ZIPPA Migration Journal Jan - March 2008[1]

8/14/2019 ZIPPA Migration Journal Jan - March 2008[1]

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THEME Migration

Features

Zambia’s Civil Service Reforms:Where are the results?

Freeway - Free to move

Beyond remittances

Living with a leaking bucket Quotation of the month

An emigrant returns

The squirrel and the grasshoper

Zambia needs her Diaspora

The pros and cons of migration

A wiki for ZIPPA

January - March 2008

ZIPPA Board:

Muyunda Mwanalushi (Chair.), Jonathan Chileshe (V/Chair.), Murray Sanderson (Exec. Sec.), Wilphred Katoto(Hon.treas.),Hopewell Chirwa, Passmore Hamukoma, Mary Kakumbi, Chibamba Kanyama, Charles Lungu.

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they are bound to benefit the economy as awhole”.

Freedom to travel is regarded as a human right, Th is issue of the Journa l contai nsbut not freedom to settle, to migrate. We contributions on migration from five diasporaZambians tend to regard the 'brain drain' as Zambians. Most of them, while lamenting thebenefiting other countries at our expense. Yet we effect of the brain drain on their home country,fail to welcome the 'brain gain' when foreign go on to point out that emigration also provideprofessionals come to Zambia, even as benefits. These include remittances to familytemporary immigrants. On the contrary, we tend members, contacts with foreign companiesto resent it. That suggests muddled thinking. and NGOs, and valuable homecoming

investments. Such investments can beConfused thinking on this aspect is, of course, not especially fruitful when the migrant returnsconfined to Zambia, or to Africa. It is common too home, as one contributor has done, to managein already developed countries, despite the fact them with newly gained knowledge andthat they have all benefited enormously from expertise.immigrants.

Diaspora Zambians also offer suggestions –The latest issue of 'The Economist' magazine has that we should take another look at duala supplement on Migration, which contains the citizenship, since it can benefit the homefollowing statement. “Over the past few decades country by greatly encouraging remittances for the freer movement of capital and traded goods investment, and that the government shouldhas brought enormous benefits to human interact with associations of Zambians livingwelfare. Similar benefits can be expected from a abroad.freer flow of people.” It goes on to point out that10% of people in Britain are now foreign born, Clearly there is need for fresh thinking on thisand to add, “assuming that migrants are in work, important subject.

Freeway - Free to move

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Next Theme & Membership Renewal 11



Charles to relocate back to Zambia, hewould most likely refuse because thepersonal benefits to Charles of working

Zambia's development story is one of filling a abroad outweigh the benefits of working inleaking bucket. The more we educate our youth, Zambia. But if Charles was asked to lendthe more we suffer from the brain drain. The government a month each year as a

government can try to expand the quantity of consultant, Charles would readily do thateducated Zambians, but until we find ways of because the personal costs of doing soreducing the leaks we won't develop fast enough are probably outweighed by the personalto create real wealth. To address this problem, gains in other areas e.g. the psychologicalvarious solutions have been proposed ranging benefit of directly helping Zambia develop.from the appeal to patriotism to stigmatising The key point here is that this actionliving abroad. These approaches are ineffective, comes at little cost to Charles, since heand indeed cannot be expected to work as they does not need to quit his permanent job.are built on a limited understanding of the This is the same for doctors, engineersunderlying causes of the brain drain problem. and other professionals.

Good economics is about understanding The Government needs to think of incentives and finding policies that realign those creative ways in which people canincentives to create positive outcomes. In our contribute to development withoutquest to cope with the brain drain problem, we necessarily residing in Zambia. This couldfirst need to understand theses incentives and be through external forums, monthlythen suggest how we can address them. There programmes as above, or easing the wayare two fundamental incentives that contribute Zambians abroad invest back home.to the brain drain problem. First, there are strong There's a lot the Government can andpositive economic incentives for being abroad. should do to get around the brain drain

As individuals, we are all trying to do what is best problem.for ourselves and our families. If a job abroad willhelp feed our families and look after our people But this is not just a government problem,back home, why not take it? Secondly, for many Zambians abroad need to be proactive inZambians abroad the political situation in coming up with such networks. There areZambia acts as a strong disincentive for people already positive signs that this mightto return after they complete stud ies. happen. Zambians abroad have comeUncertainty about our political institutions, the together to create the Zambians Abroadrule of law, constitutional rights, lack of open Skills Network (ZASN). ZASN is aiming tocompetition for top government jobs, and weak link skilled people living abroad, in variousgovernance discourages the return of people domains, including academic, cultural andwho are used to expressing their views openly commercial, who wish to contribute toand working unhindered. Zambi a 's ec ono mic and so c ia l

development, and to connect them withThe rapid pace of globalisation means that local experts and projects. Through thisZambia will continue to face increased organisation Zambians abroad can helpcompetition from other nations for human share knowledge gained from their vastcapital. So we must ask ourselves how the loss exposure to the outside world. Thecan be reduced. Short of rapid economic and Zambian Diaspora can help provideinstitutional reform, the solution lies in finding consult ing services in technology,ways of living with a leaking bucket. Instead of medicine, real estate and business. They

just wringing our hands, we should focus on can supply information on collegetapping into the expertise that is outside Zambia, scholarships, they can make availablewithout necessarily asking people to move back rese arch pape rs, prov ide soci al. commentary, promote tourism – the list is

endless. In turn members of the DiasporaHow could this work? Let's take the example of can be kept abreast with real time eventsCharles, an economist. If the Government asked and opportunities in Zambia; what bills are

Living with a leaking bucket

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- Chola Mukanga

home.



going to parliament, opportunities for investment In the meantime however, Zambia doesand employment, social trends, etc. It's a win- have nationals who are highly skilled andwin situation for Zambia and its Diaspora. The whose services are in great demand inchal lenge is to Zambians abroad and the world's industrialised countries.government to achieve results by working Many of them have already left Zambia,together. after deep soul searching, to seek

opportunities elsewhere. Nor is ZambiaAuthor: Chola Mukanga is a member of Her the only African country to “suffer” thisMajesty's Government Economic Service, fate. It is estimated that at least 20,000UK, where he currently advises on aviation African professionals leave the continentpolicy. He regularly reflects on Zambian each year.issues at his New Zambia bloghttp://zambian-economist.blogspot.com To the extent that Zambia has any policy

on this brain drain, it seems to be thatZambians should avoid working abroad.But this policy offers no alternatives for Zambians who find that this is the only

way they can support their families. TheIn my farewell address as head of Oxfam need to feed, clothe, and educateCanada, I suggested that the resources of the children is, however, not the only reasonorganisat ion might be bet ter employed why Zambian professionals emigrate.developing strategies to cope in the global world, Other reasons cited are lack of respectrather than fighting globalisation. I suggested for professionalism, and the absence of that whether we liked it or not globalisation was intellectual freedom. Fortunately, somenow a reality. That speech was delivered almost progress has been made with respect toten years ago. the latter over the past fifteen years.

There can be little doubt today that we do indeed But even if local discouragements were

live in a global village. Despite this reality, suddenly removed, it would still not be ahowever, Zambia appears to have no strategies bad thing for some of our professionals toin place to help us compete and succeed in the work abroad. Nor should foreign studyglobal world. be discouraged. As members of the

global economic system, we mustThe term “globalisation” describes a world in ensure that the skills we develop arewhich goods, services, labour, technology and comparable to the very best in the globalcapital throughout the world, move with little or economy. This requires cross-no hindrance. In recent years new technologies, pollination of ideas.such as the internet, have greatly increased thepace of globalisation. Globalisation offers There are also immediate gains to beZambia both opportunities and challenges. It derived from a Diaspora of skilledcreates opportunities for Zambian nationals with pr ofe ssi ona ls. The evi de nc e isinternationally marketable skills to work in overwhelming that, when given theforeign countries and earn significantly more chance to do so, Zambians abroad havemoney than they would do at home. On the a huge interest in investing in their other hand globalisation may expose the country. This investment may take theZambian economy to cheaply produced goods form of simple remittances to familyfrom abroad and thus undermine local industry. members or the construction of homesThis is one reason why any strategy designed to for future use, or indeed the purchase of increase Zambia's ability to compete in the shares in companies.global economy must include investment inresearch and development. Zambia must aim to Unfortunately none of this is easy.produce goods and services of international Zambia is one of the most expensivequality, even though this may well take a few places in the world to send money to.years to achieve. For example, a $100 international money

Zambia needs her Diaspora

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- Chisanga Puta-Chekwe



order sent to a person in Zambia will attract local for some, in the wake of immigrationbanking charges of $20! So Zambians abroad concerns in their countries of residence.tend to avoid the banking system when sending This has promoted active discussion onmoney home, relying instead on such methods Zambian websites and in associationsas “hand-in-hand transfers”. Despite these for cultural and social get-togethers. Newchallenges, Zambians abroad sent $201 million structures, protocols and guidance arehome in 2006 (New Zambia, Nov. 25, 2006). now needed to harness and progressThey would send even more, if only local this desire to engage with Zambia at abanking charges were reduced. more substantive level.

Zambia should also seriously consider allowing Historically, at the micro-economic level,dual citizenship. This will increase the chances ev iden ce ab oun ds on th e rol eof Zambians abroad accessing highly paid jobs, remittances from the Zambian Diasporanormally reserved for citizens. have played, and continue to play, in

supporting family members with variousThere also seems to be a correlation between financial and material needs. In additiondual citizenship and remittance levels. there have been individual investments,For example, in 1990-1991, Indians abroad, the supply of books and computers tosent $2.1 billion home. In 2005, India permitted needy schools, of medical supplies todual citizenship. The following year, Indians hospitals, and of scholarships for abroad sent $24.6 billion to their homeland. vulnerable school children. These effortsSimilar evidence comes from Ghana. In 1999 operate outside the ambit of mainstreamGhanaians abroad sent $31 million to their development structures.homeland. In 2003, Ghana allowed dualcitizenship. Three years later, Ghanaians Leadership by the Government andremitted $6 billion home, which helped fuel a other agencies/institutions is needed tospectacular housing boom. encourage

Clearly there are significant benefits from having Ø symposiums in countries with

a Zambian Diaspora and incorporating that high concentration of Zambians, in order community fully in the national affairs of the to bridge-build, discuss and comparecountry. The Zambian Diaspora is critical in our notes on engagement with Zambia, andefforts to make our country more competitive in to chart the way forward;the global economy. Ø the Zambian Diaspora to forge

and promote interest groups on health,the economy, education, etc., and,where these already exist, to strengthenthem in readiness to engage with thehomeland at a macro-level;Ø donors, in their development

assistance, to recognize and support,materially and financially, programsbetween the Zambian Diaspora and their

Time has come for innovative, forward thinking homelandand positive ways for Zambia to engage with itsnationals in the Diaspora who want to reach out Zambia stands to benefit from fostering aand participate in the development of the welcoming approach to those nationalscountry. The Zambian Diaspora is now a big and outside Zambia who want to participatesignificant constituency which should not be in the country's developmentignored in the development of the country.

Author:

Zambians in the Diaspora are today showing Gracewell Mwansa, formerly withincreasing interest in their homeland, perhaps ZCCM, now, temporarily, indue to its reported economic resurgence; and, Wolverhampton, UK

Beyond remittances

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- Gracewell Mwansa

Author: Chisanga Puta-Chekwe.Toronto, Canada



is a topical issue. Historically, themigration of professionals, termedthe"brain drain" , was generally

Twelve years ago I left Zambia for America, considered to be one in which theattracted by my TV impressions of life in the USA recipient country benefited at theand by a thirst for academic advancement. My expense of the source country.

mind was made up: this was where I wanted tolive. Armed with my Zambian degree in The flight of human capital has been amanagement and my experience as production major concern for a number of years,coordinator at an engineering subsidiary of especially for African countries whichZambia Consolidated Copper Mines, I set forth can ill afford to lose skilled labour. Theon life's journey. availability of statistics in this area is

scant. There has been no systematicNo one had told me about life on a tight student record of the number of ski lledbudget, or of restrictions on work by foreign professionals that Africa has lost to thestudents. Working in a grocery store and living developed world. However, it ison a shoe-string budget whilst pursuing further estimated that more than one third of the

education was tough. I found myself questioning most highly qualified African nationalsmy decision. live outside their country of origin. According to the Economic Commission

But five long years later, after graduating from for Africa an estimated 27,000 highlyuniversity, life's gates opened up and it seemed qualified Africans (lectures, engineers,that I had made the right decision. The doctors, etc) left the continent betweenchallenges of being an immigrant had been 1960 and 1975. By 1987, the annualworth while, and had changed me from an number of emigrants had risen tointrovert to an extrovert. With that foundation I approximately 8,000, and over 20,000 inwent on to work at regional management level the 1990s.for Mettler Toledo, a global leader in weighingsolutions, and also to obtain an MBA. America Perhaps the most striking impact hasoffered a bright future. been in the healthcare sector. In

Zambia, for instance, in 2000, the WorldBut Zambia also beckoned. Family links had Health Organisation estimated thatremained strong, and I wanted to be with my 1,500 doctors were needed for theaging parents and to share my success with country's health system. At that time,them. My wife and I also want the children to 800 medical doctors were registered withbenefit from the close family culture which they the Zambian Medical Council. Although,can only experience in Zambia. Moreover, I was Zambia had trained over 600 Zambiannow well equipped by higher education and my medical graduates, only 50 of theseglobal cultural and professional experience, to worked in the public sector.make a positive impact at home, where todaythere is plenty of opportunity for Zambians with T h e r e h a s b e e n i n c r e a s i n gqualifications and determination. So my wife and acknowledgement in recent years,I decided that the time had come for us to move however, that source countries mayback home to a new life in our own environment. benefit from emigration; and with this

shift in thinking, a change in terminologyAuthor: Alinani Simumba, after 12 years from "human capital flight" or "brainabroad, is now returning home as an drain" to "professional mobility" .entrepreneur.

This article briefly analyses theadvantages and disadvantages of migration:

With globalisation, changing demographics, and The most direct effect of migration to thedifferences in wages and opportunity, migration source country is the reduction of highly

An emigrant returns

The pros and cons of migration

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- Alinani Simumba

- Chiara Chiumya



skil led professionals who are critical to remittances represent a significantproductivity and economic growth.These proportion of GDP.professionals are often the highest taxpayers intheir countries and their departure results in the Thirdly, emigrants maintain contacts,loss of a substantial source of income which connections and networks with their could be taxed and redistributed. Related to this home countries that facilitate trade,

is the loss of investment in education and capital flows and knowledge diffusion.training. Especially where the education and These networks can yield a flow back of training has been subsidised, the source country knowledge and new technologies thatbears the costs, but does not benefit from the boost productivity and the sourcereturns to its investment in human capital. coun tr y' s econom ic grow th andFurthermore, to compensate for the loss of development. Moreover, a number of human capital, the source country may have to migrants do return to their homeincur additional costs of attracting foreign staff. countries, bringing back their skills and

work experience from abroad, thusMigration can also lead to a sharp decrease in boosting productivity. This is sometimesthe availability and quality of services in the referred to as "brain circulation".

source country, the effects of which tend to befelt mainly in rural areas and the public sector, As mentioned above, recipient countrieswhere Zambia in recent years has experienced also benefit from migration.a mass exodus of health care professionals andteachers.. Firstly immigrant labour fills gaps in the

labour force, caused by a number of For these reasons, the emigration of skilled factors such as an aging populations andprofessionals is generally considered a major skills shortage. In developed countriesdevelopment constraint for the African continent. unskilled labour tends to be employed inIt has a negative effect on the source country's jobs that the locals shun or would haveeconomic growth and can hinder its long term been outsourced.development and poverty reduction.

Secondly, immigrants increase domestic As noted in the introduction, there has been labour supply, because they demandincreasing acknowledgement of the benefits to goods and services, the overall effect of be derived by the source country from the which is to increase demand andemigration of its skilled professionals. stimulate economic growth. Jobs are

created and there's an increasedFirstly, because emigration is seen as beneficial demand for labour, leading to higher by the populace, it provides an incentive for wages. An expanding labour forcesource country's citizens to invest in education in provides an incentive for capitalanticipation of being able to migrate once they investment and leads to faster economicbecome highly skilled. Since not everyone will growth.be able to migrate, there may be an increase inthe source country's post-migration level of Furthermore, because skilled andhuman capital, with a subsequent positive unskil led labour complement oneimpact on productivity and, ultimately, the another in the production process, thestimulation of economic growth. skilled immigrants may have a significant

positive impact on low-skilled workers'Secondly, source countries benefit from the productivity and wages, thus reducingimpact of migrant remittances on poverty poverty and income inequality.reduction, foreign reserves and the balance of payments. These funds improve household Thirdly, immigrants , through theincomes and indirectly enhance local trade. provision of certain services, such as

Even if spent on consumption, remittances childcare, make it possible for morehave "GDP multiplier effects" which increase skilled local labour to work, once againnat ional income. In some countr ies, increasing productivity.

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Fourthly, immigrants, especially professionals, starving.The BBC shows up to providebroaden the recipient country's tax base. l ive co ve rag e of th e sh ive ring

grasshopper; with cuts to a video of theIt is often argued that immigrants displace the squirrel in his comfortable warm homelocal workforce, depress wages, and are a fiscal with a table laden with food. The Britishburden. But as the above discussion on press inform people that they should be

advantages shows, these disadvantages are ashamed that in a country of suchinsignificant in relation to the overall benefits wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowedderived by the recipient country. On the other to suffer so, while others have plenty.hand, there is still considerable debate as to The Labour Party, Greenpeace, Animalwhether these benefits do in fact outweigh the Rights and The Grasshopper Council of costs incurred by source countries. What is Great Britain demonstrate in front of theimmediately apparent, however, is that African squirrel's house. The BBC, interrupting acountries have not benefited from the loss of cultural festival special with breakingtheir skilled professionals. news, broadcasts a multi cultural choir

singing "We Shall Overcome".Much of the brain drain in Africa is attributable

not only to poor economic conditions, but also to Ken Livingstone, Lord Mayor of London,other factors such as political violence, the declares that the squirrel got rich off therepression of human rights, and the lack of backs of grasshoppers, and calls for anprofessional and technological environments immediate tax hike on the squirrel tothat are conducive to self-fulfilment. The make him pay his "fair share", andsituation has been exacerbated by developed increases the charge for squirrels tocountries that employ active and open poaching enter inner London. In response toof talent, using a range of incentives and pressure from the EU, the Governmentinstitutional arrangements to attract skilled drafts the Economic Equity andlabour. There is, therefore, a need for Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act,developing countries to implement policies that retroactive to the beginning of theaddress the root causes of migration noted summer. The squirrel 's taxes areabove, and to engage appropriately in the reassessed. He is taken to court andexchange of skills taking place in the global fined for failing to hire grasshoppers aslabour market. builders for the work he was doing on his

home, with an additional fine for Author; Dr. Chiara Chiumya is Bank contempt when he told the court theregulator with Bank of Zambia currently on grasshopper did not want to work.secondment to the University of Pretoria. The grasshopper is provided with a

council house, financial aid to furnish itand an account with a local taxi firm toensure he can be socially mobile.Thesquirrel's food is seized and redistributedto the more needy members of society, in

The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all this case the grasshopper. Withoutsummer long, building his house and laying up enough money to buy more food and tosupplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks pay the fine, the squirrel has to downsizehe's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the and start building a new home.summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warmand well fed. A Panorama special shows the

grasshopper finishing up the last of the A professional social worker finds the shivering squirrel's food, though spring is stillgrasshopper, calls a press conference and months away, while the council house he

demands to know why the squirrel should be is in crumbles around him because heallowed to be warm and well fed while others hasn't bothered to maintain it. He isless fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and shown to be taking drugs. Inadequate

The Squirrel and the Grasshopper A Cautionary Tale from Britain

- Anon

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government funding is blamed for thegrasshopper's drug 'illness'.

The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an - Njunga Mulikitaold dog during a burglary to get money for hisdrugs habit. He is imprisoned, but is later 1. Purpose of the Civil Service

released immediately by the court because he Reforms in the 3rd Republichas been in custody for a few weeks. He isplaced in the care of the probation service to In 1993, following the landmark electionsmonitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks of 1991, which restored multipartyhe has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery. politics in Zambia, the government

announced the launch of the Public A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost Service Reform Programme (PSRP).£10,000,000, is set up. Additional money is putinto funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for The overall goal of the programme wasgrasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers to improve the quality, delivery, efficiencyrepresenting asylum seekers is increased. and cost-effectiveness of the Public

Service to the people of Zambia. In order The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The to realize this goal the Public Serviceusual sections of the press blame it on the Reform Programme had three specificobvious failure of government to address the objectives:root causes of despair arising from socialinequity and his traumatic experience of prison. § To improve government capacityThey call for the resignation of a minister. to formulate, analyze national policies

and perform its appropriate functions.The squirrel ? He moved to Australia. § To e f f e c t i v e l y m a n a g e

expenditure to meet fiscal stabilizationobjectives.

§ To make the Public Service moreefficient and responsible to the needs of the country's population.Most often migration is about young, motivated,2. Influence of New Publicdynamic people seeking to better themselves byManagement Vision on Zambia's Civilhard work. History has shown that immigrationService Reforms

encourages prosperity. Tens of millions of Europeans who made it to the New World in the 19th Zambia's PSRP was underpinned byand 20th centuries improved their lot, just as the assumptions of the New Publicnear 40m foreign-born are doing in America Management (NPM) which had gained

widespread prominence in western today. Many migrants return home with newcountries such as the USA, New Zealand

skills, savings, technology and bright ideas. and Canada in the late 1980s.Remittances to poor countries in 2006 were worth atleast $260 billion – more, in many countries, than

The NPM School essentially calls for theaid and foreign investment combined.

infusion of private sector results basedwork culture into the civil service in order

The movement of people also helps the rich world….. to refocus the civil service fromIndeed, advanced economies compete vigorously for adherence to procedures and processesoutsiders' skills. Around a third of the Americans to outputs and results.who won Nobel prizes in physics in the past seven

N P M i s u n d e r p i n n e d b y 1 0years were born abroad. About 40% of science andcharacteristics:

engineering PhDs working in America are 1. Governments should steer rather immigrants. Around a third of Silicon Valleythan row, and monitor services provided

companies were started by Indians and Chinese. rather than delivering them.The Economist Newspaper' 5th January 2008

Quotation of the month

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Zambia’s Civil Service Reforms:

Where are the results?



2. Community empowering - encouraging dictate that employees must be kept onlocal groups to solve their own problems, rather the payroll unt il their severancethan dictating bureaucratic solutions. packages are paid.3. Competitive - deregulating and privatizingactivities that could be carried out better by the Secondly, gains from downsizing the civilp r i va te sect o r o r non -gov ernmenta l service were negated by a phenomenalorganizations. expansion of the political bureaucracy in

4. Mission driven - setting goals, and the 3rd Republic. There are far too mayallowing employees to find the best ways of Ministers and Deputy Ministers inmeeting them. government. The core work of any5. Results oriented - funding outcomes government Ministry is performed by therather than inputs. Minister, as the political Head of the6. Consumer driven - meeting the needs of Ministry, and the Permanent Secretary.citizens rather than those of the bureaucracy. Deputy Ministers are for the most part7. Enterprising - earning revenues rather 'spectators' with no clear Terms of than just spending tax resources. Reference(TORs), while requiring huge8. Anticipatory - aiming to prevent problems overheads in salaries, vehicles, fringerather than solve them. benefits, etc.9. Decentral iz ing – working throughparticipation and teamwork among government b) S e r v i n g C i t i z e n s M o r eagencies and with groups outside government. Effectively 10. Market oriented - solving problemsthrough market forces rather than government Today Government Ministries andprogrammes. Departments display their mission

statements in an effort to increase publicIn short, these ten key NPM assumptions sector accountability. But where is theunderpinned the civil service reforms launched complaints mechanism to afford citizensin 1993. In essence NPM calls for smaller, less the opportunity to report rudeness or costly and more efficient government. non-delivery of services? Despite the

rhetoric aimed at promoting more honest3. Where are the Results of the Civil and transparent government, no nationalService Reforms? surveys have been carried out to gauge

the impact of the reforms.a) Downsizing

As a result many departments, such as A vital dimension of the Civil Service Reforms the Department of Lands, have becomewas to downsize the civil service so as to cut synonymous with poor service delivery.back on bureaucrat ic and unproductive The much talked about health reformsexpenditures. The World Bank Report of 1991 led to the creation of a bureaucraticon “the Public Sector Management Review” had top–heavy Central Board of Healthrecorded that the public service grew at an (CBoH) that had to be dismantled on

average rate of 60 percent per annum between account of devouring resources needed1975 and 1990, while private sector wage in the rural sector. It is commonplace toearners declined from 250,260 to 135,471. The read about government ministries notshare of public servants in total formal only violating financial regulations, butemployment had doubled from about one-fifth in even obstructing the Auditor-General. It1975 to over half in 1990. is difficult to see how the civil service can

serve citizens more effectively, whenSince 1993 the government has been billions of kwacha cannot be accounteddownsizing the civil service through targeted for.retrenchment and eliminating ghost workers.However, gains in reducing the size of the c) Decentralization

bureaucracy have been cancelled out by thegovernment's inability to pay out statutory Zambia now has a decentralizationseverance payments. Current labour laws policy aimed at empowering local

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authorities in order to improve the quality of life of Wikis are not yet well known in Zambia.people in their jurisdictions. Implementation of But they soon will be. To quote an officialthe policy, which repeats previous similar description, 'A wiki is a browser-basedattempts, enjoys the good will of many donors. collaborative writing environment, in

An elaborate Decentralization Implementation which a community may amass andPlan (DIP) provides a road map. However the exchange information on particular DIP has become a hostage to bureaucracy and topics, and to which anyone can

party politics. Bureaucrats contest its location cont r ibute wi thou t hav ing weband measure of independence from the Ministry programming skills. In other words, a wikiof Local Government, while politicians fear that it is a piece of software that is used for might enable the opposition Patriotic Front, collaborative content creation.'which controls many local authorities, to run a'parallel government'. Implementation of the DIP Users of Wikipedia, the on-lineis therefore highly uncertain. encyclopedia , al ready have wiki

experience. Wikipedia has been built up4. Conclusion : over the past 5 years, until it now has 80

times as many articles as the famousZambia's Civil Service reforms have been under Encyclopedia Brittanica! And thoseimplementation for over a decade. It is, however, articles have been contributed by itsdifficult to show tangible and measurable results. readers. Accuracy is ensured by the factFor Zambia to become a more capable state, that anyone can visit Wikipedia anddebate about civil service reforms should not be improve existing entries by makingconfined to the offices and corridors of elite corrections or additions to ensure greater bureaucrats in Cabinet Office, but rather be accuracy and fuller information.opened to the public.

zippawiki is based on the same software,called WikiMedia, and therefore has thesame limitless capacity as Wikipedia. So

Author: Dr. Njunga Michael_Mulikita is Expert we now have a potential encyclopedia for in Public Administration and Governance, information and ideas relevant to andAfrican Capacity Building Foundation, useful for ZIPPA's vision of 'a vibrantTangiers, Morocco. He was formerly with national economy, leading to continuousUNZA. improvement in the country's Human

Development Index'', and it mission:'Topromote wider appreciation of the keyrole of free markets and competition ineconomic development.'

The wiki will be open to anyone andeveryone who cares to visit it. We aim to

The views expressed in this newsletter are those make it a mine of information and ideas.of the authors. They are not necessarily shared As for contributions, amendments andby members or by ZIPPA, which has no official discussion, individual ZIPPA membersview. will be able to log in as participants.

Institute and company members will befree to nominate employees.

Wikis are extremely easy to 'navigate',and the Help page explains just how tofind your way around. So visit

ZIPPA needs an active web site. And now we zippawiki.org and enjoy it, and let us havehave it, in the form of a wiki. Visit it at your c omments and i deas f o r

zippawiki.org improvement.

A wiki for ZIPPA

Disclaimer

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ZIPPA Migration Journal Jan - March 2008[1]

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