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WHY CAN’T ZAMBIA DEVELOP CREATIVE ALTERNATIVES? May 2007 If Zambian women can creatively adjust to changing economic environment, why not Zambia? Asks the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR).One of Zambia’s and Africa’s development dilemmas is the issue of developing a base of critical knowledge that is locally generated, reinforcing and well elaborated in responding to the longstanding challenge of moving beyond being primary producers of commodities. The lack of this knowledge base, coupled with some unjust international practices, is precisely the reason that in the face of adversity, African countries have not come out of such situations with lessons to move forward. Instead, African countries have remained seriously entangled in the external-orientated frameworks in looking at their problems, including when it comes to drawing lessons to respond effectively. As the JCTR has learned from gathering information concerning qualitative living conditions of the people through monthly interviews with select households in high density areas, women have demonstrated remarkable versatility in responding to the changing household and overall national economic circumstances. Already, in light of recent changes to the face of trading arrangements in the streets of Lusaka, the JCTR has observed that in some cases, women have not only made changes in places where they are trading from but have equally re-looked at the traded commodities portfolio in light of the enforced institutional arrangement. Imagine what would happen to their families if such women folded their arms and wait for assistance to come their way from outside! Such situations, though micro, are very useful in suggesting responses in the face of adversity to national or macro level situations and indeed to responding to some internationally generated difficulties. In this instance, the parallel is how to overcome creatively “formidable development challenges”, how within the international trading arena, African countries can move away from consistently producing primary products. The question of “staying producing the cocoa bean or copper” without any value addition is what has historically defined the economic fortunes and misfortunes of most African countries in terms of fluctuations in prices of these commodities. This issue has undoubtedly been the catalyst behind debt crises experienced (and still being experienced) by many countries on the African continent, including attendant problems such as inadequate investment in education, health, infrastructure and the prevalence of a reinforcing problem of high cost of living. In relation to cost of living, in the month of May, the Basic Needs Basket that measures cost of living for a family of six in Lusaka and other urban areas of Livingstone, Kabwe, Ndola, Kitwe and Luanshya showed some reduction of K2,950 in the overall cost of food. Reductions occurred in a 25kg bag of breakfast meal (down by K400), 1kg Kapenta (down by K1500), green vegetables (down by K100) and tomato (1kg down by K100). Reduction in mealie meal is on account of the increasing availability of maize during this harvest period. Reductions in green vegetables and tomatoes have to do with the ease (less chemical input) with which green vegetables and tomatoes are grown. Prices of beans, dry fish and onion remained the same as recorded in April. The price of meat and cooking oil recorded some increases. For essential non-food items, charcoal, packed in a 90Kg bag, continued with its downward trend and recorded a reduction of K1,200 from costing K52,500 in April to costing K51,300 in May mainly due to lessened transportation and production difficulties. Prices of other non-food essentials apart from Vaseline remained stable. The above figures concerning the situation of cost of living no doubt bring home the importance of international processes such as the G8 meeting currently taking place in Germany. But it is not only increased aid flows or massive debt cancellations that will bring about expanded opportunities for health, education, employment, etc. It is also creativity and attention paid to other internal arrangements that are highly important in bringing about such opportunities. |
Related Links June 2007 BNB @ K1,517,100 |
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