Maravi

LETTERS - Food Prices, Opportunities, Natioanal Languages

Food crisis, inflation
By Dr Daniel Maswahu, London, UK
Tuesday May 06, 2008 [04:00]

Please allow me to echo the sentiments of research affiliate Toby Moorsom regarding food crisis and double-digit inflation (electronic Post, May 4, 2008).

In the same week that Magande, sounding very much like Thabo Mbeki, declared that Zambia would not be affected by the global food crisis, the inflation rate leaped into double digits.

There are several thousands of languages in the world and all of them have a noun for donkey (read as inflation). However, the variation in what each language calls it does not change the nature of the donkey.

It will do no one any good if we forget that Zambia is riding on the success of other rising economies and as such, we are very vulnerable to fluctuations within these markets. The day that the Chinese and Indian economies nosedive is the same day that the true nature of any credit Mwanawasa and Magande have heaped upon themselves becomes evident.

Instead of pretending all is well and taking credit for doing nothing, Magande and his cohorts should have a reality check and stop playing with people's lives. The leap in the inflation rate is not a mirage and is the alarm signal, the battle cry indicating a slide in the Zambian economy that reflects rises in basic essentials such as fuel which in turn invariably push food prices upwards.

If Magande is going to cushion the effects of this adverse rise in inflation, we the people have every right to know, not only how bad the situation is, but also how much of our hard-earned kwacha or donor aid is going towards this cushion. This would be the position of any responsible government as opposed to that of hired labourers who will flee when the going gets tough.

To refuse to recognise this problem is simply another way for Magande and his government to say they are not going to do anything about it. It's hardly surprising attitude for (mis)leaders who are prepared to shamelessly take credit for apparent successes founded on the rising economies of other nations.

Volatile food prices and unstable food markets have been the downfall of many governments (ask KK and Mugabe) and there is little harm in Magande indicating that he has bookmarked these history lessons.

COMMENT - See here why neoliberalism is such an easy ideology to adopt. The Nationalists of Kenneth Kaunda's generation knew from personal experience that nothing comes from nothing. They knew the sacrifices and hard work that were necessary to achieve independence. And they worked hard to build the nation's infrastructure, and increase the number of children in education. However, neoliberalism, with it's core belief that 'the market will take care of it' refuse to governmen, refuse to take initiatives where governance is concerned, and basically sit back and watch it all unfold. No nationl has ever developed like this. The IMF and World Bank are to blame for spreading this ideology, but the government is to blame for listening to their advice. There are clear things that can be done to remedy food prices - get much more land under irrigation and cropping, build infrastructure to more remote parts of the country so they too can be hooked into the economy; build the hydrology that Zambia so desperately needs so more than a mere 3% of arable land is under irrigation and 97% no longer needs to rely on rainfall. But if you are a neoliberal, 'the market will take care of it'.




http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=41249

Promote local languages
By Raphael Mukuka, Sydney Australia
Tuesday May 06, 2008 [04:00]

A year ago, my wife wanted a Bemba dictionary so that she could learn my language. We couldn’t find it in Zambian, but she managed to buy one on the internet from a bookshop in UK.

It is important to discuss the use of the main languages in our media and education syllabus. Although we have a few Zambian languages taught in secondary schools, they don’t add any points when qualifying to higher institution of learning. As such, students shy away from language classes.

After so many years of independence, we should by now have achieved newspapers and other literature written in some of our languages.

If you walk around our bookshops, you will hardly find any local literature or other books written in our local languages.

There are some local authors who would be keen to get involved but because we haven’t promoted the use of our local languages, their skills are becoming white elephants.

In as much as we appreciate English as the official language, there should still be room for our languages to prevail and help preserve culture.

It's very encouraging to listen to some community Catholic radio stations around the country that use local languages to broadcast their programmes.




http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=41248

Zambians' work culture
By Ladislas Hibusu
Tuesday May 06, 2008 [04:00]

Thursday May 1, 2008 was an important day for Zambia and the rest of the world. A nation with over eleven million people whose formal workforce is less than 40 per cent should surely desire to develop. Yes, it is said that Zambia hosts about 60 per cent of the waters in the southern region of Africa yet it still experiences erratic power outages.

We have reached a level where future evolution is dependent on energy due to its value. Our dependence on energy is so apparent that it is being used as a basis to exercise power upon those who do not have.
Zambia has in the past four months experienced erratic power outages. We do not know what they have to say now since the rainy season is over yet the problem has persisted. The prices of petroleum products have been increasing at an unprecedented rate.

Zambia should have taken advantage of the abundant water situation to supply electricity to the neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe who are in dire need of electricity, hence generating income for the nation.

Zambia has abundant natural and human resources capable of translating the raw materials into tangible products. It could in fact be right to say Zambia is among the few countries in the world that have underutilised the God-given resources.

We have well-trained doctors, yet our health institutions are limping, every year, tertiary institutions offload the brains in the society only to the mercy of the street dust as they go round looking for employment. We just have too many educated people in Zambia whose preoccupations are seminars and workshops. We come up with brilliant plans and policies which are just on paper, implementation has proven futile.

There is need for a nexus understanding between the training institutions and the market. Believe you me, development would be a remote artificial object if the stakeholders and the citizens are not actively involved. It is nobler that the labour laws be restructured to provide a lee way for the dignity, just and civil rights of a worker.

For a long time, there has not been a moral and legitimate document that binds employers to respect the rights of a worker. The road to success requires firm foundation.
For 44 years, government has not devolved power. Rural areas have a lot of potential for development. We need system/ constitutional restructuring otherwise we will not go anywhere but just marking on time.

The biggest problem facing the country right now is the attitude towards work. The work culture in many government offices is so bad.

People just hang their jackets upon reporting and leave for other personal business. It takes commitment to fight poverty. This ought to be at all levels; that is at an individual, family, community and ultimately, at national level.

One man once told a story that there was a person in the village who built a big house and in his master bedroom he dug a pit latrine. When it got full we probably would all know what became of the mansion.

The bad odor became the biggest disturbance and he thereafter demanded strong intervention from the government. He complained that the government was redundant and not heeding his call.

This is probably the case with many people. We keep pointing accusing fingers at the government, yet we are part of the problem. We tend to be more reactionists than proactive and that digs a grave for mediocrity.

There is a need for a paradigm shift in taking full responsibility of our actions, otherwise our labour days will just be full of complaints and praises of our inactive labour laws. We need to take full account of our actions.

The tripartite rope of the labour story as told by ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba and as endorsed by the Republican President is paramount. Everyone has a role and responsibility to play if our country is to develop. As citizens we need not fold arms for the government to do everything for us, to drag us off the pit.

The private sector needs to partner with the government. ultimately, everyone will be part of the development process in our search for victory over poor health and hunger, to mention but a few.

Labels: FOOD, INFLATION, LOCAL LANGUAGES

posted by MrK @ 9:56 AM