The Gecko

Empowerment – and added to it – Citizen, are the momentary catchwords by those in power who want us to believe that here lies the solution to the current escalating poverty levels.

Citizens Empowerment is nothing new, not even by the world standard.

It was the cry after independence for Zambians to take charge of the economy and reason why then President, Kenneth Kaunda instituted Zambianisation : to Empower Zambians Economically.

Reasons advanced then were justified. Independence would not be complete if the colonisers still retained a major hold on the economic play.

Ill equipped and educated Zambians suddenly found themselves at the helm of a flourishing economy, whose magnitude and operation they did not understand.

They failed. Who wouldn’t if they are ill equipped?

Today, many years later, the situation has not changed much – it is the foreigner and not the Zambian in control of the economy.

Our economy is mainly driven by Foreign investment, which is into mining, the arts, farming, manufacturing and even tourism.

Where are the Zambians, 43 years after Independence?

Citizens Economic Empowerment appears to be the solution. But this has been tried and it didn’t work then.

Why should it work today?

There is every reason to hope that the Zambian can be in charge of his own country’s economic destiny, but first, one major component to the whole economic empowerment process must be put in place.

Economic Empowerment will not come to pass if deliberate SUPPORT is not infused into the whole process.

First, local business entities must be given priority. If a Zambian is running a lodge and a government ministry is scheduled to have a seminar, he must be considered first.

Lodge and not brothel…

Likewise, there should be legislation in place encouraging foreign investors to give preference to local suppliers (Provided the price is competitive and the quality on a par ; Ed.).

…and this should be the basic code.

There is always a danger for any country that gives priority or preference to foreign investment because if the locals are impoverished, they will take it out on the foreigner.

Examples of this are legion and in Africa, Asians have been the scapegoat.

Sad but true.

Idi Amin in Uganda used this situation to his advantage. He set the seemingly ‘rich Indian community’ against a poverty stricken native.

What Idi Amin simply did was to point out to the suffering Ugandan, the supposed cause of his poverty : the Asian.

The South Africa of 1949 is another classic example.

Indians have been living in South Africa for the last 140 years. They came as labourers but have now managed to work their way to the top of the economy.

In 1949, in a bloody weekend, Africans suddenly turned on the Indians. Though some Africans died, over 50 Indians were killed in this attack. White South Africans and their businesses were however not attacked.

When citizens of a nation are disadvantaged economically, they can be easily swayed to commit ‘Crimes of Hate’.

‘Hate Crimes’, loosely defined are crimes motivated by hostility to the victim based on either colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation.

The Uganda and South African experiences fit into this category and it would be folly to think that this cannot happen here in Zambia.

Already, some opposition leaders opposed to the influx of Chinese investment and residence in Zambia have been accused of perpetrating hate.

But is, to question any investment, of a foreign national wrong?

There are many questions that need answers in Zambia. For instance what kind of investment should a foreigner be involved in here?

These are important questions that need answers.

The average Zambian lacks the capital muscle and this is why many of them are found in markets and on the streets vending.

They will be found in Markets renting small stalls because that is how far their financial capacity will go.

Now imagine a foreigner coming to take away the only business which their meager capitals can afford to run.

This should not be blamed simply on Xenophobia or hate for the foreigner because the hate is understandable – to loath the one who has taken away your means of survival.

It will seem justifiable then, for the Zambian marketeer to hate the Chinaman who has taken away his business.

The Citizens need to be Empowered for them to be above such petty hates or dislikes.

But empowerment is a very loose term : what does it entail?

It has everything to do with preparing citizens to enter the business world. This should start with training, exposure, networking and as has been said – SUPPORT.

In America, during the Second World War the government supported local industries by ensuring that they were given all the manufacturing contracts.

These included making boots for the soldiers, uniforms and even vehicles.

A deliberate policy was hatched which enabled America to emerge with a strong economy after the war.

Hate for the Asians will not solve the economic dis-advantagedness of the citizen pitted against the foreigner.

In South Africa, racial undertones of who is taking the larger piece of the national cake are still ringing.

Mbongeni Ngema recently released a song which is feared will rekindle the strong anti-Indian sentimentism.

In the song titled ‘Amandiya which means Indians, there are disturbing lyrics.

Such lyrics like – ‘Whites are better than Indians’ and calls for ‘strong brave men to face Indians’, do not help the xenophobia that already exists in this country, coming from a backdrop of Apartheid.

It is true ‘Hate Crimes’ have always been with us, skin-heads have been known to batter blacks to death, so have the Ku Klux Klan in America.

For Zambia there is need for this ‘Citizens Empowerment’ to come, and if it must come, let it come quickly before xenophobia and ‘Hate Crimes’ start being perpetrated by those who feel disadvantaged by the foreigner.

Remember what happened in Lesotho decades ago?

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