By Parkie Mbozi

IMAGINE a scenario where our children who have turned seven and are ready to start school (Grade 1) in 2021 unable to? Or the Grade 7s and Grade 9s who pass this year’s exams, which they are scheduled to write, unable to proceed to the next grade. Worse still imagine a scenario where come January 2021, schools remain shut because the COVID-19 cases would have reached uncontrollable levels owing to our inability to ‘invest’ in ‘flattening the curve’?

Without doubt these would be very unpleasant, disruptive, and unwelcome scenarios. Nobody wants, let alone envisages, that happening. However, it is noteworthy that these scenarios are not too distant possibilities. They can happen and the country should brace itself for that eventuality; what more when there is no known national plan, conversation, or engagement over re-opening of schools. We are all quiet and waiting for, God knows, the unknown. Yet other countries are well ahead of themselves in planning for the re-opening of schools under the ‘new normal’. Kenya, for instance, has begun engaging stakeholders and has released guidelines for the re-opening of schools in January 2021, following her earlier decision for total closure (all grades) of schools for the whole of 2020. The United Kingdom has decided to re-open schools in September 2020 and how this will happen is well articulated on the website of their Ministry of Education. Close to us, South Africa has had a long period of engagement and planning on phased re-opening of learning institutions. These are but only few examples to learn from.

The point is that re-opening of schools under the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 is a very sensitive and complex matter that requires not only planning but also, and more importantly, engagement with all the stakeholders – parents, teachers, health providers, etc. Both planning and engagement require time. Unfortunately, we are not seeing or hearing any of that happening in our country. When our schools closed on 18^th March, three weeks before the end of Term 1, no one knew how long that would be for. Many of us thought our kids would return to school in Term 2. It didn’t happen and there was no word until on 8^th May when the President announced that only the examination classes would resume on 1^st June.

How the pandemic unfolded would determine when the rest of the classes would re-open, so we were told. Since then what followed is another vague statement by the Chief government spokesperson, which summarises resolutions of the cabinet meeting held on 23^rd July 2020. The statement, which is still circulating on the website of the Ministry of General Education, states that, “Cabinet also agreed that the remaining school classes that have not re-opened, including colleges and universities, shall remain closed. Cabinet would assess how the pandemic evolves before a decision is made on re-opening schools.”

With nothing else on the website, we are left to conclude that as far our Ministry of Education is concerned, there is nothing more to say about COVID-19 vis re-opening of schools than the above vague statement. No more no less, even with in-person learning going on across the country for the exam classes. Really? Contrast this with the 45-paged comprehensive guidelines on the website of the UK Ministry of Education. The guidelines provide frameworks on the following broad themes: Section 1: Public health advice to minimise coronavirus (COVID-19) risks; Section 2: School operations; Section 3: Curriculum, behaviour and pastoral support; Section 4: Assessment and accountability; and, Section 5: Contingency planning for outbreaks. Likewise, Kenya has announced a comprehensive plan for re-opening of schools in January 2021.

The question for us is, where do we go from here? What is up government’s sleeves on re-opening? As parents and stakeholders, we are asking questions, but we aren’t getting answers let alone be engaged in a conversation. We have heard speculations that all the kids may return to school in September when temperatures are expected to rise. Much as every parent would wish for that to happen, the question is, how realistic is it? September is less a month away and the pre-conditions set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for re-opening of schools have not been met. Equally the commonsense ingredients of planning, conversation and engagement have not taken place. Kenya has already rolled out a plan for re-opening in January 2021. Just what is our problem?

Worse still, re-opening of schools falls within the broad trajectory of re-opening of the country. Opening of the country is inter-twined with containing the virus, with ‘flattening the curve’ as the buzzword. Many stakeholders have voiced their concerns about our strategy, or lack of it, to ‘flatten the curve’. I am on record questioning the science behind our COVID-19 strategies through previous articles. In one of the articles I warmed that, “Only time will tell whether our trajectory and/or model is a better one.” True to my word, the growing numbers of BIDs (Brought in Dead) and new infections, averaging about 300 daily, is beginning to tell us the full story: the chickens are coming home to roost. Our leaders can today scare us with ‘1000 deaths per day in August’ and to enforce the same health guidelines they have themselves been abrogating but it is too little too late. The ‘flames’ are now (uncontrollable) ‘bushfires’, to borrow Prof Karim’s terminologies.

The conversation about the re-opening of schools is a global phenomenon. The reason is simple: whatever choice a country makes has repercussions. Science (socio-psychological and biomedical) seems to favour letting our kids go back to school. The United Nations Children’s Emergency (UNICEF) sums up that” schools do much more than teach children how to read, write and count. They also provide nutrition, health, and hygiene services; mental health and psychosocial support; and dramatically reduce the risk of violence, early pregnancy and more. And it’s the most vulnerable children who are the hardest hit by school closures, and we know from previous crises that the longer they are out of school, the less likely they are to return.”

There are other scientific reasons which favour re-opening of schools. First, the COVID-19 stats across the globe, Zambia included, show that children are less susceptible to acquiring and dying from the pandemic. Similarly, some modeling studies suggest that school re-opening has a very insignificant effect on wider transmission in the community. “Outbreaks in schools are inevitable,” says Otto Helve, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. “But there is good news.” So far, with some changes to schools’ daily routines, he says, the benefits of attending school seem to outweigh the risks—at least where community infection rates are low. 

Prevention and control measures to be put in place in schools

The WHO recommends several actions and requirements that national governments should put in place to ensure the safety of children and school staff while at school. It recommends their customization to the special circumstances of the school and for the type and level of the learning institution. For your benefit I will reproduce them. The purpose is to demonstrate that meeting all of them require time, engagement and resources, a far cry of where we are as a country.

Policy, practice, and infrastructure: Ensure the necessary resources, policies and infrastructure are in place that protect the health and safety of all school personnel, including people at higher risk.

Behavioural aspects: Consider the age and capacity of students to understand and respect measures put in place. Younger children may find it more difficult to adhere to physical distancing or the appropriate use of masks.

Safety and security: School closure or re-opening may affect the safety and security of students and the most vulnerable children may require special attention, such as during pick-up and drop-off.

Hygiene and daily practices: Hand hygiene and environmental cleaning measures should be in place to limit exposure. Schools should consider the training of staff and students, a schedule for daily cleaning, availability of hand hygiene facilities and national/local guidance on the use of masks.

Screening and care of sick students, teachers and other school staff: Schools should enforce the policy of “staying home if unwell”, waive the requirement for a doctor’s note, create a checklist for parents/students/staff to decide whether to go to school (taking into consideration the local situation), and consider options for screening on arrival.

Communication with parents and students: Schools should keep students and parents informed about the measures implemented to ensure their collaboration and support.

Additional school-related measures such as the immunization checks and catch-up vaccination programmes: Ensure continuity or expansion of essential services, including school feeding and mental health and psycho-social support.

Physical distancing: Physical distancing of at least one metre between people should be implemented in the school premises and the classrooms. This includes increasing desk spacing and staging recesses, breaks and lunch breaks; limiting the mixing of classes or age groups; considering smaller classes or alternating attendance schedules, and ensuring good ventilation in classrooms.

To conclude, the educational, developmental, and societal impacts of having schools closed are undoubtedly real. Re re-opening of schools is not a private matter for a few to decide for the rest of us. There is too much at stake. Let’s engage on the way forward.

The author is a media, governance and health communication researcher and scholar with the Institute of Economic and Social Research, University of Zambia. He is reachable on pmbozi5ATyahooDOTcom.

I am very delighted to interact with the Zambian youth who possess the energy and intuition that can unlock the country’s development potential for sustainable socio-economic growth.

My government remains fully committed to unlocking the potential of the Zambian youth in order to harness the demographic dividends. Our great nation – Zambia, has very high potential for growth due to its vast human and natural resource endowment.

In this regard, I wish to welcome you all the young men and women that have found time to interact with us at this event. From the onset, I want to express my delight at being part of this very important occasion which is aimed at consolidating the implementation of youth empowerment programmes across government ministries, provinces and spending agencies.

Ladies, gentlemen and the youth,

This approach is in line with the government’s policy of delivering services in clusters as opposed to the silo approach. This is more effective and reduces the time that the youth spend moving from one office to the other. You the young people have the energy and capability for unlocking the country’s development potential. It is for this very reason that my government remains committed to ensuring that we provide the necessary skills to ensure that you are able to utilize those skills to create wealth and eradicate poverty in our country, without leaving anyone behind.

However, I am aware that skills alone may not bring about the desired change, it has to be accompanied by other inputs and support systems such as access to land, affordable financing, start-up tools, or other materials that will help you the young people to start up a successful business. To this end, government has allocated a total amount of K470 million for youth empowerment to the ministry of youth, sport and child development targeting 150,000 beneficiaries.

As it has already been mentioned, the theme for today’s event is “Youth, the Key to National Development.” The theme appropriately recognizes that today’s young people constitute the majority of our population and have the ability to build a prosperous country. Our challenge is to harness this potential to enable the youth contribute positively to the country’s socio-economic development.

I strongly believe that the youth have the right to ask government questions about their welfare. This is the more reason we are here today, to answer to your problems and ensure that you remain productive for your own benefit and for the benefit of our country. As a responsible government, the patriotic front government, our job is to listen and address the issues that the youth raise. This, therefore, should be the primary duty of each and every civil servant or public employee.

My dear youths,

My government, which is your government, has heard your calls to be given opportunities to better your lives as well as contribute to national development. Today’s event is, therefore, not an accident. It has been organized to respond to the various issues that the youth have raised at various fora. In this regard, I have directed the various ministries responsible for providing empowerment for the youth to work together, through the ministry of youth sport and child development, so that these services are available to you using a multi-sectoral approach.

Government’s duty is to leverage its resources at its disposal so that you get the maximum benefit from our interaction. Consequently, government has adopted a multisectoral approach to addressing the issues facing our young people. I do not want to see the youth being made to shuttle from one office to the other without being attended to.

Let me put it on record that, government officials are employed to serve you and not the other way round. Therefore, the multi sectoral approach that the various ministries are demonstrating here today should not end up at provincial level but should be replicated at the district level. This is very much in line with the decentralization policy.

My dear youths,

I remain convinced that you as the youth of this country, have the ability to rise above the challenges that you are encountering today. What you need is support for innovation, start-up capital and, in some cases, the requisite tools. However, you also need to demonstrate that you are willing to participate and contribute to your own wellbeing because you have the responsibility to do so. As the saying goes “God helps those who help themselves.” This motto emphasizes the importance of initiative and self-agency.

In short, it calls for one to be creative and willingness for one to contribute to changing their status. Therefore, our youths need to work together with your patriotic front government in order to make the positive change that we need in our country.

As part of your government’s initiatives to facilitate practical empowerment and employment activities, my government will enroll apprentices and interns to enable them acquire the necessary experience that hinders them from applying for certain job categories because of the requirements for prior experience. This programme aims at reaching out to over 9,000 youths across the country in the next two (2) years. The youths will be provided with a monthly stipend to enable them meet some of their needs as they go about their business.

In general agriculture and livestock production, my government will continue to provide land to the youths that are interested in taking up agriculture as a serious business and not as a part time activity. To this end, the ministry of lands and natural resources has issued instructions to all the local authorities to make land accessible for the young people across the country. This is not only restricted to state land, but also extends to traditional land.

In addition, the ministry of livestock and fisheries is implementing empowerment programmes in aquaculture and animal husbandry. Do not focus on one stream of income, learn to diversify your businesses, that way you have better chances of surviving should you be exposed to negative effects of climate change.

As some of you will recall, in my address to the youth during the national youth forum held at the mulungushi international conference centre on 11th march this year, I emphasised that the market for agriculture products in this region is immense. Further, I pointed out that agriculture and agri-business is a sure way of creating jobs and wealth for the youth. This has not changed at all and the market is still available. It is not an easy undertaking but, again, nothing comes for free – you must be willing to work hard in order to attain your goals and live a comfortable life. There are no shortcuts!

In the are of mining, government has listened to the calls for the youths to get actively engaged in the mining of our mineral wealth so that we retain the proceeds from the sale of our precious minerals within the borders of our country. To this end, the ministry of mines has commenced the process of supporting youth cooperatives with the requisite training and mining equipment.

We want to see the youth cooperatives grow into large corporations that can provide employment to their fellow youths. Yes, the youth have the ability to grow their organisations into large corporate entities. What they need is the right motivation and guidance. Government stands ready to provide the necessary leadership and guidance.

My dear youths,

We have seen a number of young people with innovative ideas but fail to fully develop these ideas as a result of limited investment in research and development. We need to change our mindsets and invest more into research and development if we are looking to accelerate our economic development. Our young people are very innovative and we must believe in them. Let us not depend on young people from other countries to find solutions for us – our youth have the ability to provide locally grown solutions.

In this regard, I have directed the ministries of higher education and youth, sport and child development to expedite the process of identifying and supporting scientific innovations so that the brilliant young people can see their innovative ideas come true.

I equally urge the private sector to take keen interest in the innovations by the young men and women and put aside resources to support innovative ideas. You equally stand to benefit as enterprises and as members of the community. I also call upon the youth not to feel embarrassed and shy away from experimenting – failing is part of gaining experience. Never forget that!!

Dear youths,

I am aware that the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic has had negative effects on our economy and that your enterprises have not been spared. In order to cushion the impact of covid-19 on your enterprises, my government through the ministries of tourism and arts and youth, sport and child development, has set aside stimulus funds to support your businesses.

The aim of the funds is to provide capital to micro, small and medium enterprises to remain profitable so as to avert the negative impact of the pandemic.

I encourage you to utilize these funds prudently as they are meant to be a revolving fund so that your friends can equally benefit from the same.

As we continue the implementation of a multi-sectoral approach to youth empowerment, I direct ministry of youth, sport and child development to develop a comprehensive communication strategy which will ensure that the youth access the required information. Let us not leave anyone behind – the strategy should take into account the youths in the hard to reach areas so that government programmes are spread to all parts of the country.

Ladies, gentlemen and beloved youths,

I wish to reassure the youth that your future is still very bright, bringing with it the promise of a Zambia which has shared prosperity, of equal opportunity for all, and where you the youth are its greatest asset.

While government has developed specific programmes for the youth, we still need to dialogue with you, we need to hear your views and take them into account. Please give us your innovative ideas and we assure you that we will promote small and medium scale youth enterprises and help those that want to start their businesses.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen and our beloved the youths,

As I conclude, I wish to reiterate that the implementation of empowerment programmes will not only be accessed from the ministry headquarters in lusaka but should be accessed at district level where the youth are found. The provincial and district officials need to be proactive to ensure that this becomes a reality. For the youth, my message to you is seize the opportunities as they present to you.

I also want to take this opportunity to urge my dear youth not to accept to be used as agents of evil and hate in this peace-loving country. We have always known our youth as productive people who are there for their country. As we head to the general elections next year, do not accept to be used for violence because violence will just destroy our country. As your government, the patriotic front government, we remain ready to work with you for the betterment of our country.

It is now my honour and privilege to re-launch the multi sectoral approach to youth empowerment.

God bless our country, Zambia

God bless all of us, I thank you.

By Dr Simon Manda

The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has urged Government to consider the implications of the Food Reserve Bill 2020 because it does not address the historical inefficiencies of the Food Reserve Agency in its current form. CTPD notes that the Food Reserve Bill 2020 does little to address historical controversies associated with the Food Reserve Agency such as increased presence in the commodity markets.

As CTPD we think that if care is not taken, the Food Reserve Bill 2020 risks creating a Food Reserve Agency full of contradictions, inefficiencies and a platform for rent-seeking behaviour by well-connected large-scale producers and political actors.

The Food Reserve Bill 2020 in its current form extends the existence of the FRA by redefining and extending its functions. It also allows the FRA to integrate social functions of maintaining strategic grains on the one hand and commercial functions of grain marketing driven by profitability potential on the other. As CTPD we think, this is completely misleading and contradictory as it can only create a fittingly relevant platform for inefficiencies and scope for corruption.

According to the Food Reserve Bill 2020, the Agency is allowed to market, and trade designated agricultural commodity on the one hand and purchase, import, sell, trade or export a designated agricultural commodity on the other. This is aimed at correcting problems relating to the supply of a designated agricultural commodity arising from the manipulation of prices or monopolistic trading practices.

The Bill also allow the agency to identify, enter and operate markets in rural areas and determine prices for commodities. The bill also states that a trader or processor shall, prior to selling a designated agricultural commodity to the agency, declare to the Agency or otherwise commits an offence. Interestingly, the Agency shall receive donations of agricultural commodities and reserves the right to sell the same. As CTPD, we find these provisions in the bill not progressive and we also think that the role of the private sector actors in agriculture marketing is not clear.

Finally, CTPD thinks that extending the mandate of FRA beyond the social role of maintaining Strategic Grain Reserves can cause disruptions and unpredictability in commodity markets, which can have implications on growth of the sector and private sector participation.

We therefore urge Government to consider creating a clear coordination of different actors including traders and producers and how these will interact in the renewed mandate given to the FRA once the bill is enacted.

The Author is a Senior Researcher Trade and Development, at the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), a not for profit, membership-based trade policy and development think tank established in 1999 and existed as the civil society trade network (CSTNZ), until 2009 when it was rebranded as the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), with a mandate to influence pro-poor trade and investment reforms at national, regional and multilateral levels as well as facilitate the participation of various stakeholders including member organizations in ensuring that trade is used as a tool for poverty
eradication.