Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Independent Dependancy,Zambia@51

I looked forward to picking up that paper flag and waving it each time it was October 24th,Independence day was  bigger than any other day on my childhood calendar.That was in my primary school years,a lot has changed since,more so,my understanding of the word "Independence"

Self governance,sovereignty etc.. are the words that pop up every time an attempt at defining the word independence is made.What we celebrate,for lack of a more precise definition,is "Political Independence".The question must however be asked whether political independence is sufficient to adequately thrive in this globalized economy.

It is said that the reason babies and toddlers always require minders is because they have too much independence,with no filters regards their adventurous spirits.They would jump into an open fire if that is what looked interesting at the time,the minders must step in to prevent such reckless exercise of independence and through this Pavlovian conditioning,babies and toddlers develop filters in their exercise of independence to an acceptable level of safety.

In 1964,Zambia was that baby,100% independent and very few filters if any, in its exercise of that independence.Our Strategic National Development Plans and Constitution with their respective structures, etc acted as our minders. Somewhere along the way,the minders paid too much attention to the form and not substance hence forgot the lessons and rationale behind those structures.Zambia at 51 is no more conditioned in its exercise of its independence than it was in 1964.A bold statement i admit,however,the evidence point to this fact.

At the time of independence,Zambia was a very rich young country with a currency stronger than both the United States Dollar and the British Pound,with significant foreign reserves and a very promising future ahead of it.However,our poor handling of the hyperinflation of the 1970s wiped off just about all of Zambia's reserves leaving it a very poor country.

One would have thought we learnt something from that,however,our economy remains not only Copper,but also Hydro Power dependent,both currently not doing too well.Why haven't we learnt and diversified from this? In an almost predictable 3 years cycle,Zambia suffers a drought of some sort that always leaves the country exposed to hunger,however,our rain dependent agricultural practices have never changed to take into account this natural rain phenomenon.I ask why?

The recent economic revival that saw Zambia transformed into a middle income country is slowly and steadily being eroded by external shocks i.e,drop in global copper prices,poor Hydro Power generation resulting from drought.One would however again argue that these are no longer external shocks as we have had a lot of time,Fifty one(51) years to be exact, to devise strategic responses to these now predictable challenges i.e diversifying from Copper, Hydro Power and rain-fed farming dependency.This is and has always been within our reach yet we always find ourselves majoring on politicking .

Our lack of strategic responses to these predictable shocks leaves us at the mercy of major copper conglomerates, copper prices,donors of food, and even natural phenomenon like droughts.As we celebrate this independence,lets spare a thought for these many aspects of our reality that we need to correct if we are to safely access that little extra non-political independence which is an attribute of middle-income status.

How do we do this? We somehow always look elsewhere for answers,when the reality is that we are the answers,if we have learnt anything from this load shedding experience,its how to use power sensibly,it has introduced us to other forms of electric power beyond hydro.However even with that,we have to go further and start an agricultural revolution that helps this nation realize the great agricultural potential it has by adopting sustainable farming practices.A nation that imports food for its citizens is the most vulnerable to external shocks,sustainable agriculture,that takes note of changes in weather patterns provides the best platform for any sustainable development plan any government can design.

In a more practical everyday way,what could we do to act as our own minders and put this patriotic enthusiasm with which many of us celebrate independence to the test?

Assuming from the 15 million estimated population of Zambia,about one third,circa 5 million people are breadwinners in their families .If each one of the 5 million would slightly change their buying patterns and spend on local products just $100 they previously spent on imported goods,a whooping US$500 million would be kept in the economy monthly.The ZDA website(http://www.zda.org.zm/?q=content/zambia-continues-attract-fdi)under the article "Zambia Continues to attract FDI" put the 2014 total FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) at $2.2bn,a monthly average of $183m.This  pales in comparison to the $500m we would keep in the economy with just a change in our spending patterns.I am not an economist but i reckon this,repeated each month would do our struggling Kwacha economy a lot of good.

If you are like this writer,the list of items to substitute with local products should come easy i.e Cooking Oil,Peanut Butter,Pasta,Rice,Cereal,Washing/Bathing soaps etc.

I think you get the point.

Monday, July 20, 2015

e-Farming


Much has been said about the revelation that mobile telephony and mobile commerce has been in sub-Saharan Africa, this success story tells many tales of poverty alleviation amongst the common folk in even the most remote of Africa’s villages.
Complimentary industries have leveraged on the success of the mobile telephony sector, mostly due to mobile telephony’s ability to reach remote areas which the traditional developmental vehicles have for many generations failed to reach.
As an example, Whilst relatives in the diaspora use costly sophisticated banking systems to send money back home, the affluent inhabitants of the vibrant cities of Africa use mobile money platforms at minimal costs to send cash to their unbanked relatives in the villages across the continent. This is indeed a success story that shows that Africa does possess the know-how to solve its own problems.
However, Africa’s major problems remain; Poverty, Disease and poor Governance (PDG), however it is also a fact that Africa has enormous arable land on which it can farm and potentially solve the challenge of poverty whilst leveraging on a true African success story, “Mobile Telephony”.

The Zambian Farmer
Whilst it is undeniable that the production capacity of the mechanized commercial farmer is indispensable, the bulk of Zambia’s farming activities are carried out by small scale farmers on much smaller pieces of land using traditional farming methods passed down from generation to generation.
This approach to agriculture has for many generations been devoid of a business motive hence the need for excess production has never been given the importance today’s reality requires. The modern day reality brings forth large populations in urban areas, with even higher population growth rates. Unlike the small scale village set up of farmers, the culture of the everyday urban dweller does not include the growing of own food, rather depending on their higher earning power to buy agricultural produce for their consumption.
Ofcourse,the modern lifestyle also means the small scale village based farmer also requires a certain amount of liquidity in order to access other basic essentials of life e.g medical care, education etc. This supply gap on both ends of the population spectrum(education, medical etc for small scale village farmers, agricultural produce for urban dwellers) has made the relationship between small scale farmers and the urban dwellers one of necessitity,hence the need for extra agricultural production on the part of small scale farmers, cannot be over emphasized.

Statistical Gap
It is however almost impossible to get unshakable facts about say, how many Maize growing small scale farmers we have every year, what their yield is, what the exact size of their land is, what were their costs of production, what variety of Maize did they grow and why etc. These are statistics one cannot ran away from if they are to properly plan produce or inputs to satisfy a certain population level. It must be stated that through various programs, government and cooperating partners have for many years made efforts to remedy this area. A defining guidance on how to approach this still remains elusive. A number of companies have painstakingly designed their own models on how to deal with this scatter of small scale farming practices in order to promote specific crops. This extra effort in organizing this sector has led to increased costs of the final produce to the urban consumer.
Aside the organizational activities, these players in this sector have had to source own capital against which they have taken huge financial risks mostly based only on a farmers promise and a cultural agricultural cycle. This “promise” from the farmers, has however proved insufficient for the commercial banks that have since stayed away from the collateral deficient small scale farmers.

The absence of credible data also makes the analysis of farmer risk downright impossible hence the traditional approaches in accessing credit or the market for farm produce are scarcely available to this group of farmers

Farming Technology
Technology in farming has reached such advanced levels that when specifics in terms of size, latitude and longitude, type of crops etc. are known; it is possible to calculate the exact amount of fertilizers or other nutrients a farmer would have to add to his/her crop to ensure favorable yields. Further, it would equally be possible to know the common plant diseases in the area and the type of treatments required to fend off an attack.
This would then make it possible to access further information such as i.e the nearest source for fungi or herbicides, fertilizers, market for produce etc.
It is very easy for the everyday small scale farmer to dismiss all these as commercial farmer concerns; however, these are usually the reasons why commercial farmer yields are higher than those for small scale farmers. It is simply an efficient use of ones land to achieve the best possible yield.

Tele-Farming
Whilst it is encouraged for small scale farmers to transition into commercial farmers, one does not have to be a commercial farmer to capture the required statistics and achieve yields commercial farmers are accustomed to.
An African solution, born from mobile telephony has been employed in other parts of Africa to provide details of size, coordinates of the land, crops grown, rainfall patterns and accessibility to market for produce, among other details.
To avoid oversimplifying this matter, note must be made that a geo-mapping project must be  carried out by professional surveyors to capture GPS locations for participating farmers, these farmers would then need to have access to a mobile phone platform (similar to that for mobile money),provide ownership details of their arable land, the crops they grow, inputs they use etc.
The mobile phone platform would then provide farmers with latest weather forecasts, prices of various farm produce and respective markets, agricultural technical details on seeds types, fertilizer types, sources and prices for inputs etc all via the use of a USSD code which does not require internet connectivity.
In Kenya, an interactive mobile platform,”M-shamba”  gives farmers information/data through even the most basic of mobile phones whilst making use of both smart and non-smart handset capabilities, SMS etc. It provides information such as production,harvesting,credit weather,marketing,climate,disease infestation, best routes to market etc.It customizes this information for farmers based on location, crop/animal etc 
http://www.mshamba.net/ and http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2013/11/top-10-mobile-agriculture-applications/
Mobile telephony ingenuity regards farming practices across the African continent provide the evidence that with structured guidance, the small scale farmers are more than able to not only increase their production, but also improve their yield per hectare.

Local Example
Whilst the above examples have leveraged on mobile telephony, despite having 3 mobile telecommunications companies on the market, Zambia is yet to develop a go-to mobile platform for small scale farmers. This void has however been exploited by other small scale farmers that have taken advantage of a common social media platform to create a group for small scale farmers where ideas and knowledge are exchanged. Small Scale Farmers, a Facebook group has grown at record speed in the recent past. Its growth rate is evidence of the fact that small scale farmers have a huge desire to improve their practices and access different markets when empowered with the right information.
The interesting fact about this group is that it is not run by technocrats but rather small scale farmers themselves, with free membership for all who share this passion for farming. Questions are tabled by any member and answers are provided by any member based on own experience or knowledge.

Economic Diversification/Conclusion
This has been the slogan of a great many of Zambia’s leaders and just as many have failed to make this a reality. The Small Scale Farmers group has shown the example that the powers that be need to take in order to make significant strides towards realizing the dream of making Zambia a food basket.Organisation!! These farmers have organized themselves and from their interaction have provided vital data that has definitely gone a long way in improving yields and general production. Mobile telephony and the internet have provided the platform for these farmers to organize, imagine how much they would achieve if they had a nationwide government backed policy and framework that leverages on the internet and mobile telephony, providing cost effective access to mobile telephony, free internet connectivity to agricultural support platforms with region and crop specific technical know-how, weather, pricing, input support etc e.g. via such infrastructure as internet.org,

References
2.    Small Scale Farmers(Farming as a business) https://www.facebook.com/groups/635862666442657/?fref=nf
3.    Internet.org by Facebook https://internet.org/press/introducing-the-internet-dot-org-app


Monday, March 2, 2015

Tale of Zambian Elections,Presidents,Politics and Elections


In the early 1990s,at the time Zambia’s second President, Dr Fredrick J T Chiluba moved the Zambian economy from the humanism/socialist ideologies it had been anchored on for much of Zambia’s then existence, for many of us, the excitement associated with this change to a capitalist based economy was not borne out of real understanding of what capitalism really was. We were excited at our new found freedom to change things.
Without suggesting that this change was wrong, I hasten to mention that if nothing ever stands out as the greatest achievement of Dr Chiluba’ s presidency, perhaps I may persuade you to acknowledge this fact as such.
This change, as with most changes, came with it a great deal of challenges for the everyday citizen. Zambians had become accustomed to expecting the government to provide for pretty much every one of their basic needs. The government subsidized everything and owned all major industries that in turn provided jobs to an uneconomical number of people thereby providing the basis for a countrywide hemorrhage of economic value.
With the reserves from the export of Copper, the government was under the illusion that this could be indefinitely sustained. This was, as expected from an economic point of view, not the case and as the 1980s ushered in the 1990s, the patience of the people had ran out; the government was perceived to be  out of its depth and did not seem to know how bring the economy off of its knees.
Different versions of what led to the changes of the early 1990s are told by different sides of the divide, the one thing all agree on is that the change did take place. With government depleted of all its reserves, drastic measures that would align with the new ideology of capitalism had to be taken and at the heart of all this was privatization of state owned enterprises.
It is important to restate and put into perspective the fact that prior to the 1990s, the majority of all business enterprises where owned and ran by the government. This reality denied the Zambians a chance to develop and grow their entrepreneurial and general market based economic skills as all graduates left University to do a set job without thinking beyond just that.
This meant that as the liberalization of the economy was taking root, many citizens struggled to remain afloat, as in a capitalist set-up, the market forces reigned as opposed to government directive. Some companies accustomed to getting government favors could not survive, prices of goods responded to the imbalances in the economy and some went up, privatized companies let go of many employees so as to only maintain an economic level of human resource.
The job losses, price increases, removal of government subsidies etc. left citizens wondering whether this change from socialist set up to the capitalist one was indeed a well thought out path to economic freedom. These were trying times that had been ushered in. But something interesting started to happen, the resilience of a citizen and desire to survive could not be overcome. Small, but economically balanced enterprises, responding to the gaps in the economy, started to emerge, starting off as a “Kanthemba” and growing to formidable players on the market. The remarkable story of Zambeef, which grew from a small enterprise to a multinational and multi-sector business employing thousands of people springs up as an example.

An argument can be made that, the ten (10) year reign of president Dr Chiluba provided the foundation for the current resilience and growth of the Zambian economy. These years gave birth to a new Zambian business sub-culture that had completely let go of the expectation that the government will take care of them, this culture, for lack of a better word, was and still remains, a “hustling culture”. It took in the concept of “cause and effect” whilst also appreciating the risks that came with each business adventure. Instead of expecting government mealie meal coupons, the citizens realized that they had to grow enough food, with growing enough food, it also dawned that if they produced more, the excess can be sold off at market determined prices to raise extra disposable income for the household.

In one of her writings, the Swiss-American Psychologist, Elizabeth Kuebler-Ross hypothesized a ground breaking approach at looking at change in what has come to be known as the Kuebler-Ross Change curve. This author will attempt to align the changes that the Zambian economy went through to some of the stages in the ground breaking model of change.


Image/Illustration from http://www.happymelly.com/

Stage 1: Shock-Government Change in the early 1990s and Introduction of capitalism
This stage does not last very long and is usually a honeymoon stage. Indeed this was a time when the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) had just swept aside the United National Independence Party (UNIP) to take the reigns of government. Whilst all economic systems where more or less in a stale-mate, the citizens were in a party mood celebrating the change in a honeymoon kind of mood.
Stage 2: Denial-Newly Introduced capitalism takes route in MMD’s year 1
With socialism thrown out the window, reality of capitalism started to sink in, the coupons and subsidies some had become accustomed to, started to disappear, the free flights to Paris on the national airline equally disappeared. Refusing to align with reality, most simply believed this to be a minor hiccup and these benefits would eventually return. These unfortunately would never return, an automatic psychological feedback mechanism in the form of denial had just set in.Citizens did not want to believe what was unfolding. This stage provided a very poor basis for economic growth.
Stage 3: Frustration-Old ways were not working, Government brought in new Partners e.g. IMF and World Bank with its structural adjustment programs
The easy going approach of the old era, unfortunately stopped bringing the same results. Zambians had to re-examine their value. At a government level, the government knew they could not sustain the old approaches and needed drastic measures to align the economy to realistic market forces. This gave birth to privatization, job losses, price increases etc. Those that had been in denial, waiting for the situation to return to the old position of subsidized milk and honey, despite putting in their best effort could only find themselves frustrated, with others even losing their jobs
Stage 4: Depression-Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP)
The privatization of state-owned enterprises forced new owners to immediately align the enterprises to economic reality and this reality meant thousands of Zambians lost their jobs and with this loss, they also lost their housing benefits. “Retrenchment” became a new bad word in the country. Thrown out of the houses they had occupied for the best part of their lives, many had to make the trek back to their traditional villages from whence they came. Feeling unable to deal with this new reality, many descended into severe cases of depression, feeling powerless and weak. Some were reported to have even passed on due to the depression this came with.
Stage 5Experiment-Kanthemba hustling sub-culture
Survival is a great motivator, despite losing their jobs, many used their retrenchment packages to experiment with different forms of entrepreneurship with a view to finding a sustainable source of income with which to raise their families. The main city streets of Lusaka were filled with street vendors selling all kinds of item and giving birth to what is popularly known as “Kanthemba”.The gap left by the closure of loss making government trading enterprises like the famous “ZCBC” and “Mwaiseni stores” was exploited by these new and upcoming small businesses. This gap, like many others in other sectors of the economy not only encouraged entrepreneurship ,but also invited other multinationals from outside the country to venture into this newly liberalized economy and set up shop, ofcourse,this in turn created new jobs.e.g Shoprite Checkers, new mine owners etc. The stage had now been set for economic growth.
Stage 5: Decision-Usher in Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, 3rd President of Zambia.
The Mwanawasa era was a time when Zambians had appreciated what capitalism was about and could not be easily duped by mere rhetoric. This period required proper strategic planning and decision making to ensure the foundation created was used as a spring board for further economic growth. Zambians could articulate the meaning of many decisions and could even challenge their leaders. The economy is market forces driven hence could join the rest of the global economy.

The 5 stages highlighted above provide an insight as to the source of the resilience of the Zambian economy. Despite the turbulence of the year 2014, the economy still grew by 6% owing to strong performances in agricultural, manufacturing, construction and financial sectors (Africa in Focus, NKC, 08 January 2015).This was however still 0.6 percentage points below the target thereby justify the anxiety the economy is having as Zambians head to the polls to elect a 6th President on the 20th of January 2015.

BEYOND THE ELECTIONS
A daring stability and growth 2015 budget was announced by the Minister of Finance. Some bold pronouncements were made in the budget. If fully implemented, Zambians should expect an economically sound 2015.However, budgets are a guide and for the most part are hardly ever implemented in the exact way they are constituted. Before close of 2014, already the need for an adjustment that will mean a detour from the budget had to be recognized so as to provide funding for the unbudgeted for Presidential by-elections
THREATS ON 2015 ECONOMY AND BUDGET PERFORMANCE
·         WAGE FREEZE

The budget is premised on the continuation of the wage freeze in the year 2015.This was necessitated by governments desire to avoid escalation of government spending which would have negative impact on planned economic growth targets. However, there has been significant outcry from the unions to have this decision revisited. Indeed, some opposition leaders have even echoed their willingness to reverse the wage freeze should they be elected to the presidency. This therefore remains a point of concern for investors as Zambia’s commitments to certain economic targets and benchmarks remains to be affirmed.

·         VALUE ADDED TAX RULE 18

The administration of rule number 18 of Value Added Tax that has seen millions of United States dollars in refunds to mining companies withheld by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has taken up a lot of media airplay. Government has argued that the mining companies are guilty of not providing sufficient documentation to support the verification of the selling prices of their produce hence this limitation in scope, among others is the reason for the withholding of the funds. In response, the mining companies have threatened to freeze capital investment activities until this impasse is resolved. The freezing of investments would in turn lead to a fall in production hence making it impossible for production targets in the budget and relative tax revenue targets being missed. This therefore presents a significant threat to the implementation of the budget.


·         NEW MINING TAX REGIME

The 2015 budget also goes on to propose a new approach to the taxing of mining companies. This approach is based on mineral royalty i.e. based on production rather than sales. As argued by the Chamber of Mines, this approach has the effect of taxing the mining companies regardless of whether they have sold their produce or still have it in stock. It has hence been described as a threat on liquidity to the extent that one of the major mining companies has threatened to halt operations. If realized, these threats will impact economic confidence and lead to a drop in production. Both situations would harm the implementation of the budget or the realization of set economic targets.

·         CREDIT RATING

Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch Credit rating agencies affirmed Zambia’s rating as being B+ whilst placing some reliance on the 2015 national budget. The IMF alluded to the same but went on to highlight the danger posed by high government spending as a possible deviation that can throw Zambia off its growth targets. The commitment therefore in the budget to limit government expenditure was well received in supporting Zambia’s credit rating. Concerns however remain arising from the political talk surrounding the lifting of the wage freeze. A drop in the credit rating may lead to higher costs of funds which would not be a welcome turn of events at a time of high infrastructure expenditure by the government.


2015 promises to be an interesting year, from both the political and economic fronts, somehow, it’s hard not to marry the economic performance to what the politics will dictate.


Acknowledgements
3.     http://www.change-management-coach.com/kubler-ross.html
4.     Various Kuebler Ross Curve online writings
5.     Africa in focus, Weekly Update,08 January 2015,NKC Independent Economists

7.     2015 Budget, Overview of Tax Changes(2015 NATIONAL BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS),www.zra.org.zm

Friday, November 14, 2014

Seize Wisdom




In my younger years, I recall one of the many days when i sat down with my father in our living room, at a time when all my elder siblings had been away for school, in various locations across the country. "My son, as you grow older and face different people and situations in life, you must never be sheepish". Not having as good a command of the language, I thought the old man had made a mistake and I tried to correct him. "You mean cheapish?" I inquired, to which my father resoundingly refused and emphasized that "Sheepish" was correct.

 

He went on to explain the meaning of the word and the lesson behind his choice of the word. It was evident that the old man was not only imparting wisdom but also schooling me in as far as the English language was concerned. It was yet again a re-affirmation of what I had already known, that Superman had nothing on my father.

 

My eager ears facilitated this transfer of wisdom thereby complying with the universal truth that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear".

 

A question we must all ask ourselves is;"when was the last time we had a candid and enjoyable conversation with our elders?”. For hundreds of years, Africans depended on the direct story telling and interaction of elders and children to transfer knowledge and wisdom. Both groups; the children and the elders, found this not only enriching but also entertaining so much that the very first consideration for nanny duties rested with the grandparents. It is very obvious that our ancestors were on to something with this arrangement as a platform for knowledge and wisdom transfer.

 

Our society has, unfortunately separated from these ideals by adopting paid Nannies to take up the roles grandparents previously handled thereby perpetuating the development of a generation with limited wisdom and tradition, owing to the fact that, for the most part, children in their most formative years; have predominantly the limited wisdom and tradition of the Nanny from which to learn.

 

This trend, now just as prevalent in African society, has been attributed to the increase in not only the cost of living but also the pace of life. This is even more pronounced in households where both the wife and the husband hold day jobs that keep them away from their children during office hours. The extra gap created by the absence of the "mother" at home has bred a thriving industry for nanny services.

 

The obvious casualty in this of course is the transfer of wisdom from grandparents to the children,infact even to the parents who return home from work ever so tired, without the energy to make the effort and time to satisfactorily interact with their elders.

 

It is well documented that the ancient Egyptians invented the first form of writing, this they used to record history and their many other inventions. This also became the means for the transmission of cultural and traditional teachings to the young generations. An argument can therefore be made that upon realization that with civilization, the need to develop an alternative way for recording knowledge and wisdom to be transferred to the next generation, other than the interaction with elders and parents, who are kept ever so busy by civilization, needed to be developed.

 

This belief that we can receive all the knowledge and wisdom from books is what is prevalent even in modern times, coupled with a misconception that the old ways from our elders are "old fashioned". With hundreds of thousands of books available in various media on any topic, it has once again become difficult to know which book is telling the truth.

 

"Wisdom is the ability to act using knowledge,experiance,understanding,common sense and insight"(Wikipedia)

 

From the definition above ,it would be correct to suggest that one of the best places to find wisdom is in our elders who can easily be assumed,by virtue of their years to have "Insight" and "Experience",in short,the things we may not be able to read out of a book.It is also true to tread carefully as not all elderly people may be said to be wise.

 

Owing to their understanding and common sense, most elders will not volunteer their wisdom but will freely provide it to those that seek it.The responsibility therefore rests with those of us seeking wisdom to be ever ready to notice avenues from whence we may access this wisdom and seize it.

 

Driving back to Lusaka, having attended the funeral mass and burial of the late, His Grace,The Most Reverend Archbishop James Mwewa Spaita(MHSRIEP),I could hardly shake the sense of major loss that had overcome me.I felt, as I still do today, that this great opportunity to sit down and interact with this great man was no more. The expanse of his years on earth,52 of which as a priest gave him a rare and great perspective on which to hinge his profound wisdom.

 

The question lingers;When was the last time we seized the opportunity to have a chat with our elders? Its a question we must avoid having the need to ask ourselves by improving our interactions with our elders and thereby receive the wisdom of the ages.

 

At the end of it all,what wisdom shall you give your children if you do not have any? Old age is no guarantee of wisdom,seize the opportunity now.“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
William Shakespeare, As You Like It    

 

Friday, October 24, 2014

50 Year Old Smile of Africa!!

Just think about it, take the map of Africa, shade out all the other countries and leave out Zambia...it truly does look like a smile of Africa, and it truly is.

As much of the Country was building up for the major celebrations for Zambia's golden Jubilee, I struggled to get into the mood to truly celebrate, I mean, why should I? A great many people shared this view. The major part of our upbringing is plagued with evidence of the many opportunities Zambia has missed, it is a well accepted position that, had Zambia put its development ahead of its politics, it would have been rivaling many of the developed nations of this world.

In the late 1970s and the early 1980s,the years of my birth and of course childhood, the name Kaunda was synonymous with the word President, it was common for kids to confidently ask who, for instance, "the Kaunda" for Tanzania was, others kids, just as confidently,would provide an answer without questioning the flaw in the question; this goes to exhibit what those in the marketing profession would refer to as "product positioning". Indeed, Kaunda had positioned himself so well in our generation to the extent that we believed he was the presidency. Others in the political sphere would simply refer to this as indoctrination, I am somewhat inclined to agree with the later.

This positioning of Kaunda also enabled the citizens to some extent adopt the spirit of the man Kaunda, a humanist at heart, a fighter for togetherness as evidenced even in the slogan he coined; "One Zambia, One Nation". Of all the faults many will find in his tenure, it is hard to avoid noticing the efforts this humanist put into ensuring that the 72 tribes of Zambia put their oneness ahead of any ethnic polarities. This remains the reality of modern Zambia with so many inter-tribe marriages that the biggest pure ethnicity is Zambianess.

As the late Stev Jobs put it, the dots of life can only be connected from top to bottom, as if following a pre-written script,5 presidents in 5 decades is a statistic often overlooked.2014,Zambia's jubilee year, under the leadership of Zambia's 5th president and over two decades after Kaunda's rule, the unique attributes that where the pinnacle of Kaunda's rule managed to survive 3 other presidents and are destined to survive the current president. It should therefore be worth betting on these attributes as being part and parcel of being a Zambian.

The question, however still lingers.Why should we be celebrating? Our economy has not realized the potential it has for some many years been highlighted to have, we still battle with poverty,disease,poor infrastructure? To ask this question, as many of my fellow Zambian's would tell you, is to fail to appreciate the reality, the core of being a Zambian.

Those in the know have been celebrating since the turn of the year, the fireworks littered the night skies of Lusaka and many other metropolitan places in the country, dancing the night away climaxed by the countdown as the clocked ticked October 23rd away and ushered in 24th of October 2014,Zambia's Independence Jubilee. This level of euphoric celebration was last seen in February 2012 when Zambia lifted its maiden CAF Africa Cup Trophy.

"One land and one nation is our cry,
Dignity and peace 'neath Zambia's sky,
Like our noble eagle in its flight,...."

We celebrate because we are Zambians, those that celebrate only when the sun shines on them are not intrinsic, we celebrate because of an even more important reason, our oneness, the moment we wait for outward tangible reasons to celebrate, is the day we lose our independence to those that can control that object.We are free of such dependencies and this freedom enables us to smile even when it is dark because we have the freedom to do something about that darkness.The Zambian National Anthem puts it very clearly,"One land and one nation is our cry,dignity and peace neath Zambia's skies".By celebrating our oneness,we are actually standing by the pledge in our anthem,One land and one nation is our cry.

As the proceedings of Jubilee celebrations went on country wide,i could not but appreciate that this freedom we have came at a price, this is the angle many of the older generation appreciate even more whilst my generation struggles with it.What makes it easier for us to appreciate are the ideals the "freedom fighters" stood for and enshrined in our national anthem.Today ,we honor their sacrifice in song and dance, we appreciate.With this appreciation comes a realization that freedom also brings responsibility,a responsibility to keep the ideals of the founding patrons of this nation and use their foundation to create a better Zambia for our children.

An echoing reminder in my mind says, only babies are truly free as they have free minds.Freedom to think and map out a successful Zambia is what we won from colonialism.We have 50 years experience on what doesn't work, its time to usher in a 50 years of strategies that work.We are out of laboratory now, we ready to conquer the future and usher in a successful Zambia were we shall truly say

"Free men we stand,Under the flag of our land"



A flag that was holstered in honor of the new nation, Zambia, in 1964 at the source of the Zambezi river, in the Kaleni Hills of north western Zambia.

Do you still not appreciate why we celebrate? We celebrate because we are free Zambians and citizens of this proud smile of Africa have been able to say this for 50 years now. Happy 50th birthday mother Zambia.