Tom_UrDesigner

Ba @diamondtvzambia are conducting presidential debates for aspiring candidates. They asked on FB for some possible questions they would want the public to ask. Here are my top 8 sampled from my list: 1. Zambia’s urban housing shortage is a significant issue. The limited supply of affordable housing, often at inflated prices, is a major driver of the cost of living. Many households are forced to work solely to cover rent, leaving little for other necessities. What's your plan? 2. Public transport in urban Zambia remains chaotic, inefficient and unsafe. After paying rent, the working class often spends the remainder of their income on commuting in hazardous conditions, which can take hours and negatively impact productivity. Some families resort to purchasing cars not out of financial means but to avoid the inconveniences of public transport. This exacerbates the cost of living due to rising fuel costs and the expenses of imported car parts. What's your plan? 3. Water and sanitation are also critical concerns. Most urban and peri-urban areas lack access to clean and reliable water supplies. In larger cities where new housing developments have expanded, sewer services are often absent. Instead, households rely on septic tanks and boreholes, with shallow wells remaining a source of water supply in compounds. This situation poses a high risk of contamination, exposing the population to waterborne diseases. What's your plan? 4. CDF: Since 2021 the CDF has increased by nearly 2000%. This is a significant development and presents a substantial opportunity. However, the projects undertaken with CDF do not appear to reflect the stated availability of funds. It would be beneficial to pursue more ambitious initiatives and undertake substantial community projects such as constructing houses for teachers, nurses and other workers in districts. This could include building modern schools away from the traditional 1:2 classroom blocks and ablutions, enhancing access to power (for example solar energy) in schools and health facilities and other infrastructure. What's the plan? 5. Mining Skills: Over 100 years of mining has made Zambia the largest exporter of copper and other minerals. However, the country has failed to establish itself as a global hub for mining skills. This is primarily due to the absence of an academy for mining. I’m not talking about some department in the corner of UNZA, CBU or Nortech. I’m talking about a mining centre of excellence with state of art research that supplies knowledge and skills to other countries. What's your plan? 6. Town and Urban Planning: The country’s urban planning is chaotic. The lack of a clear plan for the movement of people and goods due to unplanned growth poses a significant challenge. This could lead to a situation where it becomes difficult for people to move around Lusaka and other big towns. And there doesn’t seem to be plans to address this. Developing towns close to big cities is a solution, others could include introduction of fast trains to nearby towns to stop people from having to live and work in major urban centres. What's the plan? 7. How many kilometers of roads, both tarred and gravel are the candidates planning to construct when elected? Because we need Zambia to be strongly linked to easy movement of people, goods and services. Priority should go to roads leading to borders because these are trade corridors. What’s your plan for the Livingstone Sesheke road? 8. Local enterprise: Zambian families are fed by metal fabricators in Kalingalinga and Garden compound, timber sellers at Buseko, furniture manufacturers at Nakadoli market, crafts traders in Livingstone and Cashew growers in Mongu to mention a few. What’s the plan for enhancing these group’s productivity? What’s the plan for enhancing quality of their products and facilitating markets for better value?

9. From independence we've been singing that agriculture is the main stay of the economy. While this sector has potential it is the most informal, hence has the lowest productivity and incomes. That most of our people work here explains persistent poverty even when our GDP rises. What's the plan for raising the productivity of the agriculture sector? And don't tell me we will give more fertilisers, that's not all there is to do to enhance productivity. 10. Lastly, all the above things must be done by Zambians. Thus, our escape route is underpinned by education and skills. Not just any education, but quality education. Yet our schools keep teaching congnitive skills, preparing people for office jobs to sit and speak English. So we have more accountants than bricklayers, more lawyers than architects, more economists than engineers and technicians. No one is being prepared to actually MAKE things - what they call psycho-motor skills are missing in our education system. So we must import everything. What's the plan? etc.