Eagerly waiting for new space

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
CHILUFYA Chileya is a vegetable trader who travels back and forth, sometimes twice a day, between Lusaka’s main Soweto Market to collect vegetables for sale in Zingalume Township.
“Although not satisfied with being a trader, I am grateful that I can do something that puts food on the table for my children,” she says.
Not only that, Ms Chileya also says she has managed to build a house in Zingalume just from her vegetable business.
Her main worry is only during the rainy season.
“Whenever it rains, coming here [Soweto market] is unbearable but I have no choice because I have been trading in vegetables for years,” Ms Chileya says.
Soweto becomes filthy whenever it rains.
“I am happy that it is not raining now, the filthy environment is sometimes too much to a point that one has to wear protective boots and sometimes you have to carry another pair of clothes to change after doing your business here.”
The Glorious Band would say the story of Soweto market is well known [Ilyashi Likaya].
The market lacks proper water drainage systems thereby giving rise to the potential outbreak of water-borne diseases like cholera, which Lusaka City was battling with only recently.
“There is no way we can allow this to happen so long after independence. I don’t understand,” said a shocked Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale, who toured the market last month with his Gender counterpart, Victoria Kalima. “What needs to happen here is an entire upgrade to the place.”
But for all the complaints against its trading environment, Soweto market remains a popular destination for many shoppers.
She needs to check TripAdvisor, an American travel and restaurant website company providing hotel and restaurant reviews, accommodation bookings and other travel-related content.
“Best place to visit especially if you are not afraid of crowds! For locals, everything under one massive roof... For foreign tourists, a good place to experience life in one of the biggest markets of Lusaka. Please make sure you move with a friend or a person who knows the market well as the place may seem overwhelming for a loner,” one reviewer wrote.
Another one added: “Since there is not much else to do, I took a drive out there with a taxi. It is a true African market, people everywhere, cars and taxis hooting and shouting. I felt uncomfortable to leave the taxi and just decided to drive through, which was the interesting part. I’ve been to many African markets, but the mayhem at this one is by far the worst. Fun to see, so go look and decide for yourself, and just have an exit plan.”
There are many other positive reviews of Soweto market.
“A walk through this market place is a must, from vendors selling all kinds of trinkets and Chinese-made goodies, to the shop stalls peddling new and used apparel, from undies to wolly jumpers and everything in between,” another reviewer wrote.
“The small shops offer just about any kind of new goods from phone chargers to fridges and the latest flat screen TVs and portable hi-fi’s. Adding to the hustle and bustle are the busy side walk salons where ladies can do a dazzling hair style, while the traffic passes by. If one is a little hungry, there are some take- away food eateries, mostly chicken and chips. A very busy place and look out for the usual street urchins lurking about.”
They are mostly right. Soweto market, located on Los Angeles road on the western part of the city, is a place where you can find anything; groceries, toiletries, medicines, clothes, furniture, stationary, Zambian curios and one suspects even spare parts for an aircraft.
But despite the positives, the traders still want the issue of sanitation to be attended to.
“We’re not happy, we feel very unsafe. Now there is no much peace. The market now accommodates everyone, farmers, buyers and us the traders, unlike before, farmers had their specific place. The other side was closed because of the cholera epidemic and currently, the place is under construction,” Isaac Sakala, who sells groundnuts at the market, says.
An agribusiness expert, Wesley Litaba Wakun’uma, says the situation at Soweto market hinders the growth of the country’s agribusiness.
“Any agribusiness venture needs access to markets in order to create a profitable food market. The time has come for making Zambian agriculture and agribusiness a catalyst for ending poverty. We have lots of people venturing in agribusiness but the situation at Soweto market is one that can negatively affect access to markets,” Mr Wakun’uma says.
“Unlocking the potential of agribusiness in Zambia begins with better and orderly food markets where customers can assemble and buy whatever they need, from vegetables to fruits.
“Soweto market is a competitive place even among Zambia’s neighbours, but it is held back by the difficulty and filthy environment farmers and traders work from. Trading in a filthy place is a major deterrent for consumers and this constrains the growth and performance of our farmers and agribusiness ventures in Zambia.”
Fortunately, the minister of local government is seemingly on top of things.
“The new vegetables and fruits wholesale trading markets at new Soweto is taking shape. Farmers and traders will soon trade in a safe environment with adequate sanitary facilities,” Mr Mwale says.
“The market will have four shelters, 28 toilets, four showers, a large parking space for trucks bringing farm produce and a solid waste collection bay.”
He says once the market starts operating, a health committee will be appointed to ensure that the highest levels of sanitation are upheld.
“It is absolutely important that we do that considering that almost all farm produce that end up on our tables pass through this market and any contamination risks lives of the entire population of the city,” Mr Mwale says.
The new market is expected to accommodate over 2,500 traders. PUBLISHED ON MAY 26, 2018.

It may not be what you think

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
AT a time when heritage is at risk of destruction the world over, pressured by factors such as globalisation, climate change, migration, infrastructure development, the search for identity by humanity becomes more challenging.
This is why the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is giving financial assistance from its Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) fund to various countries worldwide to help them document intangible cultural heritage.
UNESCO last week gave the University of Zambia (UNZA) US$340,000 to develop a degree programme to safeguard intangible cultural heritage with the first intake comprising of 20 students.
Immediately after news of the dishing out of the funds came out, a hashtag DegreeInWitchcraft went viral.
Social media users and the public picked on witchcraft, probably one of the topics once the degree programme is designed and approved by the higher learning institution.
The term witchcraft evokes different images for different people and in Zambia, the practice is a crime.
UNZA senior lecturer in the department of Archeology and historical studies Walima Kalusa says the institution of higher learning has no intentions of introducing a degree in witchcraft as suggested on social media.
“We have no intentions what so ever to introduce such a course and at no point was such discussed. What I am aware of is that as a university, we have received funding to commence a degree programme in intangible cultural heritage and we have not designed anything yet. We are right now in a workshop to formulate the course content of the degree programme,” Dr Kalusa says.
According to UNESCO, cultural heritage, among others, includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.
Dr Kalusa says though fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization.
“An understanding of the intangible cultural heritage of different communities helps with intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life,” Dr Kalusa says.
It is out of this concern the university introduced a degree programme to be centered on culture and people’s identity, beliefs and humanity in diversity.
He says the importance of intangible cultural heritage is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next.
He adds that the social and economic value of this transmission of knowledge is relevant for humanity everywhere.
But just what is intangible cultural heritage?
By UNESCO’s definition, ICH is the traditional, contemporary and life of different people according to their culture.
“Intangible cultural heritage does not only represent inherited traditions from the past but also contemporary rural and urban practices in which diverse cultural groups take part, we may share expressions of intangible cultural heritage that are similar to those practised by others. Culture is what gives us that identity,” former National Arts Council chairperson Mulenga Kapwepwe said.
Ms Kapwepwe feels the misunderstanding circulating on social media will not help but contribute to the diminishing of various culture and beliefs in Zambia.
“You cannot liken ICH to witchcraft, it’s far from it. Intangible cultural heritage does not give rise to questions of whether or not certain practices are specific to a culture. It contributes to social cohesion, encouraging a sense of identity and responsibility which helps individuals to feel part of one or different communities and to feel part of society at large,” Ms Kapwepwe says.
Ms Kapwepwe says intangible cultural heritage is not merely valued as a cultural good, on a comparative basis, for its exclusivity or its exceptional value.
“ICH thrives on its basis in communities and depends on those whose knowledge of traditions, skills and customs are passed on to the rest of the community, from generation to generation, or to other communities,” Ms Kapwepwe says.
Ms Kapwepwe adds, “We need communities to come on board and explain the diversity in their cultures and believes. Intangible cultural heritage can only be heritage when it is recognized as such by the communities, groups or individuals that create, maintain and transmit it – without their recognition, nobody else can decide for them that a given expression or practice is their heritage.”
And Lusaka Museum director Victoria Chitungu says safeguarding intangible cultural heritage is a valuable source of the economy.
“ICH is the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted from one generation to the next ones. Safeguarding ICH must therefore always involve the society, people and, where appropriate, individuals that bear such heritage. It is worrying to see the public associating this to witchcraft. It is far from it,” Mrs Chitungu says.
Besides being the wealth and identity of humanity, the global wealth of traditions is the principal motivation for travel, with tourists seeking to find out about new cultures and to experience the global difference of performing arts, handcrafts, rituals and cuisines.
And Zambia National Commission for UNESCO secretary general Charles Ndakala says his organisation supports peace and humanity and cannot therefore support witchcraft which is a crime in Zambia.
“UNESCO has substantial commitments not only for communities but also at national and international to ensure that culture is preserved documented and transmitted. We will not sit and not support Zambia to preserve, documents and transmit its diverse cultural heritage once called upon,” Dr Ndakala says.
And Professor Dickson Mwansa, who is an authority on cultural matters, says there is nothing strange or new about studying witchcraft.
“Witchcraft in Western Europe is celebrated during Halloween and people have studied deeply the usefulness, the uselessness of witchcraft,” he says.
Some years ago, Prof. Mwansa was part of a team of academicians who were tasked to look at the witchcraft law.
“There is a witchcraft law which was passed a long time ago by the British and we spent some time looking at it trying to change to suit modern times,” he says.
Prof Mwansa says the belief in witchcraft is part of intangible culture.
“We have a lot of belief in witchcraft and so we need to study it.
“Unless you understand their potency and things attributed to them, you can be fearing what is just useless craft,” he says.
He says witchcraft does not necessarily need to be a faculty in the university, but can be fused into other fields such as development studies
“We are a Christian nation but it doesn’t mean that we have to throw away knowledge about what we have.
“There are people who believe in this and you cannot covert them to the new ways of living as Christians if you don’t understand the depth of their own beliefs,” he says.
Decades ago, a group of scholars collected a number of artifacts used by witches for study purposes. Those artefacts are now displayed in the Lusaka Museum.
Heritage preservation has gained increasing attention within African countries including Zambia. Nevertheless, the rich living heritage diversity has to be identified and inventoried, which requires the full involvement of the communities.
Hence, several programmes being undertaken as a first step towards the preservation of the Zambian intangible cultural heritage. PUBLISHED ON JUNE 17, 2018.

Should teen fathers face teenage pregnancy consequences?

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
THE need to bring boys who impregnate their fellow teenage girls to face up to the consequences of their actions has become more apparent in society.
At a meeting recently held by Ipas Zambia at Taj Pamodzi recently, participants felt that girls suffer more when they are impregnated than the boys who are responsible.
Feminist and gender expert Sarah Longwe believes that the current societal trends where girls shoulder most of the blame for teenage pregnancy gives teen fathers a way of escape from their consequences.
Ms Longwe, who is also Non-Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) board chairperson believes that consequences of teenage pregnancy should not only land on girls in cases where the girl is impregnated by a fellow teenage boy.
“There is, therefore, an urgent radical set of change to the systems of preventing teenage pregnancy and support for teenage parents and this should begin from a home,” Ms Longwe says.
She argues that there is too, unfair discrimination when it comes to cautioning teenagers against sexual behaviours as messages only target girls.
Ms Longwe believes that a crackdown on teen fathers and a huge publicity campaign to tell young people how hard it is to be a parent and how easy it is to get pregnant should be mooted.
According to the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) 2013-2014, the adolescent birth rate countrywide stood at 146 births per 1000 girls at 15-19 years, giving about 29 percent of adolescent girls in Zambia become pregnant before the age of 18.
She suggests that society needs to dispel the ignorance that surrounds sex and make them know the fact that looking after a baby when they are still dependents is a hard task.
“They are surrounded by sexual imagery without reference to the responsibilities associated with sexual activity,” Ms Longwe says.
Ms Longwe adds, “Just as importantly, we need to ensure that boys are made aware that fatherhood is not a one-night stand, but a long-term responsibility”.
Society has treated girls who got pregnant like they did so on their own and this is the attitude that has to change in order to lighten the burden, stigma, agony that teen mothers go through.
For Ms Longwe, teenage pregnancy is not right.
Teenage pregnancy undermines girls’ human rights and compromises their opportunity to fully realise their socio-economic development potential.
Ipas Zambia country director Grace Tambatamba-Chiyaba says there is an increase in unwanted pregnancies among teenagers and this has resulted in many teenagers opting for unsafe abortion.
“Comprehensive sex education to young people is vital in efforts to improve their health and dignity, and in turn contribute positively to building a strong foundation for responsible citizenry,” Ms Chiyaba says.
And Zambia National Men’s Network chairperson Nelson Banda acknowledges that teenage pregnancy is rife in communities in Zambia and only girls seem to be at the centre of the blame.
For Mr Banda, the urgent strategy in bringing boys into the circle is by having a national publicity campaign to warn boys and girls of the dangers of teenage pregnancy.
“A cross-stakeholder task force on teenage pregnancy and maybe help lines offering pregnancy and relationship advice to young people is urgently needed. We also need teenage parents to teach their peers the hardships of early pregnancy,” Mr Banda says.
And a once-upon-a-time teenage mother, Bessy Chilekwa now 21, says arguments from society that sex education increased sexual activity are bogus.
Ms Chilekwa, who became a mother at 17 says teenage parents should not be punished but supported so that they did not become marginalised.
“They say life is a greatest teacher and I agree to this adage because through my experience as a teen mother, I have learnt that teen pregnancy is disgraceful. It comes with very harsh realities. I say so because currently, very few teenage mothers receive maintenance from the fathers of their children,” Ms Chilekwa says.
Ms Chilekwa’s wish is the establishment of reforms that will ensure that boys who fathered children were tracked down and forced to pay for maintenance.
Most teenage mothers come to learn of the consequences of being a teenage mother when it is too late to stop the impact.
Concern about the spate of father absence and its effects on children’s well-being has led to a growing focus on fathers in family interventions, although there is relative silence on teenage fathers.
Various stakeholders now feel that there is an urgent need to bring boys and teen fathers on board as a way of bringing teenage pregnancy levels down. PUBLISHED ON JUNE 10, 2018.

Local entrepreneur gives life to Tamarind

DOREEN NAWA, Lusaka
TAMARIND, known as kawawasha in some dialects in Zambia and prized for its sweet-and-sour taste, is rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Often used to make juice, its sticky pulp is also a rich source of dietary fibre.
Ecological research done by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) called Sustainable diets and biodiversity shows that 100 grammes of fruit pulp provides 5.1 or over 13 percent of the dietary fibre that a human being typically needs in a day.
A private nutritionist Felix Kabbila says tamarind, which is native to tropical Africa, is particularly useful for restoring electrolyte imbalance when one experiences dehydration.
This is the reason some Zambian communities will serve a glass of tamarind to a guest on a hot day – or as a hangover remedy.
“It belongs to the vegetable order though it is treated and consumed like a fruit. It is this pulp that contains all the nutritional and health benefits of the tamarind fruit.”
However, despite all the beneficial nutrients present in tamarind, it remains just a wild fruit for many.
Mr Kabbila believes that value addition to this wonder tree and its fruits would be of great help in up-scaling ways of combating malnutrition in the country.
But for all its widespread use and health benefits, tamarind still remains largely unimproved and unappreciated as a horticultural crop.
Goodson Gatsi, a resident of Kafue district, says he has known the fruit since he was born.
“I only know that you can eat the fruit just by sucking it. I did not know it has several benefits and can be made into a juice. We also use the tree for firewood,” Mr Gatsi says.
Sustainable Innovation Africa (SIA), an initiative by a Zambian agribusiness expert, has started adding value to tamarind and now makes juice out of it.
The juice is packed in bottles as a fusion and sold on the local market and abroad, particularly in Lesotho and South Africa.The juice named busika, which is the name for tamarind in Tonga, entered the market in December last year.
Since then, 21, 000 bottles have been produced.
SIA is currently working on a digital application that will see consumers buy the product online.
“We’re looking at digital marketing,” SIA executive director Wesley Wakung’uma, says.
“We decided to develop this initiative because we noticed that this fruit is going to waste yet it has a lot of health and environmental benefits.”
“Tamarind is a versatile fruit whose value can be added to a number of different consumer products. The seeds, bark and stem have also been shown to have medicinal properties. Currently, the demand for tamarind processed products exceeds supply,” Mr Wakung’uma says.
However, the commercial potential of tamarind has not been realised yet despite the value being added to it. It is believed that there is a lack of awareness of the potential of tamarind at village level.
But there is anecdotal evidence that the crop could be more profitable to farmers than moringa. What is lacking though is developing the industry and building farmer capabilities to increase volumes.
Mr Wakung’uma says according to a research he did on the benefits of tamarind, many people are turning to the exotic option of tamarind juice to improve their health in various ways.
The fruit of this wild tree has a taste that can be described as both sweet and sour.
This plant now grows in many tropical areas in the world.
But because of deforestation that has hit the country following the high production of charcoal, SIA has acquired land in Njolwe area, east of the capital Lusaka, where a project to start cultivating the tamarind trees has commenced.
So far, 10, 000 tamarind seedlings are earmarked to be planted as a way of restoring the forest.
In Zambia, there is information gap on the growth, genetic conservation and development and utilization of tamarind.
“Countries have overlooked the significance of tamarind resources in terms of food security. To diversify livelihood and food security for the poor people in arid lands having poor soils, persistent agricultural crops failure and chronic annual famine, there is need to identify such useful trees for their utilization in food, beverages and other industrial products, Mr Wakung’uma says”
Almost every part of the tree is usable.
Vice-President of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Non State Actors Coalition (CNC) Cris Muyunda says wild foods are important for food security and nutrition while trees and forests are vital for their role in the provision of ecosystem services to agriculture locally and globally.
“Wild foods like tamarind and many others contribute both directly and indirectly to food security and nutrition globally,” Dr Muyunda says.
He says with food security and nutrition high on the agenda in the nation, it is crucial to understand the contribution of forests and trees to family needs. PUBLISHED ON MAY 27, 2018. ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL.