Doughville

Following the G8 Summit in Deauville in France, we hear the promise of more transparency by these Governments with their aid. This will involve the quality and outcomes of their aid. There will apparently now be a two-pronged approach: the quantitative reporting of disbursements and also a qualitative approach based on effectiveness, the measurement of results and best practices.

While this is encouraging, Oxfam have accused the G8 of manipulating figures to cover up shortfalls and ignoring inflation. To improve matters it is suggested Governments sign and implement the International Aid Transparency Initiative which provides a common standard for defining and disclosing aid information. This would make it easier to compare aid budgets and projects.

Transparency is vital to ensure that aid reaches where it is supposed to go. It is useful for taxpayers, NGOs and donors to be more efficient and could help expose corruption. It would help ordinary people to track the money – from the donor down to the jotters delivered to the school, or the vaccines to the rural health post. It will also make it difficult for donors not to give what they have promised in the fight against poverty and injustice. In Zambia it would be good to know how much aid the government is receiving, and how it is disbursed. Aid information needs to be comprehensive, comparable, current and accessible.

This week we learned the Zambian government has just received funding of about US $300 million from the Global Fund after the government returned part of the money and promised to pay back the rest of over K9.1 billion that was mismanaged by recipients. These funds were meant for the fight against HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.

The re-imbursement of misappropriated funds has been justified by saying Zambia would not have received this new funding had the refund not been not done.But the refund of the misappropriated K9.1 billion to the Global Fund has not come from those who had originally misappropriated the money but from front-line cuts to the Health Budget.

Recent statistics showed that the formal employment sector in Zambia employs only about 10% of the available workforce. With so few formal jobs, small informal businesses such as tailoring, hairdressing or a small grocery stand or tuck-shop known locally as a ‘Kantemba' are run by many families here. Other outlets in Mwandi provide firewood, furniture, vegetables and fishing-nets. Profits from this kind of trade are often small and offer little opportunity to expand the business.

Zambian banks take little interest, though they earn great interest, in lending. The present annual Interest Rate is around 50%. Our nearest bank is in Sesheke over 70km away. The required minimum opening balances range between $150 and $300 depending on the type of account. This is far beyond the reach of most Zambians. Even monthy servicing fees are more than $10. A retired Headmaster we know is charged a K20 000 ‘service fee’ each time he withdraws his monthly pension of K90 000!

With most of the people living on less than a dollar a day, these minimum balances are designed to prevent most people from having access to basic banking services.

More people are instead turning to microfinance institutions (MFIs) which are increasingly becoming more accessible. Two groups, have with American church help, started this month at Mwandi. Unfortunately most people here have still have little choice but to turn to loan sharks.

There are only 25 MFIs registered in Zambia, and the total number of borrowers it is reckoned at less than 100,000. How to make banking services and reasonable credit facilities available and affordable to a majority of Zambians is a problem, but necessary to solve if the economy is to continue to grow and the country develop.

After all this talk of Mammon perhaps a little related linguistic levity is in order, especially for Scottish readers in particular - threats of banker super-injunctions forby. We sometimes get our messages in Katima Mulilo in Namibia which is just across the Zambezi from Sesheke. The two main Banks there rejoice in the names, believe it or not, of ‘FNB’ (Apologies to Matt McGinn!) This officially stands for First National Bank. I leave any locally suggested alternatives to your imagination. The other is called Nedbank! We wonder if this name is a reflection of the corporate leadership or of the clientele

And finally the Chinyanja for ‘No’ – the main language in Eastern Province, is 'Awe' pronounced: Away.

As in away ye go!