Zambia: We need Enlightenment to end this instanity · Global Voices
Zambian blogosphere continues to grow and bring diverse voices and opinions online. <PERSON> writes about education in Zambia in his post, “Educated but poor”:
A majority of youth in Africa today have completed more years of schooling than their parents did but have limited opportunities in employment and remain poor, according to the The World Youth Report 2007 .
He also writes about the Open Thread – NCC Allowances :
Some interesting comments / reports on the National Constitution Conference (NCC) allowances in the media this week. The Post on saturday reported the extent of the proposed allowances: The NCC delegates are entitled to a sitting allowance of K500,000 persitting and subsistence allowance of K650,000 per day. They are also entitled to transport allowance of K100,000 per day and transport refund of K300,000 for those who reside outside Lusaka.
The National Constitutional Conference (NCC) was held to prepare for a new Zambian constitution.
Issues Over Matters discusses the state of Zambian economy and politics:
Whatever happened to that age-old gem of wisdom that we always spat out when we realised someone was about to take advantage of us as youngsters in playgrounds in Kitwe: takuli kuliilana amasuku pamutwe guys in Bemba.
In the Zambian society today, <PERSON> unfortunately has become part of the national culture, and if anybody at any level for that matter, manages to eat fruit from someone else’s head, he assumes heroic status and the victim is deemed ukupwalala or sleepy.
A good example is the way former President <PERSON> who is appearing in court for various offences allegedly committed while in office, is today seen as a victim rather than what he should be treated, as in The people Vs Chiluba.
Politicians in government, politicians outside government, senior civil servants, junior civil servants, private and parastatal company chief executives, junior employees, NGO leaders and just about everybody, including tuntemba owners, are fleecing and want to fleece everyone else.In short, crime in general and corruption in particular, is endemic in the nation. The dominant criminal element in society has impoverished everyone else to a point where being “clean” is considered abnormal.
When I was a student just over two decades ago, we used to band about statistics in Kalingalinga and M’tendere taverns that 95 percent of the nation’s wealth was in the hands of five percent of the population which was then associated with UNIP.
Two decades later and 17 years of the MMD in power, I am sure the statistics have shifted: 99 percent of the wealth is in the hands of only one percent of the population.
The recent contest for the ANC presidency between the South African president <PERSON> and <PERSON> drew a global attention. Zambian blogger, <PERSON>, writes about the contest in a post titled THABO BRUISING A LESSON FOR AFRICA. 424
He writes:
The election of <PERSON> as ANC leader is a good sign for Africa, that democracy can prevail even in ruling parties across the continent used to leaders who grow roots in the seats of power. Not that <PERSON> is the best man for the eventual job of South African president, but <PERSON> is to blame.
ICT Journalist looks at the state of ICT infrastructure and policies in Africa in the context of the Africa Telecommunications Day:
The lack of main energy supply in many rural and remote areas is a major obstacle to deploying telecommunication infrastructure.
When we look at the theme for the Africa Telecommunications Day whose theme this year is “Applying emerging technologies to empower rural communities towards attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” we see the digital divide between rural and urban area.
To bridge the rural digital divide there is need to strengthen human and institutional capacities to harness information and knowledge more effectively. Africa needs to address the following key issues to reduce the digital divide that exists.
When we look at content package on the Internet, it is all in Africa’s foreign languages which are either in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish or Japanese to name but a few. There is need for African communities to locally adapt content and contextualise it. Also there is need for the communities to share content that will build on exiting systems to address diversity.
Rural dwellers however will also need capacity building on the importance of ICTs and how they can benefit from them. It is also important for the rural communities to partner and participate in the World Summit on information Society (WSIS) process.
It is also time for the rural communities to have a realistic approach to technologies and work on the high cost and financial sustainability. 409