Maturity in Tongaland: The case of girls

By guest writer: Gloria Miyoba

In all most almost all Zambian tribes, a girl is isolated from other playmates and friends for some time when she reaches puberty. Every tribe has got their own way of preparing the girl child for challenges and experiences associated with womanhood in early teenage years and in adulthood.

I do not claim ownership of this photo

This article shares how the Tongas prepare their girl child for womanhood. Tongas are one of Zambia’s main tribes, predominantly found in the southern province of Zambia. The Tonga tribe is segmented into fives groups. The Tongas of the Kafue plains are known as the BATWA. The ones from the Gwembe valley are referred to as the BAWEE. There are the BAAMBWE from Bwengwa, and the ILA from Namwala. The other Tonga group are known as the BA BIHI from the plateau.In spite of their classifications, all Tongas mainly depend on Agriculture and cattle rearing as their mainstay for their livelihood. Cattle are the major source of income and a symbol of wealth for the Tonga.

According to Tonga tradition, when a girl is about to reach puberty, she is  told that she is  expected to start crying without any reasonable cause immediately she sees blood soiling her underwear, which signals the beginning of her menstrual cycle. This is a signal for the parents to know that their daughter has come of age. Upon hearing her daughter’s cry, the mother has to call the paternal aunt (Father’s elder or younger sister or father’s female cousin). She will teach the girl how to look after herself each time she has her menses.

The young girl is strongly warned against having sex with male companions. Falling pregnant out of wedlock is strictly forbidden in Tonga tradition as this robs parents of potential measure of wealth when the time to marry off their daughter comes. Tongas marry off their daughters by charging their bride price in form of herds of cattle. A Tonga virgin known as NAKALINDU, can be paid for at as 10 herds of cattle as bride price.

When a girl comes of age, an initiation ceremony is held, which is known as KUVUNDIKA (Seclusion) young girl being indicted into the initiation is called KAMWALE, which simply means’ one who has come of age’. The other word is KUYALUKA. The initiation ceremony, KUVUNDIKA, takes between one to two months of initiation. During the period of seclusion, girls are not expected to go out and play after school work. When time comes for the secluded girls to take a bath, the girls are sneaked into the darkness of the early-morning hours to the river before everyone else in the village works up. This is so because according to Tonga tradition, these girls are not to be seen by the other people anyhow during the period of their initiation.

Girls who are in day schools are allowed to go to school and immediately return to the initiation hut after school work. Those that attend boarding school are initiated during holidays.

In the village, the message of initiation of a KAMWALE is spread across the village and near by villages by beating a traditional drum called” NDANDALA.”The people in the village and nearby village would know that there is a girl or a group of girls who has come of age at the sound of the drum. Even during meal times, the elderly women who are expected to live with the girls during the initiation prepare food that is taken to the girls in their secluded hut.

 During their seclusion, the girl or girls are taught by elderly women on how to traditional show respect to their in-laws when they get married. Other issues such as hygiene, abstinence from sex and how to conduct themselves in adult life are also taught. The climax reaches when the date for release of the girl or girls from seclusion is set. The closing of the initiation occurs at an occasion known as NKOLOLA. Events leading to the closing of the initiation begin two days before the girls are released from seclusion.

Two days before the end of the initiation, elderly women put water in a clay port which is known as CHIBIYA. The water is poured on the unsuspecting girl who is not expected to shriek or show shock, but only remain quiet, calm and composed. Doing this, for a girl, symbolizes a strong character of a growing courageous woman who will be able to deal with impervious obstacles in her adult life.

A night before release, people gather to celebrate by singing and beating drums such as NDANDALA, which is made of wood and cow skin; MPITO and NYELE, traditional instruments made of clay and reeds respectively. The dances performed during this night are called KULINDA NKOLOLA (Waiting for the last day of initiation) and CHIN’GANDE. At this occasion, a cow, chickens and goats are slaughtered for people to feed during celebrations.

Then the morning that everyone would have been waiting for arrives: the KAMWALE is led out of the secluded hut by the elderly women, covered in a blanket. She is led to sit on a reed mat at the arena of the occasion of her release with two elderly women seated by her side. Her father is called upon to uncover the blanket to reveal the KAMWALE to the public. Before he does this, he beats the NDANDALA drum and sings a song of self-praise in form of a poem known as KUYABILA. He next puts a certain amount of money on the reed mat where his daughter is seated and uncovers the girl. He later gives her advice and showers her with his blessings. After him, the rest of the people on the occasion present their various gifts to the KAMWALE, and thereafter, the ceremony ends. The young woman has begun her journey to into adult life.

SMEs: India's Economic Heroes, Lessons for Zambia Businesses

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

For all its current economic strength, India remains a beacon of small and medium entrepreneurialism. Indian entrepreneurs are making waves across the world. Its micro, small and medium business firms are making acquisitions abroad and spreading their tentacles in various corners of the globe. They have flourished under globalisation and have proved all doomsday prophecies wrong.

Thus, India’s economy has been one of the stars of global economics in recent years mainly due to its robust SME sector. With its growth being supported by market reforms, rising foreign exchange reserves, both an information telecommunications (IT) and real estate boom, and a flourishing domestic direct investment (DDI) and capital market, India offers rewarding economic lessons to Zambia’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector.

According to the 2009 Economist Report on entrepreneurship, India is the ninth in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey of entrepreneurial countries. It is the highest among 28 countries in Necessity Based Entrepreneurship, while second among all nations in Total Entrepreneurship Activity. The country has been registering about US$3.6 billion annually from the ICT sector alone from SMEs prior to the economic crisis. The mobbed SME heroes of India were transforming small start-ups into global giants every year. They created business minded societies in several Indian cities by engaging in a frenzy of networking through partnerships and joint ventures.

India improved the growth of the SME sector after liberalising the economy in the 1990s by linking education and the industry. The country’s universities/colleges became its economic engines with proliferating science parks, technology offices, business incubators and venture funds. This helped to create a business minded class of graduates. The tradition entrepreneurship dates-back to basic and high schools in India. The trend has significantly boosted India’s DDI profile.

The country’s higher education system has also been designed to discover and develop first-class entrepreneurial skills. The system does not only inspire graduates to strike it rich, but to play their part in forging a new India with a double-digit economic and GDP growth and low levels of poverty. And through linking the education system to the industry, India began to reverse the brain drain. The country’s prodigal children were summoned home by economic offers of the native soil.  For instance, from 2003-2005, some 5,000 industrious Indians returned home from America. They trekked home to kick-start the country’s entrepreneurial economy and increase the DDI flow.

These Indian transplants from the Diaspora promoted SME growth through mentoring, networking and education. Today their network has 12, 000 members and operates in 53 cities in 12 countries. The transplants helped to fill some of the skills gaps created by India’s recent boom. They also reinforced the country’s existing links with high-tech countries in the West like America and in Europe. 

The Indian SME sector growth model offers various fundamental lessons for Zambia’s MSME sector. The linking of the education system to the industry is essential to the Zambia Development Agent (ZDA), Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) and ministry of education strategies meant to strengthen entrepreneurship levels in the country. By collaborating with human resource training institutions, citizens will obtain an entrepreneurship spirit and learn the art of sustaining business at the appropriate age. They will thus grow up with an entrepreneurial mindset. Such a phenomenon can result into a knowledge-based economy, where the use of knowledge is the main driver of growth, wealth creation and employment across all sectors without much dependency on foreign investors.

Picking it from the Indian model, several technical and vocational training institutions, colleges and universities can be a haven of entrepreneurial savvy and breeding grounds for businesses. The public-private partnership initiative can be a hallmark of linking the education system to the industry beyond public educational institutions. Business incubator programmes can be rooted into these institutions to blend business mindsets in students at the right time. The trend can descend further to basic schools and high schools in order to overhaul the Zambian mindset towards business. The strategy is paramount in enhancing government’s numerous programmes meant to meet long term developmental goals of attaining middle income status by 2030 among others.

Information telecommunications (ICT) is another significant parametre Zambia can tap from the India SME growth model to improve MSMEs’ business prowess. India’s enterprising heroes like Azim Premji transformed Wipro from a vegetable-oil company into a software giant. After liberalising the ICT sector, many Indian SMEs ventured into the sector. The cost of doing business equally reduced drastically. Internet use, calling rates and other related expenses fall. The sector became a lucrative business web.

With the ICT policy in place and other initiatives aimed at improving infrastructure, MSMEs can achieve and contribute greatly to the economy. Strategies such as multi-facility economic zones (MFEZ) meant to have necessary infrastructure in place for improved productivity can help transform dormant small enterprises into economic giants. Grounding MSMEs with competencies on how to utilise ICT to improve business efficiency is key in developing and discovering first-class MSMEs that can creating a strong buffer zone for the local economy. The current business reforms government is implementing fits well in promoting the MSME sector and the local economy as a whole.

The MFEZ initiative can help create a pool of MSMEs in various businesses. Various networks can sprout from these zones and help to uproot start-ups by providing them with key information on market offers and other business etiquettes. The start-ups can be both supplies and part of the global supply chains. With business linkage and joint venture initiatives already in place under the ZDA, Zambia can easily propel its DDI flow to supplement FDI. The net effect of such a combination will be increased economic growth, job and wealth creation as well as poverty reduction.

With well watched pace and coordinated policy strategies, Zambia can realise many new entrepreneurs onto the business sphere. The entrepreneurial spirit will begin to breathe new life into Zambia’s public and private sector and greatly revolve the economy. Zambians in the Diaspora will see the need to invest back home and translate Western ideas into local ideologies, combining them with acquired technological advances to drive economic growth. With such an economic atmosphere, Zambia, like India will be hopeful of having a brighter economic future.

Are entrepreneurs born or made?

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

http://blog.postofficeshop.co.uk/

Entrepreneurship has become the mainstream economic buzzword. It is supported by political leaders, championed by non-governmental organisations, reinforced by growing infrastructure of tertiary education and venture capitalists. As a result, entrepreneurs are now emerging from almost anywhere, in any shape and go any direction.

Entrepreneurs and pushed or pulled, that is, some people become entrepreneurs due to circumstantial factors around them, while others are driven by their passion. Pushed entrepreneurs go into business either because they are retrenched, retired, declared redundant or dismissed or they switch to doing business as their only survival means. Circumstances ‘beyond control” force pushed entrepreneurs into venturing into business.

A pulled entrepreneur is attracted into business either out of passion or association with successful entrepreneurs or admiring entrepreneurial models that they emulate. Pulled entrepreneurs could be off-springs who start business because of their parents’ entrepreneurial nature or college graduates who venture into business after seeing older fellow graduates running successful business ventures.

Pulled entrepreneurs adequately prepare before launching in their enterprises. This gives them more chances of success than those who venture into business by circumstance.

Pushed entrepreneurs on the other hand are said to respond to unplanned and normally business through trail-and-error. They thus, exhibit lower rates of success. They rarely dream to be entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship begins with a dream. Success in entrepreneurship called for a lot of planning and preparations, taking into account all risk factors involved into each particular business venture one pursued.

Sources of business ideas
Business ideas come from different sources that are as varied as the businesses themselves.  When you’re looking for a business idea, do not look far; learn to look at yourself and the environment in which you leave. You can get a business idea from your trade or job. Ideas are got through the generation and mutations of random thoughts; some of which could be rejected by the minds as useless, while others could be seen as valuable and were retained.

Pursue the valuable ideas. It’s these ideas we consider valuable that cause our minds to generate reasonable grounds for belief, which in turn stirs the exceptional intellect or creative powers that reside within each one of us. Note that age is a non-factor to entrepreneurs. Dreams and the burning desire to achieve those dreams is what an entrepreneur needs.

Possible Sources of Business Ideas
 One’s job/trade:
A driver can easily:
    Start a driving school
    Run a taxi and/or mini bus enterprise
    Start a motor vehicle spares shop
    Run a car hire enterprise
A secretary can easily:
    Start a business centre/stationery shop
    Offer secretarial training services
    Offer computer appreciation courses
    Do secretarial related consultancies
An Electrical Engineer can easily:
    Run an electrical spares and appliances shop
    Run an electrical repairs workshop
    Engage in electrical installations services
    Run an electrical consultancy enterprise
A Nurse can easily:
    Run a private clinic or surgery
    Start a pharmacy or drugs store
    Start a home-based care centre
    Start a counselling centre
    Run an old people’s home

The list of examples of business ideas from one’s job/trade is endless. So as prospective entrepreneurs, use your knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience and contacts that you have gained on the job to start your own business. A wonderful future is waiting for you.

Shortages in your area
Look around in your area and ask yourself ‘why there’s no one in this and that business. You look products/services that people often use in the area, yet they move long distance to access. Grab that chance; bring the products/services closer to the people in the neighbourhood.

You can get a lot of viable business ideas by just looking at products/services that are not readily available in the area in which you live or intend to settle. Make a simple survey to find out whether such missing products and services would be demanded in that area and ACT promptly and strategically. Do not just watch, act!!

Shortcomings in existing products/services
On several occasions, some poor products and services have saddened you in your area and you have probably said to yourself “if I were the one running that business, I would not have produced such poor quality products/services.”

Keenly observe and capitalise on the shortcomings in the products and services of others and come up with some imaginations of how you would improve and change the image of such poor products and services if you were the owner. Use that imagination to aspire to start your own business.

Other business ideas can be from one’s hobbies, talent of interests. For instance, interest in hair plaiting can result into the establishment of a hair salon. Extra-ordinary use of certain products by people can be another source of a business idea. Man’s basic needs or changes in social custom always present an alert entrepreneur with a business idea.

Remember: entrepreneurial dreams do come true for those who take action and are willing to learn from their mistakes. Make your business dreams a reality.

Exports: A Booster to Development.

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako

In today’s interconnected global economy, expansion into international markets becomes a serious question for any economy. Exports generate reasonable foreign exchange into the exporting economy. The net effects of such foreign exchange injections ignite great economic progress, which can translate into job and wealth creation in the economies of exporting countries. Endowed with certain resources, countries depend on each other’s comparative advantage for economic sustenance. Trade therefore becomes crucial in that equation.

Zambia being a resource-rich country in terms of mineral wealth as well as plentiful arable land, abundant water, affordable electricity from coal reserves as well as hydroelectric power, has a lot of potential to export globally. The country has a lot of other existing opportunities for processing of natural resources in sectors such as textiles, agro-industries and gemstone processing, all of which offer opportunities for more external trade. Since the early 1990s, Zambia’s external trade has become progressively liberalised in response to the globalisation phenomenon. Government incentives to develop export industries in favour of import substitution have led to improved foreign exchange earnings.

The country’s most successful traditional exports remain its metals and minerals, in particular copper and cobalt. However, there has been steady growth of non-traditional exports (NTEs), which continue to be promoted by government. The significance of non-traditional exports to Zambia’s economy cannot be overstated. To reduce the economy’s reliance on traditional mineral exports such as raw copper and cobalt, NTE’s are vital in increasing economic diversification and promoting growth.

Zambia’s non traditional exports include sugar, cotton lint, floriculture, soya beans and other primary agricultural produce with textile, engineering products, cement and handcrafts also proving lucrative. Other significant export products are fertilisers, hydrated lime, coal, tea, maize, skin leather, asbestos pipes/sheets, groundnuts, mushrooms, fresh eggs and day old chicks, paper, aluminium wires and cables, sorghum, clothing and blankets. Manufacturing exports have grown significantly, and there is room for further export production considering the great demand of the country’s products on the international market.

The success of the NTE sector has manifested itself in improved export earnings and increased contributions to total exports. In recent years, NTE earnings increased, accounting for some 35 percent of export earnings, with fresh flowers, gemstones, cotton lint, sugar, copper wire and gold bar exports all contributing to this strong performance. The South African market continues to be by far the largest for Zambia’s NTEs. Principal export products to the EU, USA and Far East are cut flowers, fresh vegetables and fruits, cotton yarn, coffee, sugar, paprika, game trophies, tobacco, cotton lint and honey products. Markets within the SADC and COMESA region are mostly supplied with sugar, cotton lint, electricity, cement, soya beans, animal feeds, tobacco, meat/poultry/dairy products, paprika, chemicals and petroleum products.

Zambia’s strategic advantages have laid the foundations for the establishment of sector export promotion strategies in order to stimulating further production and facilitate diversification in the export base. Trade agreements such as COMESA have opened up regional markets, with Zambia reaping the financial rewards of the region’s free trade area. In addition, Zambia is expected to realise tremendous benefits from the currently launched COMESA Customs Union’s external common tariff, including increased Foreign Direct Investment flows, export diversification and a stronger negotiation position in multilateral negotiations, among others.

Further opportunities exist to broaden Zambia’s export markets and products with the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) market, in particular South Africa, being seen as having huge potential. To assist the penetration of Zambian products abroad, two trade fairs are organised every year. Held in Lusaka, the internationally recognised Zambia Agriculture and Commercial Show exhibits agricultural equipment, produce and manufactured goods, while Ndola’s Zambia International Trade Fair has an impressive variety of products and draws exhibitors from the region as well as abroad.

From a rich natural resource base covering minerals as well as agricultural resources, Zambia is broadening its export basket to include other important opportunities deriving from export growth. The economic diversification strategy of Zambia includes; diversifying the range of markets into which existing products are exported (geographic diversification); upgrading the quality of existing products; and taking advantage of opportunities to expand exports of services. The emphasis of Zambia’s diversification strategy is tailored to the country’s niche in the global market especially towards emerging large economies, such as Brazil, China and India.

Shifting from the traditional exports of copper and cobalt, the country is utilising available opportunities in several sub-sectors such as the food processing and beverages; clothing and textiles; metal processing; agro-processing – including fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides; wood and wood products, paper products and packaging; and cement and explosives; as well as leather and leather products. Others are processing and polishing of gemstones and jewellery making, engineering products, plastic and glass containers, and many others. Manufacturing industries are cardinal in the diversification of the economy away from raw copper and into NTEs, including the downstream processing of many primary products. A reduction in customs duty rates for some misclassified finished items has been made to boost the manufacturing sector.

Zambia’s Export Opportunities (Part ii)–AGOA Zambia is a signatory to several trade agreements including the umbrella trade organisation, the World Trade Organisation. These trade agreements play a leading role in the promotion of Zambia’s exports and economic development and the reduction of poverty, which are essential tenets in attaining development targets. Each trade agreement focuses on boosting export earnings of key sectors in the economy.

Among the trade agreements to which Zambia is a signatory is the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). The African Growth and Opportunities Act is part of the United State Trade and Development Act, which allows more than 4,600 products from 144 designated countries and territories, mainly in the developing world to enter the United States market tariff-free.

Currently, there are 38 Sub-Saharan countries that are eligible for benefits under AGOA. Over the last seven years, AGOA has succeeded in stimulating increases in United States-Africa trade, creating new jobs and spurring investment worth millions of Dollars.

In Zambia, AGOA focuses on horticulture and handcrafts. The United States government plays a great role in assisting the Zambian horticulture industry to take advantage of the African Growth Opportunity Act. Initially, only baby corn, baby carrots and snow peas were the only fresh vegetables that were exported to the US market from Zambia. But with the commissioning of the Pest Risk Assessment in 2003, other products are eligible to enter the US market under AGOA. Candidate products eligible for the US market under the Pest Risk Assessment include fine beans, asparagus, courgettes, chilies, baby melons, leeks and okra. This has been possible through the support from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

The increase in the number of products eligible into the United States market entails increased market opportunities for the Zambian horticultural products. Zambia’s agricultural-based industries are thus benefiting from the African Growth and Opportunities Act trade initiatives.The African Growth Opportunities Act focuses on the handicraft industry as well. Although the initial focus was on hand made products, the current AGOA legislation includes crafts products produced from machines. This legislation adds more benefits to the Zambian players in the handicraft industry whose market size has been broadened. This current AGOA legislation includes the textile industry. This entails that Zambian companies in the textile industry can export garments of different nature to the US market quota and duty free. Only quality matters may limit the exporters.

However, some Zambian exports into the AGOA market have been induced through exports to countries eligible to export such products to the AGOA market. For instance, in the textile sub-sectors, Zambian exports not eligible into the US market under AGOA have been exported to AGOA eligible countries in such exports for onward garment production for the AGOA market. Cotton yarn is one such product which Zambian exporters are not eligible under AGOA to export to the US market. To that effect, Zambian cotton yarn exporters sell abroad to eligible countries who later export to the US market. Mauritius, Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa have been principle AGOA induced export markets for Zambia. With the opening up of new garment factories as well as the increase in production capacity of the existing factories, Mauritius is particularly drawing a lot of cotton yarn from Zambia companies.

To boost AGOA exports and aid for the diversification of export products to the US market, COMESA with funding from the United States Agency for International Development, came up with AGOA linkages in COMESA (ALINC) programme. The ALINC programme promotes African Growth Opportunities Act in member states of COMESA, which are AGOA eligible. Apart from facilitating trade between Africa and the United States, ALINC disseminates information on the African Growth Opportunities Act. In order to improve Zambia’s chances of taking advantage of AGOA, the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry in conjunction with partners such as Zambia Development Agency; Market Access, Trade and Enabling Policy; COMESA and Mount Makulu have continued with country wide sensetisation programmes, capacity building of producers and exporters as well as institutions rendering services to the private sector on the characteristics and needs of the US market. The initiative is meant to provide Zambian exporters with training on export development, packaging and on how to reduce the cost of transportation of their exports.

The African Growth Opportunity Act initiative is a real opportunity for Zambia. The government must thus build on those opportunities in conjunction with farmers, manufacturers and the business community to ensure that trade under the Act continues to flow between Zambia and USA. This entails more export earnings for Zambia, a phenomenon cardinal to job and wealth creation as well as poverty reduction.

Foreign Markets

Zambian Exports’ Opportunities.Market expansion is vital for any exporter to increase returns. To broaden its regional and international market share, Zambia is a signatory to a number of bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements. Trading partners within the southern Africa include South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Congo DR. In addition, vital international trade partners comprise EU countries such as Germany, USA and the United Kingdom.

Within the southern region, Zambia is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a grouping of 14 countries with a combined population of about 200 million people. And the country’s active participation in the SADC Trade Protocol as well as the Africa wide 20 countries Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)/ Free Trade Area (FTA) offers preferential tariff access to total market potential of nearly 380 million people.

Similarly, with the advent of Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) duty free access to the huge USA market has become a reality. AGOA-Africa Growth and Opportunity ActThis Act provides trade preferences for quota and duty-free entry into the United States market for certain goods. Notably, AGOA expanded market access for textile and apparel goods into the United States for eligible countries. Some AGOA countries have begun to export new products to the United States, such as cut flowers, horticultural products, automotives and steel. Initially, AGOA was set to expire in 2008. In 2004, the United States Congress passed the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004, which extended the legislation to 2015. The Act’s apparel special provision, which permits lesser-developed countries to set foreign fabric for their garment exports, was to expire in September 2007. However, the legislation passed by Congress in December 2006 extended it through 2012.

Contonou Agreement The Continou Agreement provides for reciprocal trade agreements, meaning that not only the European Union (EU) provides duty-free access to its markets for African, Caribbean and Pacific Nations (ACP) exports, but ACP countries also provide duty-free access to their own markets for EU exports. True to the Continou principle of differentiation, however, not all ACP countries have to open their markets to EU products after 2008. The group of least developed countries is able to either continue cooperation of non-reciprocal trade preferences or the “Everything But Arms” regulation.

Zambia is also a signatory to the Continou Agreement, which aims to achieve free trade arrangements between the EU and the ACP regional groupings. EBA- Everything But ArmsEverything But Arms (EBA) is an initiative of the European Union under which all imports to the EU from the Least Developed Countries are duty free and quota free, with the exception of armaments. EBA entered into force on 5 March2001. There are transitional arrangements for bananas, sugar and rice until January 2006, July 2009 and September 2009 respectively.

COMESA- Common Market for Eastern and Southern AfricaCOMESA was founded in 1994 to replace the former Preferential Trade Area (PTA) and forms a formidable market (both external and internal trading) with over 20 member states with a population of more than 374 million and an annual import bill of around USD 32 billion. COMESA member states are; Angola, Burundi, Congo DR, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Malawi and Madagascar. Other members are Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

SADC- Southern Africa Development Community

The Southern Africa Development Community was formed with the objective of building a region of high levels of harmonisation and rationalisation that enable pooling of resources to achieve self reliance and ultimately improve the living standard and quality of people in this region.

The SADC member states include Angola, Botswana, Congo DR, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia as well as Zimbabwe.

To accelerate economic growth, SADC member states are individually intensifying their efforts to implement comprehensive economic and social reforms within the organ’s development framework of pursuing poverty reduction oriented policies, addressing good governance issues, infrastructure and production capacity constraints, all of which are cardinal in the facilitation of economic development and attracting investment. 

Zambia’s membership to regional organisations such as COMESA and SADC has buoyed the country’s export market. And the country’s participation in international trade has also boosted the country’s competitiveness in global trade. Currently the European Union countries, China, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, India, Japan and the USA remain Zambia’s major trading partners. Although Zambia is a landlocked country, it has easy access to the sea ports of Durban in South Africa, Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania and Walvis Bay in Namibia.

Courtesy of Zambia Development Agency [my employer in 2009 when I originally wrote this article] trade, policy and investment agreements.

Criminality vs Political support

Clive Mutame Siachiyako

It is unacceptable taking political support into senseless actions. Supporting a particular political party should not be done to harm others. Instead, it should be done to convince them see sense in what the party offers. It is important to apply decent steps in marketing a political party one supports. Modernity demands communicative rationality; where through discursive praxis we win others into our political party. People should be made to connect with the values of the party by supporters who bring valuable points on the table.

This is can be the ideal political party support. But what we see in the Zambian political cadres in total criminality camouflaged into political support. Who supports a political party by running a tipper truck into an international airport runway? What kind of support is that? What happened to reasoning it out? What happened to people’s freedom of association and assembly? If someone wants to move into a different direction, they do not want to associate with you, why not let them go and build up things from the gap they left?

Violence may seem a romantic means to ‘discipline’ each other in political corridors. But there is a day of reciprocity. The same cadres will turn into something else once they gain so much ground. They will instil violence on anyone their way. To go by example, in 2013 a consortium of civil society gathered in Bible Gospel Outreach Church in Africa (BIGOCA) in Matero were battered like thieves inside the church? WHY? They were praying against government removal of subsidies on maize meal, agriculture and fuel [Black Friday]. Very arrogant responses were given to those on whom violence was meted. Nobody seemed to care.

In some situations people have been killed during elections or clashes between cadres. This is happening simply because they belong to different parties. What happened to humanistic virtues? Why should political affiliation make us bitter enemies? It is not worthy shedding blood over political divide. We have the right to belong to any party of choice. We have to respect that fact. We cannot force people to associate with us if they do not want. Let them be and we should focus on building political parties into something more sellable.

We are really taking God’s name in vein calling ourselves a Christian nation with such behaviour. What is Christ-like with the level of intolerance we are experiencing from political supporters? Nothing! It is pure mockery to the cross.

People with different views have been butchered many times and nobody seemed to care. Yesterday [January 23, 2016] the international airport in Ndola was exposed to the same style of criminality and nobody seems to care. It was later reported that the police on the Copperbelt said “we thought they were Miles Sampa’s supporters who drove into the airport runway.” Since when did supporters start going onto the runway with ugly machines like a tipper truck? Not even when receiving the President is that allowed to happen.

Historicity evidence shows that criminal elements take advantage of loose arrangements to fix opponents in society. In worse situations they have become ungovernable and take over normal running of society. This can be exemplified by unlawfulness in the acquisition of land in Lusaka. Political supporters have given themselves the Commissioner of Lands powers in some way, selling plots and reselling those that have remained dormant. Shanty and illegal compounds have been legalised by municipalities in favour of cadres’ decision to have compounds created anywhere they see land. No proper planning is done in creating these compounds. The end result is chaotic formation of townships in Lusaka and other places.

Trends of organised criminal groups that have been let loose ruin he societal fabric. It happened in India when the Bollywood, one of the most prolific and profitable film industries in the world; became the target of underground mob. The underground mob had initially helped Bollywood with financing when government refused to finance the industry. Bollywood was cheerful to get such support. Government watched things unfold. Nobody seemed to care.

But after a bloody decade in the 90s, the fabric of the underworld changed. The ruthless and brash gangsters who had replaced the old dons and their ‘work ethics', toned down their activities. Instead of contract killings and extortion, they got involved in the corporate sector, especially real estate. The mob looked at the next target. They needed continuity. The system which thought was doing a favour to them by letting them do things their way to get around life’s hurdles had long term headache to bring sanity to that messy.

The legacy of Communism in Russia also manifested into the famous Red Mafia. The Mafia emerged after Russia switched to a free market economy. The Red Mafia took advantage of that economic freedom and took control of close to 40% of the Russian economy, doing all sorts of things to get what they wanted. Sadly, most of the things they did were crime laden. The Red Mafia earned themselves the name of the “the most fearsome, violent, creative, and well-educated criminal organisations in the world.”

In the beginning nobody cared. Some commentators indicate that some government officials benefited from such actions. But things got out of hand. The group nearly got at anybody in any fashion they wanted even in other counties like USA. The mafia became very difficult to locate and shut down.

Going by what cadres are doing, allowing them to do things the way they want any further may land us into serious chaos. We are making governance institutions very weak. For example, the police are often put in a limbo when cadres unleash their vermin of others. They have to tread between saving their jobs and dealing with the erring cadres sternly. The case of often saving the job and let the violence go on. Cadres have locked up and ushered out civil servants in some situations, and dealing with such cadres has remained a daunting task to law enforcers.

What kind of society are we building really? Where is our sense of reasonability? Even as cadres, we need an iota of reasoning when sent to attack others. Politics of Stone Age are over; we need to apply ourselves differently. We have to use rationality rather than violence of divergent views.

Throwing insults at others opposition our views, stoning them and scorning them will not add value to anyone’s livelihood. Collaborating and learning from them would be cooler than this heinous approach. We need to new mindset in politics. We need a new breed of political supporters. We need maturity, soberness and dignity in our political conduct. We will stand to benefit more by reasoning together. Narrow interests are killing our society.

It is time political parties prepared their supporters to apply themselves in rational reasoning. Prepare them to work hard to win electorates’ hearts during elections. Prepare them to apply themselves differently and make politics more admirable. No party should tolerate and prepare a generation of criminal minds. It will cost the country badly in the long run, if in the short term is seems too romantic to let go. Political party Presidents have to get the grip of things. They should shake off hateful mindsets and try to nurture cadres who fit into a competitive and modern society where communicative rationality is the rule of the thumb. It is time to sober up and end the rot!!

It is dangerous....

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako 

 The phrase “it’s not about how much you earn, but how you use it” makes so much sense to what is going in Zambia concerning hydroelectric supply. It is very dangerous to live as if there is no tomorrow.  It is more dangerous not to identify what is more important from what is important. How on earth did we arrive at having to reach at a point where power supply is almost becoming impossible in the country? From the billions of dollars we have invested in roads, ‘universities,’ stadia, and other things; why did we neglect diversification of power generation?

 In a serious country, some heads should be rolling by now for allowing us arrive at such a limbo. ZESCO have been in existence for ages, why cannot it have alternative energy for heaven’s sake? Does it mean people outside ZESCO corridors are the only ones who see relying on one source of energy to be very precarious? It is furious to see things going asunder in such a manner when we have all sorts of institutions that would have provided projectory plans and implement them to save the country.

Who wants to invest in a country in so much misery? Who wants to waste their money in a country where the cost of doing business is so high because support systems are dying and cannot sustain things? We must be kidding, we must be from a different strange planet where humans bury their heads in sand and pretend all shall be well by the time we plucked off our heads from the sand.

If ZESCO cannot invest in capital projects to increase power supply and diversifying power generation, then it is not worth having in the first place. We are better off forgetting about it and look somewhere else. Talk about money, how much dollars have we gotten via loans, grants and bonds? We would have prioritised things for heaven’s sake than to end in such a chaotic situation. What is the point of having beautiful roads and live in darkness, fail to produce and have all businesses shut down due to non availability of power? We can do better.

Look at the sunshine we have, that is straight forward energy. We have the wind; we can get something from there as well. Human waste from our sewer systems can be another source of energy [bio-energy]. What else do we need for us to bridge this power shortfall? Rains are not going to be normal anytime soon because climatic effects are taking a serious toil of weather patterns. So whether we cry, cut ourselves in pieces in praying for rains, scream on top of our voices in jiving and build national cathedrals in every corner; nothing will happen to bring rains to their old good years when we had it rosy. Times have changed; climate change has distorted so much.

If we don’t think outside the box and use our heads to get around things we will be swum over into darkness and all sectors of the economy will be crippled. Investors will not come to Zambia anymore without power being available. They are coming to invest not a holiday. Without factors of production in place, forget. They will put their money somewhere. Not only investors will shun Zambia, local businesses will die too. The cost of doing business will go up and production will crumble.

First things first, invest in right places to drive the economy to where we can invest in auxiliary sectors. Energy is a major pillar of the economy. Without it, you can very little. It is depressing seeing the level of non futuristic minds in citizens and leaders. In fact these climatic change effects seen today were projected long ago and our dear metrological department and disaster management systems never bothered to utilise international data exchange on climate change or El Niño.

Why did we prepare for what is achievable to prevent the effects’ negativity? We would have invested in alternative energy, away from the unworkable hydro-power. We would have looked at irrigation systems to save the masses from impending hunger due to drought. El Niño is in fact here for another year. It is here for three consecutive years starting with 2015, 2016 and 2017. The effects will come either as floods, no rains or heat waves. That is when the metrological and disaster management departments should have gotten to work when these projections were made. But typical of lazy man’s mindset, we waited and thought something will happen to reverse the effects of El Niño. We are kidding; no miracle or magic will remove El Niño.

It is time we start investing in right places. We need futuristic energy plans that embrace different types of energy. We should stop depending on single sources of life...be it energy or whatever. We are to think outside the box. We need to broaden our horizon. 

Grace 12 certificate vs. members of parliament

By Clive Mutame Siachiyako 

...“a minimum academic qualification, a grade twelve certificate or its equivalent”...these word are sending fireworks in the air somehow. This can tempt you to laugh at MPs for being 'cry babies'. Prior to this academic qualification requirement for one to stand as MP, [at least] two pieces of documents were approved by parliament. The amendment of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Act and the introduction of the Zambia Qualifications Framework (ZQF) Act No 13 of 2011, which I believe most of the MPs participated in their establishment into legal documents usable in the land. If some were absent then I don’t know why they didn’t update themselves on the matters of the August House.

 Getting down to my points, the clause on MPs’ minimum academic qualification has options: i) Grade 12 certificate or ii) the equivalence. What could be the equivalence? Under the technical education, vocational and entrepreneurship training (TEVET) Act of 1998 read together with the Amended version of 2005, there is a provision for bridging courses to cover for grade 12 certificate and equivalencing of qualifications. Some of the qualifications that can be equivalenced are trade test certificates.

A quick answer on what a trade test certificate...? It’s a certification given to those assessed in terms of their acquired knowledge, skills and competence in any occupation but they don’t possess a formal qualification. I mean such a competence or skill hasn’t been certified. The technical education, vocational and entrepreneurship training authority (TEVETA) is mandated to carryout trade tests. There are a number of windows within trade test that one can have their skills assessed and get certification and have that qualification placed within the ZQF. TEVETA also currently does the equivalencing although the mandate would be shifting to the ZAQA-Zambia Qualifications Authority (if it has not shifted already). The equivalencing is done within ZQF qualifications descriptors.

Let me explain more what this means and what could amount to it. There are people who have been working in carpentry or metal fabrication workshops with friends or parents and they have mastered the skill of making carpentry or metal fabrication products. There are people also who have been working in tailoring shop helping or as their means of livelihood and they have mastered the art of designing, cutting and tailoring a couple of attires. Others have been working as casuals in construction of all kinds and have acquired unquestionable practical skills to marvel.

The trade testing is done on practical competences or both theoretical and practical. This is dependent on the level of trade test one is sitting for. There are three levels of trade test. Level 3 based on assessing practical skills. Level 2 adds theoretical knowhow of things within a given field, while level combines theory and practical knowhow. Trade test is a recognised qualification on the ZQF. Trade Test level 1 is on ZQF level 3, which is above the Grade 12 certificate. The ZQF has 10  levels from primary certificate [Level 1] to doctorate [Level 10].

Is this internationally comparable? Yes, globally there are national qualification frameworks (NQFs). These provide a number of learning pathways that are both informal, formal, on-the-job training, etc. Within the region, there are regional qualifications frameworks such the SADC qualifications framework to which the ZQF is part of. The SADC portal was to that effect established for regional comparability and qualifications harmonised.

So let the MPs and others scared of the Grade 12 qualification clause better relax and take a sit. If what I am reading in the media is true about some Mps baby-crying over the Grade 12 clause....sorry but I expect MPs to be the last ones to complain because the pieces of legislation I mentioned above passed through their hands in parliament. If they were absent during debates on those legislations or they didn’t get the real implications, then kaya, it’s themselves to blame.