FIVE BEST PRACTICES IN ZAMBIA

Dominic Liche Very often when people offer political or economic analysis, they highlight negative things with some recommendations of how to deal with the problems. What is missing in these analyses is looking at best practices from which the country can learn from and looking at things other countries can learn from us. As a nation, without having a positive self-worth, it will be very difficult to develop. With a negative image, a developing nation easily develops inferiority to developed countries for it does not see itself as having much to contribute to its wellbeing and that of other nations. Such a nation does not exhaust the resources and potentials that it has to develop and flourish. Such a nation has very little to offer to other countries. In a globalised world, all nations have something to offer and all nations benefit from each other. Let us look at some of the best practices in Zambia. PEACE AND ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS Since Independence in 1964, Zambia has enjoyed peace without unmanaged violent conflict. Despite having many tribes, many religions, many languages, many viewpoints, we have continued to live in peace with each other. This is unlike many of our neighbouring countries. It shows that it is possible for a country to remain peaceful and ensure that its people enjoy human rights even when surrounded by countries that are marred by violent conflicts and disrespect of human rights. Elections in Zambia have been taking place according to the Constitution and elections have generally been free of sustained violence unlike other countries. DEVELOPMENT CAN TAKE PLACE Despite the disputes on whether any particular party can bring about development in a short period, say 90 days, or in five years of taking office, in recent months and years, it has been demonstrated, as a best practice, that with a bit of right incentives, development can take place. Despite being possible efforts at electioneering in sight of this years elections next month, the current Government has somewhat demonstrated that schools and hospitals can be built, roads can be done, unemployed nurses and teachers can be employed in their thousands, resources can be found to channel towards tangible development programmes. This shows that in the short term and in the long term, it is possible to develop our country. It is unhelpful to appeal to the excuse that a developing country does not have enough resources to address all development needs. No nation has all the resources to address all its needs. What a nation needs to do is to prioritise which needs to address given the available resources. A VIBRANT CIVIL SOCIETY A third best practice is having a vibrant civil society that has supplemented Government efforts in service delivery, policy making and implementation, and holding Government accountable for decisions, policies, plans, and laws. Despite some threat to this vibrant civil society through the recent enactment of the NGO Act, civil society has continued to operate without interference from Government. Every week, civil society issues statements complimenting Government work, criticising failed Government efforts, and suggesting ways

on improving governance. Civil society continues to greatly contribute to the welfare of all Zambians and it is a major voice in the governance of the country. PLANNING AND LONG TERM VISION A fourth best practice in Zambia is good planning especially in having long term and short term development plans. Although development plans were dropped in the early 1990s, they were re-introduced in the 2000s. Before the 1990s, four development plans (first to fourth) were prepared and implemented. In 2006, the Fifth National Development Plan (2006-2010) was introduced alongside the long term Vision 2030 where Zambia planned to be a middle income country by 2030. Development plans are operationalised through the Mid-Term Expenditure Frameworks and the Annual Budgets. These plans are developed after wide consultation with a wide sector of stakeholders. Currently, the Government is using the Sixth National Development Plan (2011-2015). Short term and long term planning ensures a transparent way of using national resources and clearly spelt path to development. Without a plan, it is difficult to develop in a good and sustainable way. RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY The fifth good thing in Zambia is that religions exist without interference from the State and religions do not interfere with State business. Although some very much unknown religions and churches seem to be praise singers of Government, many credible religions and denominations play their proper role in not meddling in politics. Religious freedom, inter religious harmony, non-interference of religion are the order of the day in Zambia. The three Church Mother Bodies (Council of Churches in Zambia, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, and the Zambia Episcopal Conference) have continued to work together and speak with one voice on burning issues affecting the country in a way that demonstrates religious unity and ecumenism. Whilst in other countries, there seems to be a thin line between the State and religion, where conflicts both tribal and political arise from religious affiliations, Zambia has demonstrated that every individual has a right to worship in a religion of their own choice. LESSONS FROM BEST PRACTICES In suggesting these best practices, I am not naively asserting that all in is well even in the five areas mentioned above. There are many best practices in Zambia, many things that are working well. What is important is not to lose sight of these things by concentrating too much on the negative aspects. A good analyst is one that does three things highlight the positive aspects of a particular issue, highlight negative aspects, and propose ways of perpetuating the positive aspects and ways of dealing with the negative ones. And this is what this article is proposing, to build on the best practices and propose workable ways of improving aspects where we are failing as a country. What do you think are other best practices in Zambia that we should be building on? jctr@jesuits.org.zm www.jctr.org.zm [994 words] Dominic Liche Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection Lusaka, Zambia Prepared for THE POST, Lusaka, 30 August 2011