Creativity

[Bupsiny]

Dear Zambia,

we need a people who are creative in all they do. zambia has the potential to do anything that any other country can do, this should altogether start with people who are in the fore front to run country affairs. if the top most leader and his colleagues are to get rid of the selfish ambitions piled up in their minds, our country would rise to greater heights. away from that, every zambian should be as creative in all they do, try to come up with something unique and never to rely on other people's thoughts. put that idea you are hubering in your mind to use so as not to remain a dreamer, act today because you responsible for setting up a pace for your life. you have what it takes, think and act now. have confidence in yourself and trust GOD

[Private]

I was with you until your very last sentence.

There is a very good reason why the principle of separation of church and state is an enduring concept in modern democracy. The idea is not to discourage people from practicing their religion but to keep religion out of matters of the 'nation state'.

If you think I'm kidding, try to answer me this question. What is your idea of 'God'? Whatever it is, I'm sure there will be someone who will disagree with you. This disagreement can very easily deteriorate into a mêlée and a mindless brouhaha. Religion is best kept private.

FTJ declaring Zambia a Christian nation was a mockery to both religion and democracy. Not even KK with all his many idiotic ideas, did he ever concoct such a shallow gimmick like FTJ did.

[Mukomwa]

I don't believe it depends on the top most leadership only. Somewhere along the way, we have lost it. The freedom fighters for the independence had an objective they aimed to achieve; the first republic had well laid down plans for social and economic development and provided for organized development; the second republic started it by usurping the powers of individual initiative and putting all powers in the state; the sad (third) republic finished it all - completely externalized all initiative: all companies sold off, party cadres (instead of professionals) given to run important institutions, etc.

Given the Zambian culture of fikaisova, we do not collectively do anything to resolve our problems. We sit back and hope that things will resolve themselves. In the process, we see our national resources bastardized, such as our mines being sold for a song, education and health systems let to run down, key institutions that border on national security being sold to foreign companies, to mention a few things. As Zambians we fail to appreciate the role we can play in the global setup to benefit ourselves.

A lot of Zambians are creative, but that creativity is not being applied fully because, as a nation, we have not created institutions that support these. In agriculture, for example, a lot of our middle class perform various activities such as rearing chickens, fish farming, vegetable growing, etc on their small holdings. These activities are, however, are not institutionally supported in terms access to financial support, market information, etc. In our big supermarkets, you find imported tomatoes! Surely we can and do grow tomatoes.

Bupsiny, as you say, we have to have confidence in ourselves. But we also have to be prepared as individuals and society to create conducive environments for ourselves and our children and their children to create and to reap the benefits of their creations. In my case, as a Calvinist, I will not wait for "the top most leaders" to suppress my creativity: I work hard, enjoy the fruits of my hard work, and I intend to enjoy in heaven as I do on earth!