Zambia is known for its copper mines, at one point in my social studies I learned the country ranked third as the largest copper producer but, I never pursed a career in mining and thus don’t know where we are now. Apart from copper there are other minerals mined in Zambia. Some of them seem like legendary tales, I have had friends and others chasing gold, diamonds, emeralds etc. in all corners of the country, though of late it seems like the country might officially have a gold mine. Most of the minerals mined in Zambia are shipped in raw form, this lack of value addition to the natural resource might be one of the reasons why the country has economic challenges.
A lot of people will agree that the value of the mineral
is enhanced when it is processed, I also seem to have a contra view. In my
opinion the value of the mineral begins to diminish once it has been extracted
and devalues further as it is processed into its final product then it is lost
or has no use at all. At times it may be fortunate to find itself in a museum and
might fetch a high auction price but that is it. On the other hand, the value
of the unmined mineral is the endless things that can be produced from it and some
are yet to be imaged. Another
interesting thing is a precious mineral in the ground is just a stone and as
such does not distinguish itself from other stones simply because it is
precious. If it is not mined, it will stay in the same space, next to the
common stones. When a miner wants to buy the mine. they cannot just buy the
precious stone but the entire land space including the ordinary stones. Even though
the precious stone may only be occupying a small portion, the value is spread across.
The last major cholera outbreak in Lusaka was terrible,
in my opinion it was worse than what the country is experiencing with COVID-19
pandemic. I live in a “Komboni” compound that was one of the worst hit by the
epidemic, though the part that I live in was not affected the township was
still making headlines. I sat through work meetings that sort to find ways to
deal with the epidemic in the work environment and there were suggestions that
since most of the office assistants came from the epicenter’s, they should be
given leave from work until the situation had improved. In my mind I was
thinking that the suit, tie and Job that allowed me to sit in this particular
meeting was a very good disguise that masked the fact that I was from the “Komboni”
when I mentioned that I too would have to take leave, suddenly there seemed to
be an exception.
The very awkward ones were the church meetings, were
some leaders suggested that people from my neighborhoods should at least take
leave from church while those that were from the more affluent neighborhoods
could be allowed to congregate. Luckily, the government had a set of guidelines
on the requirements that were supposed to be met for churches to congregate. My
mind drifted back to another very awkward
moment were a preacher in his sermon described, how God had blessed him, according to him God’s blessing saw some major
life changes including moving from
living in my “Komboni” to a more affluent neighborhood. At the end of that
sermon, I was left wondering whether living in my township was a curse.
If at the start of the year 2010 you came to me and
told me that I would be living in a compound, I would laugh you off and say you
are crazy. However, my life took a different twist in the same year, I was out of
Job in very unexpected circumstances. Despite not being in a more stable Job we
still could afford to pay all our bills as the engagement I had was actually
better paying than my previous employment, plus there was a prospect of taking
up a permanent position with that organization. In September 2011, I got notice
my contract was not going to be extended and the organization would get back to
me on joining them on a more permanent basis. Almost at the same time my Landlord
decided to more than double our monthly rentals for the coming year. My wife
suggested that we move into a family owned home in the compound so we could free
up some cash meant for rentals, she wisely suggested we could use the money to do a bit of work on it to make it at least
habitable and safe for the kids.
We took what I would term as a downgrade drive to go
and make an assessment on the property, We tried to be very positive and my
brother in marriage offered a lot of encouragement on how we could make this
work. Despite the neighborhood, the house was bigger and a bit more spacious than
the rented home. At the end of that year, we moved and have been in the
compound since. Freeing up the funds meant for rentals allowed us to work on
some other issues, In the spaces where I was unemployed I had less stress looking for the monthly pay
cheque to cover rental costs but only enough to cover utilities and groceries, wife
managed to graduate from university and we also started constructing a Home.
However, moving to the compound also made us loose some of the more occasional
friends and relatives who used to visit us when were staying at our previous
rented home (Which you could say also saved us some cash).
In bemba there is a saying that “Ing’anda ba Ikumbwa
Umutenge”, which I would literally translate as people admire the roof top or
the outside of the house but do not know what is on the inside. Unlike precious stones, most
people are different! They think their worth or wealth, is enhanced by the area
and those that surround them. It is like you are only wealthy or important if
you live or associate with other wealthy or important people. They feel that
their value is diminished if they are not in a space that is considered to be Important
or high class. It is fascinating that a member of parliament for a “Komboni”
Compound constituency will have a house in the compound for political reasons but
not to stay there.
Over the years, I noticed some friends that live in
very tiny spaces, with not enough rooms for the entire family but just because it is located in
the more affluent suburbs and all their monthly earning are hardly able to
afford rentals. I have some friends that have lived lavishly in mansions but are not able
to afford the lifestyle, they frown at the suggestion
of taking the step we took but would rather keep digging the borrowing pit till it swallows them, just to keep up with a false
impression. I wonder whether this is worth all the trouble!
I have also noticed that people from the compound tend to leave when their business’ or careers begin to thrive, there are a lot of
people you will meet who will attest they came from the compound or from the
village and since they left have never been. It is like the “Komboni” or
village to them is a cancer they got cured from. This in my opinion is one of
the reasons that have left the compounds and some rural parts of the country in
deplorable or under developed state. I have
seen how the communities of Indian heritage have changed the outlook of some townships
in Zambia and I think that can also be done to the compounds and the rural
areas. The compound will greatly benefit from a person upgrading their one time
ramshackle into a state-of-the-art mansion, developing the “mudada” one room
houses into up-rise flats, the “Akasido or akantemba” temporal store into a
shopping mall.
It is said it only takes a spark to get a fire going.
It is not just the Compounds and Villages; it is everywhere you are. You can
always do something to better the situation, you do not need to be a Politian to
contribute you can start by developing just your small space and spread the
value across.
Thank you once again for taking time to read my blog remember to leave comments, Hope you make the difference wherever you are
