By Fred M’membe
Zambia’s population of 17,426,623 (July 2020 est.) will double in 15 years’ time.
At the current population growth rate of 2.89 percent (2020 est.) in 15 years Zambia will have not less than 34 million human beings to feed, house, educate and provide health services, water, sanitation and all the services required in an organised society to.
Despite having a very high death of 11.6 deaths per 1,000 population, a very high maternal mortality rate of 213 deaths per 100,000 live births (2017 est.) and infant mortality rate of 56 deaths per 1,000 live births and a low life expectancy of 53.6 years (2020 est.) our birth rate of 35.733 (2020 est.) is still high enough to give us a very high population growth rate of 2.89 percent.
Rapid population growth at rates above 2 percent acts as a brake on development. Up to a point, population growth can be accommodated. But the goal of development extends beyond the accommodation of an ever-larger population; it is to improve people’s lives.
This doubled population of Zambia in 15 years will need all these services a modern human being can’t do without – food, education, health, housing, water, sanitation, and so on and so forth. How are we going to provide these services at these very low economic growth rates we are experiencing?
What are our leaders doing to prepare our country and our people for this future that appears so sombre?
There’s need for our leaders and our people to realise that the Zambia of the future, of 15 years time, will not be built in the future, in 15 years time but on the threshold of what we do today. The future is not built in the future; it is built on or by what we do today.
I think that the future nation is the most important and most noble idea that a serious leader, a revolutionary can harbour.
Revolutionaries have always fought, struggled, worked for the future. Commander Nsingu, the old man Mpezeni – his father, and those 10,000 young Ngonis fought for the future. When Commander Nsingu was executed at dawn on February 5, 1898 by Cecil John Rhodes’ capitalist and imperialist forces he knew he was dying for the future. They were all fighting for the future.
To fight for the future, to struggle or work for the future does not mean to avoid doing everyday what must be done for the present. These two ideas must not be confused.
It is possible for our country to devote a great part of its efforts to that struggle for the future.
The consequences of not struggling, working, planning for the Zambia of 15 years time will be disastrous. Hunger, riots, falling governments, and chaos are all potential consequences of ignoring the future.
If we don’t then we shouldn’t cry in 15 years that we didn’t see it coming. We are sitting on a time bomb!
Fred M’membe
Wishing you the best, we need a strong and forceful opposition, hoping you and your party can that force
Beatrice Mukinga cleary thats impossibile who is he even ?
Chishala Mwamba he is clearly doing what you are not?, has a good ptofile?
Speak for your self. If your bald head is a time bomb, that’s your own vundooo
It’s fine to be futuristic but Fred M’membe should be worrying about what will happen on August 12,2021. If Zambia fails to hold a free,fair and credible Election on August 12,2021 then Zambia will descend into Chaos with an illegitimate President. The possibility of Sanctions being imposed on Zambia is very high. Already Zambia has defaulted on its external debt so the future for Zambia if the August 12,2021 Elections are disputed looks gloomy. The likes of IMF and other IFIs will shun Zambia.The writing is on the wall.
What timebomb naimwe ba His Royal Highness of the Bemba Kingdom??
A bit too late to realize this. The bomb has already exploded. Thats why in our country’s skies, one can see political parties full of vultures circling citizens ‘ dead bodies on Zambian soil. Dead from hunger, disease and violence
The socialist Mmembe as alarmist.
Time bomb hogwash!
Awe stop scaring people!!! The Zambian population has been growing all these years lelo it should become a time bomb???? Twakana!!! We will survive just as we did before and we will keep having them babies to populate even more, economy or no economy.
we have also let in a lot of foreigners whose values are totally questionable. Burundis and Ruandrees are reproducing like no mans business here in our country. Chinese are also changing the face of Kabwata with their children. Tanzanians Congolese and Nigerians are all over our compounds sleeping with our young girls giving them unwanted children. 70% of rapid population growth is not by us but by these criminals we have accomodated.
Xenophobes’ biggest problem is they will blame everyone else except themselves for their ills. Just look at South Africans or Donald Trump they blame Chinese or makwerekwere for covid or drugs or crime. Growing up under discrimination taught South Africans to discriminate in most things. but a Zambian like shooterz and even for Trump it is just a lack of education. One track education like the Americans get is not education Discrimination can be used to elevate yourself in politics especially if the masses are uneducated and prone to conspiracy theories
Xenophobe!
I left Zambia when the population was only 4 Million
There’s are viral video going around where a group of white Americans are discussing the world population, that there’s too many people on the planet and their plans to eliminate at least 3 billon people starting with worthless Africans, African countries that are beggers and not part of the world economy for the purpose of population control.
There’s are viral video going around where a group of white Americans are discussing the world population, that there’s too many people on the planet and their plans to e l i m i n a t e at least 3 billon people starting with w o r t h l e s s Africans, African countries that are b e g g e r s and not part of the world economy for the purpose of population control.
There’s are v i r a l video going around where a group of w h i t e Americans are d i s c u s s i n g world p o p u l a t i o n, that there’s too many people on the planet and their plans to e l i m i n a t e at least 3 b i l l i o n people starting with w o r t h l e s s Africans, countries that are b e g g e r s and not part of the world economy for the purpose of p o p u l a t i o n control.
@Dazzle in 1966! Thats a looooooooooong time ago
What plans are you proposing apart from complaining & finger pointing? Zambian politicians only know how to complain without offering ideas. You don’t have to wait to be in power to offer ideas after all you’re also a Zambian. The success of one leader is the success of every Zambian. We need politicians who propose ideas not complainants
Fred M’eembe says Zambia is “sitting on a Time Bomb”. Well the solution is to diffuse that Bomb. The Bomb is lack of leadership and management of the Economy. On August 12, 2021 Zambians have an opportunity to change Political Leadership of their Country. The current Corrupt and Visionless Leaderless led by ECL must be voted out and replaced by a Competent Leader like HH. Zambians must vote 4 HH and UPND if they want a change in their lives. ECL and PF have ruined this Country and must be booted out. The writing is on the wall.
Imwe ba Mutale how do you know that HH is competent? He has never been a mayor, an mp or in any public office in which he can be assessed