On 14th December 2010 at 21:50 hrs, I was praying with fellow Christians who are members of "The Gospel Invasion Incorporated" on Facebook which Pastor Choolwe led at 21:50 hrs, 05:40 hrs. and at 12:50 hrs.
(Check the link below)
http://is.gd/iO37t
Members were requested to read the following verses:
Psalm 103: 1-7 Psalm 105: 1-11 and Psalm 107: 1-5
Psalm 107:1 says.. "O give thanks unto the LORD for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever".
As I was praying to the Lord to shine his light on us in 2011, I heard a voice telling me that He shall provide leaders that will take this country to higher heights.
This was around 21:55 hrs.
I started to think of the following title for my next post on Facebook and other Blogs I write.
"Zambia is not for sale. Zambia is not for sale !"
After the prayer session, I was wondering to myself. What was God's Words trying to tell me?
I asked the Lord to tell me what He meant by providing leaders who will take this country to higher heights ?
On 16th December 2010, which was two days before my Birthday, I was reading the "Our Daily Manna", a daily devotional booklet by Rev. Dr. Chris E. Kwakpovwe.
To my surprise I noticed that the day's devotional was entitled "My Head is Not for Sale!"- Part 1 and "My Head is Not for Sale!"- Part 2 followed the next day.
So this is what the Lord was telling me on 14th December 2010 !
After reading Part 1 of the devotional, I learnt that there are some people who would go to any length to get what they want. The story of the Nigerian man who dug up human skulls from graveyards for rituals was hair raising.
In Zambia we have the Parliamentary and Presidential elections next year.
Looking at the present methods being used by the various politicial parties to gain political leverage over their rivals, it is worrying to visualise how the campaigns will be like.
My prayer for all politicians is for them to be patriotic and put God first in their campaigns.
We have only one Zambia as our country and have nowhere else to go.
"Zambia is not for sale, Zambia is not for sale !".
Amen !
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Burning Old Bridges
During this festive season it is important to keep our families united.
The following story is an excerpt from Chapter Four of my recently published book entitled " Snares of a Deceptive Society" which will soon be on sale.
"Durkent was trained as technician electrician at one of colleges on the Copperbelt. He was admitted there after successful completion of his grade 12 education in Lusaka. He joined one of the electrical companies that manufactured electrical panels in Lusaka .
Durkent only worked for the company for four years. He shifted from Lusaka where his parents were living and started his own electrical panel manufacturing company.
He was assisted to start the business on the Copperbelt by a businessman of Asian origin who was a long time family friend to his parents. Durkent's father was a senior civil servant in the ministry of science and technology.
Durkent managed to get some good business with the mining companies because of the good quality of electrical panels he made from a rented workshop he was operating from.
Within three years, Durkent Electrical Company Ltd. (DEC Ltd.) grew from a small backyard company to one of the biggest suppliers of electrical spares to the mining companies.
A new workshop was built and manufacturing equipment was imported from Australia. He went into partnership with an overseas electrical company who brought in experts to train local staff on how to use the sophisticated manufacturing equipment.
Durkent became one of the richest men in Zambia.
He got married to Meeky who was his childhood lover from his school days. They grew up together in the rural part of the country.
Meeky was of humble educational background. She was a beautiful lady with a typical black African skin. She had an attractive wide smile which was augumented by her very white teeth with very dark gums. She developed a dimple whenever she smiled.
Durkent got married to Meeky when he was working as an electrician of an electrical company.
By the time Durkent Electrical Company was celebrating its tenth year in business, the couple had three children, two boys and a girl. The girl was the youngest of the three children.
Due to the affluent life Durkent now led, he was exposed to so many women he met during his business transactions.
There was a young lady who was working in one of the financial institutions called Mercy.
Mercy was a spinster who was very light in complexion. She had a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management . Durkent was attracted to the young woman, who was some ten years younger than him. The two soon fell in love and decided to get married.
Mercy was aware of Meeky whom she and her boyfriend referred to as the "native" from the village.
Durkent was convinced that in order for his business to grow bigger, he needed to marry an educated woman. Mercy, with her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration,was the right candidate for that.
Meeky was a very cheerful lady with strong Christian faith. Her father had been a Pastor of a pentecostal church until his death a few years after his daughter got married to Durkent.
Durkent on the other hand,
was not coming from a family with a Christian background.
He was introduced to Christianity by Meeky, during their courtship, but he really never became a regular church goer. He took Christianity as one of the social functions and not a way of life.
Once he fell in love with Mercy, he started to sleep out. At first he pretended that he was kept busy by business transactions which could not allow him to come home.
When Meeky started to doubt and question his excuses of sleeping out, Durkent became abusive towards her. A couple that had lived in peace for over ten years started to have brawls which sometimes attracted the attention of neighbours.
Meeky tried to save her marriage by involving her in-laws and church leadership without success .
Durkent's father was opposed to the marriage right from the beginning. He did not want his son to marry a girl who was not very educated and brought up in rural areas.
Finally Meeky was forced into leaving her husband and went back to the village where she was brought up.
After divorcing Meeky, Durkent was free to marry his "graduate sweetheart" , as he was fond of calling Mercy.
Their wedding reception was held at one of the classy five star hotels in Lusaka. The pastor who married them was hired to do so at a small church without a public ceremony.
After the wedding the couple went for their honeymoon in Thailand for two weeks.
When Meeky was divorced she was given a $15,000 compensation by a local court. Durkent was also ordered to look after his three children's welfare until they finished college.
In the meantime, the global recession started to affect the operations of most companies in the country. Business from the mining companies started to dry up and DEC Ltd. started to experience liquidity problems.
For the first time since he started his business, Durkent found himself with a $100,000 debt which was giving him sleepless nights.
Mercy assured her husband that all will be well as she could arrange to get a loan from her employers.
Durkent agreed to this suggestion and got a soft loan of $150,000. This money was given on condition that the title deeds of his mansion and workshop were surrendered to the financial institution where Mercy was working.
The company started to show signs of recovery after injection of the $150,000. However ,after a year the balance sheet of the company was getting deeper and deeper into the red. Foreign suppliers who used to supply the company started to withdraw their credit facilities.
The financial institution finally got possession of the assets of the company and Durkent was left a destitute.
Mercy kept him at her parent's home as he was trying to start a new business with one of his long time business associates.
The new business did not work out and Durkent was eventually forced to get a job as a Technical partner in one company.
Mercy told him to leave her parent's home and started divorce proceedings against Durkent.
The new employers accomodated Durkent in one of the lodges after he was rejected by Mercy.
The company managed to secure a very big order from one of the newly opened mines. Durkent was given $40,000 to purchase spares required for this order.
He was to travel outside the country to get the spares.
He was bought a ticket and he traveled to the airport with the company car.
The car was left at the fee paying parking lot so that on arrival from overseas he would pick it and drive back to the lodge.
Two weeks passed without his employers hearing anything from him.All efforts to trace him failed.
A check at the airport, where the car was left, revealed that he did not board any plane from there during the last six months.
The lodge later revealed that he had actually checked out of his room the day he was scheduled to fly out of the country.
One taxi driver revealed that he was hired by Durkent to drive him to the border of a neighboring country on the date he was to fly out.
The company tried to freeze his account where the $40,000 was deposited but to their shock they discovered that the amount was transferred to another account and only $1,500 was left as balance. The other account was no longer in use.
Durkent is now a fugitive on the run !"
A bird in your hand is better than two in the bush. Do not burn old bridges just because you have found new ones.
The grass on the other side of the fence might look greener at a distance, however , on arrival you will be shocked to find that it was afterall artificial grass not suitable for grazing !
Remember that not all that glitters is Gold.
Have a happy and prayerful Christmas and remain blessed in the New Year!
The following story is an excerpt from Chapter Four of my recently published book entitled " Snares of a Deceptive Society" which will soon be on sale.
"Durkent was trained as technician electrician at one of colleges on the Copperbelt. He was admitted there after successful completion of his grade 12 education in Lusaka. He joined one of the electrical companies that manufactured electrical panels in Lusaka .
Durkent only worked for the company for four years. He shifted from Lusaka where his parents were living and started his own electrical panel manufacturing company.
He was assisted to start the business on the Copperbelt by a businessman of Asian origin who was a long time family friend to his parents. Durkent's father was a senior civil servant in the ministry of science and technology.
Durkent managed to get some good business with the mining companies because of the good quality of electrical panels he made from a rented workshop he was operating from.
Within three years, Durkent Electrical Company Ltd. (DEC Ltd.) grew from a small backyard company to one of the biggest suppliers of electrical spares to the mining companies.
A new workshop was built and manufacturing equipment was imported from Australia. He went into partnership with an overseas electrical company who brought in experts to train local staff on how to use the sophisticated manufacturing equipment.
Durkent became one of the richest men in Zambia.
He got married to Meeky who was his childhood lover from his school days. They grew up together in the rural part of the country.
Meeky was of humble educational background. She was a beautiful lady with a typical black African skin. She had an attractive wide smile which was augumented by her very white teeth with very dark gums. She developed a dimple whenever she smiled.
Durkent got married to Meeky when he was working as an electrician of an electrical company.
By the time Durkent Electrical Company was celebrating its tenth year in business, the couple had three children, two boys and a girl. The girl was the youngest of the three children.
Due to the affluent life Durkent now led, he was exposed to so many women he met during his business transactions.
There was a young lady who was working in one of the financial institutions called Mercy.
Mercy was a spinster who was very light in complexion. She had a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management . Durkent was attracted to the young woman, who was some ten years younger than him. The two soon fell in love and decided to get married.
Mercy was aware of Meeky whom she and her boyfriend referred to as the "native" from the village.
Durkent was convinced that in order for his business to grow bigger, he needed to marry an educated woman. Mercy, with her Bachelors Degree in Business Administration,was the right candidate for that.
Meeky was a very cheerful lady with strong Christian faith. Her father had been a Pastor of a pentecostal church until his death a few years after his daughter got married to Durkent.
Durkent on the other hand,
was not coming from a family with a Christian background.
He was introduced to Christianity by Meeky, during their courtship, but he really never became a regular church goer. He took Christianity as one of the social functions and not a way of life.
Once he fell in love with Mercy, he started to sleep out. At first he pretended that he was kept busy by business transactions which could not allow him to come home.
When Meeky started to doubt and question his excuses of sleeping out, Durkent became abusive towards her. A couple that had lived in peace for over ten years started to have brawls which sometimes attracted the attention of neighbours.
Meeky tried to save her marriage by involving her in-laws and church leadership without success .
Durkent's father was opposed to the marriage right from the beginning. He did not want his son to marry a girl who was not very educated and brought up in rural areas.
Finally Meeky was forced into leaving her husband and went back to the village where she was brought up.
After divorcing Meeky, Durkent was free to marry his "graduate sweetheart" , as he was fond of calling Mercy.
Their wedding reception was held at one of the classy five star hotels in Lusaka. The pastor who married them was hired to do so at a small church without a public ceremony.
After the wedding the couple went for their honeymoon in Thailand for two weeks.
When Meeky was divorced she was given a $15,000 compensation by a local court. Durkent was also ordered to look after his three children's welfare until they finished college.
In the meantime, the global recession started to affect the operations of most companies in the country. Business from the mining companies started to dry up and DEC Ltd. started to experience liquidity problems.
For the first time since he started his business, Durkent found himself with a $100,000 debt which was giving him sleepless nights.
Mercy assured her husband that all will be well as she could arrange to get a loan from her employers.
Durkent agreed to this suggestion and got a soft loan of $150,000. This money was given on condition that the title deeds of his mansion and workshop were surrendered to the financial institution where Mercy was working.
The company started to show signs of recovery after injection of the $150,000. However ,after a year the balance sheet of the company was getting deeper and deeper into the red. Foreign suppliers who used to supply the company started to withdraw their credit facilities.
The financial institution finally got possession of the assets of the company and Durkent was left a destitute.
Mercy kept him at her parent's home as he was trying to start a new business with one of his long time business associates.
The new business did not work out and Durkent was eventually forced to get a job as a Technical partner in one company.
Mercy told him to leave her parent's home and started divorce proceedings against Durkent.
The new employers accomodated Durkent in one of the lodges after he was rejected by Mercy.
The company managed to secure a very big order from one of the newly opened mines. Durkent was given $40,000 to purchase spares required for this order.
He was to travel outside the country to get the spares.
He was bought a ticket and he traveled to the airport with the company car.
The car was left at the fee paying parking lot so that on arrival from overseas he would pick it and drive back to the lodge.
Two weeks passed without his employers hearing anything from him.All efforts to trace him failed.
A check at the airport, where the car was left, revealed that he did not board any plane from there during the last six months.
The lodge later revealed that he had actually checked out of his room the day he was scheduled to fly out of the country.
One taxi driver revealed that he was hired by Durkent to drive him to the border of a neighboring country on the date he was to fly out.
The company tried to freeze his account where the $40,000 was deposited but to their shock they discovered that the amount was transferred to another account and only $1,500 was left as balance. The other account was no longer in use.
Durkent is now a fugitive on the run !"
A bird in your hand is better than two in the bush. Do not burn old bridges just because you have found new ones.
The grass on the other side of the fence might look greener at a distance, however , on arrival you will be shocked to find that it was afterall artificial grass not suitable for grazing !
Remember that not all that glitters is Gold.
Have a happy and prayerful Christmas and remain blessed in the New Year!
Friday, December 24, 2010
A Liar Needs a Good Memory to Survive
Recently one of my friends on Facebook, put up a post saying "A liar needs a very good memory to survive".
A lie is a statement from an individual or group of people who cheat by giving some wrong facts on a subject.
Many of us are subjected to so many lies on any given day.
Liars do so with the hope that the truth will not be known.
The bigger the lie the stronger will be the initial belief in it. This is known as "The big lie syndrome".
In order for the lie to last longer, the liar has to depend on his memory in order to tell the lie to several people.
As the liar manufactures more and more lies, he has to remember them more and more in order to keep them going.
So for the liar to remain credible he needs a very good memory to keep the lies alive.
The characteristic of a lie is because it bears no truth , it won't be long before the lie is exposed for what it is.
Some people depend on lies as a means of survival.
In order for them to do so, they have developed "lie manufacturing machinery" that churns out stories that initially look credible.
Satan is the greatest liar of all times. He is forever telling lies to us in order to keep us in bondage.
The Bible refers to Satan as follows :-
". . .He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44).
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32)
As Christians we should not allow Satan to take charge of our lives. Let us forever be on guard against his intentions.
"Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth." (2 Peter 3:17).
Amen !
A lie is a statement from an individual or group of people who cheat by giving some wrong facts on a subject.
Many of us are subjected to so many lies on any given day.
Liars do so with the hope that the truth will not be known.
The bigger the lie the stronger will be the initial belief in it. This is known as "The big lie syndrome".
In order for the lie to last longer, the liar has to depend on his memory in order to tell the lie to several people.
As the liar manufactures more and more lies, he has to remember them more and more in order to keep them going.
So for the liar to remain credible he needs a very good memory to keep the lies alive.
The characteristic of a lie is because it bears no truth , it won't be long before the lie is exposed for what it is.
Some people depend on lies as a means of survival.
In order for them to do so, they have developed "lie manufacturing machinery" that churns out stories that initially look credible.
Satan is the greatest liar of all times. He is forever telling lies to us in order to keep us in bondage.
The Bible refers to Satan as follows :-
". . .He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44).
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32)
As Christians we should not allow Satan to take charge of our lives. Let us forever be on guard against his intentions.
"Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth." (2 Peter 3:17).
Amen !
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Getting the Best Out of a Bad Deal ?
In March 1986, whilst I was working as an electrical project engineer at Konkola Division of the then Zambia Copper Consolidated Mines Limited, I was sent for a six-month attachment with a British electrical utility company in the United Kingdom.
The attachment was part of a training programme in Electrical Power Distribution systems.
The training was sponsored by the World Bank as a way of strengthening the engineering skills of indigenous citizens of Zambia.
For accomodation the sponsors arranged for me to stay with a British couple as a paying lodger in their home.
I was staying with Mr. and Mrs. Munroe at their home. It was some four kilometers from a switchgear factory of a company called Northern Electrical Industries ( NEI) .The factory was located in a town called Hebburn, which is situated on the banks of the Tyne River.
Mr. Munroe had once worked as an expartriate at the copper mine in the Zambian Copperbelt town of Chingola around 1972.
My stay with the Munroe family is one of the most memorable time of my life. The couple, which was in their fifties, were very kind to me and I was treated like their own child. They had two grown children of their own who were by then grown adults who had their own homes.
On a typical Friday evening we used to go out for dinner at any one of the several social outlets found in the town of Hebburn.
One friday evening we went to one social outlet where we had dinner which was followed by taking of a few drinks.
A number of the Munroes' friends were interested to know more about Zambian life.
At time Zambia was under a one party system of Government.
One evening a certain man engaged me in a heated discussion when I told him about our "one party participatory democracy " in Zambia.
He told me point blank that the one party system of Government could not qualify to be called a "democracy".
I told him that when we had a multiparty system of Government we used to experience a lot of skirmishes between opposing political parties.
The skirmishes were generally between tribal or regional based opposing parties.
My support for the one party participatory democracy then was based on the fact that it had brought unity between the different tribes who have been bitter enemies for many generations.
The British man could not be convinced by this argument .
After about thirty minutes of a heated discussion he told me the following words which still linger in my mind.
"The problem with you Africans is you always choose the best option out of a bad deal. How can you call a one party dictatorship a democracy just because it has brought so called "unity " amongst you ?"
"The unity you are talking about is the unity to share poverty under despotic leaders"!
In our own lives we should not settle for anything that brings peace with the anybody else just to maintain the status quo of living in tranquility with them.
A troubled heart can not live in peace with anybody else apart from its owner.
Personal satisfaction can only be realised when an individual gets the best out of a good deal with anybody else!
The attachment was part of a training programme in Electrical Power Distribution systems.
The training was sponsored by the World Bank as a way of strengthening the engineering skills of indigenous citizens of Zambia.
For accomodation the sponsors arranged for me to stay with a British couple as a paying lodger in their home.
I was staying with Mr. and Mrs. Munroe at their home. It was some four kilometers from a switchgear factory of a company called Northern Electrical Industries ( NEI) .The factory was located in a town called Hebburn, which is situated on the banks of the Tyne River.
Mr. Munroe had once worked as an expartriate at the copper mine in the Zambian Copperbelt town of Chingola around 1972.
My stay with the Munroe family is one of the most memorable time of my life. The couple, which was in their fifties, were very kind to me and I was treated like their own child. They had two grown children of their own who were by then grown adults who had their own homes.
On a typical Friday evening we used to go out for dinner at any one of the several social outlets found in the town of Hebburn.
One friday evening we went to one social outlet where we had dinner which was followed by taking of a few drinks.
A number of the Munroes' friends were interested to know more about Zambian life.
At time Zambia was under a one party system of Government.
One evening a certain man engaged me in a heated discussion when I told him about our "one party participatory democracy " in Zambia.
He told me point blank that the one party system of Government could not qualify to be called a "democracy".
I told him that when we had a multiparty system of Government we used to experience a lot of skirmishes between opposing political parties.
The skirmishes were generally between tribal or regional based opposing parties.
My support for the one party participatory democracy then was based on the fact that it had brought unity between the different tribes who have been bitter enemies for many generations.
The British man could not be convinced by this argument .
After about thirty minutes of a heated discussion he told me the following words which still linger in my mind.
"The problem with you Africans is you always choose the best option out of a bad deal. How can you call a one party dictatorship a democracy just because it has brought so called "unity " amongst you ?"
"The unity you are talking about is the unity to share poverty under despotic leaders"!
In our own lives we should not settle for anything that brings peace with the anybody else just to maintain the status quo of living in tranquility with them.
A troubled heart can not live in peace with anybody else apart from its owner.
Personal satisfaction can only be realised when an individual gets the best out of a good deal with anybody else!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Time Wasters ! Space Wasters !
At the beginning of this week I went to one of the local Banks in Chingola.
This is the end of the month and is the time when most workers get their salaries via the Banks.
I had to deposit some money into an Account of a friend, who was to use the money to do some business transaction on my behalf.
When I entered the Bank hall, I found a very long and meandearing queue of about forty people.
There are five teller counters in the Bank hall.
I observed that four of the five counters were manned. I also noticed that one of the counters was marked "Deposits Only".
Since I was depositing cash, this brought a sigh of relief to me that I won't be very long in the Bank.
After being in the building for ten minutes, I realised that I had moved up the queue by only three spaces occupied by people in front of me !
On checking what was going on, I noticed that, in fact, only three tellers were serving customers.
The teller behind the counter marked "Deposits Only" was only handling bundles of cash, which looked like they were coming from the Bank's security Safe.
He was distributing the cash to the other three tellers. These tellers were paying out cash to customers who were getting their monthly salaries as well collecting cash being deposited.
The "Deposits Only" sign was therefore misleading !
What was annoying is that the meandearing queue was for those who were depositing and those withdrawing cash.
This was a great inconvenience to those who were depositing money, who were in the minority.
What was even more annoying was that, out of the three tellers who were working, only one of them was really doing anything. This young man was serving customers at a faster rate than the other two. I noticed that he was working approximately three times faster than his colleagues.
The other two gentlemen were really annoying because they spent more time chatting with customers or were in conversation on mobile telephones.
There is a notice stuck on the wall, which clearly prohibited the use of mobile telephones within the Bank premises. I wondered whether this notice was only meant for customers?
It took me exactly eighty minutes before I could be attended to by one of the chatting Bank tellers. This time is almost equal to that spend to watch a ninety minute football match!
This brought a revelation to me of how some people who are not productive contribute to the under development of our country.
The Bank has built a very big hall for banking purposes, at great cost, but there we were, subjected to such shoddy service.
What a lot of us do not realise is, that such people are not only time wasters but space wasters as well !
The space that they occupy is not used efficiently. This is depriving chance to other people who could utilize the space more efficiently.
Such people are more suitable to be in public Parks. The space in these Parks is meant for relaxing.
The public is entitled to efficient service from the Banks.
With the emerging of several new Banks in Zambia which are run more efficiently the future of such Banks is bleak.
How many time and space wasters do you come across on a daily basis ?
This is the end of the month and is the time when most workers get their salaries via the Banks.
I had to deposit some money into an Account of a friend, who was to use the money to do some business transaction on my behalf.
When I entered the Bank hall, I found a very long and meandearing queue of about forty people.
There are five teller counters in the Bank hall.
I observed that four of the five counters were manned. I also noticed that one of the counters was marked "Deposits Only".
Since I was depositing cash, this brought a sigh of relief to me that I won't be very long in the Bank.
After being in the building for ten minutes, I realised that I had moved up the queue by only three spaces occupied by people in front of me !
On checking what was going on, I noticed that, in fact, only three tellers were serving customers.
The teller behind the counter marked "Deposits Only" was only handling bundles of cash, which looked like they were coming from the Bank's security Safe.
He was distributing the cash to the other three tellers. These tellers were paying out cash to customers who were getting their monthly salaries as well collecting cash being deposited.
The "Deposits Only" sign was therefore misleading !
What was annoying is that the meandearing queue was for those who were depositing and those withdrawing cash.
This was a great inconvenience to those who were depositing money, who were in the minority.
What was even more annoying was that, out of the three tellers who were working, only one of them was really doing anything. This young man was serving customers at a faster rate than the other two. I noticed that he was working approximately three times faster than his colleagues.
The other two gentlemen were really annoying because they spent more time chatting with customers or were in conversation on mobile telephones.
There is a notice stuck on the wall, which clearly prohibited the use of mobile telephones within the Bank premises. I wondered whether this notice was only meant for customers?
It took me exactly eighty minutes before I could be attended to by one of the chatting Bank tellers. This time is almost equal to that spend to watch a ninety minute football match!
This brought a revelation to me of how some people who are not productive contribute to the under development of our country.
The Bank has built a very big hall for banking purposes, at great cost, but there we were, subjected to such shoddy service.
What a lot of us do not realise is, that such people are not only time wasters but space wasters as well !
The space that they occupy is not used efficiently. This is depriving chance to other people who could utilize the space more efficiently.
Such people are more suitable to be in public Parks. The space in these Parks is meant for relaxing.
The public is entitled to efficient service from the Banks.
With the emerging of several new Banks in Zambia which are run more efficiently the future of such Banks is bleak.
How many time and space wasters do you come across on a daily basis ?
Friday, November 19, 2010
What Should Change ?
Recently there has been some talk amongst the Zambian politicians, who are in the opposition, that the country is ready for change.
No one has really qualified what this change is all about.
Those belonging to the ruling party perceive this as a call to remove them from running Government.
Government never changes. What changes is the political party that has control over the running of the State machinery. After every general election a particular political party would have the mandate to run Government for a given period of time.
It is more like who is charge of the streering wheel of a vehicle that belongs to a family. Any member of the family can drive the vehicle, as long as they have a valid driving licence.
How the vehicle moves along the highway is determined by the competence of the particular member of the family.
The State machinery never changes in spite of which political party is in charge of running it.
When people talk of change they mean changing of a political party in charge of running the Government machinery.
We have had several changes of political systems since Independence in 1964.
Soon after independence, we had a multiparty system of Government which was a copy from our former colonial masters.
Later on, we changed to a one party "participatory" democracy, which was in fact, a dictatorship.
In 1991 multiparty democracy was reintroduced in the country.
The reintroduction of multiparty system saw a proliferation of many political parties, which at one time totaled over three dozen! Is this really democracy ?
By critical analysis of the behaviour of our politicians, one can see a general pattern in the attributes of individuals who belong to these parties.
The country has the following types of politicians, irrespective of which party they belong to :-
1) Political Monkeys - These are non principled individuals who jump from one political party to another. This type of politician is closely related to the one that follows.
2) Political Prostitutes - These are individuals who do not care about how our natural resources are utilized for national development, as long as a few thousand dollars are in their personal bank accounts.
3) Professional Politicians - These are individuals who make a living from politics. Some have done it for more than three decades. They have no interest of the country at heart. Some of them would like their own family members to take over from them as if they belong to royality!
4) Political Dreamers - These are individuals who come up with dossiers of economic development plans which never bear any fruits. They have very good development plans which are only pipedreams or not practical to implement.
5) Political Agitators - These are individuals who think political power should be via intimidation of the electrorate. They are ready to fight those that are not of their own party in order to remain in power.
The list can go on and on.
What is at stake is not which political party is in charge of running the Government machinery , but the type of politicians we have in our midst.
A lot of our politicians have one or more of the attributes mentioned above.
Is it not time for us to have a different approach to politics?
No one has really qualified what this change is all about.
Those belonging to the ruling party perceive this as a call to remove them from running Government.
Government never changes. What changes is the political party that has control over the running of the State machinery. After every general election a particular political party would have the mandate to run Government for a given period of time.
It is more like who is charge of the streering wheel of a vehicle that belongs to a family. Any member of the family can drive the vehicle, as long as they have a valid driving licence.
How the vehicle moves along the highway is determined by the competence of the particular member of the family.
The State machinery never changes in spite of which political party is in charge of running it.
When people talk of change they mean changing of a political party in charge of running the Government machinery.
We have had several changes of political systems since Independence in 1964.
Soon after independence, we had a multiparty system of Government which was a copy from our former colonial masters.
Later on, we changed to a one party "participatory" democracy, which was in fact, a dictatorship.
In 1991 multiparty democracy was reintroduced in the country.
The reintroduction of multiparty system saw a proliferation of many political parties, which at one time totaled over three dozen! Is this really democracy ?
By critical analysis of the behaviour of our politicians, one can see a general pattern in the attributes of individuals who belong to these parties.
The country has the following types of politicians, irrespective of which party they belong to :-
1) Political Monkeys - These are non principled individuals who jump from one political party to another. This type of politician is closely related to the one that follows.
2) Political Prostitutes - These are individuals who do not care about how our natural resources are utilized for national development, as long as a few thousand dollars are in their personal bank accounts.
3) Professional Politicians - These are individuals who make a living from politics. Some have done it for more than three decades. They have no interest of the country at heart. Some of them would like their own family members to take over from them as if they belong to royality!
4) Political Dreamers - These are individuals who come up with dossiers of economic development plans which never bear any fruits. They have very good development plans which are only pipedreams or not practical to implement.
5) Political Agitators - These are individuals who think political power should be via intimidation of the electrorate. They are ready to fight those that are not of their own party in order to remain in power.
The list can go on and on.
What is at stake is not which political party is in charge of running the Government machinery , but the type of politicians we have in our midst.
A lot of our politicians have one or more of the attributes mentioned above.
Is it not time for us to have a different approach to politics?
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Education and Poverty
Some few days ago, I wrote an e-mail to an old colleague I once worked with in the Mines to pass my regards.
On reply , he informed me that one of the electricians at one of the Mines I used to work at, sustained serious burns in an electrical accident. This was some two weeks ago.
I replied that I was not aware about it.
He wondered why none of my former co-workers and subordinates had informed me about it.
I told him that human behaviour is such that once one is out of sight they also get out of the mind of others.
He replied that such a serious incident should have been reported to me. I left the Mine some ten months ago.
I jokingly told him that maybe it was due to their lack of "Lorex" !
"Lorex" is the acronym for local medium exchange of cash or the "Kwacha". This is the unlike "Forex" which is the overseas medium exchange of cash or being the US dollar and others.
To some people, even sending an SMS, which costs only K250, is like having a tooth extraction !
A recent observation by the "Family Financial Intelligence " guru on Facebook, says that 80% of Zambians are literate. This means that our educational attainment, as a nation,is quite impressive.
However, one wonders why some 86% of the population is poor.
The unemployed level in Zambia is over 50% .
Those in formal employment, are paid so that they are entirely depended on their employers for survival.
Take away their salaries, they soon become destitute. It is more like a garden plant which soon withers when the irrigation water is cut off !
The reason for this poverty is not due to lack of money but lack of financial education.
When I was working as a Plant Engineer in the Mines, within a time frame of five years, I came across some thirty emerging companies which won contract work from the Mines.
The average contract price was $20,000 with some contracts going as high as $400,000.
Assuming a markup of 20%, these companies made between $4,000 and $80,000 nett profit from the contracts.
What surprised me was that out of all these companies, only six were still operating at the end of that period. The majority had gone under due various reasons.
My observation was that once the money was paid, the owners of some of the companies went into a frenzy of uncontrolled expenditure.
There is this young director of a company which had just been paid some good money.
He used to drive a Toyota Corolla for about three years as he was establishing his company.
One weekend, I found him in town. He was parking a Mitsubishi Pajero besides my fifteen-year old Toyota 2.4D Hilux.
I have been driving the Hilux vehicle for all those years because I have been maintaining it. After having done some 140,000 kilometers since I bought it, it is still in a very good mechanical condition.
Knowing that his father was a businessman for many years, I presumed that the Pajero belonged to his father and so I paid no particular attention to it.
Since he realised that I was not showing any signs of being impressed by his latest acquisition, he boastfully told me that he had just bought the Pajero.
When I asked him what had happened to his Corolla ? he told me that he has given it away to one of his younger siblings.
I had no choice but to "congratulate" him, as he had expected me to do.
He told me that he used to feel very inferior when he came for important meetings with senior Mine officials.
He told me that it was not proper for a Managing Director to drive what he referred to as a "Ka-jilijili" (Corolla), whilst other Directors were driving "good" vehicles!
I am sure he was also telling me that it was not proper for a Plant Engineer to drive a fifteen-year old Hilux!
I really had sympathy for him because I knew that his company would soon kiss dust as has happened to others I have witnessed doing likewise.
The young man, due his lack of financial education, did not see it fit to reinvest the profit he got into expanding his company. Instead, he shrunk its capacity by purchasing an expensive vehicle, which he could not maintain for too long.
Why should one's status be determined by the type and class of a vehicle one is driving ?
It reminds me of one my favourite British comedies called "Keeping Up Appearances".
The hapless husband of Mrs. Buckett was, on many occasions, forced to show the outside world that the couple belonged to the British aristocracy. This was far from the truth !
On reply , he informed me that one of the electricians at one of the Mines I used to work at, sustained serious burns in an electrical accident. This was some two weeks ago.
I replied that I was not aware about it.
He wondered why none of my former co-workers and subordinates had informed me about it.
I told him that human behaviour is such that once one is out of sight they also get out of the mind of others.
He replied that such a serious incident should have been reported to me. I left the Mine some ten months ago.
I jokingly told him that maybe it was due to their lack of "Lorex" !
"Lorex" is the acronym for local medium exchange of cash or the "Kwacha". This is the unlike "Forex" which is the overseas medium exchange of cash or being the US dollar and others.
To some people, even sending an SMS, which costs only K250, is like having a tooth extraction !
A recent observation by the "Family Financial Intelligence " guru on Facebook, says that 80% of Zambians are literate. This means that our educational attainment, as a nation,is quite impressive.
However, one wonders why some 86% of the population is poor.
The unemployed level in Zambia is over 50% .
Those in formal employment, are paid so that they are entirely depended on their employers for survival.
Take away their salaries, they soon become destitute. It is more like a garden plant which soon withers when the irrigation water is cut off !
The reason for this poverty is not due to lack of money but lack of financial education.
When I was working as a Plant Engineer in the Mines, within a time frame of five years, I came across some thirty emerging companies which won contract work from the Mines.
The average contract price was $20,000 with some contracts going as high as $400,000.
Assuming a markup of 20%, these companies made between $4,000 and $80,000 nett profit from the contracts.
What surprised me was that out of all these companies, only six were still operating at the end of that period. The majority had gone under due various reasons.
My observation was that once the money was paid, the owners of some of the companies went into a frenzy of uncontrolled expenditure.
There is this young director of a company which had just been paid some good money.
He used to drive a Toyota Corolla for about three years as he was establishing his company.
One weekend, I found him in town. He was parking a Mitsubishi Pajero besides my fifteen-year old Toyota 2.4D Hilux.
I have been driving the Hilux vehicle for all those years because I have been maintaining it. After having done some 140,000 kilometers since I bought it, it is still in a very good mechanical condition.
Knowing that his father was a businessman for many years, I presumed that the Pajero belonged to his father and so I paid no particular attention to it.
Since he realised that I was not showing any signs of being impressed by his latest acquisition, he boastfully told me that he had just bought the Pajero.
When I asked him what had happened to his Corolla ? he told me that he has given it away to one of his younger siblings.
I had no choice but to "congratulate" him, as he had expected me to do.
He told me that he used to feel very inferior when he came for important meetings with senior Mine officials.
He told me that it was not proper for a Managing Director to drive what he referred to as a "Ka-jilijili" (Corolla), whilst other Directors were driving "good" vehicles!
I am sure he was also telling me that it was not proper for a Plant Engineer to drive a fifteen-year old Hilux!
I really had sympathy for him because I knew that his company would soon kiss dust as has happened to others I have witnessed doing likewise.
The young man, due his lack of financial education, did not see it fit to reinvest the profit he got into expanding his company. Instead, he shrunk its capacity by purchasing an expensive vehicle, which he could not maintain for too long.
Why should one's status be determined by the type and class of a vehicle one is driving ?
It reminds me of one my favourite British comedies called "Keeping Up Appearances".
The hapless husband of Mrs. Buckett was, on many occasions, forced to show the outside world that the couple belonged to the British aristocracy. This was far from the truth !
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