Economist Chibamba Kanyama has urged Zambians to prepare for hard times ahead in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Mr Kanyama said government should manage the impending lockdown which many people are proposing carefully.
He said pictures coming from South Africa of citizens queuing up at malls confirm his fears of a complete lockdown without social analysis of impacts by social scientists.
“Those queues have potential to exacerbate what we are trying to avoid. Where people live hand-to-mouth, total lock down can be dangerous,” he stated.
“Even without the coronavirus hitting this country at the level it has in the West (and we pray it does not spread), lives of people in this country are beginning to take a toll-order,” Mr Kanyama said.
“Entertainment centers closed, restaurants and hotels nearly closed, tourism in lockdown—-people should be prepared for the really hard times,” he said.
Mr Kanyama said leadership should help people prepare themselves adequately so that they remain positive as they find new ways of survival.
“Without doubt, a lot of people will lose jobs or go many months without salaries. This alone has implications on other things: food, rent and school fees.”
He added, “I am very sure that under these circumstances, a country should learn how to suspend obstructions or non-essentials. Politics, for example, should no longer be prominent in any way during this period because we have one big enemy who should bring us together as a nation.”
He said the coronavirus knows no political party or ethnic group and that is why it invaded the palace in England.
“It’s time for dynamic leadership at all levels, including from the business community. We are in it together and we must come out of it together.”
I agree with Mr Kanyama that implementing an economic & social lockdown will have severe implications on our soceity here in Zambia.
I believe government needs to implement a thorough & comprehensive sensitisation program to inform & educate our people of the true facts of this deathly virus. The people need to see the President & everyone involved wearing masks, washing their hands, exercising social distancing. Wd cannot have the President flying around the country just talking about Covid – 19 but actually doing what he is preaching. The Ministers giving daily briefings need to be wearing masks etc – unhesitatingly the people see our leaders demonstrating what they are preaching – the people will continue to say that it’s a rich mans disease & they are immune to it.
From our street…
Anorld I believe you watched the interview by WHO were they addressed the issue of wearing masks.You are not suppose to wear a mask if you are not sick, only a sick person can transmit a virus.You can only wear a mask if you are taking care of a sick person,if you have symptoms you can also wear a mask ,and there is no scientific proof that wearing a mask will protect the general public from infection.
There is need for God’s intervention Convid-19 if not two things might to people die of the virus or die of hunger
The right decision is dependant on the timing of making that decision, as there is no such a thing as the right decision in this case. Should the country go for remaining in the current state, we stand a better chance of sustaining some level of economic activities and peaceful. However, on the disease front we should pray for God’s hand and favour to issue we win or make positive strides in the direction of limiting local or community level transmissions. As a country we should come out as one and design our own intervention and drive the country in a direction which best suits us a nation and not just copying from other countries and especially not the developed countries. We should think health first and economy second, while recalling that the two co-exist anyway, a true catch 22…
We need to remain united as one people, let us support each other financially where we can and be sure participate in spreading correct information across societies.
Doesn’t matter how much time you give ,some people will still cry of not enough time to prepare even after 2 months warning.Meanwhile COVID-19 will be making deeper inroads all that time.
This is a sensible response to Trible HH, you can sensibly debate this comment by Chibamba Kanyama and hence guide government and the President in these trying times, not that chibuku noise from Sunday picnic ati PF Media director.
Chibamba is dead right. There is absolute need to strike a balance between health and economic concerns. The majority of us Zambians survive as hustlers, surving on hand to month practices. Already the closure of those kontama restaurants and tarvens is taking its toll.
Just your words exude leadership above pettiness. Your are spot on, covid-19 should unite us and politics should be suspended. Opposition should sit together and engage grz and assist where they can. Wise words, Chibamba.
Zambia with its own problems. All lock down everywhere in the world has economic implications, so what is special with Zambia. Just say your level of poverty is beyond redemption. So continue compromising and you will perish.
Exchange rate of Kwacha to some currencies
USD K18.0684
GBP K22.3651
EUR K20.0099
What is there to protect if the kwacha is already tumbling down like this?
Hh amona boris anya ichisushi nayena ati tunye.
are the two Economists not contradicting themselves? A house divided by 2. thanks for the advise though
@Kashimani: £gbp has hit 1985 low levels of almost 1 to 1 with us$ as the greenbuck soars. Rouble, Yuan, Rand, Rupee have all tumbled. Be objective my man, oil is heading towards $10 per barrel. It’s a global crisis, not Zambian!!
At this juncture we need dynamic leadership. My fear is as follows: if we depend on wearing masks and social distancing and washing hands, we are likely to prolong circulation of this virus. Once it reaches June, conditions will be so favourable for the virus to multiply very quickly. At that stage, we may be forced for a lock-down but it will be too late. My proposal is to immediately put all inbound travellers for 2 weeks at KK airport. Change working hours to be starting at 10hrs and knocking off at 16hrs. Around this time, it is fairly hot and the virus does not do well with heat. We mingle in offices and this will minimize its transmission. All companies to install devises for measuring body temperature.
These are the lies you always been telling Zambians. All the time it is global problem when you know very well that you are surviving on borrowing. How much money do you have in reserve? Some issues we are facing in Zambia are due to poor political decisions. Chibamba has not mentioned about the long term consequences of failing to lock down the country. He just gave a one sided view. Just continue receiving the virus through KKIA and you will be in trouble very soon.
“social analysis of impacts by social scientists”, well said taata, that is the missing link in most African states, local social science is overlooked, and governments are only copying and pasting what the West is doing without doing their own home work, so that they are informed by their own local science. LOOK AT HOW INDIA HAS MESSED UP BECAUSE OF COPYING AND PASTING WITHOUT LOCAL SOCIAL ANALYSIS. Complete sealing on boaders and restricting inter-city travel is the only and most effective solution for most African countries. THESE LOCK DOWNS will only mess up our economies. eg ZAMBIA BREWARIES and other Alcohol beverage companies pay teachers and nurses through excise duty, so without them, where will BOMA get their salaries. Let Socioeconomic Scientists have a take too.
Words of wisdom are medicinal.This is not time for politics ,after all politics has failed humanity.This is time for unity of purpose.
It is a difficult balancing act to achieve, even in the USA the debate is still raging when the shutdown could be eased in order to resuscitate the economy. Our situation is even worse, as Mr Kanyama puts it, over 80% of our people live day to day, they have no luxury of stocking up on essentials. Worse still, majority of our people are in informal peddling of goods/ foods stuff to earn their living and sustenance. On the other hand, when you see the levels of mortality and rate of spread of this disease in Europe or in USA, and given our poor state of health facilities, unhygienic and congested conditions in the compounds, we can safely conclude that Zambia and Africa in general, are sitting on a powder keg. But again, that’s why we choose leaders, this is where their qualities should…
I agree with Chibamba. We need to strike a balance between a total lockdown and no restrictions at all. Many countries now realize that the lockdown is not the problem, the problem is when and how to unlock again to avert total damage to the economy.
You are scared of a lock down because you have finished everything through corruption nothing left for the poor Zambian government has no money for the poor but i wonder were they used to get money to dash in by-elections these are the results of corruption shame on you PF.
Let nature take it’s course!
America has put USD2 trillion aside for the exercise of lock down. This wornt help us in the long run. The economy will be ripped that mending will be another crisis. Can someone help me that COVID-19 does not survive in hot temperatures like we have. Hence all cases are referrals- from other countries. And what methods did China do to bring down the virus infection?
And this myth that COVID-19 is not air borne is a lie. Is dust more heavy than COVID19?
Ine, bane I’m in self quarantine alone muka boba kandi. Nombafye utubunga natupwa. I bet I should call off my self imposed quarantine. Excuse my pun but please do u derstand this is the dilemma most of our people are facing
Clear words of genuine advice! ‘we are in it together’. Chibamba mean die fighting, until the last drop of our blood we will not just drop everything and lock ourselves indoors to die. We have wars on two fronts, we can’t give our backs to either of them. We have to face both of them. Scarely as it may be, we have no safer way.