The Pursuit of Happiness

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

― Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence

When the Euro-Africa coach services bus eventually got to Ndola, one name kept registering on my mind. Sydney Sichula had lived most of his life in Ndola. This was his home and he was proud of it. On this occasion though, I wouldn't be honored with a tour around the city of Ndola by Sydney himself as he had relocated to Lusaka.

I met Sydney in Livingstone at Hillcrest Senior Technical High School, and for three years we shared the same dormitory. In that period there was not a day that went by without his declaration of his love for Ndola. He went further to constantly claim that there was not a place as beautiful as Ndola in the whole of Zambia. We were all proud of the towns we came from, as I also spoke highly of Chilanga. I spoke highly of Mongu too, my home town. Chilanga is a nice place, but I always felt like I was talking of a neighborhood. Mongu is a great place, but Sydney’s tales of Ndola were at another level.

Regardless of how highly we spoke of our home towns, none was as loud as Sydney had been. I had been to Ndola before that trip, but I always thought I was too young to remember anything about this copper-belt town. So Sydney’s never ending alluring accounts and illustrations of Ndola were the only real images on my mind. I had spent three years listening to Sydney tell me how Ndola was miles ahead of Lusaka in terms of infrastructure, industrialization, and even cleanliness. Subliminally, my mind was expecting a city of the standing of New York. So as I gathered my back pack to disembark from the coach, I was looking out through the window for any signs of any Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty or even the Times Square.

I didn't stay in Ndola for more than 24 hours  The following day I traveled to Kitwe for an even shorter visit to the Copper-belt University just for the purchase of a study application form before returning to Lusaka the same day. Yet, I returned to Ndola three years after that short visit. On this occasion, I’d spend three days and I’d have the luxury to move around the city appreciating all the great things engraved on my mind years before. I had come as a Sales Executive for a company that specialized in IT hardware, security equipment and surveillance hardware. The first item on my agenda was to have a site visit at a location that was to be a center for Gemstone Processing & Lapidary Training.

However my expectations came crushing down before I began any tour of Ndola. The site for the Gemstone Processing & Lapidary Training Center looked like an area that had experienced a civil war. The area revoked memories in me of the TV images of Kosovo as the semblance was very apparent. There was a lot of damaged equipment that suggested a lot of prosperity in years before. I was told this place had been the Ndola Copper refinery and had been sold to Binani group of companies at the heart of privatization of the 90’s.

Being the inquisitive self that I am at times, I decided to ask everyone I found nearby what had really happened there. The answer I got was that after Binani bought the refinery, they later moved most of the equipment to areas where they could process at a lower cost ( I suspect this was abroad or even overseas). This was of course a strictly business decision that any profit oriented organization would consider. I was further told that Binani had earlier lain off some of the workers and this created a lot of despondency around the remaining workers and those that had been laid off. This led to a systematic looting of the remaining equipment and thus led to a deterioration of infrastructure that I was now looking at. Whatever, the true account of the actual events that led to that situation was, the result was terrible.

Eventually when I left the ‘Kosovo identical site’ on a taxi, I asked the driver to take me on a little tour of Ndola and he duly obliged. Not too far from there, he showed me where there had been Dunlop, this also had closed down. At the end of the tour, I almost entertained the thought that I could have got a wrong taxi driver. This one had just chosen to take me on a melancholy tour of Ndola. He systematically just showed me the gloomy side of the town. Had he been one of the many workers that had lost employment as a result of new business owners re-positioning and downsizing most companies at the peak of privatization in Zambia? One thing was certain in him though – he loved Ndola.

A year later when I went to Ndola gain, I decided to travel around using the city minibuses. I went to areas that were still on a path of prosperity and modernization, I went to areas that had seen the ugly side of the World Bank and IMF encouraged Structural Adjustment Programme that led to all state run companies being privatized. There was one thing that the people of Ndola all displayed—they were all proud of their town. Despite all the despair and hardships that had befallen them, they still walked with heads high. They were proud of Ndola. As a matter of fact you will never find anybody that hails from Ndola and is not proud to come from there. Make no mistake about it, privatization badly affected the copper-belt the most because of the mines that downsized or closed there by leaving many a worker, mine contractors and suppliers with no source of income. With most mines closing or downsizing, the ripple effect to all the support businesses was too huge.

However, ‘zima Ndola’ is still the most proud you will ever find. They love their city. Even when they trek to all parts of Zambia and abroad for all kinds of reasons they carry Ndola with them. As Zambia celebrated 49 years of independence from British colonial rule, the spirit of Ndola filled my heart. Proud and free, despite all the hardships we may encounter as a country.

 

There have been voices questioning the relevance of celebrating when we ‘are not economically independent’. They have cited the roles played by the World Bank and IMF in the policy direction of Zambia as an example and the ‘hasty’ privatization of Zambia’s many state corporations especially. Yes this may not be the best relationship and we need to change a few things in our relations with such organisations. But the fact doesn't change. It still remains Zambia is a sovereign free country that chants its own destiny even though there could be external influence once in a while. In any case, Zambia is not forced to take any direction.

On the other hand, the voices that demand economic independence may have a point too. Our political leadership needs to realize that the needs of the people have evolved 49 years onward.  The exclusive need for self-rule in no longer at the epicenter of the average Zambian’s needs, the 21^st century Zambian needs more comfortable and humane conditions for everyday life. This is our pursuit for happiness. I am not talking of a heaven on earth society full of milky and honey only. It is the pursuit for a fairly prosperous nation with successful individuals. Of course success and prosperity is subjective, hence the western notion of living above a dollar a day as a basic requirement can be a starting point. This is by no means calling for a materialistic approach. It is about striking a conceptual cleavage between the capitalistic and socialistic approaches. Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s question in his book, ‘a humanist in Africa’, may be of relevance here; “is there any way that my people can have the blessings of technology without being eaten away by materialism and losing the spiritual dimension from their lives?”

However, prosperity at individual level is what Zambia needs today. It’s now incumbent upon leaders to react and create an atmosphere where the Zambian can prosper. As celebrations to towards Zambia’s Golden jubilee commence, it is vital that as a country we begin to face the realities of today openly. During the years that have elapsed since independence, there have occurred some global developments that have made economic prosperity as important as freedom itself. Economic prosperity can now almost be classified in context as a human right. The economic prosperity of Europe, Japan, the middle East and the upcoming super power status for India and China have led to a dispersion of centers of power.

After all is said and done, freedom and prosperity are two different things. But they must be complimentary in the pursuit for happiness. In the same vein, October 24^th is and should be a celebration of our freedom and liberty. It is not necessarily a celebration of prosperity but a celebration of being Zambian. Freedom is a human right, which man has at times denied his fellow man to have. Freedom must then be celebrated by all; rich, poor, employed, unemployed, indebted and not in debt.

As we go towards 50 years of the existence of Zambia as an independent sovereign nation, I sound a clarion call for more patriotism. Let us embrace the spirit of the people from Ndola. With or without troubles we are proud and free. It is only when we are free that we have the opportunity to prosper economically.