The Xenophobia Question Needs Deeper Reflection

This article was written at the height of the Xenophobic Attacks that occurred in South Africa. However, I forgot to publish. It maybe stale now but I reckon it still has some valuable points of reflection.

Do South Africans really dislike foreigners? Are they intolerant to foreigners? Is the patience of South Africans with foreigners being pushed to the age? Today, the African continent is watching with jolt the on-goings in a country majority sacrificed to have liberated from the pangs and wrenches of brutal minority white rule.   What has sparked off this carousel of this indifference and in some cases brutal slayings of foreigners in one of Africa’s most supposed promising democracy and economy? Are we as outside observers being melodramatic in the views we hold towards some South Africans regarding this matter? From the outset, it is important to undertake a profound reflection on these attacks and not to haste condemnation of South Africans.

Obviously, these attacks are not a generic feature but isolated and therefore, the actions of a minority should not be used to stereotype over fifty million South Africans. While at this, according to the World Atlas Publication, South African is second most visited African country after Morocco. In fact, it is not only visited but the most migrated to by varied nationalities of most African countries. In fact, a team of academics at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg produced a set of statistics that estimated that the overall foreign population in South Africa ranged from 1.6 to 2 million, or 3 to 4 percent of the total population. They also reported that there were between 1 and 1.5 million legal and illegal Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa. All these immigrants are competing for jobs and decent livelihood with the citizens.

This migration is definitely opportunity-for-a-better-life led. But do these migrants attain the rosy quality of life they dream of? Sometimes, these opportunities that most African nationals trail in the supposed land of opportunity are faux as majority of the immigrants end up engaging in illegal activities to make ends meet while portraying a facade of a rosy picture to their countries of origin. In most cases, these foreigners involuntarily take up jobs that they would never take up their countries of origin. While the above point is not the crux of this discourse, it is important for African countries to take a deep contemplation on the possible panacea to the problem South Africa faces today. In fact, one can be quick to clinch that the problem of foreign immigrants looking for a better life in South Africa other than their own countries places the rest of African countries on the spotlight. Are other African countries failing their citizens for them to lose confidence in their own Governments and opt to go try their luck in South Africa? That is an assertion that can be reflected on by individual bystanders.

In comparative terms, Zambia has seen an influx of Chinese nationals engaging in occupations that indigenous nationals are not skill-short off. It is not a secret that some Chinese nationals have been engaging blue-collar work, sale of vegetables and chickens just to mention but a few. Ordinarily, these are jobs expected to be undertaken by Zambians. While they engage in these activities, some Zambians have raised trepidation that their jobs are being stolen. In a number of cases, the Government has acted to remedy such situations.  Without playing the fiend’s advocate, can this observation be linked to the same cries the ordinary South Africans are making? It is not a secret that employment opportunities world over are shrinking owing to a number of factors such as mechanization of industry and attenuation of economic activity. It would be wrong for any observer of this growing problem of isolated anti-foreigner skirmishes to conclude that South Africans are indifferent to foreigners.  Some observers have even gone to the extent of raising doubts on whether the much extolled national value of ‘Ubuntu’ that aided South Africa to overcome the post-Apartheid violent feelings and paved way for truth and reconciliation.  It is not in this author’s ambit to conclude whether the post-apartheid political transition in South Africa did not fully address the political economic question, and hence the xenophobic violence which is a symbolic expression of a deeper resentment against an unjust and unequal economic growth coupled with a wave of violent crimes. 

While the world is now a global village, one cannot deny the fact that globalization has triggered protectionism at various strata of human endeavor for countries to remain afloat and relevant in this competitive epoch. The cry of the ordinary South African regarding jobs is a genuine one except the manner in which it is being expressed of using violence as a means to gain attention. This problem requires concerted efforts to resolve and regional blocks such as Southern African Development Community (SADC) should take keen interest in this smoldering problem before it hits a tailspin. The block whose countries are used a transit points to South Africa by migrants coming from the northern part of the continent should collaborate towards stamping out illegal immigration.

However, acts of violence by some sullen individuals in South Africa who appear not to have the propensity to air their grievances with sobriety should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. 

SOUTH SUDAN, SINK OR SWIM!

 A  By Bonaventure Mutapi Mutale

Just when Africa and the world at large thought the belligerents in South Sudan conflict, the world’s youngest nation had ceased fire in order to converge their efforts on moving the nation forward, did the nation again go up into a blaze. Before and around Monday, 11^th July, 2016, pandemonium broke out and Juba the capital city of South Sudan was the center of feuds and warfare. And this time around, the mayhem and fighting was so fierce and brutal to the extent that the just in two days since the skirmishing broke out, 200 people had been reportedly killed in addition to many unaccounted for casualties. International media reported that the authorities at South Sudanese Ministry of Health had equally presaged that the death toll from the fighting in Juba could have risen up to over 270. The sporadic confrontation in Juba is a clear affront on the Agreement of the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, which was signed in August 2015 between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar’s warring cabals. This is the agreement that was the bedrock of the Declaration of Cessation of Hostilities between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) loyal to Salva Kirr and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) loyal to his first Vice President, Riek Machar. This declaration seemed to have held intermezzo.

These hostilities between the two belligerents seems to be deeply engrained in the stern and ferocious fight for leadership which many people may wish to note has bedeviled South Sudan even before it gained self-rule from the main Sudan. The most incommodious thing about this post-independence conflict in South Sudan is the generation of contentions by several observers as to whether the fight for independence was in the interest of the South Sudanese or it was about mere fight for political power. The case of South Sudan rapid degeneration into a warzone for a country that appears to espouse freedom and unity for a people that had been down trodden for a long time is bothersome. This is a paradigm that Africa and the world at large should not sit back and watch turn into a bonfire. Those who follow African events will confirm that this is not the first time that this altercation since South Sudan gained self-rule. In 2013, after tensions arose between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, who is of the Dinka ethnicity and Vice President Riek Machar, who is of the Nuer ethnicity, war broke out. As usual, the casualties are the civilians especially women and children.  

For those who may care to further know will attest to the fact that Riek Machar even before independence has been at the epicenter of controversy and polemics with the sedulous late Dr. John Garang who at that served as pre-independence President of the South Sudan. Though Riek Machar had been a key figure in the eventual attainment of sovereignty, it has been come clear that he has been a divisive factor thereby making it practically impossible for the newly independent country pull in one direction. This is the reason why observers of African affairs like this author may question his move to go into hiding after the events of July 7, 2016 military face-ff. This action alone raises concerns on the sustainability of the power-sharing agreement. Where is the United Nations (UN) in the midst of this crisis? What about the African Union and regional bodies around the East Africa which South Sudan is a party to?

This is no time for Africa and the world at large to put your feet up their feet into relaxation because the concord the world is simply cosmetic and temporal. The truth is that a conflict is smoldering in view of the fact that the belligerents in the chaos are strongmen with considerable influence that would throw South Sudan’s stability into doubt. This development may also vindicate the reluctance main Sudan had over granting independence to South Sudan. The citizens would question the essence of gaining independence when their national leadership is embroiled in skirmishes and combat. But again, the biggest question that requires answering and vivid understanding as Africa and the world at large responds to the crisis is to establish the footing of the war. Why is it that a newly independent extremely poor country with so much natural wealth would descend into such chaos? What does this say about the future of the peace and security around that country? What does the future hold for a country reported by World Health Organization (WHO) as having some of the worst health indicators in the world? This is a country were under-five infant mortality rate is 135.3 per 1,000, while maternal mortality is the highest in the world at 2,053.9 per 100,000 live births.

Having pointed out the above, it can be adduced that the world’s youngest nation has long way to go to attain a workable responsive governance system in tandem with other progressive African countries in view of the on goings there. But again, this also gives an indication that perhaps, there was a lack of preparation for post-independence life in all institutions of Governance. Prior to attaining self-rule, one would have hoped that those tribal rebel groups should have been effectively disarmed and clear post-independence transition roadmap set. The state of affairs also shows a very bad example of having too many ‘strongmen’ with massive almost ‘religious’ influence on a certain section of society.  Silva Kiir and Reik Machar are very influential figures and none of them appear willing to concession their respective establishments. This mayhem has to come to an end and it can only end if the United Nations and its collectives take a strong stand and   encourage both President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar to push for calm for the sake of the South Sudanese people who are usually the victims of war and its off shoots. This conflict should not be allowed to generate into a full scale bedlam. Africa is undergoing a renaissance but this can only be achieved if all countries have their peace and security guaranteed. Africa has witnessed enough conflicts and cannot afford endure more. South Sudan should swim and not sink into a failed state after being independent for only 5 years!

The Author is a Lusaka Based Observer of Local and African Affairs.

For comments, email: bonaventuremutale@gmail.com

The Malaise of the Zambian Entertainment Industry Part II

By Bonaventure Mutapi Musonda Chiti Mutale

In continuation from part I of the article, the crux of this discourse is to understand the extent to which the entertainment industry can be a durable means of survival for our hard working artists. For arguments sake, of current crop of musicians, apart from Macky II, Slap D, Mampi, Amayenge and JK, how many artists are earning a decent livelihood from their intellectual property? To be honest, they are very few in comparison to Nigeria’s or even South African famed musicians whose net worth average earnings are in excess of millions of dollars. Our artists are leap years behind.  How much money does our acclaimed actor Owas Mwape earn from the films he works hard to produce? How much money do cultural dance troupes earn from their performances to sustain them? Or better still, how much is earned by those visual artists whose spend their day being sun kissed curving all types of art work? The truth is they earn peanuts and this is so because the system disfavors the brains behind the works. In Zambia, entertainment artists are conferred fame and not the fortune.

As a nation, we should be guilty of stealing from these dead and living intellectuals. In fact, the guilt should stem from the fact that we pirate their music through free downloads from the internet. We should be guilty because we allow unscrupulous filches to download music, package it in those white paper labelled CDs sold on the streets with impunity for cut-rate prices while the owners of the work famish in hunger and some in destitution.  We should be guilty that we have not created an environment where these artists in film or music can access funds to start up their artistry. We should guilty because we have allowed our musicians to perform for peanuts and yet we are so comfortable to pay foreign artists thousands of dollars. Where does that money suddenly come from?  We should guilty because we have not readily availed them financial literacy to manage their fame and fortune. We should be guilty because we have not provided the correct infrastructure to enhance the quality of the recording and productions.

Apparently, word on the ground is that some Djs in some radio stations are now asking for money for an artist’s music to receive airplay? How corrupt can the system be? While the work of the Djs is totally appreciated, it is discriminatory and highly bigoted to expect a young budding musician to pay them money for airplay when they even struggled to just get studio time to record a song. From the net-worth of the South African music and the Nigerian movie and music industry, one can conclude that the entertainment industry is a business that can thrive in a virtuous environment. The questions that policy makers should be asking themselves should range from what is South African or even Nigeria doing right to attain such high levels of net worth? Pundits will hide in population numbers which this author does not subscribe to. What about Botswana? What about Equatorial Guinea and Benin that do not have the population numbers but have gone ahead to produce big earning artists? The panacea to curing this malaise of the entertainment industry needs well thought coordination at policy all the way to the recording studio, production and the market place. When artists in music or film industry are well remunerated, producers will be well paid just like Djs and eventually more revenue will be poured in the treasury.  

Institutions like the National Arts Council (NAC) and Zambia Association of Musicians (ZAM) need to be operating a macro level in pushing for reformation of the entertainment industry and not just issuing numb reactive press statements. They should engage experts who understand how this industry works in developed countries and then make progressive propositions to the Government for consideration. On the other hand, the powers that be should create a forum for cross pollination of ideas on how to restructure the entertainment industry for various forms of artistic work to benefit those from rural areas.  

There is need to put in place policy measures that cascade to the ward level. For instance, the Government can dedicate three or four percent of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to arts at constituency level. This should be executed with a proper tracking system. This is a form of employment creation at ward level which when aggregated at national level would have an impact on citizen empowerment. High-tech music and film recording equipment should be bought and installed in all ZANIS offices throughout the country to enable the tapping of rural talent. There is no justification to continue keeping our artists whether in film, music, comedy, painting or cultural dance as second-rate performers when it is a common fact that authentic Zambian music and films can break boundaries and earn the country recognition and much needed revenue. Once fundamentals are put in place, everything else will work out because the industry will be paying itself. Perhaps we will see a policy were all artists in whatever form will be required to register with Patents and Companies Registration Authority and Zambia Revenue Authority to enable the Government determine the quantum of the industry. For musicians, music is an investment that they should be earning interest through royalties once their ‘five minutes’ of fame are over. Let us not deprive them of the fruits of their hard work.

The author is a Lusaka-based Observer of local and African Affairs.

For comments, feel free to email: bonaventuremutale@gmail.com

The Malaise of the Zambian Entertainment Industry Part I

By Bonaventure Mutale

Caught up in the early morning traffic some two weeks ago, I tuned into one popular radio station which churns out great antiquated Zambian music. As usual the station was rocking some of those creative sounds that can make any music aficionado tap their hand or feet in appreciation of the rhythm. Several thoughts on the evolution of Zambian music artistry came to mind. The first one was around how much was the net-worth of the Zambian music industry? Who could be Zambia’s richest musician? Who is Zambia’s biggest artist? And if they are big, in what sense? What constitutes a big artist by Zambian standards?  My mind also wandered off to ask the net worth of the film industry? What about paintings and art work? These are pertinent questions I have attempted to research on and yielded zilch results.

One might think this is a blithering supposition but the truth is that there is no information available to ascertain the worth of this important industry. If at all it does exist, the question one would raise is what parameters have been used to arrive at those conclusions. After searching for this information far and wide in futility, I concluded that there is nothing to talk about regarding the general organization in comparison to other countries on the African continent. I am drew some quick but unverified conclusion that the Zambian entertainment industry could be in a real malaise that needs urgent reformation coupled with deliberate restructuring before it slips into a comatose.

In an attempt to put things into perspective, it is cardinal to point out that in Zambia, it is not a surprise to find a musician asking for a drink from a patron back stage after an electric performance. It is also true that there have been times popular musicians have died not being given send offs befitting their status. Stories have been heard were families of the late artists have struggled to even raise money to purchase a coffin to enable them afford a decent burial. Having said so, it is also not a surprise to see an artist; be it an actor or musician struggle to pay bills despite their success in public domain. It is also not surprise to see artists in whatever form become a heroes and heroines after they die when everyone just watched them live in impecuniousness while alive.

These are unfortunate incidents that do not seem to click anything in the minds of the public who spend nights away dancing to the creativity of these minds at gigs and all types functions including clubs. The truth is that the fame that comes with Zambian artistry is not in equilibrium with the money that goes into their pockets. Fame without fortune is like potential because cannot potential be eaten. Fame will cannot pay bills. What pays bills is the value that is attached to the fame. In view of this, the question one raises is how long will the Zambian artistry remain in this conundrum? I have heard some musicians say that to earn a decent living in Zambian art, one needs to have another fall back income generating activity. Well this is true but why should his be the case? If this is not deliberately corrected, I portend even more difficult times ahead for our Zambian music, painting and movie industry. It should not surprise you when musicians clamor around political parties to perform and earn some shekels.

According to the Forbes ranking of well performing entertainment industries, it should  fluster us that the South African Music Industry alone is net worth $68 million while Nigerian music industry is worth $48 million and Kenya $3Million. For Nigeria, the film industry in multi-million dollars. What about Zambia? You guess could be as good as mine. Not such information exists! Now, the composition of this net worth is in record sales, royalties, and endorsements. Apparently, the Governments in these countries are obtaining a sizeable share revenue from this industry. Can the same be said about the Zambian music and film industry? How much money is realized from this industry? It is clear that this industry at the moment is a ‘hand to mouth’ and only the brave can stay in the game and survive even after their ‘five minutes of fame’ has come to an end. A big artist by Zambian standards is probably arrived at by ‘observation’ and not by other aspects. This archaic and draconian style of managing this industry needs to come to an end at an earliest possible time. Artists whether in music, film, painting, or cultural dances should be well remunerated and a well thought out environment created for them to thrive.

We should not even act oblivious to the fact that many Zambian musicians just like actors have died paupers and disfavored despite having produced some of the best sounds and films that have lived through time. If fame and fortune is anything to talk about, dead entertainers like Sauzande, Greg Lungu, Paul Ngozi, Pitchen Kazembe, Glorious Band, Smokey Haangala, Serenje Kalindula Band, Masasu, Alfred Chisala Kalusha, Joyce Nyirongo Micheal Kumwenda, Kieth Mulevu, Ras Willie, Daddy Zemus, Lilly T and the young prodigy P-Jay would have died rich men women. Are the dead musicians’ families paid royalties? Could this explain why the rich Kalindula music is slowly evaporating and we still rely on music that was recorded in the 80s and 90s as Zambian music? When the last time a successful authentic Zambian flavored was album produced that sent shockwaves across Zambian radio and clubs?