Thursday, March 28, 2024

Zambians’ love-hate relationship with poverty, money and wealth

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By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

Zambians have a love-hate relationship with poverty, money and wealth. The story attached typifies the true reflection of the Zambian society. Institutions that criminalize wealth and a society that displays abhorrence against it.

1964-1991

In 1964, Zambia’s first President, Kenneth Kaunda inherited a relatively wealthy country with a growing middle-class. But it went all downhill beginning in 1968. With policies promoting indigenization, Zambianisation and localisation of most of the businesses and national assets as a route to creating a prosperous society, something was lost along the way! Instead of empowering Zambians and the Zambian economy with wealth, it spawned poverty and destitution – clearly the opposite of the intention.

And when Kaunda enacted a leadership code, that prohibited leaders from owning or having businesses, enterprises and or holding private equity or interest in companies, things went haywire! Leaders were also barred from owning the property where they would extract or derive income such as rent. The Code covered a broad spectrum of leaders and public officials that included; Not only Members of the Central Committee, Ministers, and District Governors but also, heads of state agencies, institutions, state-owned enterprises, and institutions of higher learning.

However, they were allowed to own small-holder farms or plots other than their own home. This was to help with the agrarian revolution. Under these conditions, Kaunda believed that leaders and public officials would not abuse their authority or the measures would inculcate a sense of civic commitment by the ruling elite.

To fight economic, trade and financial crimes, the Government enacted the Special Investigations Unit on Economy and Trade (SITET). This unit morphed into literally a terror unit that resulted in thriving private businesses nationalized or shut on flimsy allegations such as overpricing or hoarding of goods that would allegedly influence high market prices. Under these pseudo-socialist settings were a spirit of an unbroken cycle that fostered long stay in employment for the small group of workers until the age of retirement and until one got repatriated back to their village after last lumpsum payment.

The effect of these measures was high deception of those keen to cheat the system in order to supplement their meagre incomes and a terror group of law enforcers that literally criminalized wealth and wealth creation and publicly embarrassed and humiliated those caught offending or breaking the strict leadership code. Businessmen hid their money under pillows and the few that could externalise it, did so.

It was a code of poverty!

Underlying these actions, we’re a society that abhors wealth, that believes strongly that the rich are a circle of wizards and a coven of witches that prey on their unborn infants, cause the death of their children and bring bad luck and suffering to relatives friends and neighbours.

The foundation of all this is partly in established superstitions steeped in tradition and a religion that celebrates the poor and preaches against the rich and their wealth. The import of these measures invited fear of retirement in many, as those that did retire was shortly after recorded dead of possible depression.

They left high flying lifestyles and settled back in the village where they couldn’t cope, and couldn’t face reality seeing their urban socialized children reduced to a life of a bare existence of the villager. With the economy speedily deteriorating, two markets, a real market with empty shelves and shortages of essential goods and another, a black market with plenty of goods and with street Bureau De Change of Foreign exchange. In fact, the black market became the only reliable market! Cholera outbreaks emerged for the first time since the 1950s.

1991-2022

In 1991, came liberalisation of the economy, the abolition of both the terror group-SITET and the dreaded Leadership Code.
The result was an out-pouring display of wealth, business deals, and ingenious entrepreneurship. Wealth and prosperity were for the first time, celebrated. Posh cars littered the streets of the cities, luxury goods that were previously prohibited, flooded the country and Apple fruits, Coca-Cola and other previously opulent goods yearned for that symbolized wealth or a successful lifestyle to ordinary people, were available and abundant on corner streets and markets.

Shopping Malls, open restaurants and boutiques, and shops that stocked the goods of this new society emerged. But this came at a price…public officials cut corners, the spirit of wealth without hard work crept in, get-rich-quick schemes, theft, fraud, plunder of public resources became the easy route to instant wealth without hard work. A new religion that celebrated wealth also emerged with success. It was invaded by con artists and false prophets.

Like every “successful” society, the gap between the rich and the poor widened, and beneath the veneer of prosperity, lurked a growing number of the poor. After the early 30 years of an enforced poverty mentality and another 30 years of accepting and admiring wealth, Zambians should by now settle for a middle ground.

Poverty, whatever its perceived honour in religion, culture or tradition, must be eradicated. On the other hand, wealth and prosperity must be embraced but its root must be founded on hard work, entrepreneurship and innovation, not on theft, embezzlement or plunder of public resources.

Let us make Zambia a prosperous country for all.

14 COMMENTS

  1. What a nonsense story. Like there is anybody in the world that would exchange wealth for poverty out of love? Weird thinking

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  2. But when did Emmanuel Mwamba ever condemn theft of public resources? Your background is well-known and there are still a few people who know or remember your past.

  3. “…,……On the other hand, wealth and prosperity must be embraced but its root must be founded on hard work, entrepreneurship and innovation, not on theft, embezzlement or plunder of public resources……..”

    You need to tell your fellow PFs that…………

  4. “…,……On the other hand, wealth and prosperity must be embraced but its root must be founded on hard work, entrepreneurship and innovation, not on theft, embez.zlement or plu.nder of public re.sources……..”

    You need to tell your fellow PFs that…………

  5. SITET was such a pain, and you forgot the State of Emergency because we got detained for years without trial just buying a colour tv from Zimbabwe. It was a crime to build a house before you retire. SITET is back in ACC & DEC.

  6. Here I will not kill the messenger. The message is clear. Yes, we should move to the middle ground; part of this middle ground is accepting that some of the wealth foundations we lay will not mature in our lifetimes but those of our children and their children. Remember the cult status given to generational wealth of the Rockefellers and the JP Morgans .. how about a cult status to a Phiri, or Chansa family name. Unga caye iyo as my late big bro Matti Pi used to say.

  7. Great article comrade. The upnd suffer from chronic poverty of the brain. To them, only their God hh can be successful.

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  8. Really laughable…I can not read an article written by this sly corrupt snake Mwamba and you are no longer an Ambassador lose the title.

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  9. I am always amazed when I read that Zambia was a prosperous country in 1964. This is western propaganda and illiterate Zambians pretending to be knowledgeable repeat the same lie. Here are the facts. The population of Zambia was 4 million in 1964. There were less than 100 doctors and less than 1,000 graduates. There was no university. No central referral hospital and no airport of international standards. The minining companies paid mineral royalties to the British South Africa Co. and not to the Zambian government! There was only one intercity tarred road- Livingstone to Chingola.

  10. Is this what you call a prosperous country? This illiteracy needs to be irradicated. In just 50 years since independenc, the poplation of Zambia has increased nearly 5 times! Think about it. The population of Britain in 1964 was 54 million and aftre 50 years it is 68 million. If the UK population grew at the same rate as Zambia’s there would be 270 million people in Britain! In the meantime, one of the wealthiest countries in the world is struggling with housing the extra 14 million people, the same number that has been added to Zambia since independence.

  11. Zambia was a prosperous country in 1964? Here are the facts. The population of Zambia was 4 million in 1964. There were less than 100 doctors and less than 1,000 graduates. There was no university. No central referral hospital and no airport of international standards. The minining companies paid mineral royalties to the British South Africa Co. and not to the Zambian government! There was only one intercity tarred road- Livingstone to Chingola.
    The UNIP government did a lot to lift the standards of living for all Zambians. We could have chosen the Kenya way and created the largest slum in Africa.

  12. No different from a thief talking about
    “ZAMBIAN’S LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH STOLEN GOODS”
    We will see you at the fast track court.

  13. Mwamba. Now you are talking. Sell your vision. Don’t just be an armchair critic. Tell us more of what you would do if you where to be made President of Zambia.

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