Maravi

Zambians have a complex - Scott

Zambians have a complex - Scott
By Kombe Chimpinde
Sun 15 Apr. 2012, 13:30 CAT

VICE-President Guy Scott says Zambians have an inferiority complex because many prefer foreign products to their own. And Vice-President Scott says that there is need to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

During the inter-denominational fundraising breakfast meeting at Mary Immaculate Parish yesterday, Vice-President Scott said there was a constant feeling among Zambians that "something is better somewhere else beyond Zambia".

"In this country we have an inferiority complex. You see some of you may have noticed I brought a big cup with me from my home this morning, that's Zambian coffee. I knew I was not going to find Zambian coffee here," Vice-President Scott explained to the audience.

"Here I was going to find South African coffee. And it's inferior coffee, that is the truth of the matter. South African coffee is inferior to Zambian coffee by a large margin, and yet they (Zambians) continue to say ‘oh Nescafe or Ricoffy. See I am stylish."

Vice-President Scott said the other example of desires of many Zambians to associate themselves with foreign elements was in their taste of music where many thought the Zambian version was inferior.

"We shouldn't have this constant feeling that something is better somewhere else. Believe me, it's not. I have been there and most of you have travelled you know it. There is nothing intrinsically inferior about Zambia," he said.

"We just have a big job to do because we are many, they left us, the people who came here, my own people, my own race left us with a very big job to do. A lot of people to bring up... and we can do the job, so let's do the job. Let's not worry always that we are about to be caught out doing something which is not stylish. I can give you so many examples."

And Vice-President Scott said the less fortunate in society were the responsibility of the fortunate.

"This is a gathering of the apa mwamba. You don't get people paying K120,000 each if you are from Bauleni to come here (breakfast function), very few of you anyway. And likewise, if the Parish is in Shang'ambo, it would be amazing if you were even to have five people to pay a K120,000 for a fundraising breakfast," Vice-President Scott said.

"The responsibility for raising the resources and for doing the work (of the church) is our own responsibility and the people who are less fortunate than ourselves are also our responsibility."

Vice-President Scott cited an example of the importance of unity amidst diversity of social classes in society based on the Bible.

"My favourite story in Genesis is how people divided into classes, into ways of life - the story of Cain and Abel. Cain was a practitioner of the new practice of cutting down trees and planting crops and Abel was an old-time practitioner of following wild animals...in the hill and killing them when you required food and something to sell and these brothers fell out and one slew the other," he narrated.

"God famously asked Cain, ‘where is your brother Abel, for his blood cries to me from the ground' and he said ‘am I my brother's keeper?'

Usually people miss the last sentence in that story which is that Cain had a son Enoch who went to found the first city. That was when people divided like you are divided with people of Shang'ombo or even with the people of Bauleni."

Vice-President Scott said Christians had a responsibility of taking care of the poor as much as they had of caring for themselves.

And guest speaker Pastor Helmut Reutter said church members had a responsibility to build the house of God and its family.

Pastor Reutter said God had given Christians various talents and gifts to enable them to work for His Kingdom.

And Parish chairperson Scott Tembo said the local Catholic churches had been facing financial challenges following the global financial crunch.

Tembo said the local churches that had been dependent on benefactors in the West through the Vatican were facing financial challenges as capacities to fund them had reduced due to the current economic recession.

Labels: GUY SCOTT, MARKETING

posted by MrK @ 1:27 AM