BUTT, seriously not for charity…

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word pornography as; printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual excitement. It is not every day that one looks up the word pornography in the dictionary, but the events of this week prompted me to. In case you haven’t heard, the latest in town is that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni this week was reported to have assented to the anti-pornography bill making it law.

In South Africa, popular actress and TV host, Boity Thulo has been the subject of a media debate after she appeared in the latest issue of Marie Claire magazine’s annual Naked Issue, which was released on Monday. Radio DJs Catherine Grenfell and Zama Dube are alongside her in the picture on which none of the three has any clothing on, only retaining the slightest hint of modesty by covering breast with hands and other reproductive parts with a sitting posture that makes it hard for all to be seen. http://mediaslutza.com/2014/02/18/marie-claire-south-africa-march-2014-naked-issue/

Mzansi actress Boity "Boitumelo" Thulo

But what is grabbing headlines and stirring debate is the Pornography law in Uganda as some aspects of the law seek to establish a dress code. The Ugandan government said the president signed into law sweeping anti-pornography legislation that covers a range of issues related to pornography, including child pornography, pornographic publications and even suggestive music videos. Earlier in December 2013, Parliament passed the Anti-Pornography Bill, in an effort to thwart pornography which is blamed for sexual crimes against women and children including rape, child molestation and incest.

This piece of legislation also outlaws miniskirts and other types of revealing clothing. The law makes it illegal to wear revealing clothing, including tops that show too much cleavage and miniskirts, defined as anything above the knee. This is what baffles me, as this is tantamount to imposing a dress code. What has dress got to do with Pornography I may ask? I think our friends from the Ugandan parley have stretched the meaning of pornography far too much. Even the skimpiest of attire cannot be outlawed as pornography. Pornography remains, printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual excitement and not skimpy dress.

Media houses are also banned from publishing pictures of couples kissing or indecently-dressed women like those taken in night clubs. This imposition of a dress code in the name of fighting pornography is an affront on human rights and the respect for women’s rights. If anyone wanted to legislate anything related to dress, then Freedom of dressing was supposed to be enshrined as a constitutional right. How a person presents themselves to their peers and to the rest of the world is up to them. Those that cross the line to nudity are a special case and each country must have adequate laws that govern indecent exposure and not criminnalising short skirts.

People wear different items of clothing for different reasons. A lot of people use dress as a way of self-expression while others’ dress determines their personal brand. Humans must have the right to exercise religion and the right of free speech among others, and limiting a person's way of expression abuses these rights. What must regulate dress are the dress codes that exist figuratively and literally in many places. A woman may not go to a Christian church dressed only in bum shorts, but can go jogging in her neighborhood. Why should you stop one going to a night club from putting on a mini skirt?

And how do you lamely blame rape on ‘indecent dressing’? Those that have done research tell us that most rape victims suffer their fate at the hands of people they know. This could be a boyfriend who lures a girl to a private place where sex happens without her consent. For all we know she could have been dressed as a catholic nun before meeting the boyfriend.

The bottom line is that men, as humans should strive to exercise themselves from finding excuses for animal behaviours, but shou1d remain dogged in the exercise of their power of self-control in the face of any temptation to do the contrary. In saying all this, I am not an advocate of indecent dressing but merely emphasizing on the importance of the human race to respect individuality, free thought and determination.

Speaking of dress codes and the lack of it, let me come back to Boity Thulo’s recent escapades in Marie Claire magazine. Never one to intentionally underdress, Boity is an avid lover of the mini-dress and towering platform heels. And I have no problem with that. In fact I have no problem if she poses nude in a porn magazine. But for a mainstream TV personality to go nude in a mainstream magazine that is not right in my eyes. Yes I do preach right of self-determination and self-expression, but I do not preach that nudity fit for pornographic magazines must now be brought to the public with utmost ease. In fact this is now propagating extreme behavior fit only for X-rated audience into the conventional audience.

I believe in freedom of choice and even in the issue of miniskirts I say one must be free to choose what they wear depending on the appropriateness of the occasion and destination. The chasm between skimpy dress and nudity is way too big and the two must never be confused. Those that venture into nudity must do it for the porn audience and never for a mainstream audience.

The irony of it all is that these nude pictures are an initiative to raise money for charity, so we are told. In the picture the actress and TV presenter has only a white towel wrapped around her head and stands facing away from the camera, with her buttocks in full view. I don't see the point of going naked for charity, why not ‘get your hands dirty’ and help out in communities for charity instead?

The noble cause of fundraising for charity is lost in the bum really. I know controversy sales but (BUTT, to paraphrase), definitely not for charity. What message are we giving to the young boys and girls who will benefit from the money raised from this initiative? “Boitumelo, Catherine Grenfell, Zama Dube and other celebrities undressed so that we put food on your table for this month and the next.”

The world and Africa in particular needs better role models for our little girls. They have to wish to be famous for thermo-nuclear research rather than taking their clothes off. In response to the controversy she has brewed Boity is quoted as having responded by saying;

"Yeah I’m glad that this whole reaction happened and Marie Claire will have had something good come out of something funny (#BoityReaction I’m assuming is the ‘Something funny’) I’m just glad that they’re getting the publicity out of it, it was the point. I didn’t expect my part to be this big but the fact that it is only good for the magazine."

"My Mother? She understood that it was for charity. She knew that I was planning on being a part of the shoot and she was looking forward to it. When the pictures came out she commented that they came out well and that she liked them. She was on board with the whole thing."

 

Above the knees: Stunning & elegant, but you could go to jail for this in Uganda!

I can only conclude that this was an attention seeking stunt because the result is that everyone focuses on the girls and the intended objective is hidden in the BUTT. So why not take an initiative that takes the objective of the cause as the epicenter?

In the meantime, all the Nkana Football club female fans travelling to Uganda for the game against Kampala City Council must carry with them clothing that look like catholic non habits. Carry a mini skirt at your own peril.

The Romantic & the Platonic!

Being one who is never short of an opinion, here are my thoughts on Valentine’s Day vis-à-vis romantic Zambian men.

Zambian men are not romantic, so say many ladies. Others even say the Zambian male of today is not willing to fight for his woman. Any misunderstanding or argument in a relationship, the male is the first willing to let go and end the relationship. If you haven’t heard these sentiments then you are probably in the diaspora as this is a cry that you hear far too many times from the women folk in Zambia.

Romance is a word which could be understood to mean; conducive to or characterized by the expression of love or suggestive of an idealized view of reality. At least that is my conceptual understanding of the word. If what I saw around the shopping malls and central business district of Lusaka this week and especially today is anything to go by, then Zambian men are very romantic. By categorizing Zambian men as very romantic I am distancing myself from the masses that draw an abstract conclusion out of the lack of gentlemanly etiquette most Zambian males lack. Yes opening a door for a lady is gentlemanly and not romantic.

Today, 14^th February, I was one of the many male folks that made a last gasp shopping for red roses for delivery to our significant others as a sign of love in ‘commemoration’ of valentine’s day. Trust me there were many male folks today buying all sought of red regalia, buying gifts of chocolates, flowers, jewelry and other items for their loved ones. I even saw a Valentine’s Day notice in the newspaper.

Maybe the argument is that on any day other than 14^th February, Zambian men lack an ounce of romance. That too is not the correct picture. So many times a lot of Zambian males will be seen walking out of a gift shop with a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolate or just taking his other half to the mall for a movie. These actions can all be categorized within the context of romantic as they are categorized by the expression of love.

Yet others categorize the expression of affection in public as romantic. A lot of people will say Zambians are not romantic because very little couples kiss in public. In other societies couples get cozy and openly express affection by kissing on public buses, trains, at the malls etc. I do not think showing affection in public is the same thing as being romantic. Likewise, a display of passion (sexual) should also not be confused to mean romantic.

Most men evince to the fact that going into a flower shop is not the easiest of things. It almost feels like a part of our masculine self has been taken away from us. It’s not easy walking out of that flower shop with flowers in hand and you get all these stares from everyone you bypass. When I was younger I’d describe the situation as ‘it ain’t gangster’. That aside, men know that flowers are important for our ladies hence we go and make those purchases then walk out of the flower shop with pride, feeling like every female we pass is envious of the recipient of the flowers we are carrying. Only love takes us to that flower shop. This action is characterized by the expression of love.

In point of fact, many a man do not like the idea of expressing love (edit to read being romantic) on Valentine’s Day only. Most Zambian men will tell you to say every day and any day we need to show love to our women. Having said that, I must also hasten to mention that a man is different from a woman in many ways and the ways of expressing love by each sex is distinguished. For most women, Valentine’s Day is much more important. Therefore the men have assimilated the culture of commemorating the day.

Personally I have never really been so much keyed up by this day for the lovers. Maybe because I grew up believing the origins of the celebrations of the day are etched in pagan festivities. But that is just one version. Another version is that traditionally in some parts of the UK, spring begins on February 14th, the day on which birds chose their mates. In parts of Sussex Valentine’s Day was called 'the Birds' Wedding Day'. Yet another version is that Saint Valentine is a widely recognized third-century Roman saint who presided over secret weddings for condemned men and he was executed on February 14. Nothing is reliably known of the origins of Valentine’s Day, but it is widely celebrated throughout the world today.

Some people choose Valentine’s Day as the day to propose to their partners, while others set February 14 as their wedding day. In recent years, Valentine's Day has become a commercial day more than anything else, with tradition and folklore thrown out the window. When I was in my 8^th grade I sent a valentine’s card to a girl I admired then and this was sent anonymously. We were told it was a day when secret admirers sent presents. In the years that followed we believed in sending gifts to those we love such as a girl friend or a wife.

In recent years it has become a day for sending out flowers and presents to a ‘valentine’ of choice. This could be a mother, father, brother, niece or that neighbor from the next street. On the radio today the host kept greeting every caller with the words “happy valentines”. Then I received an email from a male colleague whose greeting was also ‘happy valentines’.  It’s all confusing now what Valentine’s Day is all about now. I definitely won’t walk into the office and wish everyone happy valentines or send out happy valentine salutations to everyone like it is their birthday.

It has all become a lot too confusing for my liking really. Since my most recent understanding of the day is that it is for the one you love and are in a relationship with, I will keep it a day for the wife. I will hope to surprise her every year with something she isn’t expecting. Last year I spread rose petals on our bed and the floor from the bedroom door making a red carpet of rose petals. She was ecstatic and mentioned I am very romantic. Two months later she called me a hopeless romantic after I stayed late at the office and when I got home, I went straight to the TV remote and got glued to the football match that was airing.

In the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, John Gray outlines differences between a man and a woman which he believes when appreciated, it help to grow love in a relationship. One of my famous quotes from the book is; “Men are motivated when they feel needed while women are motivated when they feel cherished.” The differences between the sexes are many and quite often prove to be the dividing line between a weary relationship and a great one. I will not put my relationship with my wife in a precarious situation all because of my jaded understanding of Valentines.

My understanding of the reason for Valentine’s Day may be indistinct but I have to sign off now in order to make it on time for that candle lit dinner with the wife. Before then let me confirm with the manager of the restaurant I am headed to if he has emptied all the water in the swimming pool and filled the empty space previously occupied by water with dinner tables and rose petals standing in for a red carpet. 

Trevor Noah on Zambian Escalators…

For a number of months now Trevor Noah’s video in which he talks about escalators in Zambia has been the talk of many Zambians. A lot of Zambians have directed their disgust toward the South African stand-up comedian accusing him for among other things painting a picture of Zambians as a backward people.

In the short clip which has been widely circulated on many phones, tablets and all sorts of gadgets, Trevor suggests that the first ever public escalator in Zambia was built in August (2013), thus many Zambians are so fascinated with them that they go to the shopping malls not only for shopping but the experience of ‘riding’ the escalators too. According to Mr.Noah, children in Zambia are not excited by the mention of an afternoon out shopping at the mall but they get excited when a parent mentions that ‘riding’ the escalator will be part of the deal.

So much scorn has been directed at Trevor Noah with many suggesting that he went too far in an effort to make a living by making people laugh. Others even suggested that the comments should have been met by serious remonstrations like the furor that attracted Zambia’s vice-president Guy Scott for suggesting that South Africans are an ungrateful lot of backward people.

Others even suggested that by Noah painting a false and highly inaccurate picture of Zambia to the ‘world’, he is directly making it difficult for tourists to come to Zambia thereby denying us the much needed foreign currency.

  

My views… my thoughts

My question is; who takes comedy as gospel? Granted, Trevor is an international artist who travels the globe, but who takes his words as truth? Let alone even just taking what he says at his shows as his personal opinions. If this was the case then we would conclude that Trevor is a racist, who hates Indians, he was happy with the Marikana mine shooting where more than 34 striking mine workers were killed etc.

Trevor Noah is to me a very intelligent businessman who has used events around him to make comedy which has enabled him make an opulent living. The very first time I watched Trevor on a TV show, in my mind I set him aside from the several stand-up comedians I had listened to before. He was fresh, his jokes were ‘clean’ and above all I think I related more to his jokes. His jokes were closer to home. After many years of listening to American stand-up comedians I got to a point where I believed stand-up comedy in the US was nothing but a load of expletive laden librettos.

In as much as there are one or two materials worth a loud laugh in American stand-up comics, the bulk of it is really polemic execrations. I have listened to Chris Rock, Russell Peters, Jeff Dunham, Dave Chapelle, Dane Cook, Cedrick the entertainer, Bennie Marc and even Eddie Murphy. All of these and many more including Steve Martin and Bill Cosby will make anyone laugh any day, but like a certain colleague of mine often scolds me regarding English jokes, at times I just never found where the joke was. While I struggle to find where the joke actually is in some comedians, others are just too vulgar I can’t sit down in front of the TV and watch with my family.

Then along came Trevor Noah a South African of mixed race but he called himself colored. In some places on the earth, colored may be a racial statement. Trevor joked about politicians; those who condemned everything just because they are opposition, those who stood on podiums to make empty rhetorical statements, those who threatened citizens just because they are in power and yes Julius Malema, Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma. He made jokes about stereotype issues regarding race differences; Indian culture and their love for chilli, black South African culture, even Mexican and American culture.

Trevor has even made jokes on albinism, but is intelligent enough to try not to be offensive as any joke targeted at other people is always executed in the passive tone as a third party. He makes a point to bring it out because it is being said out there, make a joke about it and then in the end mention that is ridiculous (one of the words he uses quite a lot). He is immensely gifted at immersing himself into the lifestyle, beliefs, culture and generally everyday life of others and finding something humorous in it. The fact that in some places serviettes are called napkin was material for him to prepare a script for a show. How many times have you walked in a supermarket and seen a shelf labeled ‘napkins’, and serviettes are displayed there?

In the case of the Zambian escalator jokes, put in typical Trevor Noah fashion, he  mentions to his audience not to picture Zambia as a dusty village as it was a ‘beautiful country with stunning malls, beautiful hotels, roads and developing just like South Africa,  but just never had escalators’. Of course he exaggerated some statements, but that is what comedy is all about. We all laughed when he told jokes where his subjects were South Africans but found offence when we were the subject. He even made fun of the President Jacob Zuma’s rape trial and the nude art painting to the extent where he toyed on jokes regarding SA’s president’s sexuality and sexual maneuvers.

That to me is all what stand-up comedy must be. Find humour in everyday events. He doesn't need to be a clown to be a comic. Even though he blew out of proportion the dates when Zambia had its first escalators, the truth is you will find a lot of children(some adults too) at the malls going up on an escalator then immediately going down one the other end and then up and that continues. Of course as far back as I can remember there were escalators in ZCBC shops back in the 1980’s but then for one reason or another they disappeared only to re-emerge around 2009 or there about.   

Regardless of when the first ever escalator was built in Zambia, it matters less to Trevor as a comic, as soon as he saw a few people seemingly fascinated by one it was enough ammunition for him. The first escalators may have been present in Zambia since the 18^th century, 1964 or 1980 but to see a few people so enthralled by it was to him enough material for a show. For all he thought, they could have been built in August!

Comedy actually rides on exaggerations. I have listened to Bob Nkoshya a couple of times make fun of the Lozi tribe. I have never at any time, as a Mulozi child, ever felt offended by any of Bob’s insinuations taken as jokes. One of the Silozi jokes I’ve heard from Mr Nkoshya is that; Lozi’s are a very economical people, which manifests even in the naming of children where a child will be given the same first name which is also the last name. There is no shortage of names but just plain economical. Names of things are extremely shot such as; ndu for house, mba for stomach, ngo for nose etc. This according to Bob is different to Ici bemba for instance where there are longer names as; Ing’anda, Ifumo, Umuona respectively. Bob goes further to suggest that a lady dating a mulozi must bear in mind that the man will display trait of being ‘economical’ which will also be evident in his spending on her. In other words greedy or stingy.

I do not think any mulozi has taken offense to Bob getting the facts of some of the naming or wording patterns and made a joke of it and sugar coat with more insinuations. It is what comedy is all about. A comic sees something odd, amplifies the situation with all sorts of insinuations and they go to the bank smiling.

However, comedians must take responsibility of their utterances to avoid injuring people; it is also everyone’s responsibility to draw the line between comedy and statements of fact. I have played the Trevor Noah clip over and over and each time could only find humor in it. It is by no means a reason for any tourist to shun coming to Zambia, in fact most people would be motivated to come to Zambia to among other things see how Zambians get fascinated by escalators. Then they will realize it may not be entirely true but they will also see a couple of people ‘riding’ the escalators more times than necessary and they will laugh all the way back to their country. Like the saying goes, ‘any publicity is good publicity’. 

So what? It is just comedy. 

The President is on Facebook!

Perhaps this blog has come two weeks late, maybe more.

It is not every day that the main daily tabloids get the same lead story and headline. Of course the phrasing of the headline can never be ‘identical’. Over the last two years, there have only been three occurrences when I noticed to have been carried as the lead story in all the daily papers. The first was in February 2012 when all the papers carried a sports story as the lead headline after Chipolopolo (Zambia National Soccer Team) were crowned AFCON champions for the first time. Then in December 2013, every newspaper carried the news of the death of Nelson Mandela as the lead story.

So on Saturday 18^th January 2014 when the three main daily tabloids in Zambia all ran the story of president Michael Sata joining Facebook as the lead story, it dawned on me that this had to be a momentous happening. More than a week on, the action by his excellence the president to join Facebook was still attracting debate. Hot fm radio breakfast show on Monday 27^th January 2014 played a clip of a gentle man (I can’t recall his identity) who complained at the fact that the president has never held a press conference since assuming office but decided to interact with people on Facebook when statistics indicate that internet usage in Zambia is really low. 

The fact that the president is embracing Facebook does not come as a surprise to me as I believed that it was just a matter of time before it happened. Besides, in the preceding weeks before the screaming headlines of the president joining Facebook, I had noticed a lot of opinion makers in Zambia touch on the subject. The Post Newspaper had carried editorials in which social media and Facebook to be specific was attacked. The post cited two aspects of social media which they seem not to like. The first issue cited was the fact that a lot of Zambians were spending a lot of productive time posting and responding to Facebook updates at the expense of productivity. Their second concern has been that a lot of fake Facebook accounts exist just for slandering others, rumour mongering and character assassination of fellow citizens while hiding in the anonymity of such accounts.

However not all opinion makers had a bone to chew with Facebook, as Emmanuel Mwamba upon being appointed information permanent secretary pledged to modernize the public media as well as making sure they respond to new trends such as the new media --social media. In order to be relevant to the people the president has to engage the people using a media that is most outreaching –and Facebook is one such platform. Hakainde Hichilema, Elias Chipimo, Silvia Masebo, Edith Nawakwi, Myles Sampa, Judith Kapijimpanga and many more have all been using facebook for many reasons chief of which is to communicate to the public of upcoming events and the positions they take on several matters of national importance.

Above and below: Screaming headlines

Myles Sampa in particular has used Facebook effectively. He has been able to highlight developments in his constituency, explain some government decisions and generally engage the electorate. In fact, I was very elated when Mr Sampa recently posted something that suggested he would address the bad state of Vubu road in Emmasdale which falls under his constituency. A lot of people have accused Mr.Sampa of neglecting Vubu road simply because Emmasdale is not as densely populated as the other areas of his constituency. It is common knowledge that politics is primarily a game of numbers; hence it is more beneficial to him if he facilitated the building of a bridge at Shadreck area, a basketball court in George compound or a futsal pitch at Matero market.

However this theory may just be mere speculation. Because he has been giving feedback through interaction on Facebook, the Matero MP has come out now to say he will look into the issues of Vubu road. Perhaps he just never noticed the state of Vubu road or it just one of those non priority roads.

My view… My thoughts…

Charles Darwin is famed for his theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin’s theory states that "In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." However, Darwin is also quoted as having said that, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." You may not agree with all of Darwin’s theories but nothing comes as truthful as that. If you do not respond to change you become irrelevant.

A lot of politicians have realized that Zambia’s population is largely youthful, and the medium of communication most popular with them today is social media. In the quest to avoid being irrelevant, they have had to adapt and join the band wagon that uses social media as a means of communication

In August 2013, I blogged on Social Media and Marketing and I got a response on Google plus from a lady who claimed I am overrating the power of social media. The truth is that social media has become more powerful than television in shaping public opinion and this is what HEMCS has realized. What I doubt though is if the page is run by the president himself. Running a page that responds to people’s questions and posts regularly is a lot of work which needs a team of minimum three people that work round the clock at least 20 hours a day.

In this case I’d think George Chellah, the special assistant for press and public relations at state house is the brains behind the page. Of course it may be a lot of work for him alone so I further suspect he has a team that does the work which he nods and forwards to the head of state for approval before posting online. The responses to people’s questions are kept to a minimum to avoid over committing the head of state. This in itself is a problem because once you open a Facebook page for the purposes of communication and media relations you must interact as much as is possible.

Failure to do so can prove costly as one individual who may feel 'short changed' by an inadequate response can easily turn to be a thousand people, then, a million people and so on. In as much as social media gives a plat form for communicating to lots of people quickly, it can also be a means of transmitting negative feedback to far too many far too quickly.

However Facebook like any product and technology can have many people that abuse it, the same way internet is abused by many people. Face book also must not be the reason for unproductiveness. Those that go to school must divide their time properly the same way my generation maneuvered through the problem of too much television. Those who are in business or employed, unless employed to be updating an organisation’s Facebook page must put away their phones and all manner of gadgets during working hours. With or without Facebook the lazy bunch will always find something to take them into procrastination mode.

As for those that create fake accounts to slander others, that is crime and all the police can do is invest in IT training to be able to counter cyber-crime more effectively. It is not only slander that is the problem; Facebook is full of conmen and con women that commit fraud. At the end of the day, social media doesn’t make anyone less productive or a criminal. The criminals just find yet another way to commit crime while the unproductive find yet another reason to be unproductive.

I personally think it was a good move for the president to open the page, but going by the numbers of posts that have been put up so far, it is too much too soon. An official page like one for a president must be updated maybe weekly to communicate a message and another one the following week. It should not be made a campaign page that shows every junction where new traffic lights are installed and so on. Let the page inform, communicate and explain many public policy announcements. At the moment the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), is one such policy that has been received with mixed reactions. The government through the page can make the nation understand its mechanism and most importantly the importance.

As long as you are not biased, the setting up of the Facebook page by the president is a good and strategic move to get closer to the youth, the majority voters last time out. While some sections of society are not happy that the president has never called a press conference since assuming office hence should not interact with anyone on the internet, it is important to note that it is impossible for the president to entirely run the Facebook page. This page is not entirely for interaction or question and answer as a press conference would have aspects of questions and answers.

The president himself may not be directly interacting with his audience but just authorizing messages that go online. But because these messages are passed to him for authorization before going online it is still good enough. The bottom line is that the page is there mainly for PR purposes and maybe…and just maybe… to keep a foot on the ground with the people so as to read the mood in the country regarding various issues. If George Orwell had written the book Animal Farm in the era of Facebook, Squealer would have had a bigger role than the book portrays already.

Musings on death

Many are the times I have heard the popular myth that cats have nine lives. If that were possible, it would have been nice for the most pure hearted humans to be granted the nine lives instead. As the saying goes, ‘the good die young’.  Unfortunately, the nine lives story is but just a myth or even wishful thinking. If it were true, who keeps count? Cats and nine lives aside, every year on January 13^th we make it yet another year since my father died and since last week on the 13^th, my mind has been musing over death.

If you have read the book “the stoning of Soraya M”, you’d agree with me that it portrays a very difficult reality. It is more difficult to comprehend, when you see the graphic images of Soraya’s stoning in the movie of the same title.

What really catches my attention is not really the brutality with which Soraya’s execution was carried out. It is not the subject of the eligibility or morality of sharia law. It is not the subject of the extent to which family should stand by one another in times of adversity. It is not even the issue of loyalty to marriage vows or the lack of it for a husband to go as far as framing his wife in order to have her out of his way, to the extent of having her executed. What catches my attention is Soraya’s reaction to the whole ordeal.

Facing the prospect of a public execution by stoning, Soraya gives two reactions I took note of.

1. She shows her selflessness by putting the feeling and reactions of her children ahead of those of her own or any impending pain.
2. She declares she is not afraid of death, but of dying.

In her second reaction, as she is being led to  the ‘stoning square’, her aunt stops and looks into her eyes and asks, “Soraya, are you afraid?”

After a pause and some brief silence, Soraya responds and says, “I am not afraid of death, I am afraid of dying.” Soraya concludes, “I am afraid of the pain of my death, the pain from the stones, but I am at peace with myself and my God.” 

Is life this peaceful on the other side?

Not Afraid of death but dying:

Recently the prospect of facing death has crossed my mind a couple of times. Musing over death when not a preoccupation, is not melancholic but prudential. I have come to accept death as an inevitability that eventually catches up with everyone young, old, African, European, Asian, Caucasian etc. I choose not to live in denial of death’s inevitability. I am not afraid of death. This helps me focus on the present to enjoy moments I spend with others and of course plan for life after the curtain has closed. Musing over death helps to remind me of my obligations to prepare for life after death. Like Soraya I am not afraid of death, but afraid to die.

In the words from Ecclesiastes, ‘there is a time to be born and a time to die.’ Despite its inevitability, no one truly prepares for death. Financial planning that may include life insurance or a will can never truly replace one’s existence. How does a wife suddenly move on after her husband passes on? How does a daughter or a son move on after the passing of a parent? I am not afraid of death but am afraid of dying because of those I will leave behind when I am gone.

Death is too important to ignore, yet that is what happens all too often, at great cost to society especially family left behind. As I muse over death I find myself not afraid for myself but those that I may leave behind.

How I miss my father

The greatest fear I have of dying comes when I think of the pain my family would go through. Yes they say time eventually heals all wounds and everyone moves on, but it is also true that some wounds leave marks that last forever. The thought of dying and leaving my wife, son, mother, sisters and all other friends and family is not a pleasant one. My experience tells me it is extremely a difficulty place to be. My own father died when I was just about 8years old and even though this is not a subject I discuss every day, I really miss him. God I really missed him all those years and I still miss him. He went away before I even knew who he really was and what he stood for. I remember him as a passionate soft spoken and humble man. I have a few memories of him but because I was too young, some of them are blurred. One incidence though stands out as my recollections of the incident are still vivid to this day.

Nature and Wildlife management/protection were very much a big part of my father’s work and spare time activity. So on that particular day he was to travel for some hunting trip to Liuwa National Park in the Western province of Zambia. As young as I was then, my sixth sense communicated to me that he was to leave for a considerable number of days. The truth is I wanted to go with him, but, a hunting trip is not one where toddlers accompany their parents. But because I was determined, I hid in his car and my presence was only discovered after he had driven a substantial distance. At that point his main concern was to catch up with the rest of his hunting party so he decided to drive on.

Most African parents of my time would have spanked their child for such a prank, but my dad saw this as bonding time between father and son. That trip would turn to be the first time I set my eyes on the Zambezi and Luanginga rivers. We went through Libonda pontoon and then deep into the Barotse flood plain. I was left at Siliya Village, the place of my mother’s birth while he went ahead for his hunting escapades. Two days later he would come to pick me up and we returned home to Mongu.

For me this was top notch fun, even though the whole journey back home my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the type of welcome – or is it wrath that would befall me from my mother. Mine was a stupid stunt.

That stunt and many other few incidences and memories of my dad are vividly replayed in my mind every time it’s 13^th January the day my father died. If you haven’t lost your father at an age that I was at you wouldn’t really understand how I missed the man while growing up. There would be times in primary school when all the boys spoke of their fathers in many different ways I felt left out of such conversations. Admitted, every human has got their own shortcomings, but I never saw a man who was as revered even by his subordinates as my father was. Perhaps all the years I was growing, I may have been looking for a father to just hold my hand and be the warden in my life that walks me through life.

Even though I had older brothers, brothers in law and even uncles to play the part of male parent there were many moments when I needed my father with me. Am talking of my father, and not a father figure, I needed my dad along the way. We all have jaundiced memories of our parents. But nothing comes close to a perfect being like a father is in his boy’s eyes. I see this in my son’s eyes. I am his hero and it would crush him if I wasn’t there tomorrow. He expects that I know everything and that I am the best at everything. He seeks answers for everything from me. Maybe when he grows much older he will see the other side of me that says, ‘just human’.

Some Astrologers can read palms and claim to predict your path in life - including death!

If I could predict death

One well known astrologer, Richard Houck, in his book Astrology of Death wrote insightfully and intuitively on the topic of predicting death. However, he was unable to accurately predict his own death. Using his own techniques he predicted his demise to be in 2031, but he died of cancer in 2001.

The fact is whether I know exactly when, does not matter as death will eventually come my way. Tomorrow I may not walk among you, I may not eat from the same table as you, I may not drive on the same roads as you. Like many mortals before me, I will have to succumb to the hand of death. 

I am not immortal, and this I will not pretend not to know.

As I live each day knowing not, when the breath of life will depart from me, I periodically muse over my fate if every moment was the last day of my earthly existence. Death is too important to ignore. Yet that is what happens all too often, at great cost to society, to one dying, and to those left behind. 

It is certain that death is coming – I do not need to know when that moment will arrive.  At every moment I have the opportunity to make choices to love my family so that when am gone they have rich memories of our times together. I have an opportunity to make choices to be helpful to my community. Jesus of Nazareth identified the goal of human existence as life abundant.

Realities of 2014 National Budget

CIMA Official Terminology, 2005 defines a budget as;

'A quantitative expression of a plan for a defined period of time. It may include planned sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities and cash flows.'

Any serious annual goals, plans, budgets, and expectations cannot be made in isolation, but in sequence with or bearing in mind how the state policies will affect such plans. If one wanted to borrow money to invest in aviation because the previous year the government had investment incentives for the sector, it would be wise to verify if that incentive will still apply in the New Year. It is also imperative for that investor to check on the interest rates to pay back that loan which will be applicable.

The example given above of course is a simplistic way of looking at things. In reality, any investor would consider far too many factors than that. But, I know for sure that, many individuals especially would be Small & Medium Enterprises (SME), could do well to thoroughly read through the budget and uncover sectors to invest in which would provide opportunities for the most returns. For a growing economy like Zambia, SMEs are as focal to the country’s growth trajectory as the multinational corporations.

Zambia’s 2014 national budget, like many before, is such a big document I may not be able to discuss all the issues contained in it. A lot of competent people have held budget review discussions and deliberated on most of the issues at length. I will only endeavor to touch on the subject of tax, in particular - Pay As You Earn (PAYE), customs & excise duty and Value Added Tax (VAT). I will also make mention of aspects relating to the set macro-economic objectives, sources of budget revenue, major expenditure sectors and of course the impact on the people, of some of the changes.

  

Macroeconomic objectives – Attainable!

The theme of Zambia’s 2014 National Budget is “Moving Forward to Consolidate Growth and Social Justice in Peace and Unity”. Reading through the 21 page pdf copy of the budget speech which I secured, I’d honestly say it is ambitious, especially in terms of the set macroeconomic targets. Macroeconomic objectives for 2014 include:

·         Achieve real GDP growth rate of above 7 percent.

·         Create at least 200 000 decent jobs.

·         Attain end year inflation of no more than 6.5 percent.

·         Increase international reserves to over 3 months of import cover.

·      Maintain a fiscally sustainable public external debt level so that debt service and amortisation do not exceed 30 percent of domestic revenues.

·         Increase domestic revenue collections to over 21 percent of GDP.

·      Limit domestic borrowing to 2.5 percent of GDP and contain the overall deficit to no more than 6.6 percent of GDP.

As ambitious as some of the targets may seem, they are attainable. Zambia has posted growth of above 6 percent GDP for the last 3-4years even at the height of the global economic crisis that started in the aftermath of the infamous collapse in 2008 of Lehman Brothers, sending the global financial system into near meltdown. The global economy continues to slowly recover with growth in 2013 projected at 2.9 percent. The UK economy was projected to grow by 1.5 percent in 2013 and 2 percent in 2014.

I would have even expected an ambitious a target as 8 or 9 percent.

Customs and Excise duty – See opportunity sectors and no go sectors!

All proposed changes under Customs and Excise are effective 1 January 2014.

Customs duty on airtime has been increased from 10percent to 15 percent. I received a message on 4^th January from MTN, stating that all tariffs had been adjusted effective 1^st January 2014 due to the revised Excise duty on air time. I haven’t received any text from either Zamtel or Airtel but going by my observation on credit usage time, they have effected similar adjustments. 

Those that have traded in air time do constantly relate that it is a business of volumes. The profit margins are so small such that if your sales volumes are low, you will just be withholding working capital. The mobile phone service providers though will not worry if the number of air time dealers reduces as that can be cushioned by the mobile money service. The problem with mobile money is that it has not been fully developed even to the levels some east African countries have done.

The biggest issue, on air time adjustments however is the fact that communication is now going to be a lot more expensive. Business as well as personal communication which is as important as production itself, will incur extra costs. It is less than a year after fuel prices went up and soon we expect electricity tariffs to also be adjusted as has become the case every year where ZESCO proposes a huge tariff increment and the Energy Regulation Board will approve a slightly lower adjustment. The cost of doing business will generally go higher.

Semi processed metals and base metals – An export duty of 10% has been proposed to be introduced on semi processed metals and base metals. The idea behind is to encourage processing within Zambia, and realize a lot more revenue from those that opt to export semi processed base metals. I am restrained from making further comments on this as I am not a metallurgist and I lack any basic knowledge regarding how this industry operates.

Clear beer – Excise duty on clear beer has been restored to 60 percent by revocation of Statutory Instrument No. 23 of 2010. This has necessitated the upward adjustment of beer prices. I spent the bulk of my afternoon of Sunday 5^th January 2014 around ‘Chris corner’ area in Lusaka and the topic on everyone’s lips was the Excise duty on telephone air time credit and beer. I endured an afternoon long of grumbles from the gentlemen and ladies I spent that Sunday afternoon with at one of the pubs around Chris Corner area as they imbibed their beloved Mosi and Castle lager now fetching a minimum of K7 (as I am made to understand the old price was K5).

A lot of people will support this increase in excise duty on clear beer, as pushing  the beer price upwards would be expected to make some people stay away from daily drinking sprees thus highly regulate alcohol consumption in the nation. Unfortunately, price has never been a deterrent solution to alcohol anywhere. But of course this is a welcome move on government as a lot of revenue for the state will be raised.

One dimension that very few have looked at is that if the increment does deter a lot of people from drinking beer, once the beer sales volumes go down, this may affect profit level for beer makers in Zambia like Zambia Breweries (ZB). SABMiller, the major shareholder in Zambia Breweries may decide to pull out. We have seen other companies threaten to do so once profitability is in jeopardy. However, SAB Miller and ZB will be here longer as I don’t see any other increment on beer tax even though a lot of people would want to see this for among other reasons, to control underage drinking and excessive alcohol abuse. However, the government will want to protect this industry, as it is a major source of employment for many. Industry must not be taxed to death.

Removal of customs duty on crude oil – Customs duty on crude oil has been removed. This action was a logical one especially considering that 2013 saw increment in fuel pump prices after the government removed subsidies on fuel.

Period for removal/entry of Goods In Bond – Section 32(4) of the Customs and Excise Act is proposed to be amended to reduce the number of days within which goods Removed In Bond may be entered for consumption, warehousing or re-export from 30 days to 15 days. Section 33(1) of the same act is also proposed to be amended to reduce the period within which goods may be entered from 30 days to 15

Pay As You Earn (PAYE) – Very good news for lower bracket earners!

The exempt threshold has been increased from ZMW 2,200 to ZMW 3,000 per month or from ZMW 26,400 to ZMW 36,000 per annum. This in some way gives the much talked about relief on the working class who are believed to be carrying the burden of providing government with revenue from the various taxes chief of which is PAYE. In Mr Chikwanda’s word, “...a demonstration of our commitment of putting more money in our people’s pockets, I propose to increase the current exempt threshold of Pay As You Earn by more than 36 percent…”

This entails that everyone with gross earnings below K 3,000 will contribute PAYE at 0%, effectively not pay this tax. And everyone above that will be taxed at applicable new income tax bands as; 0- K 3,000 taxed at 0%, K 3,001 – 3,800 taxed at 25%, 3,801-5,900 at 30% K5,900 and above at 35%.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

VAT has been expanded by shifting several categories of zero rated goods and services to the standard rated category. This will generate a revenue gain of K151 million. While the PAYE exempt threshold has been adjusted upwards, thereby making the worker have a little more disposable income, the groceries and some food items such as dairy milk that were VAT zero rated will become more expensive at the local supermarkets and retail chain outlets. That money which the government was collecting directly through employers as PAYE will now be collected through the supermarkets and other retail outlets as VAT.

This is perhaps why a lot of people have been lobbying for a tax regime that compels multinational corporations, mines in particular, to contribute more to the government’s treasury. A lot of sectors of the Zambian society have been lobbying for a tax regime such as the windfall tax that was once introduced by the government under Levy Mwanawasa. I understand there was an extensive study that was done regarding this issue, and if Levy’s government implemented the windfall tax based on the recommendation from that study then someone must just pick up that report from the office where it is gathering dust and then go ahead to devise the best way possible of implementation.

However, tax specifically targeted at the mining industry has been a contentious issue in all parts of the world. Alaska, Chile, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Namibia and Guinea are all examples. Guinea recently amended its mining code to reduce some taxes in an effort to improve the investment climate, as mining investors and major producers became gradually circumspect of big-ticket projects in difficult locations. A sharp slowdown in global commodity prices, since the 2008 global economic downturn led to record profit declines thus in order to remain competitive and be able to entice Foreign Direct Investments in mining, tax incentives could have proved to be the easy way out. This is the same reason the windfall tax regime was abandoned in Zambia

Some experts though still argue that the current tax regime in Zambia is not sufficient considering that minerals are not a renewable resource. They propose a tax system that taxes based on the amount of resources pulled from the ground or the market value of the natural resource product and in addition have a severance tax on top of other taxes - including royalties and corporate income tax.

My view… My thoughts...

Mr Chikwanda has stuck to the theme of his budget, and having a look at where he is spending money you will note that it is on economic activities and social protection. Mr Chikwanda’s budget has seen significant increases on expenditure in agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and construction. This is enough to connote his ambitions in job creation so as to "consolidate economic growth and promote social justice".

Part of the reason fuel and maize subsidies were removed in 2013 was that in most cases the beneficiaries were not the intended poor. In this respect, the government has promised to implement better designed social protection programmes such as the social cash transfer scheme that was piloted in several districts. In 2014, Government’s contribution to the social cash transfer scheme will be scaled up by over 700 percent in order to make a significant impact on reducing extreme poverty.

For most workers the announcement that the exempt threshold on PAYE had been adjusted upwards was good news. A budget is as good as its implementation is, not even the printed ink in the yellow book. The only time to really judge would be after the implementation has been set in motion and that would be after the first PAYE deductions are effected in 2014. A budget, whether personal or national must realistically conform to the level of resources available for achieving set targets, hence someone must cushion all the massive social spending in road construction social protection and of course the increased government wage bill.

In the past, the worker has proved to be a reliable source of revenue for the treasury thus any relief is welcome. However relief on PAYE and an increase on VAT greatly puts the worker in exactly the same position he/she was before as this is likely to inflate commodity prices. The good news is that the increment on VAT will only apply on items previously exempted from VAT tax.

The quest to broaden the tax base must continue.  PAYE alone cannot sustain the expenditure investments that can bring meaningful economic development. One sector that does not realize its potential in terms of revenue collection is Rental Income Tax and I would love to see a lot more focus on this in 2014.

Put simply, rental income is income derived from the letting of real property i.e. rent. Under the provisions of Section 82A of the Income Tax Act, the tenant is under obligation to deduct tax (withholding tax at 15%) from the payment of rent and remit the same to the ZRA within Fourteen (14) days from the date of accrual. The withholding tax on rent is not final, and as such the landlord/payee, is required at the year-end to submit an Income tax Return and account for the gross rental income (before withholding tax deduction) thereon.

The way forward is to broaden the tax base so as to ensure maximum revenue collection.