Zambian made phones

So, you can now buy Zambian made mobile handsets...

http://mtechzambia.com/news.htm

Maybe not manufacturing but assemblying. And this seems to have coincided with an increase in tarrifs on foreign made handsets. Is this a start of diversifying the local economy outside of copper and agriculture?


This initiative is supported by various dev agencies including JICA. Interestingly they are implementing kaizen in plant operations.

I wish the development sector would implement Kaizen.

ngombe

Check this out: I came across this article in NYT today on French farmers diversifying their investments. Into cows!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/world/europe/12cows.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

When I first arrived in Zambia in 2007, I worked on the PROFIT project that is trying to improve smallholder participation in the beef industry. One of the focuses was to develop private vet services available to rural communities to improve livestock health so that farmers could start managing their cattle as an income source and supply improved quality into the formal beef industry.

I remember the conversations in communities and with farmers who looked to cattle as social status, and for a select group, who were starting to manage cattle as an income source. I remember trying to wrap my head around how farmers saw cattle - as a social status, as bank to invest profits from this year's maize harvest into, as a dowry for wedding, as an ATM for withdrawing money when they needed to send a child to school, or as a losing stock by selling it at 50% price when it was sick. Trying to explain this to colleagues and friends back home was difficult as having a bank on four legs doesn't exactly register for you if you live in Vancouver. But I guess what's interesting is that a farmer in France could have more in common with a farmer in Malama community in Zambia.

http://kumvera.blogspot.com/2007/03/out-of-lusaka-and-into-something-more.html

As much as the NYT article might highlight a similar valuation of cattle between farmer in France and a farmer in Zambia, that might be where the similiarities stop.

Take for example, a French cow has access to a massage contraption (see first photo) . In Zambia, farmers are trying to figure out how to keep their cows alive as foot and mouth disease, CBPP and other tick born diseases will devastate herds, resulting in lost capacity for farming ( as cattle are used in land preparation) which has direct impact on food security, or resulting in regional travel bans on cows, limiting farmer access to markets ( and thus the income available). A COW in France receives approximately $2/day in subsidies….contrast this with ~60% of Zambians ( read: PEOPLE) living on less than $1/day). Something about that just doesn't seem quite right.

There has been a really interesting initiative coming out of the EU: http://farmsubsidy.org/ that has advocated for EU countries to publish agricultural subsidies as a move to increase transparency. Turns out that subsidies are somehow subsidizing Weight Watchers meals for the US and the UK.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/business/global/08farm.html. Something about that doesn't seem quite right either...

Patience young grasshopper

You know, we just can’t seem to shake it.

Chinese I mean. We’ve got a lot of stereotypes. I’ve written about it before. http://kumvera.blogspot.com/2007/05/robbed-blind.html

Our family seemed to always have fought them ( we grew up in Wallaceburg, none of us are doctors, lawyers, and sure, maybe two of us went through engineering, but look at what we're doing...) . But the reality is, we just cant’ seem to escape them because it just runs in our blood ( see my brother KK’s evidence http://themintmansion.blogspot.com/2009/04/cousins.html)

Consider this exchange that I had with Teddy, our housemate....(who lives in the chicken koop...but that is another story) the last few days.

Sunday: I had walked into our living room one day to see him watching a Zambian karate match on TV. Thinking it was a harmless joke, I said, “eh, Teddy, I’ll teach you this.” “ OH YAH!? I want to learn”

“no on, I’m just kidding, I don’t know, but everyone thinks I know."

Monday evening: I’m working at the kitchen table, and Teddy pulls up a chair. “ so, sister Ka-Hay, when are you going to teach me the “ insert a few hand jabs into the air “ these moves”.

“ uhhh what?”

“you know, the KA-La-Tey” .

“oh ya. Sorry teddy, I’m very sorry. I was just kidding”

“AAAAAAH…no. no no. come one. I really want to learn”

“Ya, I’m sure you do, …..but really I don’t know.”

“ah, no, please please. Please teach me. I can to learn….”

“ and…I know these “ and makes the gesture of bench pressing “ and I can teach you how to do them". Seeing as he had a bandage on his left eye last week because he had dropped the bench press bar on his face…that didn't necessarily sweeten the deal....not that there really is one. And hey, what’s he saying…that I need to do some weights? shit....i'm getting soft.

“ Sorry teddy. I was really just joking when I said I knew. I don’t know. not a bit! Have no idea! Sorry. sorry. Did I disappoint you?” I was expecting the typical Zambian polite response.

“ah, BAD. Very BAD” shaking his head and shoulders slumped. interesting, I think we have a pretty open and trusting relationship.

Tuesday: Teddy is in the kitchen, doing dishes. I walk in.

"Hey teddy, how’s it going?"

“So, you really are not going to teach me?”….

I'm starting to feel really bad now. Anyone have a quick 12 step guide to ka-lah-tey they can lend me? I need to put him out of his misery.

king cobra in the state hoowwwwwssseee?

The polls have closed. The country waiting for the results of the presidential by-election and if in fact, King Cobra will head to State house and take up where the Special Cabbage left off.

It was an interesting day. I spent a couple of hours wandering around Lusaka with a colleague Hans and chatting with locals who had just voted. I absorbed the significance of today and a couple of things struck me.

First, for some reason, it was surprising to me that the entire country shuts down for this. Shops are closed, the roads are empty ( we could hardly even fill a mini bus that usually takes 30 secs to fill), and if you have a formal job, you don’t go. I remember the last time I voted in Vancouver, needing to rush from work back to my riding before the polls closed, and voting day wasn’t much different than any other day.

That democracy requires supporting systems. ‘Duh, obviously’, you would say, however, today I internalised it. In a country of 12 M people, there are just under 4M registered voters. Because of the unexpected nature of this election, the government did not have the capacity to update voter records since the last time the election was held in 2006. This meant that no new voters could be registered, and you had to vote in the same riding that you did in 2006. it means that those who came of age over the last 2 years, don’t have a voice in this. Or, in a country where the life expectancy is just shy of 40 years old, how many of the 4M will actually be around to vote? Or what happens when people move? The current news on TV is reporting low voter turnout.

There is the passion for voting here. I was inspired by the commitment of people to go and vote and the sense of pride from doing so. When I walked down the road from my house, people along the road yelled’ eh! Have you voted!”. When friends saw each other on the street, they would look at each other’s thumbs, or flash their thumbs to display the ink used to market someone who already casted their ballot. It was almost a source of pride and made me wonder, could we adopt this as a social marketing tool that would get more people out and vote? ( I have to confess however, that because of my travel schedule in Sept – Toronto, Vancouver, zambia, I didn’t vote in this last election!)

Zambia is really still a young democracy. This is its 5^th multi-party election since independence 44 years ago. The father of Zambia’s independence, Kenneth Kaunda cast his vote this morning, which is a pretty remarkable activity, seeing as KK himself led Zambia to independence in ’64 and the following 27 years using a one-party rule until ’91.

Democracy across the generations. Given that multi-party elections, are still recently, I saw some of the remnants of old days. Jacob, a middle aged man accompanying us on our walk shrunk away from the polling station as Hans and I walked up to take a look at a sample ballot. He had warned us that it would be particularly sensitive around the polling station as there would be security officials and who knows what they could do. In contrast with Jacob’s hesitation, we met Aggri, a young accounting student who owns a boutique along Cairo road and has travelled to China a few times for business. Aggri was completely open with what he thought, sharing viewpoints, and making opinions, all the while standing an arms’ length away from the polling station. He did not flinch when a policeman wandered by and when I asked him about that, he just said’ well, I know my rights, what can they do?’. To me, this signified an interesting divide, the history of a lack of democracy in Jacob’s older mind, and the freedom that Aggri—the youth of Zambia believes he deserves. I wonder what this means for Zambia’s future?

I’m always curious about how significant events here are covered in the international media. More often than not, front page coverage is usually reseved for violent tensions like the situation in the Congo right now and end up reinforcing negative stereotypes of countries in Africa. I saw a country that was peaceful and hopeful during a point of potential transition of power and this is rarely found in the international media.

To my surprise, I just checked on FT and there, on the front page under World, was an interesting assessment of the elections.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6958bdba-a6a4-11dd-95be-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

I’m also usually disappointed by the lack of coverage in Canadian media so I was also pleasantly surprised at the discovery of CBC’s attention being paid on the election. That subsided quickly after noticing that immediately, the headline jumped to negative association to vote rigging, rather than the peaceful months that have lead up to this, and the continued peace that currently exists as the ballots are being counted. Canada, I expect more.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/10/30/zambia-election.html

The reports that Sata is leading might be true. Almost everyone that I have come across here in Lusaka IS a Sata supporter. ‘Change’ is what most say they want. However, with 50% of the population living in the rural areas, who knows what the outcome will actually be?

More to come tomorrow!

it's erection day!

I’m still alive here. Yup, sweating it out in the heat of the dry season.

What’s the occasion that breaks the blog silence? Erections! Errrr I mean eLections

Small aside: Zambians, rike any other culture where Engrish is a second ranguage for many, seem to mix up their ‘ L’ with their ‘R’s. Sometimes, it can be confusing, as in, ‘do you have a lazor brade?’, or ‘ oh, the lain has come early’. Mostly, however, it is extremely amusing, especially today, as Oct 30^th is Election day!

Gutter humour aside ( I know, GROW UP!), it’s true, I’ve been in the thick of election fever. From Canada’s recent secret ballot bonanza ( where the most signficiant outcome was that it was the lowest turnout since confederation), to today in Zambia to the US on the 4^th, 2008 seems to be the year of elections.

The election here in Zambia was unexpected. Near the end of August, Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa died of a stroke that he suffered during the AU summit in July.

This time his death was real.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&set_id=1&art_id=nw20080703180911345C945113

http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWEA096120080703

Mwanawasa, though not perfect, or inspiring, certainly provided leadership, when considering the situation in Somalia, in Zimbabwe, in the Congo, in Sudan, that was in a class of its own. http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?STORY_ID=11968403

What's election season like here? Well, mostly serious and i can't help but think how incredible it is that this country, is still rather young in this process with multiparty elections being held just 17 years ago in 1991. Everything is closed today so that people can go and vote. Hop in any cab, or mini bus, and the best conversation starter is So, who are you voting for? People here are all to happy to share with you their viewpoints. ( unlike my mom, who, whenever it comes to elections, always says ' i can't tell you, it's a SECRET'. true enough mom, true enough). People CARE enough to vote.

I was walking down the street on Tuesday and nearly got ran over by a truck overflowing with people honking horns and waving support for Rupiah Banda - a career diplomat who was Mwanawasa’s VP and the current acting president. But it appears that many in Zambia have caught on to Obama’s message of CHANGE and are noting that it is time to vote in another party, after MMD has ruled since 1991 when Chiluba took over from Kaunda. Michael Sata, the leader of the main opposition party Patriotic Front, is his main candidate. In 2006, Sata made a run for office, made Chinese investment an issue and although won support in the urbanized areas along the line of rail, failed to get enough support in the rural areas. This time around though, people seem excited about him, if not for his policies, because at least its different.

The other option for CHANGE is HH, or Hakainde Hichelema, the 46 year old business man who for many, seem to offer best bet against corruption as he is already a highly successful business man, but for most, is ‘still a young chap, lacking experience’.

Among the three however, I can’t really seem to discern the biggest difference between them all. They’re all going to fight corruption, they’re all giving out free seeds and fertlisers, they’re all trying to help Zambia develop.

Whichever one does end up in office, I can only hope that they do provie the leadership that the 12 million people here deserve.

But more to come later. i'm out the door to see that election day in Zambia is all about.

happy mother's day!

A few weeks ago, I was walking along Independence Ave. As I neared the museum, I noticed the makings of a celebration - big tents, marching band, people milling about, colourful banners, and of course, a static filled PA system.

"OOOOOH!!" Having missed the traffic stoppoing celebration of International Women's Day the week prior, I was eager to find out what the special day was and whether or not Mwanawasa was going make an appearance. "Oh, maybe I've been so busy that i have forgotten that it was Zambia's independence celebration'?.

As I neared the crowd and the writing on the signs and banners came into focus, I was able to see what the hoopla was all about:

'Happy intellectual property day!

woohoo!

Anyway, that story of random Zambian celebrations was a really long segway into my simple shout out to all of the mom;s out there! happy mother's day! Mel, i hope that you're enjoying your Second mother's day with wild D, Jan, happy double mother's day! and rebecca, happy First mother's day with the izza.

And of course, Mah, lots of love and hugs to you from a far today. I really wish that i could be there to chat over some tea and chess.

kayden ji yuen

The silence is broken!

Ok ok, I know, months of the same old post hanging around this blog. I sure won’t be in contention for blogger of the year.

There is much to share, , new learning, actually A LOT of learning, about rainy season realities, about harvest season, development realities, that sad sad and frustrating situation down in Zim. Oh, and a new job.

But for now, this quick post is about something much more exciting!I’ve got a new nephew and I'm a new auntie!

Welcome to the fam Kayden Ji Yeun Law! Your 8 lb, 15 oz presence was felt all the way here in Lusaka.

My head has been in a flurry of writing and development thoughts this last little while. I’d be lying if it said I wasn’t a bit stressed out. But last night, when your dad informed me of your grand entrance, everything else disappeared into the background. In that instant I was reminded of what really mattered, family. And in that same instant I was again reminded of the downside of this job that I love, distance.

I can’t wait to come and see you and your older sister. Sure, your grandma has nick named her the general, and maybe there is some truth to that; but psssst, word of advice: listen to your sister. Sisters are ALWAYS right. I can't wait to see all the business ops you and your dad get into (by the time your strong enough, you’ll probably be able to charge $100/driveway). And without a doubt, your parents will definitely show you all of the curious things in life. And the whole crew, your cousins, aunties and uncles, grannies and gramps, will most definitely show you the funny side as well. (Don't worry, I will be your biggest defender if they keep talking about your chubby cheeks. chubby, as I've discovered here in Zambia, is the new cool.)

Finally, just as the offer was extended to Izzy, little j and WMD, the wonderful continent of Africa is awaiting your visit and I can’t wait to show you around. Elephants, giraffes, hippos hurray!

Lots of love, hugs and smooches from auntie hay hay.