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About 636 students at Mulungushi University in Kabwe, who were barred from writing their end of semester examinations due non payment of tuition fees have been allowed to write their examinations.
Higher Education Minister Brian Mushimba says Mulungushi University management has engaged the students and agreed on the payment plan.
Dr. Mushimba says the move taken by management is to ensure that the affected students do not lose their entire academic year.
The Minister further explained that President Edgar Lungu has in the last few years included students from Mulungushi University on the government bursary .
He said currently there are about 3 hundred and 50 students on bursaries at Mulungushi university, the first ever in the history of the institution.
He was reacting to UPND Katombora Member of Parliament Derrick Luvune, who wanted to know whether Government is aware that some students at Mulungushi University have been barred from writing their end of semester examinations due to non payment of fees.
The information has emerged that the Patriotic Front (PF) government plan to leverage political arrogance to hijack the Bulk Power Supply Agreement in respect of the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) and throw it into the hands of vultures, most likely the Chinese, for the benefit of top government politicians.
With a combined infrastructure and asset value in excess of $500 million, corrupt PF politicians stand to pocket well over $50 million in bribes and kickbacks associated with any possible transfer of the energy monopoly from CEC to their preferred bidder. This is part of a long standing, calculated scheme by corrupt PF politicians to continue on their unrelenting and sworn path of peddling illegality for their own private benefit, and much at the expense of the wider economy.
This is why ZESCO has been dithering for close to a year to engage in constructive discussions with CEC for purposes of resolving the status of the BSA post March 2020 when it comes up for renewal. The truth is that this process is and has never been in the hands of ZESCO, but rather that it has been taken over by corrupt PF politicians wanting to illegally benefit from this multi million dollar agreement. This also begins to clarify the charge by the American Ambassador to Zambia Mr. Daniel Foote, who in his most recent statement, revealed that domestic politics have gotten in the way of constructive discourse involving a domestic energy reform plan drawn up with the assistance of energy experts from the United States of America. The truth is, all technical negotiations involving the energy sector are no longer handled by technocrats but by greedy PF politicians seeking a pay cheque from every single energy sector transaction.
This is the primary motivation of PF politicians to constructively disrupt the BSA in respect of CEC.
But people must realise that the culture of illegally disrupting and taking over of both public and private entities under the PF, and handing them to their friends, those of whom are willing to pay them multi million dollar kickbacks to say thank you for the dirty work, is not new.
They are at it (trying) at KCM, where a technical and business turnaround issue was turned into a highly charged political issue. So while corrupt PF politicians continue to syphon money out of KCM, jobs are being lost and household incomes placed in such needless peril. And once they are done with KCM, the economy would have lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to the reckless disruption of operations at KCM. The plan for the PF has always been to hand over as much mining control to the Chinese as possible. This is why the Chinese have taken up pole position in the possible takeover of KCM, and are presently leading the charge for the commencement of mining activities in the ecologically sensitive Lower Zambezi National Park.
It is also now in the public domain, that corrupt PF politicians, including the presidency, facilitated the casual seizure of the Mukula business from local companies by illegally taking over legally harvested Mukula logs by legitimate permit holders, and illegally sold it to their Chinese friends. This resulted in the economy losing over $500 million in revenue due to underdeclaration of exports, as well as bribes. And it is these same people who are lining up ZAFFICO for a “constructive” take over using markets as a conduit.
Today, while our local farmers are paying a premium for foreign fertilizers imported by friends of the PF, top government politicians are getting paid several millions of dollars for suffocating Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ); sacrificing several jobs and incomes for our local people.
These are criminals whose only intention is to benefit from the suffering of Zambians, and they couldn’t care less. It is visible from the amount of money the Patriotic Front (PF) injects into buying votes and disrupting our sense of collective purpose.
The PF are prepared to disrupt economic activity on the Copperbelt, jeopardizing jobs for our people; by politically interfering the BSA negotiations involving ZESCO and CEC, and instead senselessly allege that a listed entity is funding the activities of the UPND.
Nothing short of political stupidity.
And China, a country that has been a friend of the Zambian people for several decades, has now realised the duplicity of the PF government, and all signs are that China is now almost ready to pull the plug on the PF and heighten it’s financing due diligence; because the corruption of PF politicians is not only costing Zambians their economy, it is also costing China money.
THE Emerald and Semi-Precious Stones Mining Association of Zambia (ESMAZ) has insisted that Government should be flexible in taxes being imposed on the gemstone sector, which he said was detrimental to the industry.
Speaking when he officially opened Ashco Diamond Limited Office and Gem Testing Lab on Tuesday in Lusaka, ESMAZ president Victor Kalesha said the 15 percent export tax on gemstones has the potential to kill the industry.
“The 15 percent export tax is not very good for the sector because it’s chocking the industry and the sector at large. We will be glad if it’s scrapped for the benefit of the sector,” Mr Kalesha stated.
He said it was time the sleeping giant in the gemstone mining was awakened so that it could start contributing to the national treasury.
Mr Kalesha noted that despite Zambia being endowed with cast natural resources in gemstones, the mineral reserve has not been fully explored.
He said it was encouraging that Zambia was still being identified as a destination for gemstones sourcing and trading.
Mr Kalesha has urged Ashco to become a model of transparency in gemstone trading and that all members should always declare with the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development every gemstone they want to export.
“We are happy that you have come on board and, as a gemstone family, we will support you,” he added.
Mr Kalesha reiterated that Zambia has been producing gemstone for a long time but there is nothing to show that the gemstone sector contributes to the national treasury.
Ashco Diamonds Limited director-sales and operations Yogish Bantwal Shenoy said his company decided to establish its business in Zambia to enhance the expansion of precious and semi-precious industry and base metals.
“It is not that we are here to grab something from you but help contribute to the growth of the country. When we see that this country is growing because of us, it is not us but Zambians. We will give back what the country is expecting in form of taxes, revenues, establishments and even supporting entreprenuers,” Mr Shenoy said.
He noted that the company would seek to create jobs for the local people and impart entrepreneurial skills.
Mr Shenoy disclosed that Ashco Diamonds has invested US$10,000 in the testing lab of precious minerals.
Ashco Diamonds Limited under the management of Ashco Business Group has been in the gemstone industry for more than seven years.
Photo from the Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From left to Right – Edward Phiri (ZRST Secretary), Daniel Mwamba (ZRST Chairman), Lotte Brondum (Executive Director), Miles Mwale and Paul Mwanza (ZRST members). Photo taken by richardahlstrom.com.
By Daniel Mwamba Chairman Zambia Road Safety Trust
Road traffic accidents are a high, unacceptable cost to society and public health. Each year at least 1,25 million people perish and around 50 million injured on roads globally. In Zambia at least 120 souls are lost every month, and these accidents having quadrupled to almost 100 % since 2010, is one of the leading causes of deaths besides HIV/AIDS and Malaria, a lead cause of death for children below the age of 16. While we cannot measure the emotional costs of losing a loved one, the economic cost to this country is estimated at approximately 3 % of GDP– around K60 billion over the last decade – more than Zambia’s real annual budget.
The problem of road accidents maybe complicated, widespread, and urgently in need of a solution—but with bold leadership, it is ultimately SOLVABLE. Fatal and long-term injury in road accidents is a largely predictable and avoidable problem, which is amenable to rational analysis and remedy. We need to focus on achieving specific results, applying system-wide, evidence-based measures, underpinned by effective leadership. Without new and effective actions, road deaths in Zambia will rise steeply. This has been emphasized by the UN in its resolution on improving global road safety in which it proclaimed that achieving road safety results requires long-term governmental ownership, leadership and political will.
We have to recognise, that road safety is a shared responsibility at international, national, provincial, and local levels. Achieving good road safety results is a multi-disciplinary activity which takes place in a complex multi-sectoral context. Multi-sectoral activity provides the opportunity for a holistic system-wide approach that provides good and broad opportunities for ‘win-win’ integration with a range of other governmental and organisational policies for example we need to acknowledge that the business sector and employers in general share responsibility for road safety and can make an important contribution to road safety when input in line with national road safety strategy. The business sector can often contribute financial support to road safety activity. In practice, in the past five years, Puma Energy Zambia Plc has been funding road safety education – through chid road safety education for 50,000 children and radio programmes, resulting in 50 % reduction in traffic fatalities among the children between 2014 and 2018. The Puma Energy Foundation, the FIA Foundation, AMEND, Vital Strategies and FED EX have all generously contributed through the Zambia Road Safety Trust in setting up School Zones, with infrastructure to reduce speed around schools here in Zambia, achieving a 100 percent reduction child fatalities in those areas. This shows that, there is an urgent need for meaningful institutional collaboration between Government and key partners in the business sector and civil society if we have to save lives on our roads.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN General Assembly Resolution 44/25 (1989), calls governments to work to provide a safe environment for children. The Tylösand Declaration (2007), states that everyone has the right to use roads and streets without threat to life or health. All road users in Zambia have the right to safe and sustainable mobility.
We welcome bold leadership action by Hon Mutotwe L Kafwaya, MP and Minister for Transport and Communications working with the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) and the Lusaka Mayor, Miles Sampa to reduce limit speeds to 30 km/h in all urban areas and schools. Zones where speeds are set at 30 km/h (or 20 mph) are proven to be effective at reducing accidents and increasing community cohesion.
Government wants UNESCO to list the Barotse Flood plains as a world Cultural Landscape.
Minister of Arts and Tourism Ronald Chitotela says once this is done, tourists will be attracted to visit the area which will in turn promote tourism and job creation for people in Western province.
He said this when he officiated at the consultative meeting with Members of Parliament from Western Province on the proposed nomination of the Barotse plains as a world cultural landscape.
Mr. Chitotela noted that the nomination of the area will enhance the preservation of cultural traditions and customs contrary to speculation that the nomination will take land away from the people.
And speaking on behalf of the Barotse Royal Establishment Ngambela Mukela Manyando said the establishment will continue engaging stakeholders on the matter.
Meanwhile, National Heritage and Conservation Commission Executive Director Collins Chipote said his organization wants to preserve key natural resources for the benefit of the people.
ZESCO Board at a Press Briefing led bt Board Chairman Mbita Chitala
Zesco says it is working hand in hand with the government to mitigate and stabilize the electricity shortage in the country.
Speaking at a media briefing held in Lusaka, Thursday, Zesco Board Chairperson, Dr Mbita Chitala said as a result of the country’s dependence on hydro power generation, the water deficit at the KARIBA dam has greatly impacted the utility company’s generation capacity.
He stated that Zesco is well aware of the adverse impact that the deficit has had on all sectors of the economy hence putting in measures meant to mitigate the situation.
Dr Chitala announced that as a mitigation measure, the company commenced load management across the country to ensure that power generation could continue into the following rainy season.
“In mitigating this deficit, Zesco with the help of government paid for the importation of power from ESKOM of South Africa which began on 22 November 2019. However Zesco continues facing challenges in importing the full 300 megawatt from time to time because of the limited availability of a wheeling path during off-peak period,” said Dr Chitala.
The Zesco Board Chairperson said that as a way of further mitigating the power deficit, the utility company will be bringing on board the Kafue gorge lower hydro power station (KGL) which is a 750 mega watts power plant.
He said that the 80% complete KGL plant project is expected to be commissioned in phases, beginning with the first 150 megawatt machine by May 2020.
“Zesco is expecting to generate not less than 200 megawatts of power from the renewable solar project in Serenje by the end of 2020 which will help stabilize the power supply in the country going forward.”
He further noted that in line with government’s vision 2030 and the Seventh National Development Plan, Zesco will also continue to pursue other interventions which include the 1,200 mega watt Batoka, 1,000 megawatt Luapula basin hydro power project as well as 120 megawatt solar projects under the GETFIT programme.
Zambia on Thursday ended their three-year wait for a COSAFA U20 Cup final appearance following a 3-0 semifinal victory over Angola at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
The result handed Zambia its first final since 2016 when they went on to lift the title away in South Africa.
Zambia secured their place in the final thanks to goals from midfielder Patrick Gondwe who struck a brace in the 31st and 76th minutes.
Striker Francisco Mwepu added the final goal in the 80th minute to stay on course for the 2019 COSAFA U20 Cup Golden Boot after taking his tally to four goals for the tournament.
The result ended Angola’s unbeaten run in the tournament and they came into the penultimate round match as the most prolific side on 13 goals while Zambia were a close second with nine goals.
Zambia will face defending champions South Africa in the final on December 14 at the same venue.
South Africa reached the final following dramatic comeback in the lunchtime kickoff at Nkoloma against Madagascar when they rallied from two-down at halftime to level 2-2 in stoppage time and subsequently win 5-4 on post-match penalties.
Interestingly, the final will be a repeat of the 2016 decider when Zambia beat hosts South Africa 2-1.
Meanwhile, Madagascar and Angola will meet for Bronze in the curtain-raiser this Saturday.
Namvula released the video for her single “Njishe“.
She had this to say on social media: “I’m excited to be sharing this heart-work with y’all soon, about a rain-soaked night in my grandma’s village, about our elders and the rivers of knowledge they hold within their beings, about being a girl who grew up everywhere but home – such a sexy title : “globetrotter”, but what bridges does that leave unbuilt? What gaps did that leave in my being, in my feeling of rootedness, in what I know? Njishe, teach us, teach me…”
Directed by: Jerome Arab
Co-produced by: Jerome Arab, Namvula Rennie, Biggie
President Edgar Lungu says there is need to expedite the implementation of the inter-governmental agreement to build electricity interconnection to the national grids of Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania.
President LUNGU says Kenya and Zambia should expedite the implementation of the agreement to facilitate power trade within the region.
The President called on newly appointed Kenyan High Commissioner to Zambia, Flora Igandu Karugu to ensure urgent implementation of the 5 agreements signed when Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Zambia in 2015.
He said this at State House when he received letters of credence from newly appointed Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Zambia.
And President Lungu called on Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to Zambia to intensify closer collaboration at regional and multilateral platforms in a bid to promote sustainable development.
These include Japanese ambassador to Zambia Ryuta Mizuuchi, Kenyan High Commissioner, Flora Igandu Karugu and Somalia ambassador Hawa Hassan Mohamed.
Others are Russian Ambassador, Aleksander Vilovich Boldyrev, Ethiopian Ambassador, Addisu Gebreigzabhier Abera and Mohamed Ould MekhallE from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
President LUNGU also reaffirmed government’s commitment to continue promoting cordial relations with other countries.
He said Zambia values the warm relations shared with other countries which are based on mutual respect, trust and cooperation.
And President Lungu hailed the Japanese Government for coming up with the Tokyo International Conference for African Development -TICAD- which he said serves as an effective platform to drive cooperation with African countries.
The much-anticipated bye-elections in Milenge in Luapula Province and Ilambo ward in Lupoposhi constituency in Northern province came and went.
The dust has hardly settled down due to the exciting but shocking results in Ilambo. The English say the ‘devil is in the detail’. Unfortunately, in our society there is hardly any attention to the detail of an election. All players simply celebrate the end of another election; in same cases ‘just one of those elections’. For political parties the endgame is simply about whether or not they won or lost the contested seat. So, they either celebrate or commiserate with themselves for the ‘loss’. I say ‘loss’ (in inverted commas) because within some ‘losses’ there are hidden gains. But I will come to that later.
Contrast our casual approach to election detail to advanced democracies. In those societies the political parties, researchers, pundits, the media, etc all analyse elections to the bone, not just about the final winner and loser. They sift through data to profile who voted for whom among the various demographics: for instance, by sex, age, race, social status, religion, including sexual orientation (controversial as it could be in Zambia).
This level of analysis maybe be taxing and requires more data capturing by the electoral system but it is worth every penny. Parties use it for targeted campaigns and communication. They call it ‘smart’ campaigning. Campaigns that are sent ‘to whom it may concern’ often end up on a rock; ‘the birds of the air’ just devour such campaigns (as posited in Luke 8:4-18). Anyway, that’s a story for another day.
Back to election analysis; going forward, Zambian electoral players should aim for detailed analysis of the electoral results. The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) should be concerned about, say, trends and patterns in voter turnout, ‘spoilt’ ballots, etc. It can not be business as usual when you have 85,795 (2.6%) ‘spoilt’ ballots as was the case with the 2016 elections at national level. By the way, the rejected votes accounted for more than the 74,486 polled by all the seven smaller parties: FDD, PAC, Rainbow, UPP, UNIP, Greens and DA in that descending order.
“With these few opening remarks”, below are some analyses of the Milenge and Ilambo results in a bit of detail, based on the little available data;
Milenge: PF Wins, UPND Makes Marginal Gain
The PF candidate for the Council Chairperson, Fidelis Chanda, won the election by 4,409 votes against 1,237 of the UPND candidate Gibson Malambo. Statistically the PF got 78.09% of the eligible votes compared to 21.9% of the UPND. For the UPND this represents a marginal gain of 1.3% from the 20.6% it got in 2016 compared to the PF’s 79.39%.
Ilambo:UPND Wins and Gains
The UPND won the council or ward seat with 809 (55.98%) of the vote compared to the PF’s 636 (44.02%). In 2016 the PF candidate beat the UPND’s. Unfortunately, there are no data on the 2016 ward results on the ECZ website to enable comparison of the magnitude of the gain for UPND and loss for PF between the two elections.
Two-Horse Race Continues
The two centres – Milenge and Ilambo – remain a battle ground for only the two main parties: PF and UPND. This must be a surprise to many who thought the entry into the ring by Chishimba Kambwili’s NDC and Harry Kalaba’s DP would broaden the basket of options for the voters. Understandably NDC is in a partial electoral alliance with the UPND. Many are asking when Kalaba will ‘test the waters’ (‘Kwipima’).
Apart from the MMD in 1991, all the other post-1991 splinter parties worth their salt had had to launch themselves and gather momentum through bye-elections. The UPND, for instance, boosted its launch in December 1998 by participating in and winning the Mazabuka bye-election within a year, on 30 November 1999, courtesy of its candidate and first MP Griffiths Nang’omba. Similarly, within a few months of formation, the PF participated in the 2001 general election and inspired itself by winning its first seat in Lupoposhi. In recent times the NDC was energised and boosted its image by participating and winning the Roan seat in 2019.
The MMD was unique in that it was a product of a mass uprising to get rid of UNIP after 27 years of single-party rule. So, if Kalaba’s DP wins the 2021 general election without throwing ‘test-punches’, it will grab a lofty place in the annals of history.
Less than 50% Decide Fate:
In Milenge, against 18,466 registered voters, only 5,646 successfully cast their vote, representing only 30.57% of the electoral college. In 2016, at least slightly over half (52.95%) of the registered voters casted their vote and had a say in the selection of the council’s top leadership. The is no doubt voter turnout also dropped in Ilambo, though there are no data. The scourge of low voter turnout mirrors the national picture of 56.45% in the 2016 general election. It should be a cause for concern for the nation.
‘Spoilt’ Ballots on Increase:
The proportion of so-called ‘spoilt’ ballots is another phenomenon that stakeholders ought to but not paying attention to. In Ilambo, for instance, 365 votes were counted as ‘spoilt’, representing 6.46% of the total eligible votes or 6.07% of the total (6,011) votes cast. Arguably 6.07% is too huge to simply gloss over when you consider that the difference between the winning and losing Presidential candidate since 2001 has ranged between 1% and 7%. The exception is 2006 when the difference between Michael Sata and Levy Mwanawasa was 13.61%.
In 2001 Anderson Mazoka lost to Levy Mwanawasa by 1.93%; in 2008 Michael Sata lost to Rupiah Banda by 1.98%; in 2011 Rupiah Banda lost to Michael Sata by 6.56%; in 2015 Hakainde Hichilema lost to Edgar Lungu by 1.68% and by 2.7% in 2016.
So, the electoral players better start paying attention and find remediation to ‘spoilt’ ballots. They could be the difference one way or the other.
The Author is a Media and Communication Scholar, Research Fellow and PhD Candidate Based in South Africa.
Former Lusaka Catholic Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu at a media briefing
Former Lusaka Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu has labelled the PF administration as a government of thieves.
Archbishop Mpundu observed that corruption has become rampant under the PF and those stealing public funds go unpunished.
The Clergyman who resigned as Archbishop of Lusaka on January 30th 2018 was speaking on Tuesday when he featured on Frank on Hot radio programme on Hot FM.
“Corruption is rampant and is not been punished, haven’t we heard about all these fire engines that cost us huge amounts of money and ambulances that cost so much. Zambia is the only county that has 48 houses that built themselves without owners,” Archbishop Mpundu said.
He added, “The people are not being told the truth. I am sure the ACC knows and the Council knows it. There is something that is going on and it is not right.”
Archbishop Mpundu added, “This country is afflicted by rampant corruption which has permeated all facets of our lives so much so that so citizens not so jokingly refer to our democracy as Kleptocracy which is defined as a government of thieves by thieves and for thieves. This is what they are saying jokingly but surely is that joking? There is a good amount of truth in that.
He said, “everywhere one goes, one meets public officers or personnel in private business and they are demanding a cut for the services which they must render to the public by virtue of their position.”
“This is just one area but in general when it comes to infrastructure especially road infrastructure. This is in the public domain, the amount of money we are spending on infrastructure development, it’s much more, they say as much as six times more as our neighboring countries and they say Zambia is not so rich. Who is collecting the money? It is overdone, who is collecting the balance?”
Archbishop Mpundu charged that institutions are not being made to work by the Executive.
“The Executive must be firmly in charge. If they are given the freedom to operate without interference they are going to perform but they are told who to investigate and how to investigate and this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.“
Nkana star Ronald ‘Sate-Sate’ Kampamba is looking forward to Saturday’s big Copperbelt derby against FAZ Super Division leaders Zesco United set for Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.
The two giants will be meeting for the first time in the 2019/20 Super Division campaign.
Champions Zesco are leading the table with 28 points from 10 matches played while fifth placed Nkana are seven points behind after playing 11 matches.
‘The game is not going to be easy but as Nkana we are looking forward to a positive result. We must work hard as a team to beat Zesco,’ Kampamba said.
‘We will respect Zesco because they are champions and they must repect us because we are also a big team,’ Sate Sate said.
Striker Kampamba said Nkana are in the race to win the 13th league title.
‘We want to finish on top and win the league,’ Kampamba said.
Nkana are beginning life with acting head coach Manfred Chabinga after the resignation of Beston Chambeshi earlier on Sunday.
Ex-Chipolopolo coach Sven Vandenbroeck has resurfaced in Tanzania as Simba SC coach on a one year deal.
The Belgian takes over at Simba from compatriot Patrick Aussems who oversaw Nkana’s elimination form the 2018/2019 CAF Champions League pre-group stage exactly a year ago.
Vandenbroeck returns to the bench after his six month spell with Chipolopolo was not extended in March following a poor 2019 AFCON qualifying run in which he won one, lost two and drew one Group K matches.
Overall, Vandenbroeck had two wins, two defeats and one draw in his Zambia tenure.
Vandenbroeck first mandate will be to retain the Tanzanian league title that Aussems won.
The Belgian will be reunited at Simba with Chipolopolo midfielder Cletus Chama.
The Bank of Zambia’s decision to increase the Statutory Reserve Ratios (SRR) applicable on commercial banks’ kwacha and foreign currency deposits liabilities to 9 per cent from the current level of 5 per cent is a desperate measure to curb inflation.
We have a brilliant team of very good economists at the Bank of Zambia but they have been stretched to the utmost. They are being pushed to do the impossible, to square a circle.
The measures the Bank of Zambia is taking will help secure financing for government and channels funds into financing the budget deficit.
However, this will lead to contracted lending in the open market due to reduced liquidity. It will also raise the cost of funds, which will further lead to an increase in interest rates and cost of borrowing.
Most banks are likely to reduce lending to meet these increased statutory reserve requirements.
Ultimately, it’s the borrowers who will bear the increased cost of funds.
Clearly, these are desperate measures.
And these desperate measures remind us of Shakespeare’s works. Those who think Shakespeare’s works are useless, outdated and shouldn’t be taught in school should think twice. In our opinion, Shakespeare’s works, particularly ‘Romeo and Juliet’, provide extensive insight into human behaviour.
The story provides a good lesson about the consequences of desperate behaviour, which can help us make the right choices in our governance, in our own lives.
So what does Shakespeare teach us? What is clear from ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is that desperation gives us irrational thought processes which usually have a potential for severe consequences. I’m sure you have heard someone say: “desperate times call for desperate measures”, a phrase which explains the sometimes detrimental result of decision making while in an irrational state.
If we could write a letter to Shakespeare, we would thank him for his timeless insight into the human psyche.
Desperate measures can be destructive. Some leaders become desperate when they are losing, and out of options. Leaders in desperation grasp at anything they think might ‘rescue’ them. We have plenty of examples today.
Desperate measures are born out of fear, fear that they are actually not performing well.
Actions taken out of desperation and hopelessness are unlikely to work: it’s that simple.
Desperate times call for bold measures but not desperate measures.
Decisions made out of hopelessness or despair are likely to turn out bad. It can create much larger problems.
As we have repeatedly advised, what is required is confidence building, addressing the many unresolved issues facing our country today.
