Why we need the Freedom of Information Act

Being a “good” journalist is hard. I must confess that I nearly quit journalism every year while in my early career. My poor family have been up and down with some of the decisions I have made or threatened to make (such as pursuing certain stories). 

The job demands you to disregard self and other aspects of your life. Despite the glory and drama shown on televisions, the reality is very different. The pressure can be immense, the work load punishing, and the thanks for the sacrifice, well, obsolete. I hate the attitude of ‘well it is going to be well with you because this piece of legislation or that will make your job easier'. We should always be striving to make the system better, more efficient and smarter.

I therefore, totally agree with information minister, Dr. Joseph Katema when he says “real democracy and development can be elusive without access to information”. However, what the journalistic experience has taught me is that, it is easier said than done.

The PF had promised to run an open government that would be subject to scrutiny by the media and the Zambian people. They went further to say they were going to allow media freedom by granting nationwide coverage to some of the private radio stations that had been in the business for a long time. Failure to implement these promises has led to a feeling of nostalgia, anger and sometimes regret. 

After winning the ideological war and subsequent elections in 2011, all that remained was to watch the orderly transition from the 'perceived' corrupt MMD to an 'open' PF government. Problems that have emerged in the constitution-making process, scraping of radio licences for nationwide coverage and a standoff with civil society over the NGO Act, have changed the initial sense of euphoria to guarded optimism. The transition experience has taught us that, while the commitment to change may be professed quickly, change itself comes slowly.

 

There is no doubt that the free-flow of information is an added incentive to a free and democratic society. People need to know what is going on in government in the same way that government ought to know what goes on in society. That way government would be in a position to come up with effective policies that would bring about positive change. 

I hope what the minister said is what he and his government genuinely believes in. Yes, you do give statements from time to time, but what we need is more and better engagement with you so that people can know what you're doing. I think that is what every journalist and the people of this nation want too. 

As you rightly said “real democracy and development can be elusive without access to information”. And this is what is happening right now. By enacting the Freedom of Information Act, you will make our job easier.

Why are we "Spectators of our own development"

Are we just a bunch of ‘useful idiots’ or ‘cry babies’ who mourn about anything except our own attitudes or our cries are genuine? To whom do we direct our complaints? Is it the Breton Woods Institutions or our own leaders? The later question is definitely out because even our leaders are also crying. The problem then is so complex but simple than one would think.

Over the past few weeks, there have been cries about Zambians’ lack of participation in their economic development. Some are saying we have turned ourselves into “spectators of development in their own land” and others have said we have lost control of our economy. In fact, it is the minister in charge of business (commerce) or "amakwebo" if you like, Hon. Bob Sichinga who said “the truth of the matter is that we think somebody else should come from a different location and continent to come and invest for us”.

There is nothing new in these cries, except perhaps that the minister has also joined the cry wagon, somebody we employed to find us solutions to all these challenges we are facing. Ministers have a responsibility among other things of putting in place policies that should direct the way business is done and how its citizens should participate and benefit from that. It seems our leaders’ focus and appetite is more on what is in it for them and not for their citizens. We have allowed investors to come and invest without really paying particular attention to what the citizens’ benefit from these investments. Mind you these are not our brothers and sisters; they’re business people who are out to make profit.

If our leaders had helped us by putting in place policies which ensure that there is local participation in any investment or business, we would not be crying today. Let us take the example of MMD when they were in government, they were cutting deals with some investors to benefit their party and a few individuals at the expense of ordinary people. The deals I am talking about here are those to do with donations from certain nations for use during campaigns. Some of these cases are in our courts today and I hope the PF are not doing the same. The Chinese and all these other investors have a tendency to donate items to political parties in power in order to gain favours. This was happening during the MMD and is still happening now.

Zambia is a country that has all the attributes of a country that can rise above where we are. The business environment is conducive, the weather is excellent, the people are peaceful and friendly but of course the economic policies are misplaced. How, for example can you allow a country to give you a loan to build a stadium and then from that loan they buy all the equipment, provide the labour and acquire all the material for that project from their country? Under such deals, what is in it for the nation? Yes, you will have a stadium but you will have lost out on employment for your people and on empowering local businesses and skills transfer. In the end, that country that has assisted you will get back the 80% of that project money leaving you with 20% for casual workers and a few local experts.

Perhaps, it is the way we have always viewed economics as the dark mysterious figure walking along highways and wants to be alone. But put simply economics is the way we use our scarce resources which have other alternative uses. What sort of choices do we make when we for example apply for a loan or receive a grant? It starts from the household level going all the way to the top – at Government level. This is where we perhaps miss it. The choices that we have made in deciding what to do and what not to do requires us to read the simple economics book by Robert Sanyikosa entitled, Getting the Economics Right. Economist Sanyikosa offers simple solutions to questions that might seem difficult. 

What we need is a complete shift from the way we have been making our economic decisions then we will stop being spectators of our own economic development.   

     

      

Why do African teams fail to tick at the World Cup?

George Wear

During a conversation with a colleague from Malawi - not about football but because of the ongoing World Cup, he asked me how I rate African teams at this year’s tournament in Brazil.  Without much hesitation, I expressed my frustration. Then I moved the conversation to another level asking him what he thinks make African teams fail to compete against their peers at the global showpiece. He responded by saying I think Africans are happy with being used.

To a certain extent, I agree with his assumption because when you look at many of the players in the five African representatives, they are world class players who play at various top teams in Europe and elsewhere. When they meet for national duty, they are an amalgamation of British, Italian, Spanish brand in one. But still they can’t tick. Let us take Nigeria as an example – from the goal keeper Vincent Enyama to the top man up front, Emmanuel Emenike, they come from top teams in France, Britain, Spain, Turkey, you mention them. In the game against Iran, they were more of underdogs than African champions. These are great players who it seems are happy being used at various clubs and not putting the effort when  playing for what is theirs.

Cameroon is another example – having Samuel Eto in their ranks is enough motivation to participate with confidence. Eto'o scored over 100 goals in five seasons with Barcelona, and is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African player in La Liga. In 2010, he became the first player to win two European continental trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter Milan. He is the second player to have ever scored in two separate UEFA Champions League finals and the fourth player, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Gerard Piqué, to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams.  

He is the most decorated African player of all time having won the African Player of the Year award a record four times - in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010. He was also third in the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2005. But look at what happened when he and his colleagues met Franco Di Santo's Mexico? They were beaten 1-0. In the next match, they come up against Uruguay before ending their World Cup first round fixture against hosts, Brazil. Can they go past these two teams to secure qualifications into the second round? That is a million dollar question.

I think like my friend suggested, the whole issue comes down to lack of patriotism and loving it “when you’re being used” as he put it. Africa is never shot of talent as we have seen from the time of Abedi "Pele" Ayew at Marseille, Samuel Kuffour at Bayern Munich, Finidi George and Nwankwo Kanu at Ajax when they won the Champions League in 1995 to the time of Didier Drogba at Chelsea, Africa has been on the rise.  What about the likes of George Wear? The man who in 1995 was voted World Footballer of the year, won the FIFA Ballon D'Or and was three times African Footballer of the year. Not only that, in 2004 he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. He played for Monaco, PSG, AC Milan in Italy, Chelsea and Man City in England – massive talent that Africa has produced. The two never even participated at the World Cup because their countries could not qualify then.

Abedi Pele, another great son of the African soil, one of the pioneers of African football in Europe who was voted African footballer of the year three times in a roll and also won the Champions League with Olympique Marsseille in France. There are also others who are still playing and are even participating in this year's World Cup. Drogba, the man who tormented defenses during his days at Chelsea and assisted the English team lift the Champions League in 2012 and

While the blame partly goes to the players for their lack of patriotism, I think there is more to it than just that. What about football administration in several African teams? It is pathetic to say the least. We see people jostling for positions in football associations, not to win so that they can improve football standards but to eat. There is where the main problem is. What they fail to appreciate is that football administration is more than just holding meetings and preparing league fixtures. There is people management involved, development of talent, coming up with a strategic plans of how to identify talent and nurture it.

How do you explain, a team winning the Africa Cup, then the following year fails to win a single match at the another competition of the magnitude?  Zambia failed not even to qualify for the World Cup but to beat teams like Lesotho at home. It is at football administration level where there are more problems. Many of these great players when they come to their home countries would for example be promised winning bonuses. They win a match but it becomes difficult to be paid. No one will even be bold enough to tell them when they will be paid.  Contrast that with the treatment they get at their clubs abroad. They are kings who don’t worry about small things like allowances. Money just flows automatically into their bank accounts.  

If African football administrators where as astute as their colleagues in Europe in developing local leagues, we were even going to have many of these top players playing on the continent. Look at the Egyptian League, which at least is run professionally, many top players who helped Egypt win 7 cup of nations are playing in that country. The likes Aboutrika, Wael Gamal, Armed Fatty to mention but a few, they were and some are still playing in Egypt. What do you think is keeping them there? It is because their league is well managed and can pay well.

I think African football administrators can learn from countries like Belgium, who had put in place a strategy of developing talent that would leter take them back to the World Cup. This includes even identifying players of Belgium heritage wherever they are playing, including those from African countries where they don't appreciate them. Today, they are the dark horses at this year's global showpiece. With players like Lomelu Lukaku, from Congo DR, Mussa Dembele, Adnan Januzj, Vincent Kompany - they're a team to watch. 

Coming to this year’s World Cup, apart from Cote D’Ivoire, I doubt if there is any other African team that can go past the first round. Enjoy the games as we hope for an improvement from African representatives.       

Mourinho the master tactician

It almost looked like an impossible task when Chelsea lost the Champions league first leg match in Paris against Paris St Germain (PSG). The team had gone down 3-1 and this was not an easy score line to overturn. I was also harbouring some doubts at the same time believing in Jose Mourinho to provide a silver lining for the Chelsea funs and that came in the form of a victory against Europe’s emerging powers - PSG.

PSG who are backed by Qatari investors have invested heavily in players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was missing due to injury, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani, Thiago Silva, Thiago Motta, Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore and others. On script this is a great team capable of causing problems to any team on earth. But Chelsea coach kept his belief in the likes of young Oscar, Eden Hazard, Willian and the experience of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petre Chech and Branislav Ivanovic who did not disappoint on an important night at Stamford Bridge. They went on to beat their visitors 2-0 for the game to end 3-3 on aggregate. The Blues qualified on an away goal rule.

The winning goal came through Demba Ba, the man who has not been used regularly this season. His 87^th minute scrambled goal made a difference after Chelsea had taken an early lead through Andre Schurrle in the first half. The Senegalese big man who bundled in the ball from a Caesar Azpilicueta cross said afterwards, “I saw the ball and it was in the goal. I just do what I have to do when I get chances this season but tonight I took.” The Portuguese’s run along the touchline evoked memories of his famous Old Trafford celebration when his Porto side defeated Manchester United in 2004 although this time he was also keen to whisper in his players’ ears not to take risk.

   

It was not so much about the players’ profiles but the managers on the touchline. In Mourinho Chelsea has a coach who has won two champions league trophies with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010. He has also never lost a quarter final match in this competition. It is this experience that the Portuguese was bringing to this clash against his opposite Laurent Blank. The former Manchester United player has experience of playing in the English league but no experience of coaching a team at that level. Mourinho had told his players to “go out and play with smiles on their faces” as they had nothing to lose after last week’s defeat and indeed his players did just that. 

It is the seventh time in 11 champions league campaigns that Chelsea have reached the semi finals and Mourinho is on course to become the first manager to win the European cup with three different clubs. The Chelsea coach repaid the belief that the Stamford Bridge followers have in him when they kept singing his return even when the team was winning the Europa league last year. Someone even wrote “it is in moments like these that Chelsea brought back Mourinho” refering to the Portuguese’s ability to prepare his players to overturn the 3-1 loss suffered in Paris.

Everyone can be a coach but what separates good from bad coaches is the character. Mourinho’s personality is one of wining, winning and winning. It is this mentality that has seen him not lose at Stamford Bridge and in 9 UEFA Champions League quarter finals. He is such a great tactician who is never afraid to make important but sometimes risky decisions. One example was in last night’s game where by the end of 90 minutes he had three strikers on the field and it paid off.

Congratulations Chelsea!!!