This week, on Wednesday, as a supplement in ‘The Post” newspaper, the draft of the new Zambian Constitution was published. It is considered by many to be a progressive document and seems to be enjoying fairly widespread support. It is very similar to the one that appeared a few years ago which Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta, with (do you mean with or which) others were instrumental in drafting. That document was unfortunately amended beyond all recognition by a previously appointed national constitutional council.
A major concern here in Western Province is that still no recognition is given to Barotseland’s historical role in the formation of the Republic of Zambia. However, as in other democratic constitutions, there is the clear separation of powers. These have been distributed amongst the executive, the judiciary and the legislature to create checks and balances and to ensure accountability to the people.
The new constitution entrenches a Bill of Rights with more rights for women, children, youth, the disabled and the elderly than before and includes affirmative action in certain areas of discrimination and lack of equity. There are also guaranteed economic, social, and cultural rights and a constitutional court. This court would deal with human rights, governance and election issues. A strengthened Human Rights Commission would also be provided with powers to redress human rights violations.
A number of Articles would be entrenched rights and difficult to change. In the past Amendments to the Constitution had been used by some incumbent Presidents to ‘fix’ opponents. To elect the President a 50 per cent plus one vote is required. The Vice President would now need to be elected as a running mate and no longer appointed.
Other proposals are a proportional representation system of electing MPs instead of the present Westminster-style first past the post elections. Cabinet ministers may be appointed from outside the National Assembly. There would be greater devolved and decentralised government at Provincial level. To ensure greater impartiality, traditional rulers and chiefs would be barred from actively participating in party politics.
There will now be a public consultation process lasting 40 days at district, provincial and national level. Local communities through schools, churches and other social groupings are invited to comment. Finally the amended document will be put to a national referendum.
The draft Constitution has also been posted on the website, www.zambianconstitution.org, for people to read and comment on.
On a personal note we are pleased that dual nationality would be permitted, meaning that Mubita could keep his Zambian citizenship which he lost after being adopted by us.
On Saturday 14 and Sunday15 April the UCZ here in the Western Presbytery had a weekend of prayer and fasting to intercede for the Church, Western Presbytery, Western Province, the Zambian Government and the Barotse Royal Establishment focusing on peace and unity.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Friday, 27 April 2012
Farewell to Princess Nakatindi
The Rev Manda, Mrs Manda, Ida and I set out on Saturday morning to Nawinda, the country residence of Princess Nakatindi, who had died after a heart operation on Maundy Thursday in hospital in South Africa. Nawinda is about 10km north-east of Mwandi. Her body had been flown to Lusaka a week later to a State Funeral at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross. She was accorded this honour in recognition of her contribution to democracy and national development. She also gained the sobriquet ‘the People’s Princess’. After the service in Lusaka, she was flown to Sesheke for burial at home.
We arrived in the midst of all the final preparations for the interment and found seats under one of the marquee and tarpaulin shelters. We sat down on some chairs which had yet to be set out in rows, our neighbours were siziba-clad, red-bereted indunas from the Barotse Royal Establishment.
Already gathering as well were the Mwandi Church choirs, the UCZ, Catholic and New Apostolic. The political cadres were assembling too, the men dressed in chitenge shirts and the women wearing chitenge wraps all in their party colours . Interestingly the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, the Patriotic Front, United Party for National Development each had its own choir and they were rehearsing too.
The digging of the grave in the family cemetery about 200m from the house was underway and interestingly much of the manual work was undertaken by trusted prisoners in their green fatigues from the jail at Sesheke who worked together with the Army, Airforce, Police and National Service personnel, who in turn were advised by indunas. A kayatwa, used at royal burials but echoing the temporary shelter made of reed mats used by herdsmen and paddlers in open country was being made. This would be put over the coffin and buried as well. In the meantime we were served a bread roll and hot sweet tea, a welcome breakfast, as we chatted to other mourners and acquaintances.
The Church had lent all its pews for the occasion, they had been collected by an army truck earlier and were now being unloaded. It was discovered that the lectern had been forgotten. Ida and I dashed back in the car with the Church caretaker, Mr Ndopu, to pick it up. By mid-day all the seating arrangements according to precedence and protocol had been completed and we awaited the arrival of Senior Government Officials, Members of the Cabinet and Parliament and other politicians.
The burial service began around 1500h as the Princess’ body, coffin draped in the Zambian flag, was carried by military pall-bearers, accompanied by the Airforce Brass Band to the entrance porch of the house where it was placed for the body-viewing. This is a custom where everyone present at the funeral may file past the body to bid the deceased a final farewell. The body-viewing must have taken the best part of an hour.
The Minister officiating at the burial was Major (Rev) Malcolm Moffatt Nyambe, the Airforce Chaplain, based at Livingstone. The programme began with a hymn and prayer followed by the lowering of the coffin into the grave and the committal. A firing party released three volleys in salute.Each choir was then given the chance in turn to perform, during the proceedings. After the burial came the laying of wreaths, this was led by Mr Sikota Wina, the widower.
Then came the eulogies, the first was given by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Felix Mutati, then came the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Given Lubinda, who represented the President. Mr Lubinda is a nephew to Mr Wina.
Also in attendance was Mrs Mazoka, the widow of Anderson, the first President of UPND. The programme closed with the Benediction.
Princess Nakatindi Wina , nee Mirriam Mbololwa Nganga, was born on 15th February 1945 to Yuyi Nganga and Princess Nakatindi Yeta. She was the first of eleven children and is also a cousin to our Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta. She took the name Nakatindi after her mother’s death in 1972. The name Nakatindi comes from matindi - the islands of grass that break off from the river bank when the water is high.
She attended Barotse National School in Mongu and Maramba Girls Secondary School in Livingstone. She then studied accounts at Evelyn Hone College and later studied Business Administration in Britain. In 1967 she married Sikota Wina, they were a devoted couple and had 5 children together.
A freedom fighter, she was the first female Member of Parliament after independence in UNIP but became a founding member of the MMD whose victory at the polls in 1991 brought about the end of the one-party state. Elected as the member for Sesheke, she served as Minister for Tourism, then Community Development in the Chiluba Government but was unjustly detained without trial for over a year following the alleged coup attempt in 1997. She bore no grudge against Dr Chiluba for this and freely forgave him.
As a fearless democrat, advocate of gender equality and women’s emancipation, she boycotted sessions of the Africa Union Parliament because of the lack of female representation and participation in that body. She was a strong voice for the poor and down-trodden and finally served as UPND MP for Kanyama, an impoverished compound in Lusaka.
She is survived by her husband and five children.
We arrived in the midst of all the final preparations for the interment and found seats under one of the marquee and tarpaulin shelters. We sat down on some chairs which had yet to be set out in rows, our neighbours were siziba-clad, red-bereted indunas from the Barotse Royal Establishment.
Already gathering as well were the Mwandi Church choirs, the UCZ, Catholic and New Apostolic. The political cadres were assembling too, the men dressed in chitenge shirts and the women wearing chitenge wraps all in their party colours . Interestingly the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, the Patriotic Front, United Party for National Development each had its own choir and they were rehearsing too.
The digging of the grave in the family cemetery about 200m from the house was underway and interestingly much of the manual work was undertaken by trusted prisoners in their green fatigues from the jail at Sesheke who worked together with the Army, Airforce, Police and National Service personnel, who in turn were advised by indunas. A kayatwa, used at royal burials but echoing the temporary shelter made of reed mats used by herdsmen and paddlers in open country was being made. This would be put over the coffin and buried as well. In the meantime we were served a bread roll and hot sweet tea, a welcome breakfast, as we chatted to other mourners and acquaintances.
The Church had lent all its pews for the occasion, they had been collected by an army truck earlier and were now being unloaded. It was discovered that the lectern had been forgotten. Ida and I dashed back in the car with the Church caretaker, Mr Ndopu, to pick it up. By mid-day all the seating arrangements according to precedence and protocol had been completed and we awaited the arrival of Senior Government Officials, Members of the Cabinet and Parliament and other politicians.
The burial service began around 1500h as the Princess’ body, coffin draped in the Zambian flag, was carried by military pall-bearers, accompanied by the Airforce Brass Band to the entrance porch of the house where it was placed for the body-viewing. This is a custom where everyone present at the funeral may file past the body to bid the deceased a final farewell. The body-viewing must have taken the best part of an hour.
The Minister officiating at the burial was Major (Rev) Malcolm Moffatt Nyambe, the Airforce Chaplain, based at Livingstone. The programme began with a hymn and prayer followed by the lowering of the coffin into the grave and the committal. A firing party released three volleys in salute.Each choir was then given the chance in turn to perform, during the proceedings. After the burial came the laying of wreaths, this was led by Mr Sikota Wina, the widower.
Then came the eulogies, the first was given by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Felix Mutati, then came the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Given Lubinda, who represented the President. Mr Lubinda is a nephew to Mr Wina.
Also in attendance was Mrs Mazoka, the widow of Anderson, the first President of UPND. The programme closed with the Benediction.
Princess Nakatindi Wina , nee Mirriam Mbololwa Nganga, was born on 15th February 1945 to Yuyi Nganga and Princess Nakatindi Yeta. She was the first of eleven children and is also a cousin to our Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta. She took the name Nakatindi after her mother’s death in 1972. The name Nakatindi comes from matindi - the islands of grass that break off from the river bank when the water is high.
She attended Barotse National School in Mongu and Maramba Girls Secondary School in Livingstone. She then studied accounts at Evelyn Hone College and later studied Business Administration in Britain. In 1967 she married Sikota Wina, they were a devoted couple and had 5 children together.
A freedom fighter, she was the first female Member of Parliament after independence in UNIP but became a founding member of the MMD whose victory at the polls in 1991 brought about the end of the one-party state. Elected as the member for Sesheke, she served as Minister for Tourism, then Community Development in the Chiluba Government but was unjustly detained without trial for over a year following the alleged coup attempt in 1997. She bore no grudge against Dr Chiluba for this and freely forgave him.
As a fearless democrat, advocate of gender equality and women’s emancipation, she boycotted sessions of the Africa Union Parliament because of the lack of female representation and participation in that body. She was a strong voice for the poor and down-trodden and finally served as UPND MP for Kanyama, an impoverished compound in Lusaka.
She is survived by her husband and five children.
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Dialogue
On Monday the Lozi Prime Minister (Ngambela), Clement Sinyinda, was reported by ZNBC to have said that the Barotse leadership has opted for dialogue with the Zambian Government in the interest of peace and unity. He hinted that a surprising but amicable settlement was in store.
Barotseland had been declared an independent State last week by the Barotse National Council (BNC). This had followed claims of the continuing abrogation of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 by successive Zambian governments with ensuing neglect and underdevelopment. The BA of 1964 was the Agreement that brought Barotseland and Northern Rhodesia together to form independent Zambia.
The Zambian Justice Minister Sebastian Zulu also interviewed said the Zambian Government is keen to resolve this matter and to keep searching for a peaceful solution.
The First Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda, who originally signed the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 on behalf of the Zambian Government, appealed to all involved to cooperate and safeguard peace and harmony in the country.
Three church bodies, the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) have also called on the Government to create conditions that would facilitate meaningful dialogue and reconciliation among the people of Western Province.
They suggest using the recently-published Chongwe Commission of Inquiry’s Report as a basis for the dialogue. The Church leaders said Government had vacillated and skirted around the issue of the Barotseland Agreement for far too long and it was a problem that would not go away. The Government should engage the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) in serious and sincere dialogue on the issues surrounding the Barotseland Agreement of 1964.
With goodwill on both sides, a win-win solution is possible but labelling people as traitors, anarchists or secessionists would only lead to further radicalization and fail to create the necessary conditions for reconciliation. People should use a language which would build up and not destroy.The Government certainly had a duty to maintain law and order and to protect life and property but this duty should be exercised using judgement, sensitivity and due diligence.
The Churches also appealed to Barotse activist groups, particularly the Linyungandambo, Barotse Freedom Movement (BFM), Movement for the Restoration of the Barotseland Agreement (MOREBA) to consider giving dialogue a chance. There was no political issue that could not be resolved through dialogue, so the Church was appealing to all involved to support initiatives which would lead to unity, peace and reconciliation in the country.The Church offered itself as a go-between as it had done previously with the constitutional impasse which eventually led to multi-party democracy in 1991.
Finally they commended the people of Western Province for holding the recent BNC meeting in a transparent and peaceful atmosphere
Barotseland had been declared an independent State last week by the Barotse National Council (BNC). This had followed claims of the continuing abrogation of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 by successive Zambian governments with ensuing neglect and underdevelopment. The BA of 1964 was the Agreement that brought Barotseland and Northern Rhodesia together to form independent Zambia.
The Zambian Justice Minister Sebastian Zulu also interviewed said the Zambian Government is keen to resolve this matter and to keep searching for a peaceful solution.
The First Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda, who originally signed the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 on behalf of the Zambian Government, appealed to all involved to cooperate and safeguard peace and harmony in the country.
Three church bodies, the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) have also called on the Government to create conditions that would facilitate meaningful dialogue and reconciliation among the people of Western Province.
They suggest using the recently-published Chongwe Commission of Inquiry’s Report as a basis for the dialogue. The Church leaders said Government had vacillated and skirted around the issue of the Barotseland Agreement for far too long and it was a problem that would not go away. The Government should engage the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) in serious and sincere dialogue on the issues surrounding the Barotseland Agreement of 1964.
With goodwill on both sides, a win-win solution is possible but labelling people as traitors, anarchists or secessionists would only lead to further radicalization and fail to create the necessary conditions for reconciliation. People should use a language which would build up and not destroy.The Government certainly had a duty to maintain law and order and to protect life and property but this duty should be exercised using judgement, sensitivity and due diligence.
The Churches also appealed to Barotse activist groups, particularly the Linyungandambo, Barotse Freedom Movement (BFM), Movement for the Restoration of the Barotseland Agreement (MOREBA) to consider giving dialogue a chance. There was no political issue that could not be resolved through dialogue, so the Church was appealing to all involved to support initiatives which would lead to unity, peace and reconciliation in the country.The Church offered itself as a go-between as it had done previously with the constitutional impasse which eventually led to multi-party democracy in 1991.
Finally they commended the people of Western Province for holding the recent BNC meeting in a transparent and peaceful atmosphere
Monday, 12 March 2012
On Thursday, we celebrated International Women's Day here in Mwandi and throughout Zambia. It is a day when the world comes together to celebrate the achievements of women.
The Socialist Party of America in 1909 –(yes, there is such a thing!) instituted the first Women's Day following protests against oppression, unfair pay, working hours and the right to vote. Over the years women and men have gathered around the world to stand in solidarity and campaign for the rights of women.
Women still do not receive equal pay. They are underrepresented in the global business and political spheres. Even within the Church women are not offered an equal platform. In many places women are still denied the opportunity to further their education. Violence against women is commonplace and far too often ignored. Though changes and developments have taken place over the past 100 years, more still needs to be done.
The theme this year is 'Empower women - End hunger and poverty.' Time was spent remembering the many women around the world who have made a difference and continue to do so, the mothers, daughters and wives whose works have challenged and changed the world.
Yesterday the Zambian Government announced that for the first time the Gender Department would become a full-scale Ministry with a Cabinet seat. This follows in the wake of a number of women being promoted as Heads in various areas of the Public Service. The Police Inspector General, some Provincial Police Chiefs and Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission are the most prominent recent appointees.
Mothering Sunday was celebrated last Sunday on 4 March 2012. The UCZ theme was The Transformed Woman Impacts Community based on Romans 12:2, Matthew 27:55-6 and Acts 16:14-16. Ida was asked to preach at Mwandi this year. She stressed that the need for female education goes hand in hand with spiritual transformation. For the transformed woman the community is an extension of her family and home. Jesus’ ministry was supported by transformed women, individuals in their own right.
The love and care for orphans is part of the role as is standing against child labour and trafficking. Defilement, early marriages abuse and violence are unacceptable to the transformed woman. She supports victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and their struggle for justice.
Lydia was a good example of a woman opening her house to help and support Mission Work. Aquila and Priscilla’s was a joint-ministry, important in a Christian marriage, working together to share the Gospel. The Transformed Woman impacts her community by allowing God to use her strengths and gifts to extend the Kingdom.
Finally on Friday afternoon last week the World Day of Prayer Service took place at Mwandi. This event grew out of the 400 women who attended the Edinburgh World Mission Conference in 1910. The Day of Prayer is now a worldwide and ecumenical movement celebrated in over 100 countries.
Participants are encouraged to:
Pray for the whole world and its interdependence
Be enriched by other Christians from different denominations and cultures
Take up others’ burdens and pray with and for them
Become aware of talents and use them in service to others
Prayer and action are inseparable and have an immeasurable influence in the world.
This year’s Order of Service was prepared by the Christian women of Malaysia with ‘Let Justice Prevail’ as their call for prayer. The Readings were from Habakuk 1:2-5, 3:2&17-19 who persistently questions God about injustice and receives an answer that God will act. The New Testament Readings were from Matthew 5:6 & Luke 18:1-8 tell us that God’s justice, righteousness and mercy are inseparable. The Prayer of Confession acknowleged the sin of our indifference to the injustice and unrighteousness we see around us.
Next followed a refection from a brave Malasian social worker who fought for the cause of justice amongst the poor and oppressed concentrating on modern slavery, euphemistically called “trafficking” There followed a challenge on our response to stand up together to help change this situation. (Locally, there are two boys from rural Shangombo at the moment living at Sesheke police station who were rescued as they were about to be trafficked to South Africa.)
2013’s service will be written by the Christian women of France using the text ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’.
Prayer points:
We were asked to remember:
Christians in Malaysia who speak out for justice
Victims of human trafficking, oppression and injustice
Wisdom and courage for governments and leaders to act justly
Organisations working for a fairer world – Fair Trade
Migrant workers that they are treated fairly and with respect
The poor, the homeless, the hungry
People affected by HIV/AIDS
The Socialist Party of America in 1909 –(yes, there is such a thing!) instituted the first Women's Day following protests against oppression, unfair pay, working hours and the right to vote. Over the years women and men have gathered around the world to stand in solidarity and campaign for the rights of women.
Women still do not receive equal pay. They are underrepresented in the global business and political spheres. Even within the Church women are not offered an equal platform. In many places women are still denied the opportunity to further their education. Violence against women is commonplace and far too often ignored. Though changes and developments have taken place over the past 100 years, more still needs to be done.
The theme this year is 'Empower women - End hunger and poverty.' Time was spent remembering the many women around the world who have made a difference and continue to do so, the mothers, daughters and wives whose works have challenged and changed the world.
Yesterday the Zambian Government announced that for the first time the Gender Department would become a full-scale Ministry with a Cabinet seat. This follows in the wake of a number of women being promoted as Heads in various areas of the Public Service. The Police Inspector General, some Provincial Police Chiefs and Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission are the most prominent recent appointees.
Mothering Sunday was celebrated last Sunday on 4 March 2012. The UCZ theme was The Transformed Woman Impacts Community based on Romans 12:2, Matthew 27:55-6 and Acts 16:14-16. Ida was asked to preach at Mwandi this year. She stressed that the need for female education goes hand in hand with spiritual transformation. For the transformed woman the community is an extension of her family and home. Jesus’ ministry was supported by transformed women, individuals in their own right.
The love and care for orphans is part of the role as is standing against child labour and trafficking. Defilement, early marriages abuse and violence are unacceptable to the transformed woman. She supports victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and their struggle for justice.
Lydia was a good example of a woman opening her house to help and support Mission Work. Aquila and Priscilla’s was a joint-ministry, important in a Christian marriage, working together to share the Gospel. The Transformed Woman impacts her community by allowing God to use her strengths and gifts to extend the Kingdom.
Finally on Friday afternoon last week the World Day of Prayer Service took place at Mwandi. This event grew out of the 400 women who attended the Edinburgh World Mission Conference in 1910. The Day of Prayer is now a worldwide and ecumenical movement celebrated in over 100 countries.
Participants are encouraged to:
Pray for the whole world and its interdependence
Be enriched by other Christians from different denominations and cultures
Take up others’ burdens and pray with and for them
Become aware of talents and use them in service to others
Prayer and action are inseparable and have an immeasurable influence in the world.
This year’s Order of Service was prepared by the Christian women of Malaysia with ‘Let Justice Prevail’ as their call for prayer. The Readings were from Habakuk 1:2-5, 3:2&17-19 who persistently questions God about injustice and receives an answer that God will act. The New Testament Readings were from Matthew 5:6 & Luke 18:1-8 tell us that God’s justice, righteousness and mercy are inseparable. The Prayer of Confession acknowleged the sin of our indifference to the injustice and unrighteousness we see around us.
Next followed a refection from a brave Malasian social worker who fought for the cause of justice amongst the poor and oppressed concentrating on modern slavery, euphemistically called “trafficking” There followed a challenge on our response to stand up together to help change this situation. (Locally, there are two boys from rural Shangombo at the moment living at Sesheke police station who were rescued as they were about to be trafficked to South Africa.)
2013’s service will be written by the Christian women of France using the text ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’.
Prayer points:
We were asked to remember:
Christians in Malaysia who speak out for justice
Victims of human trafficking, oppression and injustice
Wisdom and courage for governments and leaders to act justly
Organisations working for a fairer world – Fair Trade
Migrant workers that they are treated fairly and with respect
The poor, the homeless, the hungry
People affected by HIV/AIDS
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Living Abundantly
Although Zambia is still 67% covered by forest, concern continues to be expressed at the high rate of deforestation and calls have been made for swift action to address the situation. Since 1990 forest cover has fallen from 52.8m to 49.4m hectares in 2010. There are dwindling timber resources, especially in State and the traditional community managed forests where huge investments are required to replace timber at the rate at which it is being exploited. At present 61% of the forests are community-owned, 24% by the State and 15% by private companies and individuals.
With sensible investment in the local timber industry, a considerable contribution can be made to the development of the Zambian economy. A multi-billion Kwacha furniture factory has been recently opened in Ndola, and the timber industry had great potential to contribute to the country's GDP, if properly and sustainably managed. Illegal timber dealers have contributed greatly to the dwindling of timber resources, and they keep Zambia in the position of a producer of raw materials whose resources have value added outwith the country. Much of the illegally cut timber is hard wood and smuggled out in its raw state. Unfortunately it is only a small greedy elite that benefit at the expense of the communities in which the trees grow. A more stringent monitoring system is needed to stop these illegal activities and keep things in check.
Forestry and all the associated activities, from honey, to nuts, fruits, charcoal and firewood are vital to Zambia's socio-economic development and if managed properly and could create a substantial number of jobs especially for the rural population and this would help to reduce the high poverty levels found there. The UCZ, itself, runs a honey project. It would be ironic if Zambia, country blessed with so much forest cover, in the future, becomes an importer of timber. Malawi’s deforestation and the Caledonian Forest are examples of what can happen over a very short period of time.
The World Bank has just approved a US$50 million credit to improve the productivity of livestock production for targeted female and male smallholder producers in rural Zambia. This is another example of the shift to diversify the economy, from too heavy a reliance on copper mining in industry and maize production in agriculture. It seeks to move a number of successful subsistence farmers to a more semi-commercial status. The project aims to benefit 390,000 female and male smallholder producers in the targeted areas who rear cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. It is estimated that one million livestock farmers could indirectly benefit from improved control of animal diseases and increased animal numbers. This effort to increase the role of small livestock farming and to diversify agriculture production should help to raise Zambia's GDP, and also raise the standard of living in rural areas and lead to the creation of more permanent and sustainable jobs.
The Mwandi UCZ Agricultural Project and the Mwandi Community Fish Farm were featured last Saturday on the ZNBC Evening News, releasing fingerlings back into the Zambezi to help replenish fish stocks for local subsistence fishermen.
Here the river is rising but the associated flooding in the bush has not reached its usual levels. It has been an average year in our area so far. However, we are being told Southern Africa should brace itself for more heavy rains and floods until the end of this rainy season. Meteorologists warn that tropical cyclones could shake the eastern coast of Southern Africa during March and April.
Despite a late start to our rainy season, much of Southern Africa received heavy rains in late December, which led to some localised flooding. The blame for this placed at the door of La Nina. This is opposite to El Ninõ, which is caused by a warming of waters in the western Pacific which brings drought to southern Africa. Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa and Angola have all had floods in the past month.
The number of people directly affected by the heavy rain, high winds and flooding caused by two major storms is estimated at 119,000.The gates at Cahora Bassa Dam on the Zambezi are already opened with people living along the lower Zambezi basin and in the Buzi, Save and Pungue basins being sent to higher ground. The Kariba Dam opened its spillway gates of in early January to release pressure on the dam wall. Across the water from us, Namibia has set contingency plans in motion in the Caprivi Region, which is prone to annual floods.
Now finally storms of the political kind: The Mongu Commission, mentioned in earlier postings, recommended this week that the Government should re-instate the 1964 Barotseland Agreement and that it should be part of the new Constitution, but President Sata appears reluctant for the Government to do this.
The Commission also found that the continued denial by the police to allow public meetings violated the rights of assembly and free expression by people in Western Province. Paragraph 7 of the Agreement had also been clearly breached. This concerned the Zambian Government’s financial responsibility to treat Barotseland fairly and equitably in relation to other parts of the Republic. Failure to deal with this had led to high poverty levels and frustrations.
As a result many people were demanding that Western Province should secede from the rest of Zambia because of their growing frustrations at underdevelopment. The committee recommended that dialogue be used in dealing with the agitation to secede, something the previous administration did not do. The Zambian Government should involve the traditional leadership and other key stakeholders to promote national unity. The report would be widely published in the media so that Zambians understood its contents.
With sensible investment in the local timber industry, a considerable contribution can be made to the development of the Zambian economy. A multi-billion Kwacha furniture factory has been recently opened in Ndola, and the timber industry had great potential to contribute to the country's GDP, if properly and sustainably managed. Illegal timber dealers have contributed greatly to the dwindling of timber resources, and they keep Zambia in the position of a producer of raw materials whose resources have value added outwith the country. Much of the illegally cut timber is hard wood and smuggled out in its raw state. Unfortunately it is only a small greedy elite that benefit at the expense of the communities in which the trees grow. A more stringent monitoring system is needed to stop these illegal activities and keep things in check.
Forestry and all the associated activities, from honey, to nuts, fruits, charcoal and firewood are vital to Zambia's socio-economic development and if managed properly and could create a substantial number of jobs especially for the rural population and this would help to reduce the high poverty levels found there. The UCZ, itself, runs a honey project. It would be ironic if Zambia, country blessed with so much forest cover, in the future, becomes an importer of timber. Malawi’s deforestation and the Caledonian Forest are examples of what can happen over a very short period of time.
The World Bank has just approved a US$50 million credit to improve the productivity of livestock production for targeted female and male smallholder producers in rural Zambia. This is another example of the shift to diversify the economy, from too heavy a reliance on copper mining in industry and maize production in agriculture. It seeks to move a number of successful subsistence farmers to a more semi-commercial status. The project aims to benefit 390,000 female and male smallholder producers in the targeted areas who rear cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. It is estimated that one million livestock farmers could indirectly benefit from improved control of animal diseases and increased animal numbers. This effort to increase the role of small livestock farming and to diversify agriculture production should help to raise Zambia's GDP, and also raise the standard of living in rural areas and lead to the creation of more permanent and sustainable jobs.
The Mwandi UCZ Agricultural Project and the Mwandi Community Fish Farm were featured last Saturday on the ZNBC Evening News, releasing fingerlings back into the Zambezi to help replenish fish stocks for local subsistence fishermen.
Here the river is rising but the associated flooding in the bush has not reached its usual levels. It has been an average year in our area so far. However, we are being told Southern Africa should brace itself for more heavy rains and floods until the end of this rainy season. Meteorologists warn that tropical cyclones could shake the eastern coast of Southern Africa during March and April.
Despite a late start to our rainy season, much of Southern Africa received heavy rains in late December, which led to some localised flooding. The blame for this placed at the door of La Nina. This is opposite to El Ninõ, which is caused by a warming of waters in the western Pacific which brings drought to southern Africa. Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa and Angola have all had floods in the past month.
The number of people directly affected by the heavy rain, high winds and flooding caused by two major storms is estimated at 119,000.The gates at Cahora Bassa Dam on the Zambezi are already opened with people living along the lower Zambezi basin and in the Buzi, Save and Pungue basins being sent to higher ground. The Kariba Dam opened its spillway gates of in early January to release pressure on the dam wall. Across the water from us, Namibia has set contingency plans in motion in the Caprivi Region, which is prone to annual floods.
Now finally storms of the political kind: The Mongu Commission, mentioned in earlier postings, recommended this week that the Government should re-instate the 1964 Barotseland Agreement and that it should be part of the new Constitution, but President Sata appears reluctant for the Government to do this.
The Commission also found that the continued denial by the police to allow public meetings violated the rights of assembly and free expression by people in Western Province. Paragraph 7 of the Agreement had also been clearly breached. This concerned the Zambian Government’s financial responsibility to treat Barotseland fairly and equitably in relation to other parts of the Republic. Failure to deal with this had led to high poverty levels and frustrations.
As a result many people were demanding that Western Province should secede from the rest of Zambia because of their growing frustrations at underdevelopment. The committee recommended that dialogue be used in dealing with the agitation to secede, something the previous administration did not do. The Zambian Government should involve the traditional leadership and other key stakeholders to promote national unity. The report would be widely published in the media so that Zambians understood its contents.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Two David and Goliath Struggles
Our Aids Relief Programme here at Mwandi has over 1500 people alive today thanks to affordable supplies of ARVs (antiretroviral drugs) from India. The cost of these drugs has fallen from around GBP200 a year to about GBP45 – thanks to the Indian generic drugs industry. This means that international donors, including ironically, the EU’s Global Funding, can help at least six million HIV-positive mostly people in the less-developed world.
Our programme also relies on generic medicines from India to treat other diseases and conditions. But a free trade agreement, currently under negotiation between the EU and India, could greatly restrict the ability of manufacturers in India to continue producing affordable generics that millions of people rely on to stay alive.
At the moment European Union is having trade talks with India and want to increase protection of the intellectual property rights and the commercial interests of European pharmaceuticals giants. They call it "data exclusivity" and along with this the EU is proposing an ambitious enforcement agenda. These harmful intellectual property (IP) provisions will hinder access to quality and affordable generic medicines produced in India, which have played a crucial role in scaling up HIV treatment to more than 6.6 million people across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The Indian government has raised serious concerns, stating that the agreement could ‘impede legitimate competition and shift the costs of enforcing private commercial rights to governments, consumers and taxpayers’. The European Commission is also apparently pushing for the trade deal to be expanded to cover investments, and not only intellectual property but also an ‘investor-to-state’ mechanism.
This would allow multinational drug companies to bypass Indian courts and take the Indian government to private arbitration courts in investment disputes over intellectual property, which could also lead to the reverse of domestic health policies like tobacco warnings and measures to reduce prices of medicines
The EC are also trying to persuade India to accept restrictions on its generic medicine industry that would mean delays of up to 10 years in producing generic versions of any new, improved medicines and up to 15 years in the case of children’s versions of the same drugs. This is clearly an attack on the health of the world's poor motivated by the callous demands of profit-hungry multinational pharmaceutical companies.
It is vital that this is brought to light and stopped. The rights of people living with HIV having easy and affordable access to essential and life-saving medicine must be protected, especially for the world's most impoverished and vulnerable people.
Greed should not triumph over need.
Yesterday our Chipolopolo Boys, the Copper Bullets, aka Zambia’s National Football Team arrived back home from Libreville, Gabon, to an ecstatic welcome in Lusaka where an estimated 200 000 people thronged the streets all the way from the Airport to the Showgrounds. Winning the African Cup of Nations was something to really celebrate with pride nationwide. People all over the country, including Mwandi, wore football tops, clothes or chitenges in the national colours of green, red, orange and black. Zambia won the African Nations Cup for the first time on Sunday, beating the favourites, the Ivory Coast, 8-7 in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in the final.
Zambia had been seen as the underdog and had to put up with all the usual patronizing and condescension from the World Soccer Establishment’s pundits at the competition. The Zambian team was considered second-rate, rank outsiders and potential also-rans. So the victory brought some joy and consolation too to this Zam-Scot after our own recent tennis, soccer and rugby disappointments.
The team had earlier paid a moving visit to the beach to commemorate the loss of the 1993 Zambian football team in a plane crash outside Libreville in Gabon where they were to play. That Zambian team was expected to win the game and qualify for the 1994 World Cup but the entire team was wiped out, except for Kalusha Bwalya, now the President of the Zambian FA. So the match on Sunday was a “Date with Destiny”.
The competition comprises of 54 teams and en route to the Championship Final Zambia eliminated Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana.
The presentation of the cup was a national occasion, to receive it were First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda, Rupiah Banda the former President, the present Vice-President Guy Scott, Kalusha Bwalya and Christopher Katongo, the Captain.
Ivory Coast (Orange): Barry; Gosso, K Toure, Bamba, Tiene; Zokora, Y Toure, Tiote; Gervinho, Drogba, Kalou.
Zambia (Green): Mweene; Nkausu, Sunzu, Himoonde, Musonda; Chansa, Lungu, Sinkala, Kalab; C Katonga, Mayuka, F Katongo.
Our programme also relies on generic medicines from India to treat other diseases and conditions. But a free trade agreement, currently under negotiation between the EU and India, could greatly restrict the ability of manufacturers in India to continue producing affordable generics that millions of people rely on to stay alive.
At the moment European Union is having trade talks with India and want to increase protection of the intellectual property rights and the commercial interests of European pharmaceuticals giants. They call it "data exclusivity" and along with this the EU is proposing an ambitious enforcement agenda. These harmful intellectual property (IP) provisions will hinder access to quality and affordable generic medicines produced in India, which have played a crucial role in scaling up HIV treatment to more than 6.6 million people across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The Indian government has raised serious concerns, stating that the agreement could ‘impede legitimate competition and shift the costs of enforcing private commercial rights to governments, consumers and taxpayers’. The European Commission is also apparently pushing for the trade deal to be expanded to cover investments, and not only intellectual property but also an ‘investor-to-state’ mechanism.
This would allow multinational drug companies to bypass Indian courts and take the Indian government to private arbitration courts in investment disputes over intellectual property, which could also lead to the reverse of domestic health policies like tobacco warnings and measures to reduce prices of medicines
The EC are also trying to persuade India to accept restrictions on its generic medicine industry that would mean delays of up to 10 years in producing generic versions of any new, improved medicines and up to 15 years in the case of children’s versions of the same drugs. This is clearly an attack on the health of the world's poor motivated by the callous demands of profit-hungry multinational pharmaceutical companies.
It is vital that this is brought to light and stopped. The rights of people living with HIV having easy and affordable access to essential and life-saving medicine must be protected, especially for the world's most impoverished and vulnerable people.
Greed should not triumph over need.
Yesterday our Chipolopolo Boys, the Copper Bullets, aka Zambia’s National Football Team arrived back home from Libreville, Gabon, to an ecstatic welcome in Lusaka where an estimated 200 000 people thronged the streets all the way from the Airport to the Showgrounds. Winning the African Cup of Nations was something to really celebrate with pride nationwide. People all over the country, including Mwandi, wore football tops, clothes or chitenges in the national colours of green, red, orange and black. Zambia won the African Nations Cup for the first time on Sunday, beating the favourites, the Ivory Coast, 8-7 in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in the final.
Zambia had been seen as the underdog and had to put up with all the usual patronizing and condescension from the World Soccer Establishment’s pundits at the competition. The Zambian team was considered second-rate, rank outsiders and potential also-rans. So the victory brought some joy and consolation too to this Zam-Scot after our own recent tennis, soccer and rugby disappointments.
The team had earlier paid a moving visit to the beach to commemorate the loss of the 1993 Zambian football team in a plane crash outside Libreville in Gabon where they were to play. That Zambian team was expected to win the game and qualify for the 1994 World Cup but the entire team was wiped out, except for Kalusha Bwalya, now the President of the Zambian FA. So the match on Sunday was a “Date with Destiny”.
The competition comprises of 54 teams and en route to the Championship Final Zambia eliminated Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana.
The presentation of the cup was a national occasion, to receive it were First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda, Rupiah Banda the former President, the present Vice-President Guy Scott, Kalusha Bwalya and Christopher Katongo, the Captain.
Ivory Coast (Orange): Barry; Gosso, K Toure, Bamba, Tiene; Zokora, Y Toure, Tiote; Gervinho, Drogba, Kalou.
Zambia (Green): Mweene; Nkausu, Sunzu, Himoonde, Musonda; Chansa, Lungu, Sinkala, Kalab; C Katonga, Mayuka, F Katongo.
Friday, 10 February 2012
The cost of a free education
While most of us in the more developed world take universal, free and compulsory primary and secondary education for granted, this is far from being the case in Zambia. This week we heard that the Government has plans to abolish all fees in schools but is hindered by the amount of public money needed to purchase maize through the Food Reserve Agency. After this is achieved, it intends to concentrate spending on education and health to improve peoples’ lives. This will not be possible either, unless, as Kenneth Kaunda pointed out recently, the mining companies raise output and pay their due taxes without equivocation or attempts at avoidance or evasion. Doing this would be a good use of their investment to help grow the economy so that ordinary citizens and their families benefit.
The Government and previous ones were committed to providing free education from Grade 1 to Grade 12, as part of the 2015 Millennium Goals. Goal Number 2 is the provision of universal primary education. To this end the Government has announced the phasing out of the Basic (G1-9) & High School (G10-12) and a return to Primary (G1-7) and Secondary Schools (G8-12). We are still unsure of the timescale for this. Cynics say this makes Goal 2 much easier to achieve. The Government is concerned that learning achievement in the present system is low.
Our High School at Mwandi has been allocated 2 Grade 10 classes this year. Nationwide, 124 333 out of 276 840 pupils will be given Grade 10 places. This is almost 45%. 68 000 boys and 56 000 girls! Not yet gender parity there! 145 000 passed in 6 or more subjects. This is 52%, up from 49% last year. There were 30 000 no shows and 20 000 failed in all subjects.
Related to all this the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection has recently published a paper ‘How free is free education?’ www.jctr.org.zm
We have little Ellie staying with us during term time this year. We have known Ellie since she was born. She was born with a club foot and had to have her right knee amputated then. She goes regularly to the Italian Orthopedic Hospital in Lusaka to have her prosthesis adjusted. She started Primary 1 in January this year. Her family lives and farms between Mabumbu and Sankalonga but Ellie cannot walk the 10km to school, hence her boarding with us during term-time, so we do have some insight into the costs incurred by Zambian families with school children.
In 2002 user-fees were abolished in Primary Schools, this was a welcomed reversal of IMF/World Bank ‘cost-sharing’ conditions in the Structural Adjustment Plan which had to be accepted to gain debt relief. These fees actually did very little to improve or expand education in Zambia. Then the Mwanawasa Government promised free education to Grade 12 and that no child should be prevented from receiving education because of fees.
The paper makes a distinction between direct and indirect costs. Education will never be entirely free and indirect costs can restrict the availability of education to poorer children as much as direct costs. There are still direct fees charged at Primary School through the PTA Levy and also Project Fees can be levied. These can range from K10 000-K30 000 per year. The indirect costs are school uniforms, shoes, textbooks, stationery supplies, transportation, ‘tuition fees’ and food for breaks and lunch. This can easily come to over K400 000 for one child.
Between 2000 and 2004 primary school attendance rose from 71-85%. This still leaves at least 15% or 300 000 children aged 7-13 not attending school who should be there. It is suggested that it is a lack of money that keeps these children away. Also it is girls who suffer most in these circumstances. Bursaries need to be more accessible and available to help the more vulnerable to attend school. In the 21st Century we need to ask ourselves is it right that a child is sent home because they have no uniform or shoes or are unable to pay the fees? Is Zambia really that poor? If we are serious about this then there needs to be higher grants going to schools that serve poorer areas for recurrent costs and rehabilitation. Our Basic School received a meagre K3m last year for 1500 pupils
In many places public education is close to collapse with over-enrolment, straitened resources, decaying infrastructure and a demoralized work-force. The 1:70 teacher to pupil ratio has remained unchanged for 10 years. The shortage of textbooks is chronic. 1 book to 4 pupils is an exceptional ratio and in many subject the teacher has the sole textbook for that class in that subject. State school teachers earn from K1m per month ($200) to around K2.5m ($500) for a Headteacher. In Grades 8 & 9, not being “Primary”, pupils are often charged around K300 000. The cost at Mwandi is K90 000.
High Schools like Sesheke will cost K1.2m per year. Our High School charges K750 000.
Vulnerable families and the schools in Mwandi have benefited greatly from the Mwandi UCZ OVC Programme that sponsors around 500 pupils at the Basic School and 90 out of 220 at the High School. The programme feeds 200 pupils daily. There is another program that helps with direct costs for children from poorer families within and outwith Mwandi with an emphasis on educational assistance for the girl child. It has put 24 pupils through Sesheke High School between 2007-11 and has helped 9 pupils in Grades 10 & 11 at Mwandi High School and others Basic Schools. We are indebted to many individuals and congregations who through their generosity make it possible to educate needy children by helping to meeting the direct and indirect costs which their families otherwise would struggle to afford.
There is an old truism, if you think education is expensive try ignorance and that there are some people who know the cost of everything but the value of nothing. Without good affordable and widely available education there will be no development, no drop in HIV/AIDS rates, no flourishing local commerce and industry, no drop in the unemployment rate and Zambia will risk becoming a stagnating and underdeveloped economic back-water.
We hope the political will is there to address this.
The Government and previous ones were committed to providing free education from Grade 1 to Grade 12, as part of the 2015 Millennium Goals. Goal Number 2 is the provision of universal primary education. To this end the Government has announced the phasing out of the Basic (G1-9) & High School (G10-12) and a return to Primary (G1-7) and Secondary Schools (G8-12). We are still unsure of the timescale for this. Cynics say this makes Goal 2 much easier to achieve. The Government is concerned that learning achievement in the present system is low.
Our High School at Mwandi has been allocated 2 Grade 10 classes this year. Nationwide, 124 333 out of 276 840 pupils will be given Grade 10 places. This is almost 45%. 68 000 boys and 56 000 girls! Not yet gender parity there! 145 000 passed in 6 or more subjects. This is 52%, up from 49% last year. There were 30 000 no shows and 20 000 failed in all subjects.
Related to all this the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection has recently published a paper ‘How free is free education?’ www.jctr.org.zm
We have little Ellie staying with us during term time this year. We have known Ellie since she was born. She was born with a club foot and had to have her right knee amputated then. She goes regularly to the Italian Orthopedic Hospital in Lusaka to have her prosthesis adjusted. She started Primary 1 in January this year. Her family lives and farms between Mabumbu and Sankalonga but Ellie cannot walk the 10km to school, hence her boarding with us during term-time, so we do have some insight into the costs incurred by Zambian families with school children.
In 2002 user-fees were abolished in Primary Schools, this was a welcomed reversal of IMF/World Bank ‘cost-sharing’ conditions in the Structural Adjustment Plan which had to be accepted to gain debt relief. These fees actually did very little to improve or expand education in Zambia. Then the Mwanawasa Government promised free education to Grade 12 and that no child should be prevented from receiving education because of fees.
The paper makes a distinction between direct and indirect costs. Education will never be entirely free and indirect costs can restrict the availability of education to poorer children as much as direct costs. There are still direct fees charged at Primary School through the PTA Levy and also Project Fees can be levied. These can range from K10 000-K30 000 per year. The indirect costs are school uniforms, shoes, textbooks, stationery supplies, transportation, ‘tuition fees’ and food for breaks and lunch. This can easily come to over K400 000 for one child.
Between 2000 and 2004 primary school attendance rose from 71-85%. This still leaves at least 15% or 300 000 children aged 7-13 not attending school who should be there. It is suggested that it is a lack of money that keeps these children away. Also it is girls who suffer most in these circumstances. Bursaries need to be more accessible and available to help the more vulnerable to attend school. In the 21st Century we need to ask ourselves is it right that a child is sent home because they have no uniform or shoes or are unable to pay the fees? Is Zambia really that poor? If we are serious about this then there needs to be higher grants going to schools that serve poorer areas for recurrent costs and rehabilitation. Our Basic School received a meagre K3m last year for 1500 pupils
In many places public education is close to collapse with over-enrolment, straitened resources, decaying infrastructure and a demoralized work-force. The 1:70 teacher to pupil ratio has remained unchanged for 10 years. The shortage of textbooks is chronic. 1 book to 4 pupils is an exceptional ratio and in many subject the teacher has the sole textbook for that class in that subject. State school teachers earn from K1m per month ($200) to around K2.5m ($500) for a Headteacher. In Grades 8 & 9, not being “Primary”, pupils are often charged around K300 000. The cost at Mwandi is K90 000.
High Schools like Sesheke will cost K1.2m per year. Our High School charges K750 000.
Vulnerable families and the schools in Mwandi have benefited greatly from the Mwandi UCZ OVC Programme that sponsors around 500 pupils at the Basic School and 90 out of 220 at the High School. The programme feeds 200 pupils daily. There is another program that helps with direct costs for children from poorer families within and outwith Mwandi with an emphasis on educational assistance for the girl child. It has put 24 pupils through Sesheke High School between 2007-11 and has helped 9 pupils in Grades 10 & 11 at Mwandi High School and others Basic Schools. We are indebted to many individuals and congregations who through their generosity make it possible to educate needy children by helping to meeting the direct and indirect costs which their families otherwise would struggle to afford.
There is an old truism, if you think education is expensive try ignorance and that there are some people who know the cost of everything but the value of nothing. Without good affordable and widely available education there will be no development, no drop in HIV/AIDS rates, no flourishing local commerce and industry, no drop in the unemployment rate and Zambia will risk becoming a stagnating and underdeveloped economic back-water.
We hope the political will is there to address this.
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