Pedro is only 13, and yet he’s already a bread winner for his family. He qualifies to pass as one of those we refer to as Street Kids. The only difference though is that Pedro isn’t a child of the streets. He is a child on the street which simply means he’s only available on the streets in the morning, and goes back home to be with his dear family in the evening.

In what may leave many with jaws dropping, his mom is only 37 years old and yet she has 8 children! Pedro’s parents must have been in a hurry to fulfill what is written in the scriptures, “Go ye and fill up the earth…..” The family of 3 boys and 5 girls is merely separated by 1 or 2 year age difference; one of them a breastfeeding baby!

Before moving to what is euphemistically referred to as the “Big House,” Pedro and his family lived somewhere else with their father, a carpenter by trade. One fateful morning, he gave a bit of money to their mother for food and left home for some odd jobs as he normally did. That was the last time they were ever to see him!

Once they were in 3 months rental arrears, the landlord threw them out and confiscated their entire property. That’s how they ended up at the “Big House” where they now have to cuddle and endure long nights on the cold floor covered by a thin layer of sheets.

Except for his eldest sister, Patricia, who has since eloped with a sugar daddy in another part of town, Pedro and his family share space in one of the rooms which is as small as a toilet in the “Big House” in Mulenga, a sprawling shanty compound out of the city of Kitwe in mineral rich Zambia’s Copperbelt province. Well…..this is nothing but the outcome of amateurish and shambolic architectural work partitioned into smaller rooms to accommodate 25 tenants altogether!

Since they have to share one communal pit latrine, you’ll often see queues as desperate folks wait for their turn to relieve themselves. Obviously unable to withstand the pressure much longer, kids end up squatting behind the pit latrine although some of the adults are equally guilty of defying the laws of nature by resorting to ‘Stone Age’ methods of answering the call of nature; well…….under the cover of the blanket of darkness, of course! They don’t have to bother that much though about excrement being dotted here and there as stray dogs that seemed to be aware of the nocturnal activities at the “Big House” would surely come and do the needful.

The Big House is a complete mosaic of the squalor and poverty you expect to encounter in any given shanty compound you may think of. It’s characterised by heaps of decaying garbage, overgrown grass, cardboards for windows while the walls are smeared with dirt and oily substances. Excrement seeps from the overflowing pit latrine and commingles with leaking water from a burst pipe. Toddlers could be seen scooping water from the improvised drainage and use it to soften the clay soil which they use to fashion out toys…….baby dolls and cars, oblivious of the overpowering stench and the risk of possible infection.

During the day, they’ve to grapple with an endless flow of flies annoyingly whizzing around in their quest to lick the sweat of unwilling individuals! It even gets worse at night as they’ve to contend with all manner of bugs…..if it’s not rats that seem to be in contetion with cockroaches scurrying around the place nibbling this and that, it’s bed bugs stinging them as mosquitos equally claim their fair of blood.

Pedro’s mother isn’t that well. She claims her husband left her with a disease which she refuses to disclose. Her body is frail while her skin complexion is pale. Unfortunately, she has been sapped of energy to engage in strenuous activities.

As his peers can be seen excitedly flocking to school, he picks up his sack and heads into the opposite direction – to the dump sites to scavenge for scrap material such as empty cans or plastic bottles. As the day wears off, he happily heads back home and declares whatever he has raised to his mother. Even if it’s not a fortune, at least it’s enough to get them enough food for the day…….talk about hand to mouth!

Pedro has to go to the dump sites every other day save Sundays when they have to go to church and get comforted by soothing messages from the pastor – a bespectacled diminutive man with the ability to peep into the future.

“No situation is permanent!” he reminds them every Sunday. “Pain may endure for some time, but joy comes in the morning. I see your breakthrough coming soon!”

In the meantime, years come and go, and yet their condition remains the same if not getting worse.

Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst

In a video that has since gone viral on several platforms on social media, Lusaka District UPND Information and Publicity Secretary, Matomola Likwanya, lashes out and vents frustrations at the UPND government for what he calls failure on the part of leadership to take care of the welfare of party cadres. This was of course after the Lusaka City Council swung into action and attempted to demolish the Carwash he was trying to mount up along the Tokyo Ring Road in one of the capital’s suburbs. You could see the young man was in great pain. There’s little doubt he had a lot on his mind.

Although we may not agree with the manner Matomola tends to come out on certain issues at times; those in leadership ought to pay attention to the litany of his complaints. Something is definitely amiss somewhere, somehow!

“We would camp at your houses during our days in opposition to provide security to you when PF thugs threatened to attack you or whenever the police attempted to arrest you. We would tirelessly move visit TV and radio stations to defend and explain party policies. We’ve machete scars on our heads……we were hacked with pangas!” cried the outspoken party official.

He goes on to complain that he had to drop out of the prestgious University of Zambia (UNZA) where he was pursuing further studies under the auspices of the distance learning programme as he was condemned to prison for political reasons. He further reminds those in leadership that he and colleagues invested a great deal of time and resources mobilizing for the party although “they’ve now been neglected.”

“We”re suffering…..we’ve no money to pay rent,” he continues. “On a number of occasions, the president has advised us as young people to form companies or cooperatives as a way of generating income. I had to sale my car to invest in this Carpark business.”

There’s no need to pretend; this is a serious indictment on the ruling party, particularly the office of the Secretary General of the party who is of course the Chief Executive Officer! It’s quite interesting that the party can afford to continue keeping quiet when the likes of Likwanya are raising such contentious issues which may expose the party and its government to absolute contempt and ridicule.

Imagine a situation whereby you used to toil with comrades in the trenches eating ‘tute nembalala’ and suddenly you see them move to plush neighbourhoods and chauffeur driven in sleek SUVs as they boast of fat Bank accounts……The earlier the UPND leadership comes to terms with the reality on the ground and devises ways of taking care of its party members, the better! Of course we are not suggesting that UPND must emulate the brutal regime of PF and start dipping their hands into government coffers. There are always better ways of doing this. For instance, the party can introduce a village banking system (Icilimba) where party members can access interest free loans to set up their businesses. Fred M’membe is step ahead in thus regard as he’s already securing scholarships in Socialist states and disbursing empowerment packages to his rank and file.

Don’t ask about where the capital is going to come from; the same way you are asking ordinary members to sacrifice is the same way Cabinet ministers, senior government officials and diplomats must sacrifice part of their income to help those in need!

Matomola says, “We don’t get paid as party officials…….we are just volunteers!” What does this speak to you? He’s probably not the only one complaining. It’s important to keep your members satisfied to avoid outsiders jumping to wrong conclusions.

Remember, 2026 is fast approaching; you will definitely call upon members in Chibolya, Chipulukusu, St. Anthony, Ipafu and many other places where squalor and poverty is the norm to mobilise support for you, disseminate information on your behalf and definitely vote for you!

Forewarned is forearmed! Mulekutika?

Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst