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This country
is one big disaster waiting to happen.
Look around
you, and everything points to a disaster.
There has
never been any planning for anything since your white colonial
master left you loaded, and I mean really loaded, considering the
population at that time.
Local
government through the councils which are responsible for planning
in every town abdicated responsibility a long time ago.
Are there any
city planners?
Then why do
townships spring up anyhow. Take a look at Lusaka, where will the
city expand to next? And Lusaka is not the only case here.
The future of
the capital has been blocked at every move by a squatter compound.
It is
squatters everywhere and the city cannot make its next move.
But it is not
only about Lusaka moving, there is the congestion – cars too cannot
make their next move.
Traffic jams;
not at rush hour, but every hour because the roads are clogged and
crawling with cars.
The road
network needs to expand but in Lusaka – where to? There is no room
because of poor city planning.
Imagine the
future : more cars on roads which will never be expanded or improved
because the city cannot make a move. What madness.
How many
people have died, riding on unroadworthy vehicles or over loaded
cars, cleared at roadblocks by the ‘good’ cop.
It’s not just
about the roads not expanding. What kind of roads are these; roads
without a drainage system; roads easily overrun by a heavy downpour
that eventually get damaged.
If roads are a
disaster, the uncollected garbage is the limit.
Garbage piles
up on every street and has gone as far as our border entry points
and threatens to scare away the tourist.
Imagine, it
took the Permanent Secretary of Southern Province to notice that
garbage at Victoria Falls border was not a good sight for visitors.
Across in Zimbabwe the story is different. A lot cleaner…
The police,
immigration, custom officers and the ever alert “Shu-shu” didn’t
even seem to notice that the garbage had crept up to their door
step.
There are
mountains of garbage, blocking the drainage and habouring all sorts
of diseases; cholera
When was the
last time you went to the market in this season, I mean city market,
but not the well built and organized structure you see from afar.
I mean City
market as in ‘Soweto’, unplanned, no drainage – just nothing. That
is the place you wade through mud, climb over garbage, to get to
your favourite fruit : the apple. Very tempting in a Christian
nation.
But that is
just one side of the disaster story in this country, there is much
more.
Education is
another disaster.
An army of
half baked graduates is what we have at the end of the day which
shows, they came off a ‘system’ that lost direction a long time ago.
Can you
imagine that there are still unqualified teachers teaching High
School kids?
Ask the
Minister for Education? He will tell you that the poor result for
High School graduates last year was on account of that, they were
being taught by inexperienced teachers.
Something
needs to be done.
Industry has
also not been spared. Wasn’t it in Chambeshi where an explosive
factory blew up, killing over 50 people.
Wasn’t that a
disaster that had been waiting to happen, going by the stories of
negligence that followed the blast.
How many mine
accidents took place last year – aren’t we justified to pile them
all up under one big banner – ‘disaster’.
AIDS is no
longer a disaster, it is a way of life today, but the country is
increasingly threatened by other diseases.
What has been
done about keeping the bird flu at bay?
So far it has
been lip service and stories about plans and measures being put in
place. But you all heard this kind of talk on cholera, cattle
diseases and the rest, but it took this country nowhere.
There is
nothing that can be done about floods or other natural visitations
because these cannot be foretold.
However it is
always good to be prepared for such eventualities, should they
strike.
How much was
set aside for disaster like the one in Luangwa when rivers burst
their banks.
The Kazungula
floods is another point in reference.
If nature has
disasters lined up, why add any more to its list?
Why not ensure
that every residential area to blossom in a city is planned for?
Why not expand
the road network and have a smooth flow of traffic?
Cannot the
garbage be collected and the drainage unblocked?
And Education,
is what is needed to be done, not known?
If you have
answered all these questions – then why is the country still in this
fix – a disaster waiting to happen.
Oh but what
the heck! It’s the some ol’ Gecko squealing.
Hey but wait a
minute. I “came back” to some really good news- for a change.
Government has
rescinded its budget decision to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) on
newspapers and magazines.
That is an
extremely good decision as you people were about to see the DEATH
of the print media at the stroke of Magande’s pen.
I’m sorry to
say your newspapers are barely gasping from year to year and need
relief much more than they need fresh and new taxation.
On a very
crucial note, you appear to have a government that listens and that
is good news.
Take this as
your first step.
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April
2006