I am in Lusaka for a few days courtesy of COMESA the 19 country organisation intended to increase trade among member nations and increase economic development. These regional bodies are trying to improve lives of the people in the member countries with lots of difficulty. In the region there are several bodies including SADAC, EAC and of course COMESA some counties like Tanzania belong to all of them!!Uganda belongs to EAC and COMESA.. What is striking when you visit African countries is the commonality of problems and destiny. IF you were blindfolded an taken from one city to another only to open your eyes when you arrived you may never tell which is which but definitely you will be able to tell it is an african town probably your own city in a place you haven't been to lately.
The towns are relatively not very clean, hordes of unemployed youth standing in groups in various locations doing nothing or if doing something most likely smoking hash or what ever it is. Business is characterized by large numbers of people selling all kinds of good on streets. Among the common goods is imported second hand clothes ,shoes cheap electronics from China,mobile phone airtime cards, tomatoes onions and cheap products afforded by local people. Another common feature is private security personnel. This is a sector that employs many africans. Guess what they are protecting? They protect business owned by foreigners from their fellow african bothers who may steal it if there is an opportunity to.in many African cities malls are becoming a common feature. These malls are owned by wealth people who are not businessmen or women!!!! Recondition cars are another feature. there are a few brand new vehicles which expresses well our purchasing power and have no problems with it .i too own one such. South African shoprite and Game store are also common. So is South African Airways at the airports of most african countries.
Poverty is a common feature but not obvious to we Africans as most of us don't understand what poverty means. People are quite happy none the less and go about their job , those who have , with glee. In Uganda we have this massive sector of boda boda that employs a large number of people but whose worth is limited in nature. All african cities have something like that.
We need our governments to plan for our towns better. lusaka compared to Kampala is well planned, wide roads or apace available for future construction of roads!! This is unlike Uganda where there is no plan at all for city roads. Uganda is condemned to having narrow roads because we have not planned for them and it is too late to do so. I have also been impressed by the services people render to you and don't expect to be tipped for doing their work. I got into a hotel late in the night and if it was Kenya , Uganda or Nigeria the person helping you with the luggage would hang around showing how the TV works extra extra waiting for you to tip him. I didn't have any Zambian money on me and was apologetic as the fellow delivered luggage in my room but his body language didn't say he expected anything. I have found Tanzania and Swaziland to be similar.
Thats said and done the most impressive thing about Zambia is the planned urbanisation. While still poor like Uganda, Zambia has wonderful plans on urbanisation and land utilization. The have avoided balknasation of land. Thanks to mzee Kenneth Kaunda and of course Julius Nyerere of Tanzania with his unpopular UJAMA . In Zambia you don't find small houses owned by poor people spread across the country. People settle in common areas where services like electricity , water schools and other s can be availed at a low cost. The land is them left for agricultural production. In Uganda every family bury their dead in their back yard and as development occurs the dead have wither been moved or simply graded . In Zambia the dead a buried in a common graveyard. You don't have graves littered everywhere in the country. This is smart and paves way for better utilasation of land. bravo Zambia
