This follows on from my earlier blog 'Improving Living Standards in Zambia'. I would like to suggest that whatever your response was to who is responsible for poor living standards experienced by a large proportion of Zambians, you will agree that we need a shift. By shift I mean that we need to look at the way things are conducted in Zambia and where we are not happy we need a shift to change this for good. I shall discuss a few issues below concerning the ‘status quo’.
Please pardon me for stating the obvious but ………
"What’s past is prologue", William Shakespeare
Note: If my examples are a bit out-dated then I stand to be corrected.
Concerning road vehicles.
1. My experience of renewing a car's road tax involved queueing, usually for a long time.
2. To get a car's fitness certificate one had to take the car to traffic police offices where some superficial visual inspection and a road test were conducted to certify fitness.
3. The number of road traffic accidents involving public transport would suggest either the maintenance of buses is not what it should be or the driver skill needs looking at or both.
4. As you drove around in Zambia the number of unfit vehicles filled with paying passengers is worrying.
5. The whole system concerning motor vehicles needs a shift.
Concerning house holds;
1. For the greater proportion the standard of maintenance is generally lower than it should be. By this I mean leaking taps, untidy electric connections, badly laid tiles, poor finish by some trades Artisan, etc. are common place.
2. The good quality construction and finish that does exist in Zambia appears only available to a few and it comes at a very high price. So the good quality is generally not accessible to most.
3. Potable water and sanitation should be essential for everyone.
4. Cholera, Dysentery, Malaria and other outbreaks should be a thing of the past throughout the country.
Concerning education
1. Parents who can afford it prefer private education for their children as they do not trust that state education would give their children the right opportunity. On this account some Zambians have had to leave the country to achieve this.
2. Fortunately there are still a number of very good secondary schools in Zambia although the number is very small compared to the population. Is there a deliberate effort to share knowledge between the very well run secondary schools that produce excellent results year after year and those that need to improve?
3. When shall we guarantee every academically able Zambian child access to the level of education that they can cope with?
I could go on with more examples from the Ministry of Health, Mining, the organisation of public transport, the Police, etc. What becomes clear is that the people of Zambia deserve better. Zambia has abundant natural resources which if managed effectively should help improve the living standards.
Meanwhile elsewhere, 'Shift Happens' or rather development is happening exponentially...Did you know?
Looking on the bright side suggests that an abundant opportunity exists in Zambia for aspiring entrepreneurs. Next I shall discuss possible ways forward.
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