When the coronavirus first became the topic of conversation on world news, I kept my fingers crossed hoping it wasn’t going to reach Africa, not least Zambia, my beloved country. Alas, it has.
I appreciate the efforts the government is putting in place to combat the spread of the virus. It goes without saying that Zambia’s current health infrastructure isn’t prepared to deal with the severity of the pandemic should the situation currently happening in New York City befall us. While I understand on an intellectual level that the lockdown is most likely our best approach to prevent the spread of this deadly virus, on a practical level, I don’t think it’s a sustainable approach—especially in a city like Lusaka.
Why am I taking this stance? It’s important to understand that the city of Lusaka is unlike cities such as London or New York. People in these foreign cities can survive during the lockdown but in Lusaka, life takes a whole different shape. To begin with, the majority of people in Lusaka fall under the category of informal employment. This largely means when people go to work, they don’t report to offices. Rather, they report to the streets. Essentially, the streets and roads are their offices. You only have to walk the streets of Lusaka and you’ll see people selling secondhand clothes, fritters and doughnuts, phone accessories, to mention just a few. These people don’t spend their time on the streets to make surplus income. Instead, they do it for survival. Hence, enforcing a mandatory lockdown in Lusaka will only result in starvation to many families.
Secondly, the lockdown is likely to exacerbate the problem of homelessness. Unlike in Western countries, landlords in shanty compounds of Lusaka such as Kanyama and Chibolya aren’t rich people. They rely on rentals from tenants to feed themselves. Many of these tenants make their money by getting out in the streets to run their informal businesses. The lockdown makes this impossible, making them unable to pay rent. The landlord is left with no choice but to evict them from his property.
Lastly, the lockdown causes economic activity to slow down, if not come to a halt. It doesn’t take an economist to realize that income reduces when economic activity slows down. The downside of this scenario is that it is likely to lead to higher rates of crime. When people are fighting for survival, they do desperate things—even breaking the law becomes an option. Yes, the lockdown may be good at preventing the spread of the virus, but it’s important to understand the implications of this course of action to the many small business owners in Lusaka who rely on being on the streets to generate income. Those with government jobs have dodged the bullet of this lockdown, but they’re only a few. Authorities need to remember that informal is normal in Lusaka. This lockdown is hurting the masses.
By Joram Mutenge
The author is a Zambian student in the USA pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy.
How true and sad.
“The author is a Zambian student in the USA pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy”. Enough said. This is a diasporan hiding behind being a zambian student . He has no idea the reality in Zambia. How does some one living in USA become expert on my country?
Fortunately, objectively viewed, this virus is not the second coming of the Great Plague.
It is a relatively harmless virus for anyone for whom regular influenza is not a danger to life. The young, the healthy, 99.2% of people under 60 will not have a major problem with this flu virus, which is what it is.
The US gvt just came out stating that SARS-Cov-2 behaves like all other viruses – it can’t handle higher temperatures, sunlight and humidity. IOW, the epidemic ends when people go outdoors.
Willam Bryan, US DHS Under Secretary For Science, on how the virus doesn’t handle sunlight well.
I would rather die from corona than hunger
Huge reputations, minions and dimwits have nothing to offer except support and sup typical of a parasite an institution leaving it dry.
When you have former wound dresser at a clinic to a State house political advisor, then people will know what parasites can do – ravage their hoist to nothing and take over (hoist dead) like coronavirus and begin to masquerade as a sensible individual – However, Zambians know who and what KZ has done to them.
Don’t just discount the proposal.
What is the best option you are proposing?
Without any tangible strategy and just hoping in the air that it will disappear one day, is living foolishly.
When it’s fully blown, even the little economy we are trying to protect will be wiped away.
Will our economy sustain ventilators and alike?
It’s cheaper to lock down Lusaka (as they did to Kafue) than to lockdown the entire country.
We blame our politicians for not acting quite on time to curtail the slums in the most cities in the country. It is quiet obviously that they all turned a blind eye to restructure the slums and allocate more land to the increasing population. They knew that the population continues to increase and as it increases chances of facing epindemic are high. From time to time, we have been battling with chorela and most slums are highly hit. We hope one day this will change.
Bwafya…we take ourselves as poor when we.are.rich. our brains are dusty and damaged,. Can Zambia fail to feed and care for itself? Self inflicted pain…we are in trouble we like it or not. May be next generation will do better, let’s just disappear and allow better generation to spring up from the stork
2012
In 2012, government contracted 14 loans amounting to US$1.3 billion broken down as follows:
US$80.4 million for Kazungula Bridge project, from Africa Development Bank
US$29.6 million for Kafue-Livingstone Transmission Line from European Investment Bank
US$50 million for construction of 650 Health Posts, from Export Import Bank of India
US$12 million for Kalabo-Sikongo-Angola Border project from Saudi Fund for Development
US$50.2 million for Livestock Development, from IDA (World Bank)
US$29.4 million for Third Poverty Reduction Budget Support, from IDA (World Bank)
US$68.7 million for Rehabilitation of Great East Road, from Agence Francaise De Development.
US$56.4 million for the Kafue Muzuma Victoria Falls Project, from IDA (World Bank)
US$750 million Eurobond for…
“Informal is Normal: Why Lockdown Won’t Work in Lusaka”-LT
I think this is one of the most exciting ways that blockchains lower our uncertainties, because it means to some degree we can collapse institutions and their enforcement. It means a lot of human economic activity can get collateralized and automated, and push a lot of human intervention to the edges, the places where information moves from the real world to the blockchain.
11:08
I think what would probably floor Douglass North about this use of technology is the fact that the very thing that makes it work, the very thing that keeps the blockchain secure and verified, is our mutual distrust. So rather than all of our uncertainties slowing us down and requiring institutions like banks, our governments, our corporations, we…
we can actually harness all of that collective uncertainty and use it to collaborate and exchange more and faster and more open.”- Bettina Warburg
The one component ignored by all those against a lock down is the duty of government to provide food baskets in the event that a lockdown is required.
Kagame went door to door dishing out food hampers to his citizens.
The only thing stopping from effecting a full lockdown is the GREED of our leaders, otherwise local businesses and the international donor community are ready to assist with food during lockdown. It is no wonder that even donated protective materials are now being sold on the black market by our same shameless misleaders.
Lockdown is Zambia is only Possible at State House and Ministers houses because they have everything…they have power,food,swimming pools,24hours running water and alot of cash to spend..all from stolen tax payers money…but not my brothers and sisters who work very hard and live in Matero,Chaisa,Chibolya etc….no Money,no food,no electricity,no running water…ONLY BANDIT PRESIDENT LUNGU AND HIS FELLOW PF MAKAKAS CAN AFFORD LOCKDOWN
Informality is costly and dangerous. Government is able to enforce its will only where there’s order, where there’s planning, where there’s rule of law. Now we’re finding out the hard way. Wait till the death toll rises then it will dawn on us why enforcing laws is an important job for any self-respecting government.
Kaizar Zulu :Chairman – OPEN Projects Africa Group
STATE HOUSE
Permanent Secretary
Company NameSTATE HOUSE
Dates EmployedJun 2013 – Feb 2014
Employment Duration9 mos
LocationLusaka
Deputy Permanent Secretary,
Company NameMinistry of Home Affairs
Dates EmployedDec 2012 – Jun 2013
Employment Duration7 mos
LocationLusaka
Deputy Permanent Secretary
Company NameOffice of the President, Lusaka Provincial Administration
Dates EmployedDec 2011 – Aug 2012
Employment Duration9 mos
QUALIFICATIONS : xxxxxx Fill in the Blanks
The real kz what about my employment at chelstone clinic and also as political advisor? You are a hopeless researcher .
Kkkk Mr. KZ u even have time to reply to that. So he got everything right except the clinic and advisory position.
Most of what has been said in the article are true facts but as for public transport something should be done. A problem is solved by preventing it from spreading. And that can only be achieved by ensurING that the source of the problem is closed with maximum screening, testing and ensuring that exit points are monitored with high priority. If that was the case we wouldn’t have recorded cases in kafue, Kabwe etc.
‘Nuff Said…
Kaizar Zulu © , PUT THAT ON YOUR LINKED IN PROFILE THEN… And your qualifications please….
I have a strong feeling SARS-CoV-2 has had a round in Zambia already and terribly bounced.
What we are dealing with is the aftermath, the remnants of the disease.
Disclaimer:
SARS-CoV-2 is real. It has killed many. Kindly save yourselves. Follow MoH guidelines and regulations.
The first thing government should do is start getting rid of pit latrines. That is the first call to sanitizing and other measures can follow. 50 years after independence you still have these latrine systems and think you are making progress. Tell me after social distancing then you go to a pit to relieve yourself – is there any hygiene there?