being run at the expense of healthcare and education services. We need all the children to go to school.

3. Reduce the size of government - Some ministries are not necessary. We have made these recommendations over the years and politicians act as if they are the ones that make the money which fuels the government machinery. What arrogance!

4. Reduce the power of the President - That position has too much power. The president has more power than the whole government system. This has to stop. For instance, it must not be up to the president to decide when elections would be held. We need a fixed day when we will be holding elections every five years. That can't cost money to change.

5. Make housing allowance an integral part of the civil servant's pay - An employer's responsibility should end with remunerating a person consistent with their pay. Unless under special circumstances when a person works in less than normal settings, the employer is not supposed to dictate the cost of a person's abode. This practice is paternalistic and has to end.

6. Keep cabinet ministers out of parliament - they don't belong there. It is conflict of interest!

7. Reduce the number of ministers to 12. - Only 12 ministries have relevance in Zambia.

8. Rein in Fringe Benefits from ministers - stop wasting taxpayers money on people who do not add vale to the quality of life of Zambians. Impose a pay cut, one automobile for office use only, no security detail, no rent, one cell phone, limited travel and more importantly - have a semi-annually performance evaluation.

9. Don't increase the number of MPs - what is the current crop failing to do? The question, you may want to ask is, WHY? Increasing the number of ineffective people is not the solution. And in fact when you increase the number of MPs, you will be taking resources away from services. We need improved services and better delivery methods.

10. Fix Roads - Have you no shame?

11. Unbundle ZESCO - It is about time the inefficiency and ineffectiveness that is impeding economic growth was eliminated. Why are you forcing us to accept interrupted power supply (IPS) as normal? The government's failure to recognize the catalytic importance of electric power in Zambia defies commonsense.

12. Post government spending against budget on the internet - we want to take part in monitoring who is performing and who is not.

The intent of the above recommendation is to make politics unattractive to lethargic thinkers, keep good for nothing politicians out of government. Zambia has serious problems. She needs serious people to solve them.

Ms. Inonge Wina: A consistent Rational Thinker

2010-11-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

The hard and fast rules of open intellectual debate demand that a participant stays focused on the topic, demonstrate clear understanding of the other party's point of view, present their areas of disagreement and subsequently explain their point of view. If it seems like a lot of work, it is because it is. For this reason alone, those who feel too weak to do the work turn to irrational thinking, the demonstration of which is demonizing the other party. Any debater who aims to prop their image at the expense of others simply because they hold a view that is at variance with theirs exhibits nothing but ignorance and immaturity of the highest order.

A rational debater will weigh his or her remarks and where they believe their brain would be a weak slave when it came to maintaining consistency in their thoughts and subsequent pronouncements, they use notes. Also, they would develop a technique to default to when they are asked a question about an issue on which they have not had to time to reflect.

Today I pay tribute to Mama Inonge Wina for consistently keeping a cool head on contentious national issues. Each time she makes a public statement she appears to have had done her thinking. Her thoughts seem clear and words weighed. She tempers criticism with respect. It is easy for one to see that all her arguments are underpinned by objectivity. Although she may be partisan her quest for reasonableness comes through every word she makes. One cannot help but appreciate her unique political style - it does not struggle, but radiates the supremacy of thought on the Zambian political arena - unique skill of articulation of the issues and concerns of the masses. It is not personal - it is not about VP Kunda, and it is not even about P Banda. It is about work - the degree of legitimacy of the Constitution. She identifies the shortcomings of the review process and then explains why she believes so. That is the epitome of intellectual debate.

Mama Inonge, once again, I confer upon you the crown of a rational thinker.

Zambia needs more people like you.

Kunda’s constitution will be of limited legitimacy - Inonge

By George Chellah

The Post Tue 30 Nov. 2010

Inonge Wina

VICE-PRESIDENT George Kunda's proposed constitution will be a document of very limited legitimacy and without authority, says Inonge Wina.

In an interview yesterday, Wina, who is PF national chairperson, said Zambia's history had been dogged by chronic instability in constitution making.

"This is a recipe for conflict in a multiparty democracy. It creates a lot of dissatisfaction among people. People feel this is not their constitution and it’s not part of them," Wina said. "George Kunda's new proposed constitution will unfortunately be a document of very limited legitimacy and will therefore lack authority."

Wina said the amendments to the 1996 constitution announced by Vice-President Kunda fell far short of the people's expectations. She said Zambians wanted the new constitution to address substantive issues such as the Bill of Rights and other fundamental freedoms.

Wina said Zambians were also concerned about the performance of members of parliament hence their submission that non-performing parliamentarians must be recalled.

"People brought about issues of crossing the floor, that it's bringing a lot of by-elections. The issue of the 50 per cent plus one presidential requirement and indeed many fine recommendations from the Mung'omba Constitution Review Commission (CRC), which include matters of gender equality and all these have been left out," she said.

Wina wondered how long Zambia would continue being a nation that specialises in aborting constitution-making initiatives.

She said the current administration had yet again demonstrated its disdain for people's aspirations by ignoring their recommendations. Wina said the government was set to alienate Zambians from the state and its institutions.

"That's why my strong conviction is that this country needs a government that will listen and respect people's aspirations, a government capable of providing a stable solution to the challenges of constitution making," Wina said. "Above all, a government that will create a conducive environment for a much broader consensus. Otherwise, we will continue making piece-meal amendments regarding a very important law of the land and which every subsidiary law of the country depends on."

Essentials of Rational Thinking

2010-11-30T18:29:00.000-08:00

We descend from a lineage of great thinkers who never thought education required a formal setting. In the same way that there is no formal school to teach bees how to make honey from an assortment of fluids, there was no need for a formal school in the lives of our forebears. To them experience was school; one learned the ropes through experience. One was initiated into the circle of men or women through the rites of passage. Such an admission availed to one a certain set of infundo essential for rational thinking and conduct. Therefore, more often than never, age conferred upon one, certain rights, responsibilities and expectations.

Each time one utters a word, one is responsible for its effects; intended or not. That made conversation an art. Great conversationists were known for their skillful choice and use of words. It has been argued that in some societies, free speech is a right. But then again only a fool would play ignorant to the responsibility that comes with an uttered word. It could destroy, just as much as it could built. If what one says does not have a damaging effect on another when it was intended to, it would, at the very least, have a reverse impact on he who uttered it. It then follows that one cannot hurt another unless one contains hurt. In other words one cannot give what one lacks.

Our forebears had values. They also had principles. Their spoken words were guided by the congruence between their values and their principles. When the difference between values and principles is obliterated, one achieves inner peace.

The purpose of this piece is to help Zambians to align their values and principles. Before we draw a contrast between values and principles, it is important to state here that the benefit is simply that one becomes a rational thinker.

You may be familiar with the cliche, "think before you speak." It actually means, tontonkanishisha, langulak, etetula, elyo no kucilisha, shikatala mukusosa. After heeding the advice of the ancient, it will quickly dawn on you that our forebears were not only masters of conversation but before that, great thinkers. This is how their minds guided their thought process:

Purpose - Why am I speaking? What am I trying to accomplish? What is my central aim? My purpose?
Question - What point am I making? What question am I raising? What question am I addressing? Am I considering the complexities in the question?
Information - What question am I using in coming to that conclusion? What experience have I had to support this claim? What information do I need to support this claim? What information do I need to settle the question?
Inference/Conclusion - How did I reach this conclusion? Is there another way to interpret the information?
Concepts - What is the main idea here? Can I explain this idea?
Assumptions - What am I taking for granted? What assumption has led me to that conclusion?
Implications/Consequences - If someone accepted my position, what would be the implications? What am I implying?
Points of view - From what point of view am I looking at this issue? Is there another point of view I should consider?

The stack difference between the lives of our forebears and ours is the great rift between our values and our principles. Very few Zambians can claim to have a specific set of principles that they use to guide their daily decisions. Most of them are constantly walking in the shadow of those that they hold in high esteem. By this I mean they don't think their own thoughts. They simply regurgitate what they heard somebody else say. The only differentiating characteristic between them and the other person is either the side of town he or she lives, the car he or she drives, the complexion of his or her skin, the level of education that their idol has attained, or simply being a foreigner.

Zambians have a tendency to cede their control of their mind to the person they hold in high esteem. However, the most important lady in my life would argue that it is not only a Zambian thing, it is everywhere. She might have a point. But I am not concerned with everywhere else. My concern is Zambians.

It is from the Zambian thinking process where words such as ukwetetula, ukutontonkanishisha, ukupelulula, ukulangulaka and ukushikatala have escaped. Faced with a situation that does not resemble the ordinary, most Zambians would default to fikaisova, finshi ndeculila, wafwa walemana, awe ifwe ni fino fine, twalibelela, nasangamo ukufilwa, nani akansunga, ngafweniko fye, etc. One of my late friends used to call that the defeatist attitude. I call it second class thinking. He could not bring himself to understand how a normal thinking person would declare themselves a cultural ignoramus when they hail from abundance of wisdom.

The purpose of this piece is to repackage the mind. Because much of the thinking people are doing, left to itself is evidently biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or downright stupid. Am I being judgmental? Perhaps. Because to refuse to stand aside and watch while Second class thinking is ferociously boring the core of the Zambian mind. Second class thinking is the root of all evil, I think. Leave the love of money out of it. And don't blame it on the devil either. Second class thinking is costly, both in monetary terms and quality of life.

The antidote to Second class thinking is Rational thinking. It can be achieved by self-direction, self discipline, self-monitoring, and self-correction. In the absence of the support system that our forebears had, rational thinking requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use and a commitment to overcoming our internalized oppression which holds that we are inferior. We are not. We are great people! We are the natural great thinkers. Impanda mano mu cinecine. If not you, then who?

Zambians, now more than ever before, are in need of rescuing from Second Class Thinking.

In defense of the Third Dimension

2010-11-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Whether educated, or not, whether traveled or not, there is one retrogressive habit by which the majority of Zambians is identified. As matter of fact in the first republic, the then president, impalume Kenneth Kaunda, got a little worked up about it and ordered a study of the volume of pombe Zambians guzzled in a year. I was not imbibing at the time, as I don't now, but it turned out to be enough to evenly cover the entire Zambian landscape by an approximate height of eight centimeters. I doubt that study accounted for lituku, kancina, amantalakwa, sikokiyana, katankamanine uko, cipumu, imbamba, katubi, imbote, ifiseke, katata, umunkoyo, seven-days, to mention but a few. Because all these brews have the potential to knock one out cold. Interestingly, the population was about 5 million. That must have been some serious quaffing people did. Impalume Kenneth Kaunda was right to be concerned. It makes one wonder by how much the volume has risen, considering that the population has more than doubled and the rate of unemployment is relatively high.

If one cared so much as to convert even a fraction of that time spent on boozing into a series of coordinated economic activities, probably some of the problems we are grappling with today could have been prevented. Imagine if all drinkers in Zambia gave up an hour of their monthly drinking time, instead of using their hands to nurse a cold one or swirl icikale of opaque brew, they would commit them to a pick and shovel and in a flood zone, the extent of the flooding problem would be a little less than we experiencing today. Admittedly the hands technology would not yield a permanent solution but more than drinking beer, it would beget us a culture of solving problems by any means necessary.

A culture of thinking rationally and solving problems by any means necessary, is a strategy resorted to by those who are dealt a bad card many a time, pushed to a tight corner and cannot take it any more. I am talking about having the ingenuity and courage to put our resources to great use. Most Zambians lack the drive to do just that, be they educated or not, traveled or not. But then again, there is a special breed of Zambians who will not take it, regardless of their education, or international exposure. To them foolish pride is a refuge for irrational thinkers. Instead they pursue their goals with the precision of a brain surgeon, the focus of a smart-bomb, the speed of a heat-seeking missile and the courage of a wounded buffalo. A little information is all they need to get started. These people are like a needle in the haystack, they don't come by but once in a lifetime. Let's call them the turn tabs.

Their counterparts, the third dimension, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen. They want to feed well, sound sophisticated and more importantly dress well. I once met this young lady in my lawyer's office who had a mirror on her desk strategically positioned to give her feedback on her appearance at a glance. The frequency at which she consulted that mirror, I would swear, stroke me as someone who doubted the honesty of the instrument. If by chance the mirror convinced her to ask me for second opinion, I would have sided with the mirror. The reflection she saw in the mirror was a true image of her and no one else. Now, had she put all that consulting time and effort; checking and double checking, into reading a book to improve her inner-self, to improve the perception of herself, boost her confidence, and develop a positive mental attitude, she probably would have gained much more.

But reading, committing her mind to rigorous introspection, developing her governing values, sculpting her philosophies and refining her principles was not in her culture. She was not even a conversationist because had she even an inkling of what that is, she could have engaged me, the rough looking visitor, in some intellectual discourse. What the mirror image was not able to tell her, "more than you are, but less than you want to be," I would have told her. But engaging in conversations that are exploratory in nature, informative and perhaps enlightening was not one of her cultural practices. It used to be but it died when somebody subliminally convinced her that there was something wrong with her natural hair, her flat nose, her complexion, etc. She might have been thinking by constantly checking herself up in the mirror, she would experience the Pygmalion effect. That unrated thought, though, did not stop me from wondering, like I do each time I walk the streets of Zambia, about who would suggest those practices for her and many other youths like her. Because, sometimes that's all it takes - a suggestion.

A suggestion, not a threat, in an opportune moment can set off a domino effect ultimately turning a person's life for the better. The recipient of that input, if they appreciated it, would quit doing things that are ruinous to themselves. When they are given the right input and feedback, they have reason to begin seeing themselves in a much more positive light. They begin to resist the temptation to permit their imagination to slide into overdrive when simple words such as abroad, overseas, ubulaya, amangalande, kufyalo, are spoken. They would begin to differentiate truth from hype. That is what most of the stories they hear about ubulaya are - untainted hype.

When some of those living ku fyalo visit/return home, they take with them bunk. Lies-filled stories of how large they live. They would have prepared a thing or two to impress their admirers; it may be a t-shirt with some funny print, a pair of funny tailored jeans, icisapato or some foul smelling scent. To their admirers, it's all good because it came from ku mangalande. What a croak of nonsense!

That initial change in the quality of input provides an incentive for them to become turn tabs.
Mwe bakufyalo, be truthful, twapapata. Tell the truth. Help your friends and family understand the truth. Cishinka, ku mangalande, like anywhere else, there are no money trees and everyone who has any works hard for it. Stop lying ati "I get isaka na half per mulungu." Wenye! "And ...er...and I have set aside enough money to buy mazembe. Manje apa so nifuna kumanga nyumba double decker." Mwebaume mwe! Nyumba inkale double decker? What would Paul Ngozi say?

Very few Zambians who end up in foreign lands actually make something of themselves. Most of them spend time drinking Heineken, checking every hood they can find, and discussing politics, just like they did in shebeens before they crossed the pond. They would pause behind stretched limos and send pictures back home and lie. "This is how I roll," they would say, pointing at the gargantuan of a car. Really? And when their daring cousin fleeces them for change while they are nursing a cold one or swirling icikale ca opaque brew in the name of, "I miss this stuff, you know," don't blame him. Batila "mumbwe aitile mpashi, impashi nasho shaisa, elyo shamububa!"

The trouble that some Zambians living in foreign lands face, malibu yakuilombela for the most part. When they have been lying about theirs and their friends' economic status all along, when time comes to substantiating their claims, they perpetuate the lie by extending the web of lies - lie again to cover the lies told earlier. And some unsuspecting bystander begins to create castles in the sky about their sibling who got a scholarship to China. What you are forgetting is that your lies are like a pile of poop. If you dump and run, remember that when you return, it will stink just as bad.

It is an uphill battle to debunk some of these myths when they have been safely deposited in the corner of the subconscious mind of a third dimension operating under the influence. A sincere person, a transplanted turn tab, seeking to create a means of earning an income from a critical set of assets becomes the victim of this indistinguishable long drawn senseless hype. This may be a case of umusuku ubi utushe mpanga, I think. And it has to stop.

Let's help ourselves and our people, let's share the truth, the pure, the powerful, and the positive. Te cikale ca opaque beer nangula a cold one. Evidently, that has taken us nowhere. But if we freed enough of our people from the shackles of the third dimension to turn tab, there is no doubt in my mind that we will get where we want to be in good time.

We can move up and forward together mu cishinka.

Zambian professionalism personified

2010-11-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

Polygamy is just a selfish matter for men - Kalyalya

By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe and picture by Collins Phiri

The Post Wed 10 Nov. 2010, 09:30

Wait an everlasting minute Chiwoyu Sinyangwe!

You can't misrepresent Dr. Kalyalya's professional life by giving it a wrong title. That is totally unacceptable. The title you unwittingly assigned it, albeit sensational, was just a small part of the conversation. It made little sense because the man had made quite an effort to share with you and your readership his private life and his swath of contributions to Zambia. I take exception to this kind of misrepresentation.

My interest in Dr.Kalyalya's abridge version of his life story, as he puts it, is not about the misrepresentation, though. I want to weigh in on his take on the two issues that I toy with in my spare time. For the records, the story does not start from the question below but if you click here, you will find out exactly where.

And by the way Chiwoyu, yours was supposed to be the Q, and his the A. Dr. Kalyalya attributes our nation's inability to move forward to poor work ethic which, in my view, includes simple missteps like these. As for the rest of the readers, please follow the line of thought by Dr. Kalyalya as he responds to Chiwoyu's question on mining taxes:

A: What is your take on increasing tax revenues from the mining sector through imposition of the windfall tax?

Q: Although it is not my area and I should be cautious, there is the issue called policy credibility. You can’t just be changing policies from one to another because when investors come, they look for a horizon… I would like to think that within the variable profit tax regime, there is still a lot that can be done perhaps which we are not doing. How is profit made? Profit is made from two things; the revenue side and there is the cost side. I think there is a big scope to a lot on the cost side. Are the costs that are being allowed for tax purposes supposed to be allowed? That’s one of the key issues. Is the cost regime transparent that we are taxing what we need to tax? I have my doubts on that. And that is where a lot of energy to push this regime to the levels of transparency… let’s not kid ourselves, these mining companies employ top-notch tax accountants, tax lawyers. So, we have to be able to match that because these mining companies always look for legitimate ways by which they avoid companies to pay tax. Now, are we strong enough to pierce to that? That is where the challenge is for colleagues in ZRA and government. Really equip our people to have the systems in place which can ensure that certain costs are not allowed so that there is enough revenue above cost which can be taxed. Now, we have a difficulty, the growth in the mines is growing but revenue to Treasury…it’s not nice we don’t raise enough revenue locally then we go to donors to ask because at the end of the day they will say ‘but you people you have enough resources. What are you doing with them?’ Because at the end of the day, what they also give is tax revenue from their own nationals. What we need, whatever regime we are in, is to ensure that it delivers to the full. Until we get that, mere changing will not deal with that problem because you might frustrate the other side and then they don’t invest.

This man is crafty. That is my first impression. He straddles between the political and business flimsy branches with the skill of an orangutan, yet he takes a calculated shot at the core of the issue with an incredible degree of humility. Let this be a lesson to some, if not all, Zambians. When discussing national problems, do not be economical with the truth. It will not help any of us. This is what I am referencing:

1. Policy credibility. One of the major consideration in deciding where to plant huge sums of cash is sovereign stability followed by policy credibility. The revision of tax regime must be done in a manner consistent with the original contractual agreements. Knee-jerk reactions to a booming economy can be disastrous. Dr. Kalyalya skilfully deconstructs the systemic problems with the mining taxes from the formulation phase through implementation. The first part of the equation begins with the percentage which yields revenue (Revenue Side). That is done from a weak point. It is formulate in haste, with a view to feed our insatiable appetite for money which, when we get, we don't know how to manage. In other words we take a short-term view on a longer-term matter. The reason, according to Dr. Kalyalya is, we start out without a plan. Although I would take a slightly different path on that one; we do have plans, they are just not the kind we confidence in to guide our decision making.

The second part of the equation, also negotiated from a weak point, is the number and nature of allowable costs for tax purposes. Admittedly, we don't do a great job here either. From my outsider's point of view, we either don't have a comprehensive business picture of the mining business or we are simply poor at making our case. Dr. Kalyala says, "...let’s not kid ourselves, these mining companies employ top-notch tax accountants, tax lawyers. So, we have to be able to match that because these mining companies always look for legitimate ways by which they avoid companies to pay tax. Now, are we strong enough to pierce to that?" I bet I can answer that for us. We cannot, for the simple reason that we don't have a sufficient stock of qualified professionals who are brave enough to look a politician in the eye and offer an alternative view, "...we are getting shafted here, bwana." Most of the individuals positioned to speak for Zambia are feeble-minded and corrupt. They spend countless hours figuring out how to steal public funds. And as they get to be good at that, they lose their professional edge. They get a little rusty. ask anyone of them when they last wrote a professional paper, not as a requirement for their job but their profession. When they sit before the small boys who graduate from my classes, they are already defeated. But Dr. Kalyalya would not spare the ZRA and the administration, he recognizes the gravity of the situation and calls them on it. Lack of seriousness is killing Zambia! It is a serious matter and calls for frank talk. What a guy!

2. Forward looking. Dr. Kalyalya bluntly distributes responsibility over institutions for reasons we appear to be poor. I will tap on the serious absence of a plan issue once again. We need a national plan assembled by professionals whose lives would not be negatively impacted if it focused on the pressing issues facing the nation, medium and long-term. Because we seem not to have that right now, Dr. Kalyalya observes, "That is where the challenge is for colleagues in ZRA and government. Really equip our people to have the systems in place which can ensure that certain...." No serious person can argue with that. It's that simple yet not easy, for a reason. We seem to be conditioned to think, because we are weak in the planning, the negotiation and the implementation areas, we will simply prostrate before the donors and our budget shortfall will be made up. Dr. Kalyalya saw that coming too. So he advises, "...donors to ask because at the end of the day they will say ‘but you people you have enough resources. What are you doing with them?’ Because at the end of the day, what they also give is tax revenue from their own nationals." Yes indeed, Dr. Kalyalya. For how long shall we remain shameless panhandlers?

Good job, Dr. Kalyalya, for your candid responses to not so difficult problems.

Now let me switch gears. I always say learning begins where agreement ends. Up until this point, I have agreed with everything Dr. Kalyalya said. He held his own, rather remarkably. But the inflation issues was either not properly decoded or the good Dr. had the inflation edges in a serious state of disrepare. I have inserted my comments. Part two:

Q: While the current low inflation is one of the achievements that can be associated with you at Bank of Zambia, people are saying the benefits are not being felt by ordinary Zambians and bank interest rates still remain high. What is your comment?

A: Inflation is the rate of change in the price level from one period to another. It doesn’t mean when inflation has come down, prices have gone down. The missing word here Dr. Kalyalya is "all." Not all prices go down. So one can actually think of Inflation as the net change in the price level. It does happen in certain cases, when mealie meal prices come down, everybody sees it. But when airfares come down, do you see that? Inflation is a basket that includes all these things which you are not interested in but are happening but we look at the rate of change from other things. Actually, Dr. Kalyalya, the contents of the basket ought to be revised from time to time to reflect the consumption interests of the majority. This is where the regular Kawayawaya gets to be included. Inflation should be understood by as many people as possible if the fiscal and monetary policies are to be deemed effective and meaningful. Needless to say, the type and number of contents of the basket are not etched in stone. Interest rates are now at 20 something…but what we have seen is that in the banking sector, there are two types of interest rates because the market is segmented. Big players can negotiate. It’s the small players who are not able to negotiate and that’s the group we are speaking to… when we talk to the banks, they say cost of doing business is very high. But we are also quick to point out that the cost of money is also contributing to this. You are looking at another person to make the adjustment. What we are saying is that everybody should be making adjustment. It is very tricky because we cannot dictate, (Time out!) we had done it in the 1980s, and what happened? Money become scarce and inflation went up (Time out!) and interest went higher.

First, Yes Dr. Kalyalya, you can dictate. You dictate by setting interest rates. Every banking institution licensed in Zambia should adhere to the set rates. This is what monetary policy is supposed to be about.

Second, how did you do it that reduced the volume of currency in circulation and consequently drove inflation up? Did the Zambian seller become so creative all of a sudden as to factor tight money supply in the price of their wares? Dr. Kalyalya, when the volume of M1 (currency) goes down, in an economy as ours was in the 1980, inflation falls simultaneously. I think we can both agree that it was the second half of that decade when the Zambian economy began to tank. And tank it did, irreversibly. This cost KK an election. Talk of a blind policy having tiered effects. Any way, the natural response of an organ such as BOZ, depending on where you are on the business cycle, in the given scenario is to lower interest rates. And it is wrong to say, interest rates went up as thought they were an auto-variable. Interest rates are changed. For this you and BOZ ought o take responsibility. Looking at the structure of the economy at the time and the income levels, lowering interests would not have made dramatic impact although one would argue that it would still be an absolute necessary move.
But more importantly, your pronouncements underscore the point I made earlier this month that Zambia does not have mechanisms in place to effect monetary and fiscal policies. If anybody is better informed than Dr. Kalyalya, please step forward, this student is ready to learn.

My final question is, what exactly did you do to make two opposing forces to go in the same direction at the same time - reduce M1 and drive up inflation?

The fact that inflation has come down to where it is now, believe me, it is feeding into other areas. We may not see it from the personal point of view unless you are doing business…

Final note: For handling the mining taxes expertly, I confer upon you the rational thinker of the day. You have gone where no one dares go. And those in the corridors of authority who attempt to speak to that issue only demonstrate irrational hubris.

Good luck on you next expedition.

You Can Avoid The Proverbial Potholes

2010-10-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

One feature that characterizes Zambian motorways is potholes. Driving a low base automobile like a Cooper, Corvette, Lamborghini, or Cadillac Eldorado on a Zambian road, never mind the exceptional engineering that went into those distinguishable names, would feel like taking a ride on an ox-drawn cart mukashila ka tondo. That may be why those who drive prestigious toys such as these confine themselves to inner city roads. And on occasion, like proud owners of any version of Ford Model-T, they would take a cruise on airport road. Former Minister Peter Magande once described this Zambia's premier highway, the stretch between international airport and town center, as evidence of development in Zambia. Can you believe that?!

Something does happen between a campaign stump and when one is sworn to ministerial office. They put on a dunce and join the irrational thinkers' club.

But that is not what I am belly-aching about. It is nothing new considering that in post-independence Zambia, very few ministers have honestly earned their wages and perks. Most of them have been as worthless to the Zambian people as most potholed roads are. In fact some of them nauseating. If you don't believe me try this on for size. Approach one of them and ask them this question: "Minister Chiteni, pardon me please. I was wondering, er, say15 years from now, er, what evidence would there be that you were minister of this ya portfolio?" Now stand back and watch as empty-ness begins to unfold.

What I want to cast light on today are amaswau-studded potholes that belie the real estate transaction in Zambia. In our recorded past, Chiti, imfumu ya baBemba, sent imondo to his brother Nkole. Apo ninshi Chiti ba limusangule ntonko. Consider this to be imondo from me to you.

I am peeved by these leeches who call themselves lawyers and think that drawing a contract of sale which in effect only constitutes an offer and an acceptance, should pull in to them a couple of hundred Benjamins. What is even more petrifying is the incessant demand for money by these perverted low grade lawyers masquerading as real estate professional for doing absolutely nothing but waste your time and money.

Umo shacela you would be the one to chase after them, in person, na pa lamya. These mailo-mailo people don't take their jobs seriously. They want to enjoy the title but they fail to live up to its expectations. You want to yank those stupid wigs off their potato heads and ....

Any way....you probably have heard calls from tutali na vifupi, to yina na voyonda to go back home and buy some land. You would be wise to heed the calls. Whatever reason they give you, I am here to tell you they are all real. However, when time comes to fork out the cash, proceed with caution. Remember, thieves will be navigating the purchasing terrain for you. You are likely to hit potholes if you let them do all the leading while iwe uli cete. Take to your heels especially when you run into somebody who upon meeting you begin by lacing their shtick with born again mantra. Iwe ati pamene apa napeza anthu a mulungu. Uza vina gule wa m'kulu, uza mbuwa! Whoever declared Zambia a Christian nation forgot to remind Zambians that the declaration was not be used as an ofoloshi to mask one's criminal mindedness.

So oo, I have prepared a quick cheatsheet for your reference. If the ownership transfer process does not fit this profile, know that your lawyer has thrown you under the bus or is about to:

[Real property is generally defined as land and the things permanently attached to the land. Things that are permanently attached to the land, also can be referred to as improvements, include homes, garages, and buildings. Substances that are beneath the land (such as gas, oil, minerals) are also considered permanently attached. I wish! Other items which can be attached to the land, such as sunka mulamu and tool sheds, are not considered to be real property.]

1.It starts when a seller accepts a contract you've put in on their home or land.

You might put down a deposit check to prove you’re serious about the offer. At that point, your settlement agent (often a lawyer, and also sometimes referred to as closing agent, escrow officer or escrow agent), gets the ball rolling, deposits any funds you’ve submitted into a special trust (escrow) account and puts in requests for title work, or an examination of the home's ownership history.

Don't leave this part to your lawyer. If this is not done properly, it is time to hire another lawyer. If the one you fire asks for some form of payment, ask him for a contract and refer to the terms of that contract, in which you should have had the foresight to included that he or she will be paid upon delivery of a clean deed of title to you in your name; specifically on the closing day. Neglect this step at your own peril.

2.Lawyer begins reviewing the title.

Each property has a series of documents recorded at the Ministry of Lands or Civic Center (whichever is applicable) that reflect prior owners, lenders and other parties who have or had an interest in the home you’re buying. These documents are examined to identify all outstanding interests (liens). Then, that paperwork is forwarded to you. You want to be certain you are buying that property from a legitimate owner. You want to review the documents and jot down questions about anything you don't understand. You, must understand! Once again, you neglect this step at your own loss.

This is what you pay the lawyer for, not to draw the contract of sale, ati kwamana ndipe mali. Huh?! The contract of sale is nothing but an offer/acceptance document. In any case you want this step completed in one week. Should there be encumbrances, walk the paperwork yourself if you have to. If your lawyer speaks like he has a speck of sand in his eye, drop him. Get another one!

3.Mortgage issues are addressed.

Your lawyer works with your lender to verify kwacha figures and other important details of the transaction. In addition, if prior mortgages have to be paid, or if a loan is being assumed, that’s worked out by your lawyer as well. But if I were you, I would want to examine the documents raise every minute inch of the way.

This only applies when you are borrowing to purchase your property. Please note that Zambian banks don't give low interest mortgages. That is why most people would rather save and build/purchase. Again, this is what you hire a lawyer to do for you. If this section does not apply to you, lawyer fees should be considerably less (if you are lucky!)

4.The property is inspected.

In Zambia there are no professional inspectors. Even if they were there, you would be hard squeezed to find one that would be willing to earn their money. This is one are your eye would be more dependable than that of pseudo professional. This applies to land surveyors. After mid January 2011, I will provide names of surveyors that would do a great job for your time and money.

Most properties, especially settled subdivisions, in Zambia have annexes. Dishonest lawyers would not tell you the property next door is yours as well. Instead they will fraudulently get it for themselves and sell it off. You want to witness the survey yourself. Go to the site and walk the land. You will be glad you did.

And one other thing, surveyed or not, make sure you have your own survey conducted. Most Zambians have a tendency to build a few yards into other people's property, if not on the property, and claim ownership. You want to make sure you are getting your whole property. Avoid the pothole.

5.The closing statement is prepared.

Your lawyer prepares this document which shows all costs that will be paid at your closing. Besides the lawyer fees, trust me, it will be a lawyer of a kind, that will ask for money after closing. If you find one, let me know. But anyway, ask let them show you the paid ZRA fees receipt and the registration fee. Your obligation should be the registration fee only as should be noted out in the contract of sale. Check with your lawyer to confirm the amount you need to bring to the closing.

Insist on having a closing date when all due diligence will have been conducted and ownership will exchange hands in one room with both principals in attendance. You have to understand, you don't own the property until a deed of title is legally processed and has your name on it. Contents of this statement and the contract of sale should jive, otherwise you would be short changed. Cutting corners here would mean loss of Benjamins. Avoid the pothole.

6.You close on your property.

If you did not deposit the funds in the escrow account, smart move, provide the amount that your is included in the closing statement you’ll need to complete the closing. During the closing, you (and whoever else is buying the property with you) will sign the application forms for deed of title, which will be explained to you by the lawyer. After your closing process is complete, your lawyer should then file for your deed of title. So, you are not done with your lawyer until you have a clean deed of title delivered to you in your name.

At that point, my dear friend, the property is yours.

Remember at all times that you are the only one who is going to part with cash. All eyes are on you. Even the property sales tax that would be a contractual obligation of the seller to ZRA will ultimately come from your pocket. The more careful you are with the steps the less chances you will have of losing out. Wileka ba kusangule ntonko!

Unless the property has heavy encumbrances, the whole transaction should take no more than 6 months. I have factored in, court proceedings to cure unspecified power of attorneys, if and where applicable.

Avoid the proverbial potholes!

Welcome to property ownership!

[Mwata Chisha is a member of the National Association of Realtors]

True Leadership

2010-10-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Natural knowledge - native ability - is superior to paper knowledge.

The superiority of native ability is demonstrated in the manner one processes information. The level of sophistication of one's internal thought process influences the choices one makes and the actions that flow from them. Extendedly, all forms of human interaction in which he or she is involved are guided by what one ultimately accepts as own governing values.

For most people, governing values are developed for them and are adopted without question. In any society, therefore, only a considerably small group of people emerge as true leaders. They don't claim to be leaders but they are called upon to lead. They are like a candle that produces the light which others mirrors reflect.

Superior native leadership is intrinsic rather than extrinsic. Its primary occupation is refining the inner self, front-loading the character, intentionally and thoughtfully on a regular basis, with the clean, the positive and the powerful. Native leadership neither dictates nor dominates. Native ability is not haste. It is contemplative and exudes quiet confidence. Native ability is radiated through conduct; does what is right, based on facts presented, and commonsensical. Native leadership does not teach, rather it educates.

Native ability is not manipulative; it is not compromising either. Native ability is decisive not because it has no fear - but has the fear of losing its purpose.

True leadership produces for own consumption insights, thoughts, ideas and things. Therefore it is sought, not sold, and not imposed.

True Leadership is continually reviewing own experiences, taking in both the good and the bad, and getting enriched by both. True leadership gleans lessons from own experiences and those of others, always refining the self. Native ability dwells on the positive, feeding on abundant universal substrate with intent to become the best one can be, in thoughts and deeds. It is these thoughts and deeds about oneself that makes one a leader; being the the producer of craved unique outputs.

Everything else, but humans, depend on natural knowledge.

TRUE leadership is SELF leadership.

I Disagree With Sata, And That Is The Point

2010-10-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

Countdown: Sata’s campaigns in Mpulungu

By Lusaka Times on Wednesday 20 October 2010

PF president Michael Sata has accused the MMD government of causing the death of the late Mpulungu Member of parliament, Lameck Chibombamilimo by neglecting him during his illness. Mr. Sata who is in Mpulungu to drum up support for the party’s candidate Freedom Sikazwe ahead of the October 25, 2010 parliamentary by-election, said President Rupiah Banda hated the late MP even after his death. “Rupiah hated Chibombamilimo, he told MMD cadres that ‘Chibombamilimo is a useless young man, and vowed to sack him as minister and remove him as an MP through a by-election,” Mr. Sata said.

There may be a difference between not liking somebody and hating them. I want to think that Banda may have been right in pointing out that his MP was a useless young man. But Banda did not specify why he felt so. If when he said that, Sata was suggesting that because Banda did not qualify his statement therefore it was reasonable to conclude that Banda hated his MP, then Sata would be guilty of irrational thinking. A rational thinker does not arrive at the conclusion from insufficient information.

He accused government of delaying Chibombamilimo’s evacuation to India, saying the late MP was treated like an animal because during his illness, government officials did not visit him in Hospital. “When Chibombamilimo finally died the government brought his remains in a coffin, which looked like those in which they bury prisoners. That’s how Rupiah hated Chibombamilimo,” he said.

Two issues here:

I have not seen a clause in the constitution that deposits the responsibility of caring for sick politicians on the backs of the people. It is not in the budget either. At one time I thought it may be in the budget, you know - tucked in somewhere under some creative allocation - I have checked all budgets dating back to 1992, and all of them contain nothing of the sort. I mean there is not appropriation for "special health care service for politicians."

But what evident is the fact that each time the Budget is approved, it essentially becomes a law. The process of modifying the budget rises to the level of amending a bill. No organ of the government can do it unilaterally. That being the case, I think it is not irrational for me to suggest that any spending that occurs outside stated parameters, are a contravention of the law and therefore criminal. I expected Sata, who seems to be sympathetic to the squalid status and condition of the regular Zambian, to acknowledge and speak strongly against the criminality in evacuating politicians to foreign health care facilities. But then, he too has a pebble in his shoe. Condemning the act would make him a big hypocrite. Sata, like any other politician, sees this criminal act as an entitlement.

When poor Zambians fall sick, no politicians makes it an issue unless it is their relative. Yet it is the poor Zambians who pay taxes which provide housing, servants, vehicles with free gasoline, cell phones and talk-time, and innumerable allowances in addition to a hefty monthly salary.

Zambians must begin to call out politicians on this issue; they must stop behaving like they owe these lazy shiftless bureaucrats a debt. It is irrational for a Zambian to clam up when Sata, or any other politician, tells them, in a roundabout way, that they do not deserve first class health care obtainable only outside Zambia.

Does it not make you wonder why no politician has ever run on the issue of making evacuations accessible to all Zambians.

The outspoken opposition leader also capitalized on the beating of former finance minister at the funeral house by some suspected MMD cadres. He said when PF members went to mourn Chibombamilimo at the house of mourning they were beaten by MMD cadres.

Bushe ama Cadres ni cinama nshi? Are they not the unemployed Zambians of all ages, stampeding for crumbs from the tables of politicians. I am laying this one back on Zambians. Stop supplying manpower to politicians on the cheap. You are being irrational in your thoughts as long as you remain subservient to politicians. Get your power back, make politicians work for you. Why do you settle for poverty in a rich country like ours?

He further accused President Banda of not having the interest of the people of Mpulungu at heart because he was taking developmental projects to Kasaba Bay where he had personal interests. Meanwhile, Sata confirmed that he had been blocked from holding a rally from a named School in Mpulungu because the Head Teacher had allegiance towards the ruling MMD."We wanted to hold a meeting where George Kunda was holding a rally recently but the headmaster said he could not allow us because we are PF,” he said.

This one rises to the top! Politicians, all of you. Listen to me:

Talusheni ifyongo ku bana! We know you don't send your children to public schools. Mumimwene yenu, as long as it is not your child that is being disturbed, for you it is okay. Well, natwisuke mitwe. Kaneni tumfwe, Is this not your way of growing a stock of kadaz for your children when you hand over the political reigns to them? If you want places to hold meetings/rallies, go ku fibansa fya mangalo. Let schools remain institutions of learning. Yangu!

Mr. Sata complained that his youths were being victimized in Mpulungu for no apparent reason. He said the youths who were arrested for moving with a boat were fined by the Courts.

That not withstanding, the Irrational Thinker of the week Award is conferred upon Mr. Sata. Congratulations for failing to recognize that health care is the most important issue in the lives of Zambians ukulundapo ne ncito.

The Value of the Life of a Zambian Miner Measured In Chilean Units

2010-10-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

ICISAPATO

During their trials and tribulations our forebears devised ways of preserving themselves. When calamity befell them or any member of the their community, they assembled pa nsaka not to lay blame or belittle each other but ukupandashanya amano. For instance when they lost their crop to swarms of locusts, which was more frequent than never, they found out that mulenge, sepa, icifulu, etc., would prevent loss of life. Through consultations and ukwetetula, they discovered that makanta which ate their food was actually edible. They added makanta to ifinshonko ne nyense.

Responding ku cipowe flowing from crop failure or invasion by makanta required sober minds; rational thinkers. Had there been insufficient flow of creative juices in their heads, they would have died of hunger and we would not be here to tell of their triumphs. They were methodical in their approach and surgical in their execution. Specifically, they devised what today's management gurus have termed the ABC's of decision making. Notice how creative they were; they used imisanse to prioritize issues and weight the individual perceptions of urgency applying the following framework:

A: Critical - Life sustaining (must be done)
B: Important - should be done
C: Relatively trivial - could be done

All activities falling under category C were the preserve of ba kalume. All issues of significant importance in category B were done by impalume. Ever heard that never send a boy to do a man's job? Our forebears had it in practice before it was reduced to words on paper. If ba kalume did not do their jobs well, their parents, impalume, scolded them. And when impalume missed a target for whatever reason, they had some serious explanation to do before the elders. It was the responsibility of imiti ya mpako and mpalume to find solutions and outline the modus oparandi for issues falling under category A.

Apparently most managerial concepts that are being repackaged and peddled in seminars all over the industrialized world, we can say with confidence, have their origins in our heritage. To this day, scholars, politicians, and philosophers are continuing to harvest from our rich indigenous cultures very powerful success concepts (Jacks, 2006). At the time Mrs. Hillary Clinton was selling her universal health care proposal, she used insoselo ya kuti, "It takes a village to raise a child." Some people thought she coined the phrase. But that is how some of us were raised; by women who knew that "every child is my child." As a child, you expected that any woman would feed you when you were hungry. Conversely, any woman would pich your cheeks if you acted silly in her presence, just like your mother would. And you knew it.

At another time Dr.Peter Senge popularized the concept of ubuntu, which simply means "ndi muntu pa mulandu wa kuti uli muntu." What a powerful way of acknowledging and valuing each other! Affirming the strength of the spirit of togetherness and actually seeing the good in everyone. People had responsibility to themselves and to each other. And each time impika arose, they all put their arms around it no kuikaulula. Collective action and individual responsibility were an ideal by which everyone lived.

But somewhere between then and now, we lost our sense of self importance. In today's lingo, akuti "ti naitaya." Back then, impika were umwando that bound us together. Today, the same impika are used as excuses for exclusion and factors of divisiveness. Political stripes determine whose voice will be heard and who should clam up. The voices of Rational thinkers are drowned in the milieu of retrogressive diatribe. Is there a chance that we can recapture or reconstruct our ability to think rationally and live our lives that way? What would it take, really?

Events around the world are a constant reminder of what we have lost. The Chilean mine accident and subsequent rescue operation could not hit more closer to home. It is a well known fact that Chileans and Zambians share a common characteristic. Their economies are based on mining. And one thing one can be sure about regarding mining is that it is prone to accidents. However, the manner in which a nation responds to an accidents defines it's character.

The big world watched with keen interest as Chileans struggled to find the sure-fire method of getting 33 miners from the depth of roughly 700m where they had remained for 68 days. As our forebears would have thought, this is a critical issue calling for swift response. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera understood the gravity of the matter; it was not something a responsible and rational president would commit ku minwe ya mabuta mputi. Lives were in danger. He realized that was something he needed to work on with impalume ne miti yampako, wherever he could find them. So, he na kabungwe, consulted wide, deliberated and ultimately selected an option, among many, that had high probability of success. The operation was surgical; all 33 men were reunited with their families and Pinrea was there to make sure the operation was done according to plan. He hugged everyone of them as they emerged from the cage.

One would have expected Zambian politicians of all stripes to take lessons from the Chilean experience. Chile was not deterred even after being hit by a devastating quake. You can easily speculate somebdoy in the group must have declared, "icalo bantu and if abantu are at risk, we will spare no effort." Because that was a category A situation, they had to abandon everything that weighed relatively less on the list of priorities. Lives had to be saved.

It is not that Zambia has never faced a situation of that nature since the first copper mine, Kansanshi, was commissioned in 1908. Musuku (2005), reported that the first major mining disaster in Zambian history happened in 1940, when 16 miners, 13 indigenous and three 3 whites met their demise in a violent current of air-blast. In the years that followed, a series of minor accidents occurred but the next major one one occurred on September 25, 1970, in which at least 89 underground miners perished from in-rush water and flurries. The Kafironda Explosive disaster, a year later, claimed a significant number of Zambian lives. Recently, 51 people died in the Bgrimm explosion, in Chambishi. In the same space of time six miners perished at Mopani Mine, in Mufulira, when the rollers of the cage got off the rails.

In his conclusion, Musuku suggests that "Zambia needs mining names associated with legendary mining grand master, the likes of Harry Openheimer and Ronald Prain, whose mining legacies still remain hard to match nor to better." I understand what Musuku is trying to say.

I see Musuku's recommendation as being a direct result of loss of confidence in ourselves. A suggestion to call somebody else from outside to solve our problems turns us into Cannot-Do-People. But that is not who we should aspire to. When we are faced with situations that fit the profile of category A issues, as a matter of necessity, we must drop everything we are doing and pay attention to that issue. Find a lasting solution. It is normal to suffer another blow but it is a stupid nation that suffers the same blow twice.

Some incomparable but equally life threatening situations have arisen in Zambia many a times. Where and what were the politicians' responses? President Pinera did not jump on the presidential jet to some worthless function after being informed of the accident. It would have been not only irresponsible of him to do that but also insensitive. He became actively involved in coordinating the efforts, gathering ideas from all sources, consulting with NASA personnel, evaluating the options, etc. No idea was good enough until it was ratified by the president and his team of experts. There was no time for experimentation. Every detail of the operation was analyzed with a microscope and executed with surgical precision until all 33 miners were hoisted to the surface. It was a moment of pride for Chileans everywhere. After hugging the last man, Pinera made a short speech and then led the audience in a spirited anthem.

In that short speech, Pinera promised very radical changes to affect the health and safety of workers in mining as well as the transportation, fishing and construction industries. The areas of concern, once again, are similar to Zambia's.

The only difference is, Zambia has always responded to concerns in these areas with kid gloves. Initial partial privatization of the mines in Zambia, in 1970 and total nationalization in 1980, was meant to bring the rightful owners of the mines into the control room, to keep a watchful eye on the safety of their people. They both did nothing. The latter actually made things worse, managerially. It was followed by a spate of declining production levels, poor forecasts, apparent dysfunctional operations, giving lip service to the importance of health, safety and environmental impacts.

Folks, time for change is upon us. We need to stop trivializing life and life threatening issues. We need to take ourselves serious. Our economy depends on the mines and the safety of miners is category A issue. Because when the miners go underground to work, they are presumed dead as long as they remain under there. By the way the mode of lowering them in a cage, down to underground burrows, in a manner and solemn tradition is similar to lowering a coffin into the grave. This is not something our forebears would assign kuli ba kalume to address. It calls for the attention of imiti ya mpako, ba mpandamano - people whom time has prepared to think and source rational ideas in times of need.

In Chile, the 33 miners were pulled from the bowels of earth. Like babies from the womb of mother earth, they came out one at a time and one after the other. They came to life again.

Zambia reads instructions from the wrong pages of history because she seems to have no solution to recurrent problems of cholera, floods, inadequate and substandard health care system, unemployment, political violence, street children, and HIV AIDS related diseases. These issues, our forebears would have thought, are category A and are devouring the nation while people who are supposed to find solutions to them are taking jolly rides in the sky. Zambians whose lives were negatively impacted by the Bgrimm explosion were given a mockery of compensation. The government has done absolutely nothing!

Latest
Three Chinese managers shot at protesters at a coal mine in Sinazongwe. Big deal, right? Not in Zambia. Where are imiti yampako? There is a crisis in Sinazongwe and the minister of Home Affairs was in parliament, representing whom? The vice president was in there too! It had to take deputy speaker of the House to compel the duo to go and find out what was happening. Parliament was now giving executive orders, but where was ba mwine mishi? Is this not a case of assigning ba kalume to critical issues?

Zambia Sambilila. Zambia Sambilila.

Two UNZA problems, One simple solution

2010-10-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

The University of Zambia, popularly know as UNZA, faces a disruption of classes and closure almost every year. Of well known causes, student protests precipitated directly or indirectly by political interference ranks highest. Those who were genuinely smart enough to get a spot on the program rosters at UNZA in the late 70s and early 80s, would remember the numerous times when the administration would be worried upon noticing silence in the student community. The UNZA administration would provoke the student by delaying their allowances or cutting back on their meals.

Considering that the majority of students at that time hailed from humble backgrounds, it was easy to show solidarity with the students. Students likened themselves to the downtrodden, the oppressed and the helpless workers or simply the proletariat. And that they needed to rise up and defend themselves against the tyranny of the bourgeoisie. They might have very well been right because, most of them came from the mining townships where their parents bali ni ba Chimbamabwe. They had a short life expectancy; you know ku malaisha, working hard and long awkawrd hours ne ncombolo. Others were sons and daughters of government workers. Now mwaKaunda, unlike nomba, government workers na ba Chimbamabwe earned peanuts. Except the apamwamba, ba Minister, na ba Makobo. These formed the group that Riki Ililonga sang about, Olemekezeka. Of course the track was banned after burning the airwaves for a couple weeks. That is how Kaunda and his unsophisticated shiftless bureaucratic Central Committee ran the show - very personal.

So, anyway, for the most part, students were on the edge. They learned to react to any slight provocation by politicians and the UNZA administration.They would block roads, smash widnshields in anger, overturn cars, and every once in a while burn a vehicle or two.As expected, Kaunda reacted to that kind of behavior with gusto - he curse a few times, 'stupid idiots,' (like there was ever a time when an idiot was not stupid) then he would deploy and a full load of an Ifa truck, armed police clad in riot gear to disperse the crowds. They would fire teargas canisters, mixed in with live bullets, at students and all hell would break loose.

If you really come to think of it, rebellion was not a Zambian practice until the self appointed chancellor of the great University of Zambia, Kaunda, embarked on a crusade to conscientize students, preaching about his newly discovered bombastic terms - Scientific Socialism. You had to know Kaunda as well as I did or better to appreciate how much he believed he was on to something. He literally shoved Sicentific Socialism down the throats of unsuspecting students until they choked on it. I hold him personally responsible for the behavior unbecoming of a learner, bordering on stupidity exhibited by UNZA students. It was not an easy sale. Did you know that UNZA students were required to memorize the Das Kapital like their life depended on it? For those of you who are spring chickens or who resemble them, look it up. Kaunda's communistic philosophies were not an option; they were a law and woe to he who would dare disobey. Very few people could afford to be rational in his day. So much for being THE father of the nation.

But I am not here to hold on to your coattails and drag you down memory lane about Kaunda and his vigilante boys he purposely denied education and enlightenment. Rather, I wanted to set the stage so you would understand the genesis of the kacha of turmoils that has has latched on UNZA like a smudge of umulembwe beta abati pimpo mwefu. The seed of trouble was sown in the Kaunda era, by his hand. Some rational thinking students did put up a fight, though. I will not mention names. But I will tell you that they ended up being expelled from UNZA and subsequently being blacklisted. It meant that they would never get a job in Zambia. Well, as long as Kaunda was president. And he wanted to be there umuyayaya. That is Kaunda for you.

Today's UNZA is relatively calm. The calmness flows from the incident where the police, who were supposed to be maintaining peace, shot and killed one student at Great East Road Campus, in cold blood, the frequency of provocation from both the political and the UNZA administration has since subsided. However, politicians have not gotten smarter. It is like they have nailprints of irrational thinking in the palms of their hands. They behave the same way their predecessors behaved in the 70s and 80s; doing basically the same darnedest things - being irrational with some of the quickest thinkers in the nation. That is what they spend time doing, buffing their thinking wheels. Whether what their minds bake at the end of the day is useful or less than useful is inconsequential.But one can count on the actions of the politico to prostrate naked before the eyes of the students each time they try to outsmart them. Look at this garbage:

Forgo one trip and pay for students, Mumbi Phiri urges Rupiah

By Agness Changala

Tue 12 Oct. 2010, 04:00 CAT

PATRIOTIC Front Munali member of parliament Mumbi Phiri has asked President Rupiah Banda to forgo one trip and pay fees for the affected students at the University of Zambia (UNZA).

About 1,132 students have been withdrawn from 2010-2011 academic calendars due to non-payment of tuition fees as required by the 75 percent payment policy.

Phiri said even the money that President Banda used to pay for Amayenge Band to go and dance in Nigeria could have been used to pay for the troubled students and enable them to continue with school. She said among the students who were withdrawn, 38 paid half of their fees and were attending classes.

“So you can see that these students actually complied and some of them have remained with six months to complete. Honestly, how fair is it that one should be withdrawn?” Phiri asked.

“I am speaking as a parent and talking to parents. If that was their son, how would they feel?”

Phiri said some of the students were children to lecturers who retired as far back as 2004 and had not been paid their money, adding that it was not easy for them to pay for their children.

How can all three organs of the government fail to solve the financial problem of our two small universities? The Judiciary would scream, 'hey that is the purview of the Executive and the Legislature!' Well, learned ladies and gentlemen, when an irrational politician says the government this and that, it includes you. You may want to argue that the appropriate term is not government but administration. Well, why don't you make that argument. When will you for once quit being stiff necked and say something in defense of the people? As long as that term is used and you learned men and women in those Halloween-like gowns and, symbol of subservience to the British crown, blonde wigs stand idly by, you are co-conspirators and guilty as charged.

Solution

But seriously, the problems of allowances and unnecessary closures can be resolved permanently by taking the government out of the equation. I mean, all vestiges of the government including the ministry of Education. To them, UNZA should be a no go area. Unjustifiable closures would then become a thing of the past. But first the following has to happen:

Make UNZA autonomous;
Hire an accounting/management firm to administer bursaries; and
Make funding for UNZA cost-based.

The government should add a special expense line in it budget to cover the operating costs of UNZA or better still, all post secondary institutions. Such an addition should be enacted into law and subsequent appropriations made a responsibility of a parliamentary subcommittee.

Upon qualifying to an institution of higher learning, including UNZA, students would be expected to apply for a scholarship to the scholarship/selection committee of a private accounting/management institution. The management entity would lay out terms of eligibility, ratified by the parliamentary subcommittee. The government would not be involved in the day-to-day issues of UNZA, Evelyn Hone, etc. The UNZA administration would know its roles and responsibilities - chief among them to facilitate learning. And students would have one deterministic objective when they get to their various campuses - to learn and build professional networks. The accounting/management entity being private and apolitical, will be paid based on performance - defined simply how well it responds to the issues of the students. In other words, Expediency will be the name of the game for all involved. They will have to be perfect or they lose the contract.

My fellow Zambians, we cannot continue to condemn imiti ikula to the pit of poorly educated citizens. We cannot continue to dance cintako around simple issues like this. It's just unacceptable.

When A Slow Thinking Brain Can Be A LiabilityTo Its Owner

2010-10-08T00:32:00.000-07:00

Before my grandpa passed away, in 1966, he said to me, "Man, it was not given to all mortals to think. Even when facts are lined up in front of them, some people don't have the ability to recognize that there is an order to their arrangement."

Since my man passed away, I have put his words to the test. And each time they prove to be true. This brings to mind a saying in my mother tongue that, "Pansaka ta pabula ciwelewele." It is with the realization of the same fact that Hitler managed to hoodwink the weak minded and rode on their backs for a long period, exactly 33 years earlier. Saying you don't know what he did with weak minds is suggesting that you don't know the suffering of Semites at the hands of one of the most vicious dictators in recorded history.

Not too long ago, the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, got a beating for recognizing Hitler's "ingenuity." His critics argued that the actions of such brutes as Hitler should be pushed to the fringes of human history. Arnold's critics may have had a point. Suggesting that actually in the mix of Hitler's crimes, one ca find a leaflet of lessons, may sound insensitive especially to the Semites, Gypsies, etc. Well, and all people of darker shade, especially myself. But dismissing the fact that there were a multitude of lethargic thinkers, on whose backs Hitler rode to pursue the objectives of the Third Reich is denying the fact that the Holocaust was perpetrated by thousands of people, if not millions, who were at least 6 degrees removed from him.

In a world where some people fail to count empty insupa lined up on the wall in front of them, Hitler managed to mobilized millions of people with slow cranking brains to incinerate people who had done nothing to him. The only crime they were accused of, which in fact they had no hand in shaping, was being of a darker shade. He hated them and he wanted them wiped off the face of this earth. But from an organizing angle alone, Hitler could be thought of as a genius. Hitler is actually said to have had remarked, "Good for leaders that most people don't think." There was nothing genius about what he did. He only recognized the abundance of slow cranking brains Germany and put them to work. Any idiot can do that. All it takes is a little boldness.

Politics aside, Hitler had a point. The same point that my grandpa, who had never seen the inside of a primitive classroom, let alone take a lesson in European history, had made. I will venture to say, however, that lethargic thinking is not a preserve of some Zambians. It is an attribute that one can find in the community of puritans as well.

Therefore, as long as that remains a fact, the world and Zambia in particular, will not be in short supply of individuals who will take refuge in lethargy in thinking.

Enough of philosophizing. As my cab driver once said, "take a straight shot to it." In one of my jaunts on Zambia Online, Dear Mr.President forum, a year or two ago, I encountered many MMD hardliners. One of them used my first name for a handle - Mwata. Whether he knew me or not is inconsequential. He responded to my postings and we locked horns in what ended up being a protracted debate. Did it feel awkward to debate someone who uses your true name for a pseudonym? Absolutely. Sometimes I felt schizophrenic because I was calling another person by my name.

Anyway, it quickly dawned on Mwata that I was neither on his side nor the side of those he despised. That did not deter him from unleashing flurry of his nuclear power packed political punches on me. Each time I exited the forum my mental lips would be split and nose bleeding. I would try to reason with Mwata but he was hellbent on convincing me that sitting on the fence would only expose me to shots from either side. He suggested, his side was safer. He may have had a point, but then that was looking at things only through his prism. Needless to say, debates on ZOL don't get to the conclusion, instead they recede into hibernation only to resurface later. My debate with Mwata was no exception.

Mwata and I got fatigued by the hard punches to our philosophical bodies. We respectfully said our farewells and vowed never to cross paths again.

As fate would have it, I was informed recently that Mwata was defending me in another forum when a bunch of slow cranking brains, in another forum, actually ascribed his postings to me and poured profanity on my name. This was brought to my attention by a colleague of mine who had read the comments on Lusaka Times. Some of these lethargic thinkers even went to an extent of characterizing my article on the Association of Zambians in Atlanta website as below modern first grade standard.Honestly I would like to meet a first grader that would analyze issues better myself after being on earth for only 6 years!

Now, you are thinking Mwata Chisha was upset because he was abused in an episode of mistaken identity. You cannot be farther from the truth. The assault on my person even when the person whose postings argued that he and I were not the same did not bother me at all. I would not give another person the power to hurt me with words. Elenore Roosevelt once said, "No one can hurt you unless you give them permission."

What bothered me in that debate between Mwata, who is not me, and those many Zambians with slow cranking brains is the poverty of thought. Not a single one of them said, wait a minute, 'Just because the poster's name is Mwata, it does not mean it is Mwata Chisha.' Not a single one of them thought about that except the same person who they were arguing with. He told them he was not Mwata Chisha, but they unwittingly continued feeding off each other. Now, one would think, their thinking had been challenged and that an indicator placed in front of their face, they would take a step and connect the dots. No, not them. They dug up stuff on Mwata Chisha and brought them back to the discussion to perpetuate their myth.

I, Mwata Chisha, have my own gig: THIS ONE RIGHT HERE! I don't visit Lusaka Times unless I am told that there was something worth reading; as was the case here. If I wanted to debate issues I would go back to ZOL. Although ZOL is busy, I think the proportion of lethargic thinkers on ZOL is less than that found on Lusaka Times.

What happened was that one overzealous self-righteous partisan misled a whole bunch of supposedly educated Zambians into believing the Mwata of Lusaka Times and Mwata Chisha are one and the same. Sadly, they believed him and without even a word of instruction from him, they started abusing my name.

Doesn't it remind you of the time when you were little and somebody would tell you, "Icimbwi co! And you get all scared, you almost pee in your pants? You would not have even seen a hyena before, for crying out loud. Yet the mention of it puts you on spaghetti legs. But I can understand that; you were young and gullible. We all go through that. Little brains are imaginative, and trusting. One wonders how such busy minds get tired so early.

Mwata Chisha, here, is not partisan! I am not on the side of politicians. I am on the side of the people.

I lost both my parents and a number of my siblings in the Zambian hospitals, in a short space of time, not because they could not be helped but because this and the previous administrations shared a common element - slow cranking brains. They did not and still don't believe health-care is a priority. They would rather spend money on promoting ideologies, custom tailored suits and heels, physicals in London, and globetrotting, while taxpayers rot in poorly equipped health facilities at home. Only people with slow cranking brains would refuse to make health-care a priority in a nation with a low health profile.

With that much pain in my heart, I cannot possibly be hobnobbing with the administrations which I hold partially responsible for my irreversible losses. I seek no retribution, I want solutions. I want lasting solutions. And singing praises to the administrations, regardless of who is at the helm, is not my style. I started this blog to call attention to the urgency of thinking. Thinking is one chore that most Zambians feel too lethargic to do.

If one slow cranking brain, a mortal to whom it was not given to think, can mislead a considerable number of bloggers at Lusaka Times, it is only fair to speculate that there is a large number of Zambians with significantly slow thinking brains, ingwilabulime, bacitongo, ba cipelelo, ba muselela kwakaba, ba musekela kali kwisaya, intonko.

It is not healthy!

PS: I was going to bestow upon them the Irrational Thinkers' Award but that is okay. Kuti uleipushe mbwa ngeifwele?

Not Now, Not This Time

2010-10-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

I remember when I was little, my mother would pinch the side of my little sauagey thighs when I acted silly, which was often. But sometimes she would only pull my ear as she mumbled something under her breathe. In those days such pinches were popularly known as tu namatanta. The sting of tu namatanta was as bad as that of utushinda beni. Those of you who visited the country side when school was out would know what I am referring to. Then the sting of utushinda beni on your dust covered butt would linger on for a while, reminding you not to sit on the bare ground while wearing short pants with holes in them.

That is the kind of pinch I would like to give Banda and Sata when they convince themselves that they could actually turn the plight of the Zambians into a joke. Banda speaks of obligations. What obligations? Why is it difficult for him to point out what those obligations are? What obligations does his administration have to the poor people of Zambia? Can he come up with a prioritized list of what constitutes obligations?

Never mind his incessant travels and repeated visits to places he has been before, he should try hard to explain how his trips are helping those "obligations."

But just in case Banda cannot remember what obligations the Zambian president has to the people of Zambia, I have highlighted one of the top priorities of his administration's obligations.

When he says irrational things like this, I feel like reaching out from here, ukushempo lupi ulwine lwine. Cilya awe cipense pense, afilwo kulilala, alatusaila fye nga katutwa kapusuka ku lupikiso, I would pull his ear and ..... well, you know, read on....

Sata is silly, says Rupiah
By Patson Chilemba
The Post Tue 05 Oct. 2010, 04:01

MICHAEL Sata is very silly, President Rupiah Banda charged yesterday.

Reacting to Patriotic Front president Sata’s comment that he was now soliciting for international trips in order to raise campaign funds, President Banda dispelled Sata’s assertions.

“But he Sata is very silly. I think it is the first time I have to call him that,” President Banda said shortly before his departure for Chipata at Lusaka City airport. “He hasn’t even phoned me to say sorry about my funeral, which I expect him to do. Traditionally, he should do that. He is a fellow leader and he is my cousin, he should do that. He just has to talk. It looks like he is one of the reporters for the particular newspaper because he has all the time to say something. So let him say whatever he wants to say.”

President Banda said he was recently in Nigeria and met that country’s President Goodluck Jonathan. He said he did not travel out of the country to solicit for campaign funds.

“I am a President. It is so disgraceful for me to solicit for funds. I cannot do that. I have my own country. My own industry is here and everything. I am very proud of you people and I carry your pride with me,” President Banda said. “If he does that himself, let him go ahead and do it, but mine is to attend to our obligations.”

President Banda said he had to attend to obligations, adding that Zambia was a member of the African Union, the Commonwealth, SADC and the United Nations.
He said he did not go for the recently held United Nations General Assembly.

“Last year I didn’t go. He pointing at Vice-President George Kunda went, he went isn’t it? Who went?” President Banda asked as Vice President Kunda responded: “I went to the Commonwealth.”

President Banda said this year, defence minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa was the one who went to the United Nations. He said other Presidents went there also.

“I didn’t go. He doesn’t talk about that because it suits him. He only talks when I go somewhere. Even just going for my funeral, I am sure he will say I am traveling again. But I hope he is human enough to understand that I am a President,” President Banda said. “I have to travel for funerals, for obligations, different obligations which concern all of us here. So I don’t bother much about him anymore. If he had that much power I wouldn’t be traveling by now. But I will continue to carry out my obligations as President as long as I think it is to the benefit of Zambians. I will do it.”

Sata last week observed that President Banda’s trips were fruitless because they had failed to materialise any tangible benefits for the nation. He said President Banda was now soliciting for foreign trips in order to source funds for the 2011 campaigns.

Asked to comment on information minister Ronnie Shikapwasha’s remark that doctors were influenced by opposition politicians to strike, President Banda said he had not read the article in question. He reiterated his earlier statement that the doctors were negotiating with Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja and Ministry of Health officials.

President Banda said he wanted to stay out of such matters until it was absolutely necessary.

Let's pause here for a second. When? When are such matters absolutely necessary for you to step in? Ba Banda, SUCH MATTERS ARE IN FACT YOUR OBLIGATION! And you are pushing your obligation to the back burner.

Remember the Chansa Kabwela case? Ba Banda, you don't mess with people's healthcare.

Not now. Not this time.

Not Ever!

Health and safety of the Zambians is numero uno on the prioritized list of obligations of the President of the Republic of Zambia. It is in such matters that you step up to the plate and act presidential. And by the way, keep in mind that Sata is not president. You Are!.

“So what my colleague may have said, or is alleged to have said I have no comment on that,” he said.

On the problems in the PF-UPND pact, President Banda said he did not know about the wrangles in the pact, adding that the matter did not concern him or the MMD.

My final word to you ba Banda: You are carrying the weight of the nation on your shoulders. Everyone is counting on you to be rational in your thoughts and deeds. If you want to play with Sata in the Sand box, call him to the national house. There is a safe and secure backyard large enough for both of you. You can smack each other, slap each other upside the head, bump heads and ukuishina tu namatanta for all we care. But once you come out in public and have cameras and mics pointing at you, Zambians want to hear you show concern about the issues they are grappling with. Tell them what you are doing about their concerns and when help will reach them.

For consistently failing to enumerate and articulate your obligations, Mr.President, by the powers vested in me by my ancestors, I confer upon you the Irrational Thinker Of The Week award, entitling you to all rights and honors appertaining.

I Agree With Kambwili. But That Is Not The Point

2010-09-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

Kambwili urges Musokotwane to acknowledge corruption in govt
By Salim Dawood
The Post Mon 27 Sep. 2010, 14:50

DENYING the existence of rampant corruption and abuse of public resources in government is like denying that a human being does not go to the toilet, Roan Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili has charged.

Reacting to Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane’s statement that opposition MPs should desist from inciting donors to withhold their aid by alleging that there is rampant corruption and abuse of public funds in the country, Kambwili said the best the minister could do was come up with better ways of dealing with corruption instead of issuing irresponsible statements...

Enough of this garbage!

Mwata's Remarks
In ancient times, when our proud forebears roamed the earth, panhandling was a craft for the lazy, the peeons. Such terms as real men, and true women, were coined to illuminate unfettered quest for success at both individual and collective levels; the desire and ability to work hard and solve their own problems. They had the will to face problems head on. Self-sufficiency was a virtue. The idea of rite of passage was rooted in that concept. No rational thinking parents would marry off their daughter to a man who had no means of earning his livelihood. No, not a beggar! They called such a man kawayawaya mupanda buci.

Conversely, men based their choice of a bride on the family's notoriety for success; they sought maidens from families with a tradition of hard-work. Family members demonstration of self respect, earned them admiration and respect from others. They lived their values and valued their lives. Beauty has always be the attention grabber of course but the spirit of work counted more. Umwanakashi ni chinokole lisembe lya mukuba, simply meant that the maiden may be beautiful but she was not marriage material.

Married men boasted about the beauty and strength of their wives. They took pride in their societal knowledge, social skills, and abilities to perform with excellence any work before them. One would often hear a triumphant man exalting himself in such terms as, "ne muka naChibeka...!" Even the name Chibeka says something about the power of thought of the parents. Or "ne shiChibeka...libili na litatu!" Men felt proud of their families and they wanted the world to know especially in moments of success. Their peers would also acknowledge their achievements and remark, "e ndupwa sha kupilamo shilya..."

And when the Agro revolution reached them and they started mixing the old ways and the new ways, it was common among community members to praise their neighbors, "ba limi balya" or "ni mwana chilime ulya...!" And collectively, the clan would be characterized as "uluko lutobela." The reputation of a family was elevated to something from which others sought seeds. "We lubuto ula bipa we! Kanshi cikolwe nshi cafwile kunsala?" A parent would complain when his child begins to show signs of laziness. "Tata ali ni nka ya milimo...nampo nga ni ntunga nshi uyu afumishe icipasho?"

There is no argument we come from a proud and hardworking people. They never depended on anyone for anything. They provided for themselves the three basic needs; cloth (ifilundu), food (ubutala) and shelter (amayanda).

They also knew how to party. They ate, drunk and danced like there was no tomorrow, in thanks giving to imilungu, for the new crop and good health.

The lazy among them had little chances of finding a marriage partner, that is if they would find one at all. So, economic prowess was a factor in limiting the contribution of the lazy people to the gene pool. Natural selection, the differential reproduction of genotypes, worked against bu mbokoya. And those who died without contributing to the gene pool, were buried with their butt plugged up with umuseba wa nyanje. What a way to go, huh?

It was a disgrace to be lazy, to beg, to depend on others. It was shameful for an able bodied individual to not provide adequately for oneself and family. Dependency (ubupushi, bu kalombalomba) on other people was spat on.

My question to Zambia and Zambians is, where is your pride? When did you abandon the ways of your forebears and become beggars? Allright, every once in a while a person falls upon hard times, but when are you going to get up and go on your own?

I did some checking and I found panhandling as a percentage of Zambia's annual budget:
2007 19%
2008 17%
2009 23%
2010 15%
How can you make begging an essential ingredient of your national life? Have you no shame?

Media Distortions and the Irrational Thinker Award

2010-09-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Every time I analyze a statement in the press made by a Zambian public figure, I always factor in errors by the scribe. Any literally piece put out is laced with a high dose of subjectivity. Even when one tries to reproduce a statement word for word, the possibility that the scribe edited out some parts that they thought were irrelevant, or an idea not properly articulated, is high. In essence, any reported item is subject to "the power of the pen." This as true in Zambia as is in America.

The article below is the best example of the obvious distortion of information by the reporter. I have dissected Kombe Chimpinde's article to show how long he'd been out to lunch. Read on...

UPND has not run out of options to win in 2011 - Mweetwa
By Kombe Chimpinde
Fri 24 Sep. 2010, 17:50

THE UPND has said that it has not run out of options to win the 2011 elections.

And the UPND has complained that they have sacrificed enough including Namwala member of parliament major Robby Chizyuka because of their commitment to the Pact.

Speaking when he featured on 'People’s Last Say' programme on QFM radio last night UPND deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa accused its partner the Patriotic Front (PF) of not being committed to the Pact that has been on the agenda of Zambians.

The foregoing paragraph is reporter Chimpinde's take on what Mweetwa said. It is supposed to be very clear in its construction. But as any language teacher would observe, it is long, winding, and poorly punctuated. I am not a language expert myself but I am always a sucker for a well written article. The italicized part of Chimpinde's sentence is likely to lead a reader to thinking Mweetwa is an object or is the partner of PF. A rational thinker would, however, know that UPND deputy spokes person Cornelius Mweetwa is not an object. Therefore the use of the word its in the sentence is a distortion. It may not be intentional but the totality of the errors in the opening paragraph reflects possible thinking impairment in the writer.

“What is happening in the Pact is not actually indisciplined. I think its lack of commitment within the Pact. I am saying this because indiscipline is when someone in the political circles is contrary to the party's position. When you walk out alone and say as far as am concerned I stand for something that is contrary to the party's position then you are said to be indisciplined. This we did in UPND when we expelled Namwala MP Major Chizyuka because he was taking a stance that was contrary to the party's,” he said.

In the above paragraph, I am assuming Chimpinde is transcribing the voice of Mweetwa on some contraption of some sort. I understand Mweetwa may have said "indisciplined," in place of "indiscipline," may not have used proper syntax when making his comments, but I think Chimpinde had time to insert proper punctuations in the sentence. I mean when you quote someone quoting someone else, you need to use appropriate punctuations to mark the beginning and end of the second quote. On this one, Chimpinde had been out to lunch for too long!

Mweetwa said that UPND expelled Chizyuka just to demonstrate their commitment to the Pact.

It is not clear whether it was Chimpinde's idea to use the wordjust or it was actually Mweetwa's. The use of the word "just" projects the simplicity of thought of the UPND party as a collective. Whether this was intentional on the part of Chimpinde or it was indeed Mweetwa's best choice of words, I am not sure. However, reading it the way it is written, I am made to think that the UPND departed from principle when it expelled its member just to demonstrate its commitment to the Pact. Such an action, in my view, is irrational.

“We had to lose an MP because we knew we were concentrating on a bigger picture, the Pact, because that’s what the people of Zambia want. We had to expel a member of parliament on that score now when people say Gary Nkombo is indisciplined he is a member of parliament and chairperson for energy in the UPND,” he said.

Once again, Chimpinde did a poor job reporting a spoken word. Chimpinde could have cut the sentences short to elevate the degree of clarity. This is because the use of the word because in the same sentence is permissible in speech but not in written.

“He was speaking as a member of the working group and in this particular meeting that took place that sanctioned PF's stand in Mpulungu and Chilanga to be contested by UPND. Gary was the secretary who was taking minutes of what was discussed.”

Chimpinde! This is not acceptable! Lunch hour ended yesterday.

He said it was astonishing to learn that PF general secretary, Wynter Kabimba, who was a senior party official in PF could come out and contradict the agreement s made at the meeting.

“...its lack of commitment because from what the general secretary of PF has said he has gotten full coverage and backing of his President Mr Micheal Sata in The Post and on Joy FM this morning. He (Sata) has covered him 100 per cent. He has also insisted that he (Wynter) is the voice for the central committee of PF, he has also joined in saying the working group is a smaller body and the decisions of working group. So now a senior party official getting the coverage of the president.”

What did Mweetwa say? What did Kabimba say? What did Sata say? And what did you, Chimpinde, hear?

He said the only explanation to PF’s behaviour was that there was no commitment on their part.

“...today PF has changed the stance cause the stance cause in the post Wynter Kabimba has said HH should forget about been President for the pact and on the other side on the radio and in the paper Mr Sata is saying Wynter Kabimba is the voice of the PF Central Committee which they have portrayed as been sovereign and beyond reproach they are a supreme beyond the working group or any marriage with UPND.”

I am going to assume, Chimpinde is a student on internship from a local college of journalism. This is not the way to write! Working with my assumption, I am going to place blame on the editor (of whatever prefix fits the job of looking through articles of interns before they are published). My question to the editor is, What the heck happened? Look at this paragraph! You can't let such poor pieces be put through for publication.

He further accused the PF leaders of not being sincere by indicating that Sata was ready to work under Hichilema.

There goes Chimpinde again. By stating that Sata was ready to work under Hichilema contradicts the insincerity that you are claiming Mweetwa had accused Sata of. Is it possible that you are distorting what Mweetwa said?

“So his voice is sanctified, it is a pure position of PF. So for the PF to insist that the two leaders have agreed to work under each other is not true, only HH has said he is willing to work under Mr Sata, and I heard myself,” he said.

Editor, don't you find this confusing

“So it no longer applies that Mr Sata is willing to be a vice-president to HH. The wrangle has nothing to do with HH, it has something to do with the working group and the failure of organisational consistency,” he said.

It could have sounded better had you, Chimpinde, inserted the word "its" in place of "the," between the words "and" and "failure." I did not mean to confuse the reader further. But the last part of the sentence should have read, "...working group and its failure to maintain organizational consistency." I will let you off on this because it may very well be what Mweetwa had said. But based on what I have observed so far, I cannot be sure.

He said PF was defending people who thought that each time they went to a meeting they got a fresh mandate.
“They failed to send people to this group who have to talk about Chilanga. The wrangle is about Chilanga but look in The Post and how Kabimba has gone far to disparage HH saying that HH should not think he will just walk into the PF -UPND Pact and take over the presidency the same way he walked in and become president for UDA( United Democratic Alliance.”

All Chimpinde needed to do here is apply proper punctuation and the reader would follow with great ease.

He said people should learn to put certain things in the past.

“HH will become president of this country one day which I believe he will, it will not be as a result of the wishes of Wynter Kabimba, neither will it be a wish of Mr Micheal Sata. It will be the wish of the people of Zambia who vote,” he said.

“... and people in Zambia in 2006 had indicated that they were willing to vote for HH, so there is nothing wrong with thinking that come 2011 actually many people who had promised to vote for HH will.”

I give credit where credit is due. This is a teaching moment for me. That is how you quote somebody, Chimpinde. Good job!

Mweetwa, however, said that it was possible for the two parties to produce one presidential candidate if they remained committed to the Pact.

“It is possible to produce one presidential candidate under the umbrella of the Pact but for us UPND we have not yet run out of options and ideas of our future and it is clear and bright.We are willing to contribute positively to ensure we bring about change,” said Mweetwa.

Apply proper punctuations, Chimpinde!

And during the same programme, Munali PF member of parliament Mumbi Phiri called in and maintained that it was impossible for individual parties to remove the MMD government.

“I am speaking as Munali MP representing the people of Munali. I can assure you that the Pact is not going to break. Those in the Pact that think they can go and stand alone are joking,” she said.
Phiri said she was hopeful that the Pact was going to hold and that only an insane person could think that either parties could go it alone.

“Let us keep praying am a woman of faith who believes in prayer and you know in a marriage they say a marriage that is criticised in the beginning comes out to be strong. I believe the UPND -PF Pact is going to stand until 2011 and that’s my prayer and I will not stop kneeling until this Pact works so that we can liberate this country. People are sleeping hungry, women are being raped, people are being killed. Can you imagine now corruption has even entered the mortuary.question mark here would have been better Where are we going as a nation?” she asked.

There is something seriously wrong with the first two sentences in the above paragraph; it distorts what is being said, not because of what is being said or how it is said, but how it is reported

“This country is not going anywhere so those who are joking let us get serious. I don’t think any sensible person can want to break the Pact and go it alone unless you are insane.”

I have always argued that that words are symbols of our thoughts. One can use different symbols to represent one's thoughts as long as one understands what those symbols mean. The variation of symbols is synonymous with language. It is clear that Chimpinde's mastery of the language he is using to report what he heard, or lack of it, is introducing distortions into the report. It is easy for an irrational reader to get inaccurate information from an article characterized by so much errors. Whether it is intentional or not, the mountain of evidence against the reporter suggests that he may be a major contributing factor to misinformation.

Such a poor piece of literally work emanate from many sources but a rational thinker. I therefore confer upon Kombe Chimpinde the Irrational Thinker of the Week Award.

Lying: Intentional or Ignorance?

2010-09-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

Stop using maths to hoodwink Zambians that economy is improving – Mambo
By Kombe Chimpinde
Fri 24 Sep. 2010, 04:01

FORMER Church of God overseer Bishop John Mambo yesterday told the MMD to stop playing with maths and figures to hoodwink the people of Zambia that the economy is improving.

And Bishop Mambo has predicted another constitution review after a change of government next year.

In an interview Bishop Mambo said that it was absurd for the MMD government to say the economy had greatly improved under the leadership of President Banda when poverty levels had still remained very high.

“Poverty levels in the country are still very high even if we are talking about our economy picking up. I have a foundation called Chikondi Rural Foundation and when you visit the area it is clear that the majority of our people in the rural areas only have one meal a day. You can't say that we are governing peacefully because of the fear of God. Governing people who cannot have a day’s meal?” Bishop Mambo questioned.

He has since challenged the young generation to mobilize and stand up for their rights.

“A hungry stomach will always be corrupt. The high levels of corruption are as result of rampant poverty, so we must fight corruption by first trying to fight poverty. And since we were bold enough to declare ourselves as a Christian nation why is government failing to put bread on people's tables, and you the young generation can't even put your act together and say enough is enough it is time we change,” he challenged.

“Zambia is a beautiful country but we are destroying it because these people (MMD government) who are currently there are not there to serve, you can even tell. It is just, ‘how much I will make' so if we are not going to remove this scenario of politics being for income, then we are in trouble.”

Bishop Mambo asked President Banda to take a leaf from the Libyan administration when claiming success. He cited Libya's economy stressing that the people of Libya were happy with the developments because there was a match in pronouncements of the governments and the reality on the ground.

“If you go to Libya people are happy that’s why (Colonel Muammar) Gaddafi has been there for a long time, you understand the growth that we are talking about. Not growth where the rich are becoming filthy rich and the poor, poorer. Here in Zambia we will not accept that the economy is improving when the amount of interest rates for you to borrow money to start a business is still very high,” he said

“I am not an economist but I know money. When the country is doing well, one can go to bank and borrow money at a low cost but the gap between the poor and rich continues to widen...I think we shouldn't play maths and that’s what they (MMD) are doing because in terms of the economy only when the majority have food on the table can we say there is economic growth. Until we say that voters in Kanyama, Mandevu and so forth eat, then we can say the economy is growing. This is why the Catholics are saying that people want a regime change. Us evangelicals, we say this is a Christian nation but Christians must fight for the poor and ensure that they have food on their tables which most churches are not doing.”

Bishop Mambo hailed the Catholic bishops for speaking out for the people and stated that they were talking about reality on the ground and that it was important that this government listens to them.

“If you are going to convince me that the economy is doing well there has to be a generation of decent employment for the graduate from university, don't talk about six per cent. What growth? It must be matched with what is going on the ground,” he said.

People must not be swayed to vote for the government when a road has been built in an area prior elections. This is the situation. We are going to see a lot of activity because we are heading to elections. Money is already flying around. This is why there is need to sensitize people because people don't know their rights. When the government builds roads prior to elections they (people) are saying we will vote for them because they have built us a road. But that’s their right. Thats the obligation of government.”

He said that there was need for Zambians to change their mindsets so as not to fall into traps meant to gunner support for the government.

“It’s important that we go back to 1991 when we stood and said; ‘Kaunda that’s enough, we want change’. Change must be there. However, it must be peaceful change. If the current President will continue showing us that he can’t serve the people of Zambia then we need change,” he said.

“They must listen to criticism. People are tired of this kind of leadership were people have made themselves kings that they cannot listen to people. Leadership is not about reacting to people.”

Commenting on President Banda’s silence on the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) in his speech to Parliament, Bishop Mambo said no president was going to rule with a clear mandate without having addressed the desperation of people expressed in the Mung'omba Constitutional Review process.

He observed that the desire by Zambians to have a Constitution before 2011 had been hijacked by the MMD government.

“It was the desire of many Zambians to go to the 2011 elections with a new constitution but I don't see it happening. They have applied brakes because they want the document to suit their desires. The President and his Cabinet know that the document that will come out will not be accepted by the majority of the people. Again this is what we call playing with time and money ,” he said.

Bishop Mambo observed that this was why those people who were supposed to be at the core of the process have been left out from the process.

“Whether we go for it or not we will still have, and am not a prophet, a change of government outside the MMD. We will go back go to the drawing board, the reason being that no President will rule with a clear mandate without having addressed the desperation of many people who submitted for fifty-plus one we know its costly but we don't want a minority president,” he said.

“…now this is not the start, we have had a number of documents that are gathering dust now a mountain from the late Mainza Chona, Mvunga, we went to the late Mwanakatwe who resisted to take up the position because he did not want lies to be told and finally Willa Mung'omba who for three years NCC was seating they never consulted him. So now, how smart is Chifumu Banda and his team?” he questioned.

Bishop Mambo has since charged that the process was not helping the country in any way.

The National Constitution Conference in August handed the draft constitution and report to the government although there has been no direction given on the future of the document.

There has, however, been repeated calls from Zambians to government on the need for a new constitution before the country goes to the polls next year.

The Post

Does Zambia Have Mechanisms to Implement Fiscal and Monetary Policies?

2010-09-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

The management of a structured economy depends, to a great extent, on the ability of both the administration and the central bank to formulate policies that affect unemployment, inflation, and and growth. In this short discussion, by unemployment I am referring to the proportion of the labor force that is unemployed. And for simplicity sake, inflation here means the increase in the general price level. As for growth, I have adopted the textbook definition of GDP which is the value of all finish products produced in a given year within an economy. I am not going to waste time discussing GNP for reason that will soon become apparent.

To influence the rate of unemployment which is normally caused by factors such as fluctuation of business cycle (cyclical), people changing jobs (frictional), pool of skilled manpower not keeping up with the demand for new skills in the labor market (structural)both the administration and the Central bank have to have mechanisms which only they can manipulate. For instance the administration can pour money into the economy through implementation of planned infrastructural development projects. The central bank would augment the administration's effort by lowering interest rates so business can borrow to purchase equipment, expand their production capacity. These two efforts if implemented in a measured and coordinated way, can create new jobs and lower the rate of unemployment.

Let's not forget that the secondary effects of these actions is the powerful undercurrent of the multiplier effect. They cause ripple effects as funds cycle through the markets creation of more money.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Zambian administration does pour huge funds into the infrastructural development projects. The question I have is, how does it measure the impact of its actions? How does it know that the rate of unemployment is being impacted by it actions and to what extent?

These are simple questions but they can be difficult to provide good responses to when the administration does not have a decent mechanism in place to associate facts together. The administration needs to know the baseline rate of unemployment first and then measure the change immediately the project has commenced.

To influence the rate of inflation, the administration can work together with the the central bank to reduce the volume of cash in circulation. This can be accomplished by selling financial instruments issued by the government. The central bank can do even more by increasing the interest rates. Both the selling of financial instruments and increasing premium rates give an incentive for people and businesses to put their money in the bank. However, such an approach would work well when the population has a culture of saving. Zambia has instead a consuming culture. In addition, the interest rates are always high. There may be a good reason for high loan rates and I intend to explore that in another piece. What is of interest at this time is to identify the mechanism the administration uses to influence inflation and how it measure the impact.

Again there is no doubt in my mind that the government sells bonds. The question is, to whom? Another pertinent question at this point would be, does the central bank have the power to increase or lower interest rates? If it does, how does it exercise that power?

Economic growth can benefit from all the above actions, assuming all the actions are done in a thoughtful, intentional and coordinated manner. However, institutional mechanisms have to be in place. The administration can augment the efforts by acting as a consumer in the products market. we all know that the government consumes just about anything one can think of. And once it does, it stimulates a chain of activities in the economy which has a positive effect on unemployment.

In view of the interdependence of the factors at the disposal of the central bank and the administration, measuring the effects of each action and predicting the extent of the impact on the fringes of the economy makes it look complex but in actual fact its very easy. The complexity is diminishes with the clear definition of and institutionalization of the mechanisms that the administration and the central bank can use.

When both the administration and the central bank begin to describe an increase in the production of raw copper and high corn harvest as increase in GDP, one wonders whether the country has the right set of eyes reading the economic indicators. I should not have to say it but copper cathodes and corn are intermediate products. In fact in the strictest of sense, they are raw materials. In their state, they should be excluded from GDP computation.

Excluding copper and corn from computation of GDP leaves us with absolutely no fundamentals to work with to determine the performance of the Zambian economy at any one given point. I think this is true because, as difficult as it is for the government to measure unemployment and the effects of its attempts to reduce the rate, it is even more difficult for the government to measure the incomes that were earned by households in the resource market. Assuming a close, two sector economy, the value incomes earned should give a suggestion of the value of all finished products produced in the Zambian economy in a given year which was bought by the Zambian consumers. Does Zambia have the mechanism in place to monitor retail sales? Who is capturing these data and how are they stored?

If it hard to compute GDP using such simplified approach, it is even harder to compute GNP. To start with, most of the manufacturing industries in Zambia are owned by foreigners. The proportion of what they produce has to be subtracted from the computation as we add the production of assets owned by Zambians abroad. I would be hard pressed to find Zambian nationals with assets worth writing home about reporting their earning to Zambia Revenue Authority on a regular basis. Or are there?

How then do we know the status and condition of the Zambian economy when there are no formal mechanisms in place to collect reliable data? Are these mechanism important? Howe difficult are they to set up?

Of course I am assuming that they are absent. If anyone knows better, please educate me.

How to Create Weatlh: Blood, Sweat, and Tears for Zambians Living in Foreign Lands

2010-09-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

It is not unusual to find a group of Zambians who describe Zambia in glowing terms. That is not to say you would have to go to the ends of the world to find those that are totally divorced from her. Divorce Zambia?

They may have reasons. It is not for anyone of us to judge. For when somebody has a stone in their shoe, only they would know it and they would walk funny as long as it remains there. That group is not my concern. I am interested in the team of Zambians living in foreign lands who have been dealt a hard punch many a times but have refused to stay down. This is the team whose trials and tribulations I am familiar with.

Many Zambians living in foreign lands work hard for their money. Whatever it its that they get to keep is rescued from the talons of competing uses. It takes immense self discipline to resist the temptation to splurge. More so when you see the locals spending like there is no tomorrow.

The difference between the locals and the Zambians is that the locals do not have a flimsy background in terms of wealth like most Zambians do. As though that is not enough, the Zambians have a lot of responsibilities, to their immediate families and the families they left behind. They have elderly parents to support, brothers to feed, nieces and nephews to put through school, in addition to their own wives and acculturated belligerent children, not to mention bills. It is good enough that they have the courage to remember Zambia because some of their compatriots don't. Not even the illness and subsequent death of their parents would move them to want to visit the land the where their umbilical cord is buried.

As one would imagine, these two groups are not differentiated by skin color, hair style, mascara, the cars they drive or the homes they live in. The difference, however, is the method by which they choose to end the cycle of poverty. By this I mean creating wealth.

Some of them may be rich by all standards but they are not wealthy. The distinction between wealth and riches can be understood by examining the definition of the two terms. Being rich, in my view, is having substantial disposable income that exceeds one's spending needs, while wealth is a collection of assets that yield to its owner a flow of income without requiring the owner's presence. This portfolio of assets is usually under the watchful eye of somebody who is not the owner. Meaning, the owner has found and enlisted the helping hand of an enthusiastic, willing and able trustworthy person. Let's call this the third dimension.

The third dimension usually comes in the form of a relative, a friend, a lawyer or simply an employee. It is this element that bleeds almost every Zambian living in foreign land who attempts to create wealth in Zambia. The people forming this dimension have this misconception that Zambians living in foreign lands have too much money so much so that after signing all the nifty agreements, they see an opportunity to spend foolishly the money they don't know how it was raised.

What the third dimension of Zambians doesn't realize is that the Zambian living in foreign lands, upon recognizing the great opportunities to multiply a penny, may have borrowed to augment their small savings - that which they rescued from the demands of their children and spouses. Now, no banks in foreign lands lend the kind of money brought into Zambia by these patriotic Zambians without collateral. So then, if they didn't put up their car and draw out equity in their home, it is credit cards to the rescue. Anyone who has bothered to find out even a little about life in foreign lands would know that credit card interests have no mercy. But the Zambian living in foreign land, who hails from a humble background, realizes that akamuti ukwete, eko bominako imbwa. They brave it!

This is the money that the third dimension spends like they were Rockefeller children. One would be hard-pressed to find an enterprising Zambian in foreign land without a long and winding war story. Given an opportunity they would want to share with you the depth of the cuts and how much blood they have lost, how much they have sweated and how many tracks of tears on their faces one can find as they attempt to break free from the chains of poverty.

Zambia, the place we call home, has become unnavigable terrain in a business sense. We have, over the years, tried to find people to work with to create a portfolio of assets that can generate a steady flow of income for the benefit of all involved. We have drawn contracts with siblings, lawyers and employees but we end up losing our investments. I mean hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost every year because the lawyer did not do his job, your sibling got stupid, your employee took you for a ride and yet at the end, everyone but you wants to get paid.

Some people have argued that the mistake we make is that we place so much money in the hands of people who don't have much to start with. They further suggest that in order for such an undertaking to work, you need to start by bringing them up the economic ladder first and then give them the responsibility. A few things are wrong with that line of thouhgt.

First, it is made by people who themselves have never been involved in any business undertaking at all, so they would be arguing from a blind spot. In America, they call them Monday Morning Quarterbacks!

Second, it is made by people who don't want to hear the full story. They are locked in their own misunderstanding and whatever it is you try to say does not add up.

Third, their suggestion is in fact one cause of failure. Raising one a couple of notches on an economic ladder solidifies the misconception that you have a fountain of cash in the back yard in foreign land and that when they waste it, you will easily replenish it.

Fourth, they think that when you share your experience with them, you are trashing innocent Zambians because you have grown big headed, because you are in or are from a foreign land.

I am mounting a defense for Zambians living in foreign lands because in all situations, it is only their chickens that die, their houses that get built, or their intended get sold to two other people, their certificate of title that take six years to secure, their trucks that get sold for pennies on the dollar, their residential plots that get squatted on by political cadres, their floor plans that get rejected, their inquiries that get responded to, their proposals that get sucked up by bureaucratic black holes, and the list goes on. The Zambia that foreigners go to and make money hand over fist is somehow impossible for Zambians living in foreign lands. One would be forced to ask: What is it that the foreigners know about doing business in Zambia that we Zambians don't? How come they experience immense success after sowing so little and we end up with blood, sweat and tears in similar undertakings?

I think I know the cause; it has several faces. First, the people we interact with don't have respect for themselves. They only begin to gain some when they get themselves associated with someone they feel is superior to them. And a foreigner, to most Zambians, no matter how ugly, is seen as a superior being. Second, most Zambians may not admit to this but they would not want to see another Zambia succeed. They suffer from the crab bucket syndrome. In an effort to get themselves out of poverty they have to pull someone else down even if it means ukucilika uko buleswa. Third, many Zambians are impatient; they seem not to have the time to let the goose grow into a layer so they can pick a golden egg every morning. They are not satisfied with an egg a day, so they reach into the goose to get all the eggs now and in doing so they kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. In essence,they have a tendency to violate the law of the harvest. Fourth and most important; they refuse to learn to do business the business way. In other words, they get stuck in the comfort zone that ignorance provides. They take pride in being part owner but fail to embrace the spirit of work.

Zambians living in foreign lands on the other hand are stuck on the horns of dilemma; to find a good team of fellow Zambians on the ground who would put in as much work into the venture as if they were the owner, or quit their jobs and return to Zambia to try their prowess. This would create a gap in the financing equations - who would pay back the loans? They need fellow Zambians on the ground who would share in the vision and protect the assets from internal as well as external elements while the assets produce income for mutual benefit.

Foreign lands are replete with business models that be easily implemented when one has people one can work with without sacrificing the current source of income. Zambia's rate of unemployment can be reduced in no time if the third dimension did not unwittingly open the jugular, stub you in the back and put unnecessary financial burden on you.

So, we can conclude that a Zambian living in foreign land would do well to spend time to find constitute a group of reliable people to work with. It is better to miss an opportunity than to try and lose through ignorance, incompetence and spite.