Weekly Reflections with Dr. Mwelwa

ONE great man once said, “Desperate times require desperate measures.” While I strongly accept this philosophy, and while I might have applied it myself at different times, it is only problematic on a macro level: when it’s the philosophy of a government or the most popular opposition party in a country. This is the case in our Zambia. The political system of our great nation is run on desperate measures by both political divides though of course this philosophy can be avoided if both sides in the political spectrum apply some conscious effort.   The effects of desperate politics have devalued our country and it us on the lower levels of the political hierarchy who feel them the most. Like the proverbial saying, “When the elephants fight, the grass gets trampled,” most of us have seen and experienced the suffering. The great nation of Zambia has come a long way since its black sovereignty in 1964.   However, the political inertia has forced the country to be economically s...

Political parties must put all differences aside and work together to improve the image of this country, which is tarnishing rapidly. The citizens of this country deserve to live peacefully; it’s their democratic right to have a Government that can bring prosperity and peace in their daily lives. The corruption must stop. Too much name blaming is taking place in Zambia, and some are made publicly while the majority is hidden. All political party leaders must work together for the interest of all to move this country ahead. The majority of the population does not have a voice, or access of being heard. The violent situation is escalating, while our politicians are engaged in personal attacks. The population is feeling the effects. The elected politicians are just in office for their own political gains and motives, while the population is feeling marginalised and helpless. How will this nation move ahead? When will our leaders get the uncertainty situation under control? The bigges...

The Mkushi Regional Mining Bureau (MRMB) has bemoaned the escalating pattern of illegal mining activities taking place in both Mkushi and Luano districts. The foreigners aka foreign investors have continued to raid the wealth of Mkushi’s resources – our timber, gold, emeralds, lands, etc. – since 1945 when the natives where pushed eastwards into sand soils leaving the best of our land in the hands of the whites. And after they have enriched themselves and their chosen cronies – they now want to take over bedroom responsibilities. After many years, without the mention of any gold, the world knew that Mkushi was a treasure channel of mineral wealth. Additionally, the work ethic of the masses by far built the empires of the western exploiters. Yet the hardships inflicted on our people by all traders and investors, have driven, and continue to drive us from our native land. Mkushi does not need gold for its citizens to experience the good life now being touted as crumbs from the masters’...

The subject, mystery or significant of fair and appropriate representation in as far as governance is concerned is not a current phenomenon. This is true whether it is representation in form of figurative aspects ( such as stones ) or actual human beings. Although it is not my intention to present this important subject matter in form of an exhaustive Theological enquiry, I find it expedient to start by referring to Biblical scriptures. In Exodus 28:10 of the New International Version, the Bible states; “…in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.” The scripture above shows that representation was in form of engraving tri...

There is promising evidence on social media improving transparency of organisations and government ministries, but less evidence on whether this improves accountability. As critical as this plan is, it poses challenges. How, for example, do we avoid putting legitimate activity at risk? Many human rights organizations commonly use Facebook to spread educational messages around the world. The wrong kind of transparency could put governance in real danger in many countries. But according to researchers, as well as screenshots of group chats from as recently as that I have read, these WhatsApp group chats frequently contain and disseminate false information and hateful rhetoric, much of which comes from forwarded messages. The challenges faced by WhatsApp are not limited to misinformation, but also the exploitation of personal data for political ends, mudslinging, character assassination and insults. Constituency-level volunteers popularly known as cadres, who often know many of the people...

1. Introductions 1.     The exact number of goats in Zambia is not known at the moment as there has been no research conducted to ascertain this fact. Goat farming is relatively a small business compared to cattle and or poultry farming. Goats are easy animals to look after as they can survive under harsh conditions. This write up is meant to benefit those contemplating goat farming as a business and has been necessitated by information gap in the rearing of goats. The writer is an entrepreneur and a budding small – to – medium livestock farmer who conducted a research to:   (i)                   Understand the available goat breeds in Zambia (ii)                 Get insights into the viability of management of goats as a business (iii)            ...

As an unpredictable general election approaches, some big names in politics can no longer be certain of holding onto their constituencies. And while we tend to find out a lot about candidates before polling day, we often hear little about what happens after members of parliament lose their seats. Defeated politicians suddenly lose a demanding, busy but valued role. Suddenly they are no longer relevant to any political debate. Their deeply cherished values and beliefs seem to have no place. To add insult to injury, many of the people receive very little or no acknowledgement of their contribution over the years in office – nor had any interest been shown in putting their skills and experience to good use, either to help their party or wider society. Former politicians often seem to disappear, for example, “Nobody seems to want to know you after and you just fade away…there are those skills that could be used to encourage other people.” The experience dislocating at best, but devasta...

Maturity when it comes to human growth and development is a stage whereby one learns to do things on his or her own. The self-evident ruin of being a crybaby is that it can be unacceptable and humiliating. It gets to be indeed more of a challenge after you have grown to be a parent and must begin driving by case. In the Bible, there is a quotation: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away my childish things.” These words could be used to reflect the general state of mind between mature and immature leadership in the country.   It is true that as children, we thought and reasoned as children, but when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. However, it appears that the leadership from both sides of the isle did not get the script. There comes a point in life when he or she is no longer a baby, toddler, teenager but an adult. A baby cannot be said to be mature in that it lacks capacity to use ...

One of the greatest threats facing peace and cohesion in the world today is disinformation. In recent years, the world has seen what havoc a sophisticated disinformation campaign can wreak – from enabling wholly unqualified persons to lead powerful countries to fuelling continued discontentment among the majority. Disinformation spreads quickest on the Internet and social media where alternate “facts” are peddled by “truth” merchants who have access to empirical data that the established media, relevant experts, principle actors and the universal laws of mathematics do not. Thanks to confirmation bias, persons are likely to only listen to the “facts” that support their already held views. This is catastrophic for highly partisan communities, particularly during moments of crisis during which all hands are needed. In a closely-knit society like Zambia’s, one of the most popular methods of sharing information is “He say, she say” – hearsay. This is problematic even for innocuous purposes...

This is going to be one long, hard, harrowing grind of a time. The anxieties over eluding and surviving the coronavirus could soon be superseded by the dreadful economic realities that follow in its wake, and which are sure to bring shuddering from further deeper agonies. Increasingly, the worst of times are envisioned and actually publicly forecasted. We have lost the space to play and to watch others at play. And when the ability to work and live a dignified existence is taken away, there is not much that is left. For when there come those lingering gruelling times where there is failure of hope, there is dashing of dreams, then for many life loses not only its settling anchors, but its guiding lodestars. All of this is what stares in the face, with the grimmest of countenances. When to relax lockdowns, how quickly, or carefully and wisely, to reopen the economy, in which direction and at what rate, with what unconquered optimism to face the future and its near and far horizons. Thes...

We were hearing from low- and moderate-income and minority communities that this was the best labour market they’d seen in their lifetime,” he said. “It is heartbreaking, frankly, to see that all threatened now” (New York Times, April 29). This speaker was described as “the world’s most important economic leader.” Dr. Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve is all of that and more, as he seeks to stabilize a violently rocking and leaking ship, through timely and inspiring leadership from the front. If only our political leaders would learn from stewards like him, strive to imitate him. When a man way up there, like Chairman Powell, can empathize with the large army of smaller people suffering, and be moved to use a word like “heartbreaking” to describe their intensifying economic anguish, then that is the kind of leader that is desired. It is the kind that appreciates and cares for the tens of millions of workers in America forced out of the workforce and transformed into the gri...

Leaders are many times said to be role models or mentors-people whose words and actions are emulated by many who follow them. Zambia has had many Political leaders, of which some are remembered for their words, songs, actions and lifestyles. A good example we can effortlessly single out are the likes of Kenneth Kaunda, who composed and occasionally sung a national unifying song called 'Tiyende Pamodzi NdimutimaUmooo... '  Unfortunately, however, Zambia has not been spared from having Politicians who according to me did and said things that infected all those who innocently looked up to them as role models. They have left behind an infection that has capacity to spread through the national fiber like gangrene. This calls for quick identification and amputation of those affected parts so as to leave a Zambia that practices healthy and clean politics. To get a clear picture of the seriousness of what I today bring out, let us go back a little bit in Zambian Politics and analyze th...