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From The Editor
Before we start
with this month, we need to go back to last month: April. For those
that didn’t catch on and took a drive out to Munda Wanga, for a spot
of ice skating and for the various people who phoned to find out
whether the rink was open yet - thank you - April Fool’s articles
would be no fun if we didn’t catch anyone out.
This month sees
the 10th Anniversary of The Lowdown. It is also a personal
anniversary for myself - this is the 60th issue of the Lowdown which
I have produced. We are not going to make a big song and dance about
it. To be honest, I would far rather help Livingstone make a song
and dance about their various anniversaries as this will benefit far
more people and will, if we can get our act together, the nation as
a whole.
Reflecting over
the last ten years, The Lowdown has seen many changes - I am the
third editor, Tim Truluck being the first, followed by Rose Marie
Baldry-Wardle. Our current permanent staff have been stable for the
last five to six years. The layout, presentation and content has
seen many changes from the first issue being a very small issue,
printed only in black and white, progressing to some full colour
pages. We hope to expand on this in the year to come until
eventually we can make your favourite rag one that is printed in
full colour. Of course, this all depends on economics. And the
economics of this depends on advertising, for it is the advertisers
who make the publication of The Lowdown financially possible. This
is where we have seen the most changes over the last ten years - the
companies that are advertising and the quality of the advertisements
where there has been a vast improvement. It is our hope that over
the next ten years, we will continue to keep our readers informed of
what is going on and it is also our hope, that in our own small way,
we can bring to the fore issues which need attention. For this, we
will continue to rely on the input which we get from our readers and
we will continue to publish what we believe has to be published in
the true spirit of freedom of the press.
Sadly, there are
two negative issues which much be raised this month. First is that
it has come to our attention that some companies are selling medical
insurance and advising their clients that one of Zambia’s reputable
companies, namely SES, carry out their evacuations. Should you be
purchasing a medical insurance, please find out about this and if
necessary, contact SES for confirmation.
Last week a
friend in Canada, who is planning to visit Zambia soon emailed me.
He had tried to log onto the web page for our High Commission in
London (www.zhcl.org.uk) . The message on the home page said “You
are viewing this page because there may be an issue with your
account as it has lapsed at renewal. We have contacted you 6 times
over the last 6 weeks and have not heard from you.” Not a very good
image for tourism!
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May
2005