By Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa
I read the “transcript” of your conversation with my compatriot with much intrigue. Your view of the “third world” is not only dated in nomenclature, it is also dated in reality. When was the last time you were in Zambia? The Zambia of the 1980s is not the Zambia of 2012! Zambians are far from sleepy and lethargic (though I do not see sleep or dreaming as a bad thing). Perhaps it is because I subscribe to Rabindranath Tagore’s words, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I woke and saw that life was duty. I acted and behold, duty was joy.”
I know many other Zambians who live by the same value. I know doctors, artists, cleaners, entrepreneurs, innovators, and intellectuals, amateur and seasoned, small and big, who, despite the odds, work slavishly to improve Zambia. Some work 9-5 and others do not, but rather than focus on “billable hours”, they focus on results. People see the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps because you spent your time behind a wall fence-watching the people rather than interacting with them, you failed to notice that.
Lastly, I contend there is no Lake Zambia. As the Chinese proverb goes, “Water not damned won’t rise.” Dams are being built. No longer will anyone rape, pillage and exploit Zambia. Zambians will not accept the morsels. People are tired of being sick and tired. In case you did not understand the lyrics to the popular Dandy Crazy song, “Don’t kubeba”, citizen action is in full swing – we just have not told you yet.
“What is different?” you wonder. In 2011, the World Bank categorised Zambia as a lower middle-income country, which means the per capita gross national income is between $1,006 and $3,975 per year. This categorisation came with pride and sorrow. Zambians know development is more than statistics. Zambians understand that development is an inclusive process; decreasing poverty is a priority. Zambians peacefully elected a new government thus demonstrating that the government is one of the people, by the people, for the people.
Arguably, Zambians have not always made the best political decisions, but the last election was testimony that the people command the way forward and will not blindly allow government to regress national progress. If government does not serve the people, the people will get a new government. Good governance in action is in Kalingalinga. No longer is it the neighborhood (where I went to school as a child) from where we would hear gunshots at night. Flimsy housing structures are replaced with brick houses, street kids are going to school thanks to free education offered from primary school to basic school (grades 1 – 9), sanitation has improved and it is a bedrock for micro, small and medium enterprises.
Not all Zambian intellectuals are sitting twiddling their thumbs “waiting for Godot”. We are not willfully sitting as our people die. The sad reality is that it takes time, time to reverse the rot in the system and time to create new visions, innovations and achievements. While Zambia may not have many patented inventions, Zambian products are part of the global supply chain. We subscribe to the “Made in the World” concept. According to the World Trade Organisation, “The statistical bias created by attributing the full commercial value to the last country of origin can pervert the political debate on the origin of the imbalances and lead to misguided, and hence counter-productive, decisions.” Nevertheless, we bear much guilt because people die under our watch. That forces us to work harder to make good on our commitments to Zambia.
Though we sometimes get sidetracked by intellectual banter, fail to connect theory to life’s realities and get frustrated by our history and point fingers, we know it is our responsibility to build Zambia. Granted, there are some Zambians in the diaspora who want nothing to do with Zambia; those are not our concern. There are many Zambians, who if called home to serve, would. Diasporans spill their sweat in other countries to be able to provide for their extended families and invest in Zambia. In 2010, remittances were over USD $68 000000. Whether from Timbuktu, Mali or Namushakende in Zambia, the money many Zambians earn invariably goes into the Zambian economy.
I recognise the fact that we all need to make a living, but you working for a vulture fund makes me question where you get the authority to apportion blame? Though we might not have domestic legal resources to go up against your New York or London lawyers, we will fight to the end, be assured. There are resources like the Africa Legal Support Facility (affiliated with the African Development Bank) that provide legal assistance to African countries to fight vulture funds. In case you did not learn this in Zambia, here is for a lesson, “Wanya!”. It will not be like the Donegal case. This time Zambia will win the case, plus costs.
I agree all humans are equal and we have quirks. Yes, some Zambians drink more than they should, and others have a negative self-perception about their black skin and their abilities compared to other races, while others do nothing but pull others Zambians down. Luckily, that is not the whole population. Furthermore, I cannot say any human is incorruptible. What I can say is that we do have institutions in place to enforce anti-corruption laws. In case you have not paid attention to the news, the current government is slowly trying to eradicate institutional corruption. Obviously, it will take time.
Rather than criticising Africa, I think you need to be critical of human nature generally; after all it is not Africa that caused the current global economic crisis. Lastly, if you want an example of a president that has not fallen for “the carrot at the stick”, look at President Kagame of Rwanda. Rwanda has in successive years ranked as the least corrupt country in East Africa. According to Transparency International, “The likelihood of encountering bribe demand occurrences is 3.9%, the prevalence of bribery is 2.15% and the impact of bribery on service delivery is 1.98%, while more than 80% of Rwandans have neither encountered nor witnessed corruption.” Botswana, Cape Verde and Mauritius all rank in the top 50 least corrupt nations in 2011.
Didn’t you know, anyone with money, black or white, is a bwana? So no, I do not think you are racist. Misinformed and prejudgmental, yes. You might have interacted with “old school” Zambians. Let me tell you, we, the “new school”, are dancing to a new beat. We are innovative and driven to find solutions to the challenges, we are globally connected and getting more people exposed and we have learned from our ancestors. Failure is not an option.
I know that when my child sits in a plane next to yours, they will be having a very different conversation.
Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa runs Hoja Law Group, a boutique New York and Kigali (Rwanda) law firm that uses the law to bridge the African development gap through advising on deals that create wealth for Africa. HLG advises investors investing in and companies expanding within Africa. She is a frequent speaker and writer on African affairs. She is a Mo Ibrahim Fellow at the World Trade Organisation and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.
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Thobani
January 30, 2012
I have read with interest the argument that Ruwe written about and the response by Jacqueline. What I can say is agree with those who say Jacqueline certainly missed the point in Ruwe’s argument. What is the point of all this education if we cannot invent anything in Africa, being a South African I can identify with the challenges that Zambians face. We have this challenge in Africa and that is corruption which eating at the core of the heart of Africa. We are also a divided continent with the North doing its own thing and the South also doing likewise. As long as Africans are not united in fighting for the marginalised and impoverished masses we will always be the joke of the world. We have universities that are not breeding think tanks but just feeding the corporate with administration. Whatever is going on in Zambia is the same in SA and any other part of Africa. A united African people is the solution to making this continent a force to be reckoned with.
Ntando
January 31, 2012
I so agree, she needs to reread that article this time take into consideration the “inverted commas” meaning someone uttered out those words.
Madaliso
January 30, 2012
But Lake Zambia is nothing but a metaphor…
and since when have we benefited from the “Made in the World” concept.
Article goes to show that you can write paragraph after paragraph in a rebuttal but if you miss the main gist of a given article, yours will be a wasted effort. The writer of this rebuttal needs to read Ruwe article again…
Voice of Reason
January 29, 2012
Having just returned from Zambia I can see that this author is totally removed from reality and thus keen to quote World Bank stats that fails to take account of the poverty levels of almost 10 million Zambians out of a population circa 13 million. I urge Ms Jacqueline Musitwa to read Mr. Ruwe’s article again and this time read it as it is without any preconceived ideas to put your defense up and therefore, miss the whole message that Mr. Ruwe is putting across to all Zambians as how we are perceived by foreigners. Imagine, after 47 years of Independence we have very little to show of our own inventions to further our country. Once we learn to accept the plain truth as presented by Mr Ruwe, we may start forging ahead with policies that are forward thinking and implementable rather than dealing with rhetoric’s.
analysis
January 27, 2012
Jacqueline and Field ‘IF TALKING WAS AN INDUSTRY, Zambia would be one of the richest Nations on the planet!! You two are really schooled knowledgeable, eloquent and ‘exposed’. We now need to head back home to play a part in moving things forward. Field you need to go and replace Chellah as special assist. to the Pres. for press or whatever the other lady find someone to replace so that Zed can start to tick.
mwelelwa
January 26, 2012
I find you my sister like many other Zambian and African leaders to be totally disconnected to the reality of many of our people and this is the major problem we have in Africa.The few of you interllectuals and the rich who earn well,seem to live in this dejavu where your eyes are completelly closed to the plight of the majority of our people who are suffering.Who doesn’t know there is no proper sanitation in most communities in Zambia,who does’t know the life of poverty most of our people wallow in,talk of Disease,lack of decent healthy facilities,unemployment and the low standards of life.Please don’t mock our people just because you and a few of your peers have benefitted because you came from priviledged families.People like you who see nothing wrong with the way things are done, are promotiong this lack of development in Africa.
Jamalati
January 29, 2012
Thank you!
Pandawe mushinso wa Ngona
January 26, 2012
I admire the sister’s drum beating and sense of optimism about our country but I am afraid her response does not do her justice… she appears to have mislead Ruwe’s central argument.
In the piece Ruwe uses “Walter” as a stylistic devise to CHALLENGE the Zambian intelligentsia(including himself) to raise our game. Ruwe”Walter” goes out of his way to praise ordinary Zambians as hard working and tenacious.
Ruwe(Walter) is right To challenge(provoke) Zambian intellectuals to innovate, adapt and create technologies that will lift MOST of our people out of poverty.
The moment we sit still and think we have arrived as nation( as the trumpeted but meaningless middle income nation)is the moment we cease to grow.. we need the Ruwes of this world to keep robbing fire crackers under our backsides!
Lastly…Mr Ruwe, don’t just sit there smoking your pipe, looking important and throwing grenades at us …join the conversation.
Chibwe Henry
January 27, 2012
You took the words right out of my mouth……..my sentiments entirely.
Flawed
January 26, 2012
I commend your effort my sister & I would encourage you to continue to write but this particular article is purely rhetoric & adds nothing to the debate on why the Intellectuals have consistently failed to come up with practical solutions to very basic & simple problems. Some of these problems include:
Poor sanitation, lack of innovation & creativity across the health services (millions continue to die needlessly from malaria, cholera not to mention AIDS).
Lack of reliable & constant supply of energy leading to constant disruption of electricity.
Lack of reliable supply of Water for heaven sake!
Lack of basic food.
Then the infrastructure, roads, railways, etc and that is before you mention that pretty much everything is imported and nothing is manufactured in Zambia.
The question is after 47 years of independence & millions of graduates comprising of thousands of doctors, master, professors & degree holders, what has come of all this education? Where are the electrical engineers, the mechanical engineers, the civil engineers, the chemical engineers, the mathematicians? What in the end is the point of all this education?
Kelly Inambao
January 26, 2012
My own response to this response will be brief. I find the response rather disappointing, sketchy, almost apologetic and I think it sounds incomplete — not surprisingly, coming from a Diasporan intellectual, excuse me to say.
As long as we continue describing or gauging ourselves based on other people’s values, theories and concepts, we will keep being “blocked”, pinned down or downgraded, both rightfully and deliberately, by those same concepts such as “World Bank categorised Zambia as a lower middle-income country, which means the per capita gross national income is between $1,006 and $3,975 per year”… etc.
Starting an argumentation with words such as “Lastly, I contend there is no Lake Zambia” is poor…
And … “Rather than criticising Africa, I think you need to be critical of human nature generally” is an apologist’s stance and can never be a good contention against the powerful facts raised in Mr Ruwe’s article, written in a down-to-earth manner and without the usual intellectual jargon most of us choose to adopt when dealing with such dodgy issues… One of the most important points mentioned in the article, which Ms Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa all but ignores, is the reminder that we Zambians KEEP ignoring the fact that the majority of our people not only live in poverty but are, as has become a custom, utterly left out of any intellectual discourse concerning the developing of the country as a whole.
Foreign-owned economic infrastructure alone is nothing if no consideration is taken concerning the quality of the average citizen’s life, even when only that of those in the urban areas were taken into consideration. People’s lives are not electronic digits manipulated in a computer system and then flashed on a screen to please or displease someone. Economic figures collated in Washington DC, New York City, London, Paris etc mean nothing if (sometimes) chosen to reflect only realities found in the country’s economic constellations.
Lastly, to write “Let me tell you, we, the ‘new school’, are dancing to a new beat” is either a sign of ignorance of realities on the ground or it is almost a mockery of those same realities of widespread poverty, unemployment, hopelessness and disease on the ground, because where are the innovations and solutions to the challenges you mention? … To claim “we have learned from our ancestors” is, I think, an exaggeration, “dreamy”!
That’s my own opinion.