MY TAKE ON ZAMBIA IN THE NEXT 5 – 10 YEARS FROM NOW
Authored By Mupishi Jones
Let’s be rational and objective when analyzing the current social economic decisions made by the current administration in order to project how the future of our country will look like after 5 – 10 years from today.
- CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX.
The best way to tackle corruption anywhere in the world is to create an environment where the majority citizens buy in the idea and start regarding corruption as not only an economic evil but a cultural evil.
To create an environment where corruption is regarded by the citizens themselves as a social, economic, cultural and above all traditional shame.To the contrary, corrupt societies are those that have allowed the culture of glorifying individuals who’s wealth is indisputably obtained through the proceeds of corruption.
In Zambia we had almost reached at those levels of glorifying individuals who’s sudden wealth could not be explained and justified.These are individuals we had started referring to as “Don,abapondo,ba Director, Commander,Ba sogoleli”. However, there’s still a remnant of such corrupt individuals existing and pulling the opposite direction of the anti corruption drive.
The objective of President Hakainde Hichilema and his New Dawn Administration in the area of corruption is not to arrest anyone on mere suspicion of corrupt practices but to create an environment where society would buy in the idea of looking at corruption as a social, economic,cultural and above all traditional evil.To create an environment where anyone found wanting on corrupt practices,citizens must consider that individual as a social and society misfit!.
It doesn’t matter whether there’s being any arrests or not but the fact that we’re collectively talking against corruption everyday,is enough deterrent measure capable of reversing our corruption index perception of our country in the next 5 – 10 years from today.
Picture how our corruption perception index will be in the next 5 – 10 years from now if the current anti- corruption talk is sustained?
- CDF PROGRAMS
The New Dawn Administration under the auspices of President Hakainde Hichilema and Hon Situmbeko Musokotwane boldly picked it up from K1.6m per constituency per year and decisively raised it exponentially to K25.7m in their first year in office,K28.3m in their second year and K30.6m next year.
In the first two years, the WDCs priorities have been additional classroom blocks to accommodate an influx of school going children who were pushed out of class because they couldn’t manage to pay school fees but now it’s free.There’s also been a rush from the communities themselves to prioritize provision of classroom desks.
Another area of priority in these two years of CDF disbursed funds is the provision of reticulated water systems coupled with electricity either solar or hydro powered to all public institutional facilities such as health, education, marketplaces and bus stations countrywide.
This has been reinforced by the President’s clarion call of
(a) not having any child sitting on the floor by the end of 2024
(b) not having any baby born in an unsafe environment anywhere in the country!
These have been the priorities and hence the rush from the WDCs and communities.
This situation is likely to change in the next 5 – 10 years from now because the priority of the first two years would have been fulfilled.
In the next 5 – 10 years, with the CDF still guaranteed, citizens will witness within their doorsteps the direct impact of this CDF vision of President Hakainde Hichilema and his team led by Hon Situmbeko Musokotwane!
Almost everyone will have benefitted from grants and loans, local contractors and suppliers will have gained enough experience to handle any project.
In the next 5 – 10 years,more and more government projects would be executed by Zambian citizens themselves and the culture of glorifying foreign contractors and suppliers will eventually die a natural death.
The continuous flow of CDF into constituency bank accounts is enough political will to drive this agenda in the next 5 -10 years.
As we’re talking today,all the K25.7m allocated for 2022 was disbursed and over K20m from the allocated K28.3m for 2023 is sitting in all the 156 constituency bank accounts countrywide!
Challenges of the absorption rate of these funds are still existing but are slowly but surely being addressed by local authorities who are equally gaining experience of handling such funds every year.
3 BOASTING LOCAL CURRENCY
In the next 5 – 10 years, most of government institutions such as ZNS,Trades Training Institutions, Zambia Correctional services will have enough life to sustain not only themselves but the entire society.
The idea of awarding contracts to these Zambian institutions is to allow local currency to circulate and exchange more hands within the country before it finally crosses our boarders.
Hon Charles Milupi,a rarely heard Minister but surely must be commended for the background works such as sustained infrastructure deals he’s been clinching.
A good example is the Lusaka/Ndola dual carriage road which will continue to be maintained for the next 20 years after completion date.This public road will be contracted and maintained without the Zambian government spending a kwacha on it!
I see a different and prosperous Zambia after 5 – 10 years from today,do you see what am seeing?
Am I talking to constituency area MPs, the drivers of this CDF out there?,
Am I talking to local contractors and suppliers out there?
Am I talking to ZNS there?
Am I talking to Zambian Youths graduates and still training in various Skills Development programs out there?
I submit
Mupishi Jones
+26097480386