Princess Diana 16 Years On

I HAVE never been the type that get obsessed with celebrities or public figures. However, certain deaths of international celebrities and public figures have strangely affected me. The death of Princess Diana in a high speed chase on Sunday August 31, 1997 in Paris, France was one of them.

I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. Though I can't remember where I had gone, I do remember that I had just reached home and I was about to enter the house when my young sister said, ''Have you heard that Princess Diana has died?''

It came as a great shock to me. But what I found even more shocking was the fact that it hit me like the death of a loved one. I couldn't understand how my heart could be in so much pain over the death of a total stranger I would have never met in a million years. Perhaps that what makes me human.

The Conduct Of Some Political Leaders

THE moral weakness of some of the people we have appointed as our political leaders is quite shocking.

Whereas, true political greatness stems from wisdom, maturity, honesty, humility, and respect, qualities that define exceptional leadership, these are the qualities sorely lacking in many of our political leaders be it in government or opposition.

While corruption still of course contributes to many social ills, political arrogance or simply incompetence is a rising demon in our society that is hindering our country's development.

Most of our political leaders seem to be obsessed with personal glory more than anything.

But before we condemn politicians whose seem to be interested only in furthering their political ambitions , perhaps we should first  examine the priorities of the voters who put them into office, and those who didn't care to vote.

If ours is a democracy, then our political leadership is to a certain extent a mirror of our people.

From my observation, good leadership qualities are not necessarily considered good electable qualities by most Zambian voters.

Instead, Zambian-style campaigns or rather voting pattern usually favor those candidates who are masters at political rhetoric. It favours those with money.

Honesty and humble candidates often don't have that chutzpah that makes them stand out and grab voters' attention.

Simply put, an average Zambian voter prefers candidates who will make unattainable promises and those that are entertaining.

And while entertainers or rather sweet talkers may not be the type of leaders needed, they are the type the electorate end up voting for.

Perhaps if we elected people who are believed to be smart policy analysts, shrewd negotiators, and hard workers we wouldn't set ourselves up for so much disappointment.

Perhaps if we elected leaders who are not blinded by partisan politics, we wouldn't end up with leaders who are obstacles to progress.

Opposition Leaders And Demos

IT is a well-known fact that demonstrations are part and parcel  of democracy and are a component of political engagement and therefore a useful tool in a democratic society.

However, it is sad that we have opposition leaders like UPND president Hakainde Hichilema who seem hell bent on abusing this democratic right.

I remember how back in March, 2012 HH supported youths in Southern Province who intended to protest during that year's national youth day.

It's sad that a leader could encourage youths to demonstrate instead of speaking peace and calling for dialogue.

And just this past May, his party the UPND notified the Police about their planned national wide demonstrations.

However,  the UPND leadership has turned around and claim they are under no obligation to inform the police about their intention to hold demonstrations and protests.

Some political leaders are not worth to support. How in the world can HH and his party always resort to illegal  demonstrations over  issues that can be resolved through dialogue?

HH should understand that it is not everyone who is in line with his way of calling for attention.

No Zambian in their right mind can support such lawlessness. The poor people of Zambia have a lot of issues to deal with and HH should not provoke unnecessary tensions in our peaceful country.

It is unfortunate that a leader can act like an under five child who resorts to throwing tantrums whenever his demands are not met.

It is sad that HH has stuck to the idea of digging his own grave. His daily actions are self-eliminating.

HH should change his strategy if he intends to continue harboring presidential ambitions.

Let HH be useful and speak of development. You do not need to wait until you are president to bring your ideas of development on board.

Poor Reading Culture In Zambia

IN his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, late American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker Stephen R. Covey states, “There’s no better way to inform and expand your mind on a regular basis than to get into the habit of reading good literature.’’

The issue of poor reading culture among Zambians as one author recently observed springs up many times every year; and this has been so for a good number of years now. However, this is one issue that dies a natural death whenever it is brought to our attention. 

That reading, whether for pleasure or for academic purpose, is an essential habit that forms the bedrock of greatness in everyone, regardless of age, gender or status is hardly disputed.  

From my personal observation, the poor reading culture in Zambia is largely attributed to the lack of adequate awareness on its importance and inadequate public library facilities. It should also be noted that the few libraries we have across the country are in deplorable condition.

I can cite Ndola's Lubuto West Township public library which has been abandoned since the late 90s. This council library is just near Lubuto Secondary School and can complement the school library by providing services to the pupils many of whom are usually seen roaming the streets or patronizing bars.

Singing about poor reading culture through print media will yield little results. The government should embark on a program that will revamp education infrastructures like public libraries.

Public libraries are essential instruments for promoting reading culture as they serve as recreational centres and provide creative development to the children and local young adults by providing recreational reading books for their personality development and spiritual growth in their leisure time.

It has been said that the way of life of a nation is largely influenced by the percentage of its citizens who are literate.  Any research will reveal that no country with high illiteracy levels has ever developed. For any country to develop, it requires citizens who are able to critically analyze and understand critical issues affecting them.

Therefore, in our quest to improve the reading culture in the country, we should first start by investing massively in public libraries and equip them with learning materials.

THERE IS NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

IN one of the cables released by Wikileaks in the weeks following the ousting of former president Rupiah Bwezani Banda's MMD regime he was reported to have said the reason his government relaxed on the fight against corruption was because he had a lot of stakeholders to satisfy or something in those lines. 

 

Whatever that meant, Rupiah claimed that he would only intensify the crusade on corruption if he was given another term in office. Unfortunately for Rupiah, that second term never came. 

 

Perhaps the people of Zambia would have understood if this came from his predecessor looking at how Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa [MHSRIP] ascended to the highest office of the land. However, despite the late Mwanawasa having a lot of “stakeholders” to satisfy, that never stopped our beloved late president to get down to business and do what was expected of a good leader. 

 

Had the late Mwanawasa waited until he was re-elected to start his fight on corruption, I have lots of doubt whether we would be talking of a Mwanawasa legacy today. If there is one big lesson our political leaders can learn from the late Mwanawasa is that there is never a perfect time to do what is right; and that if you have intentions of doing something good, do it today for tomorrow is never promised to any of us.

 

Instead of doing what was right, for reasons known best to himself, Rupiah chose to satisfy a few men at the expense of the majority Zambians. And this is what has cost him his dream of being re-elected. If Rupiah had chosen to put the interests of the nation above anything else, he would not have vacated the presidential seat in tears as we witnessed during his final speech.

 

In business it is believed that, your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. The same can be said in politics. If Rupiah had taken time to listen to the cries of the majority Zambians-I say majority because it is the majority who decided to kick him out of office-perhaps he could still be president today.

 

Anyway, I’m aware of the fact that this message may be too late for Rupiah Bwezani Banda. However, I believe it is timely for our current government. There is a lot President Michael Chilufya Sata can learn from the mistakes made by his predecessor.

 

Rupiah is no longer our president because he never listened to the people he governed. Rupiah never understood what the people of Zambia wanted because half the time he was too busy touring the globe.

Rupiah never heard our cries because he chose to surround himself with useless vuvuzelas. 

 

Today, Rupiah may feel betrayed and deceived because he chose to put minions and puppets where they don’t belong. Rupiah may feel lonely today because he chose to associate with opportunists.

 

Rupiah’s present is bitter because perhaps he forgot the wise words of Mahatma Ghandi who said, “The future depends on what we do in the present.” Rupiah was toppled because while he was at the top he was too stubborn to listen to those at the bottom.

 

Rupiah is no longer in power because power got to his head and forgot what the Bible say in Psalm 62:11 that, “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.”

 

To the current government I can only urge them to never forget why the MMD is now in the opposition as I echo the wise words from one of the greatest sons of Africa Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela who once said, “We must use time wisely and forever realise that the time is always ripe to do right.”

The Customer Is Not Always Right

THE phrase “The Customer Is Always Right’’ is said to have been originally coined by an American-born British retail magnate named Harry Gordon Selfridge. Selfridge was the founder of Selfridges, a London based department store in 1909. 
 

Apparently, this term was meant to convince customers that they will get good service at this company and to also convince employees to give customers good service. 

Zambia has a history of bad customer service. I have seen shop owners and companies, big and small that treat their customers like they were doing them a favour. Now, that’s quite a different subject for another day.

Today, I want to talk about why a company that religiously operates under the maxim ‘The Customer Is Always Right’ is bound to fail.

First, we need to understand that the late 1800s and early 1900s were certainly a different society than the one we live in today. The maxim “The Customer Is Always Right’’ was coined at a time when people treating each other with respect was a rule, not the exception. It was coined at time when people had a moral compass and believed in God. Folks back then lived by the golden rule and life was far much simpler.

This maxim may have worked in the 19^th and 20^th centuries before most folks became so rude, narcissistic and self-entitled. 

Last December while I was in South African I visited a local book store where I witnessed a lady throw a very large hardcover book at the head of the bookstore’s employee who ducked in time for her to miss him.

Apparently, the lady was upset with that particular employee because her daughter had bought her the book as a Christmas gift from the bargain bin which she was returning. The lady refused to accept that her daughter was “so cheap” to have bought the book from the bargain bin and accused the employee of turning her daughter into a cheapskate. 

While the employee tried to calmly explain to the lady that it was the only book about The Beatles the store had which her daughter thought her mom didn’t already have, the lady wouldn’t hear any of it.

Though the incident happened at the time when I was about to leave that store, I lingered on and pretended to be looking at some books when in truth I only wanted to see the end result of that scene.

When the store manager came to the scene I expected him to listen to both sides of the story. But alas, he only listened to the lady. And after telling her side of the story he apologized to the lady and offered her discount on any book she wished to buy. 

Here was a person who was clearly at fault and was so rude she never cared she was making other customers uncomfortable being placated by the store manager and giving her a discount coupled with a gift voucher. 

It may seem like a nice thing to do, but all the store manager was doing was reinforcing that negative behaviour from the lady. I’m sure that lady left with the idea that she could get away with just about anything in that bookstore.

I immediately left the store shaking my head while wondering why the company chose to side with a petulant, unreasonable, angry, self-entitled, demanding customer instead of its loyal employee.

Any adult who throw temper tantrums in public is never right about anything, even if she/he is a loyal customer. Rudeness is an immediate indicator that you are wrong and will stay wrong until you grow some manners.

Regardless of the service, good or bad, there is no justification for such vile behaviour. Just because someone is a customer at any business doesn’t give them free reign to treat people like scum on the bottom of their shoes. The term ‘the customer is always right’ does not mean the customer can treat employees however they want.

A company that operates under the maxim ‘the customer is always right’ only give its abrasive and egoistical customers an unfair advantage and make its employees unhappy. In the end this results in worse customer service as employees feel undervalued and demotivated.

It is now a common practice in business that sometimes you need to fire a customer. Some customers are just not worth keeping. 

There is a pub on the Copperbelt that I used to frequent that had a sign that said, ‘The Customer Is Always Right, The Bartender Will Inform You When.’

A friend of mine who works for some restaurant in Lusaka has a manager that always say: ‘The customer is always right until they are wrong, and they need to get kicked out of the restaurant immediately.’

I remember one incident at the same restaurant when one unruly client caused a scene over a trivial misunderstanding. The manager walked to the gentleman and told him that his staff was not to be abused by him and his bad attitude. I remember the manager saying to the unruly customer, ‘you are not even good enough to be our clientele so leave and don’t come back.’ He got up and left.

No one deserves to be berated with the sad excuse of ‘I had a bad day.’ It is customer service not customer servant. 

I have made it a personal rule never to be rude or demanding to people working in retail of any kind. They are just trying to do their job. If I have a problem then I find a way to resolve it in an adult way. If I don’t like the service I don’t return, and they lose my business. It’s as simple as that.

If I can’t conduct myself in a mature manner then why should I be treated in the same way? You get what you give. If you are always getting bad customer service probably it’s because you are a bad customer yourself.

Until everyone can be civilized and treat each other with utmost respect, we certainly cannot renew the idea that the customer is always right. Some customers are so obnoxious that I would rather not even have their business if I were a business owner.

GBM's BRAGGADOCIO

THE story carried in the Sunday edition of The Post where defence minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba otherwise known as GBM claimed to be the powerhouse of the country and bragged about his wealth made a sad reading.

It is quite unfortunate that this came from someone who is supposed to be called "honourable".

For GBM to publicly boast about his riches or rather wealth in a country that has 70% of its population living in abject poverty is not only shameful but immoral.

I would like to believe the minister is a Christian and has obviously come across Jeremiah 9:23 which reads and I quote:

“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches."

The parable of the rich fool is told in Luke 12:13-21 (KJV). While the rich man was saying, 'And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry...", God said unto him, "thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"

In saying all this, I'm not here wishing death upon our minister, but to remind him that in the history of mankind no man has ever used his wealth to buy life.

GBM should take a lesson in humility from the likes of America's richest man Bill Gates.

In March 2012 the world renowned Microsoft Corporation founder made a relatively low key visit to Zambia with a pledge to finance HIV, malaria and child vaccination programmes.

At no point during his visit did the billionaire talk about his wealth or even claim to be the powerhouse of the US.

In all his speeches we never heard boastful statements like, "Bill Gates name whether in Zambia or everywhere is known" and what not.

GBM shouldn't overrate himself and think every Zambian know him and that we all envy his wealth because that is far from the truth.

I'm reminded of a quote from one great son of Zambia who once said, "If one had an opportunity to come in close contact with history and analyze these matters, one would realize that human beings tend to make a fool of themselves if they think too much about positions they should occupy in life, in politics, in things."

There are so many people in this country who are not obsessed with personal glory and  never torment themselves thinking about what positions they have to occupy in life.

We have fellow citizens who would rather aspire for an anonymous place in life.

GBM need and should get off his high horse because pride goes before a fall.

Father Frank Bwalya On RB

THE Alliance for a Better Zambia opposition leader Fr. Frank Bwalya is reported to have posted the following message on his facebook account:

"At BY’s funeral I met RB for the first time at close range. I greeted him and when I realized that he was wondering who I was, I mentioned my name. He quickly got to his feet and hugged me. I felt appreciated. I felt forgiven for some of the rough things I said about him during the run up to the 2011 tripartite elections.

"I said to myself, 'This is indeed a statesman' Then he said to me that he was following the good work I was doing. I felt good. I know that many members of MMD appreciate what I have done, disengaging from PF and criticizing them in the same way I did to MMD, maybe even more. RB made my day yesterday. He struck me as a good man not to mention many MMD members that showed me a lot of love. This is the Zambia I love."

I would like Fr Frank Bwalya to be frank with the nation and tell us what criteria he uses to measure statesmanship?

According to Wikipedia, "a statesman is usually a politician, diplomat or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level."

Can RB be said to have a respected political career? Isn't this the same RB who just a month ago said he has instructed his fugitive son Henry never to return to Zambia because the government will torture him? Does that sound like a man worth being referred to as a statesman?

What kind of statesman protects his son from facing justice?

Is this not the same RB who earlier this year through his international lawyer Robert Amsterdam organized a press conference in Rosebank, South Africa, for UPND, MMD and ULP leaders, where the opposition heads called for Zambia to be suspended from the Commonwealth among other demands?

Both RB's personal character and political career is on record for everyone to see and Fr Bwalya can't tell us that he now knows RB's true character in the few minutes the two shared at the funeral of the late opposition leader Ben Yoram Mwila (MHSRIP).

If RB was a statesman he would have shown that during his reign. But RB's presidency was characterized with arrogance, corruption, impunity, political brutality not to mention vulgarity.

If RB was a true statesman it wouldn't have taken a funeral for him to meet Fr Bwalya. For someone who claims to be following the supposed "good works" Fr Bwalya is doing, how come RB has never bothered to get in touch with the Catholic priest and encourage him on his work?

Moreover, if RB was indeed a statesman he would have invited Fr Bwalya to State House the moment the clergyman stormed the political scene with the Red Card Campaign.

RB has only sobered up because he no longer has the power that made him so drunk to the point of blasting and antagonizing diplomats accredited to Zambia.

RB may seem like a statesman in Fr Frank Bwalya's eyes, but frankly speaking  this is because the two are now on the same page.

RB will align himself with anyone fighting the government of the day. Birds of a feather never shy away from flocking together.

THE FAKE ACCENT SYNDROME

BY most criteria, Zambians have a better, untraceable English accent than most fellow Africans. Certainly better than most West and East Africans whose English is redolent with native accent. Better still than most Southern Africans. Such that many Zambians have been asked on a visit to Great Britain where they learnt such good English.

However, there is great concern for those Zambians who speak with a phoney English or American accent. They bring embarrassment to our door. They impinge on the conscience of denizens among us who just can’t stand the cringe-worthy feeling of listening to someone who’s faking a British or American accent.

Not that I have anything against British and American accents, but surely I am not the only Zambian who find the obsession with speaking with contrived accent-especially amongst our radio personnel-quite infuriating.

  

On Tuesday this week I sat in my room listening to an interview on one of our local radio station that featured a named local hip hop artist. I must confess that I writhed in torment and embarrassment at the phoney American accents from both the radio DJ and the artist he was interviewing. Putting on an accent for music is understandable. It’s entertainment. But to use a fake accent for an interview and in a general conversation is a big no no.

 

Throughout the interview I kept asking myself, can’t these gentlemen hear themselves speak? Can’t they realize it make them sound silly? Do they talk like that to their family at the dinner table? 

Now, I understand that with speaking a language also comes learning the correct pronunciations. I really appreciate it when somebody really does their best to sound more natural when speaking that language.

I also understand it’s quite natural for a teenage Zambian growing up in the diaspora to slur towards their host’s nation native accent. And it is understandable for those who are around a certain accent or language for a long enough period of time to have some of it to rub off on them. Some people pick up the subtle intonations and inflections of another language and insert them into their own native tongue without even thinking about it.

However, for an individual to make a conscious decision to use a phoney American or British accent when they’ve never spent sufficient time at the crucial part of their lives in Britain or America is not only ridiculous but horrendous. It’s pretty much silly. Why should someone visit Liverpool for three weeks and come back with a Scouse accent?

Arnold Schwarzenegger who I want to believe need no introduction is a great example that one doesn’t lose an accent that they have had all their life just by moving somewhere else. Regardless of living in Hollywood for over four decades Schwarzenegger and playing several American action heroes, he still maintains his thick Austrian accent. Jean Claude Van Damme also sports his natural Belgian accent even in movies where it’s not particularly appropriate for the character.

Perhaps I shouldn’t even have gone as far as Austria or Belgium to give an example. On Monday morning I listened to Radio 4 Dj Jack ‘The Hot Stepper’ Mwale who had a telephone interview with ‘Zamrock’ godfather Rikki Ililonga. Despite living in the diaspora for so many years the veteran musician-who I should mention is currently in the country-did not speak with contrived accent. Another example I can give is former finance minister Ngándu Magande who has a vast international exposure but still maintains his heavy Naimala accent.

I’m alive to the fact that many people may have no problem to overhear a group of Zambian teenage girls at places like Arcades Shopping Mall use words like ‘duh’ or ‘OMG’ in a Hanna Montana accent. Some might even argue that it really doesn’t matter what accent you speak with.

But what is wrong in speaking with a Zambian accent anyway?  Is it embarrassing to speak with a native accent? Honestly, why should someone who hasn’t gone beyond the borders of our country pronounce local names like a muzungu? Isn’t that a case of inferiority complex? 

Why not be proud of who we are and act as such? Do we have to copy everything from the West? Isn’t using contrived accent some form of language neo-colonialism and a futile departure from our cultural reality?

This may seem like nothing to worry about. If this trend by some amongst of wanting to look or speak like westerners is not checked, soon our hardest job will be to remind ourselves that we are not American or British. Fellow citizens we are not a country with an identity crisis for us to resort to cheap mimicry.

Those who use fake accents may think it is cool, but in the eyes of those they try imitate or rather mimic, it only makes them appear to be lamentably insecure and inadequate.

Moreover, there is no such thing as standard spoken English. For those who may not be aware, there are several English mainstream accents and dialects and not all of them sound pretty even to some fellow Englishmen.

Ladies and gentlemen, a fake accent won’t get you a job or make you look superior. Drop that fake accent and stick with how you are born to sound. After all, nobody likes a fake, except another fake.