POVERTY is the nation’s number one enemy which it is fighting every day. Due to poverty, people have been relegated to vulnerability, robbing them of the ability to contribute positively to national development.
In some cases, poverty is no fault of Government. It is perpetrated by individuals who just want to sit back and do nothing, expecting Government to come to their aid.
We see a lot of examples of people expecting Government to do something for them. While it is agreed that some projects should be mooted by the state, it does not prevent individuals from starting something to improve their lot.
In fact, those who start something as a way of uplifting their lot are commended world over. They are seen as being innovative and taking an opportunity to contribute to the well-being of society.
Anyone can only make a meaningful contribution if they are not lazy. So true is the adage that “ubunang’ani tabulisha akasuma” translated as ‘one cannot enjoy a good life if they are lazy’.
The Bible has much to say about laziness. It abhors laziness because it leads to poverty. For example, Proverbs 19:15 says ‘Slothfulness (laziness) casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger’.
Another onslaught against laziness is found in Proverbs 26:14-16 which says, “Like a door on its hinges, a lazy man turns back and forth on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.”
And so when Paramount Chief Chitimukulu urges people of Northern Province not to be lazy, he knows what laziness can yield – a poor nation.
This warning should be taken seriously by all who care about making our nation a prosperous one in view of the diversification thrust that government is spearheading.
The paramount chief, who was speaking when World Vision handed over a weir dam and canals worth K2.6 million in Kasama in an effort to alleviate poverty and reduce people’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture, attributed poverty levels in the province to laziness.
He added that it would take people of the province hard work for them to witness meaningful development.
The development that we are pursuing as a nation cannot come on its own. Every Zambian has to put in something to realise development.
As a nation, we have embarked on a diversification path, realising that copper is no longer dependable to bring us revenue and we have more potential that lies ‘in the soil’.
A piece of land appears like any other until it is worked on. But it is at this point that many fail and the Paramount Chief’s call for hard work comes in.
We know what hard work at a personal level can achieve and it is the same for the nation. The nation is in need of hard workers, those who can move the wheels of development to the next level in all they do.
Hard work should start at a personal level and permeate through the national strata in all sectors so that we record positive achievements. Let us not sit back and expect the other person to do something because no-one will do it. The responsibility is for each one ‘take the plough and not look back’.
The nation looks up to those in various departments and sectors to commit to delivering to achieve the objectives for diversification.
Government, on its part, has implemented supporting policies that encourage the growth of the economy in various sectors, such as the pronouncement that Zambians team up with foreign nationals to invest in small-scale businesses such as brick-making and chicken rearing, which have been taken over by foreign nationals.
Government is encouraging aquaculture and it has put in place measures to encourage the growth of the sector.
In terms of agriculture, Zambia has had a fair share of rainfall in the last three seasons, compared to the rest of the region, making the country achieve higher yields in the face of poor harvests.
All these are opportunities that have presented themselves but they call for hard work to realise the ultimate – prosperity for the nation.