The Mandarin Road to Success

© stepmap.de

By Derrick Silimina

 

As Africa’s population grows, many young people have trouble finding jobs. More than 15 million Africans aged 15-24 are unemployed, representing 13.5% of that age group, according to the policy-oriented Mo Ibrahim Foundation. That percentage is more than twice the unemployment rate of Africans aged 25 and over (6.1%), showing that joblessness hits young people the hardest.

There is, however, a ray of hope for the unemployed: learning the Chinese language, and especially its main variant, Mandarin. In Zambia, as elsewhere in Africa, learning Chinese is catching on as a way to escape unemployment.

In Zambia, the blossoming relationship with China began more than 50 years ago and has boosted the economy considerably. Today about 1,000 Chinese companies have a presence in Zambia, in sectors including manufacturing, retailing, agriculture, infrastructure, health and education.

However, a language barrier between Zambians and Chinese can make communication bumpy. While China makes efforts to train its people who have dealings in Zambia in the official local language, English, language barriers remain – particularly in parts of Zambia that use one of the country’s seven official vernacular languages.

The language barrier has created a need for Zambians who can communicate with suppliers and headquarters personnel in China. With the cooperation of Zambia’s education officials, China is promoting Mandarin language skills in Zambia through the Confucius Institute, a government-funded partnership between Chinese universities and universities in other countries.

The Confucius Institute in Zambia enrols more than 80 university students per semester in its courses. It offers six levels of instruction in afternoon and evening classes. This instruction responds to a clear demand, says Zhang Run, deputy director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zambia. “We receive calls every day from Chinese companies in Zambia looking for employees who can speak Chinese,” he says.

In addition to offering university-level courses, Zambia’s government has signed an agreement with the Confucius Institute to provide Chinese instruction at junior and senior secondary schools. The Teaching Council of Zambia, an educators’ group, welcomes the move. “This will bring value to the country's education system,” says Council Registrar Ebby Muganga.

Many Zambian graduates have found jobs as interpreters in Chinese-owned companies. Others have been hired as human resources managers, secretaries and line executives liaising with headquarters. “I am grateful to the authorities who made it possible for me to learn Chinese,” says Thandiwe Chaaba, a secretary at Hongsen Investment Ltd., a Chinese firm with a factory in Lusaka's Industrial Area. The Hongsen plant recycles plastic bottles into other wares such as dishes, cups and buckets. Chaaba serves as liaison between her Chinese employers and local clients and workers.

Zambian wholesalers and retailers – just like local employees of Chinese-owned companies – also find it useful to speak Chinese. One example is Memory Tembo, the 30-year-old owner of a small retailing business in Lusaka. She has enrolled at the Confucius Institute at the University of Zambia, hoping to deal more effectively with her Chinese suppliers. “Any transactions with my Chinese partners will be easier without a language barrier,” she says.

Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka. He focuses on Zambian agriculture and sustainability issues.
derricksilimina@gmail.com
 

Chinese Firm Breathes Life into Ventilator Supply in Zambia

 

A medical worker receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Lusaka on April 14 (XINHUA)

 By Derrick Silimina

The onset of the coronavirus disease has created a shortage of oxygen gadgets and medical ventilators worldwide. 

In the face of rising COVID-19 cases, countries have rushed to procure medical supplies, such as ventilators or high-pressure oxygen cylinders, in a bid to deal with the disease.

In Africa, the shortage of oxygen is even more severe, and there is urgent need of medical devices that are easier to use, so that different methods of generating oxygen locally at hospitals, including at provincial and district-level hospitals, can be adopted. 

According to the World Health Organization, some 80 percent of people with COVID-19 recover without needing hospital treatment. In the severe cases, medical experts have noted that the virus causes damage to the lungs, leading to a drop in the body's oxygen levels and making it harder to breathe. To alleviate this, a ventilator is used to push air, with increased levels of oxygen, into the lungs. The ventilator also has a humidifier, which adds heat and moisture to the air supply so it matches the patient's body temperature.

Inadequate resources 

In Zambia, lack of capacity to manage critically ill patients with COVID-19 has raised questions about the country's preparedness to deal with the pandemic. The use of advanced technology in the health sector is vital to embark on a vigorous battle against the pandemic.

Theresa Katuna, a COVID-19 survivor from Lusaka's Chawama Township, had wondered if she was going to stay alive after being infected with the virus.

"When I was admitted to the COVID-19 isolation center early this year, I noticed that lack of adequate ventilators hampered the delivery of quality health care to patients who needed to access the ventilators on time," Katuna said, adding however that local medical personnel were really committed to doing their level best to fight against the disease.

In his article titled View From the Hospital Window that recently went viral on social media, renowned journalist Gerald Mwale recounted the dreadful realities of the global pandemic from his bed at the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital in Lusaka where he was being treated for COVID-19.

"I am gazing at this beautiful scenario from my hospital room, where I have been admitted the last two days. I am in the COVID-19 section of the hospital. I am feeling much better than I was two days ago when I was brought in. It all started with a rather irritating sore throat, then a tightness in chest, followed by labored breathing," Mwale narrated on his Facebook page few days before he died.

About 880,000 ventilators are in demand globally amid the pandemic, with the U.S. in need of 75,000 ventilators, while France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain are together short of 74,000, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

The shortage of ventilators and intensive care capacity on the continent has been a significant limitation in saving critically ill patients from untimely deaths.

"I caught COVID-19 in the week of March 14, probably at one of the lodges due to a crammed training room. Make no mistake: COVID-19 is a horrible disease. Let us not drop the ball, not even for an iota of a second, in our fight against this disease," renowned Lusaka economist Chibamba Kanyama said. "This is a horrible disease that paralyses you in every way it can, to the extent recovery seems an impossibility. Brethren, keep your guard, protect others and be vigilant the way we wade off the devil."

According to the Ministry of Health, Zambia has recorded 89,592 cumulative COVID-19 cases as of early April, with 1, 225 deaths.

Camco Digital Marketing Officer Mweemba Mweemba demonstrates the operation of medical gadgets in Camco's showroom in Lusaka (DERRICK SILIMINA)

Chinese supply 

China, a major manufacturing hub for medical supplies, has become the source of supply for many countries across the globe as confirmed cases have skyrocketed globally.

Chinese ventilator manufacturers have ramped up production to expand supply of the medical gadgets to other countries, especially developing nations, as demands from abroad surge.

In Zambia, a local Chinese company has joined the country's fight against the global pandemic.

Distinguished for its supply of state-of-the-art agriculture, mining and construction equipment in the Southern African country, Camco has come up with Zambia's first-ever oxygen concentrator to help improve the country's capacity to treat COVID-19 patients.

With its affordable brand of HK series oxygen concentrator, the firm supplies hi-tech products which are researched and developed by Beijing Gaoxin Huakang Technology Co.

"This equipment is specifically designed as a product for both hospitals and clinics as well as individual buyers. It is very affordable and easy to operate as it is equipped with a manual guide," Camco Digital Marketing Officer Mweemba Mweemba told ChinAfrica.

Mweemba stressed that the unique medical kit which can also be used by individual patients at home is one of its kind in the health sector.

Medical experts have since described this technology as a huge milestone in the country's pursuit of self-reliance in medical engineering and the industrialization agenda.

Certainly, available evidence supports prioritizing investment in oxygen infrastructure, not only for COVID-19 cases, but also for other severe acute respiratory infections that are claiming lives.

Medical donations 

Meanwhile, the Chinese Government recently donated more medical equipment to four major hospitals in Zambia to help the country tackle the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donations include ventilators and other equipment meant to prevent and manage the pandemic.

Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie said China decided to make the donation following the outbreak of the second wave and the urgent call to respond to contain the outbreak.

"We are hoping that the equipment will go to the places most in need and we would also like to see that Chinese experience could be used in this process of prevention," the Chinese envoy said.

Receiving the donation, Zambia's then Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya acknowledged that the country was facing challenges brought by COVID-19, but was quick to state that the good leadership and support from cooperating partners like China will enable the country to overcome the challenge.

He said that the donation was timely as it came during the time of the second wave which was severe and has resulted in many patients requiring oxygen.

Reporting from Zambia

Coments to: derrick.silimina@gmail.com

Think local, Buy local

© stepmap.de

By Derrick Silimina

 

As economic conditions worsen under the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, Zambia is looking for ways to boost domestic industries.

In February 2021, Zambia’s Agriculture Ministry restricted imports of onions and potatoes into the country, saying local farmers can meet the demand for the two vegetables. The ruling affects companies such as South African-owned supermarket chains that operate in Zambia and import vegetables from South Africa.

The import restriction “is in line with the presidential directive to prioritise and promote consumption of locally produced fruits and vegetables,” Songawayo Zyambo, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, wrote to the Zambia Revenue Authority, which enforces import restrictions at the country’s borders.

Zambian potato and onion farmers naturally were delighted. Calvin Kaleyi, spokesman for the Zambia National Farmers Union, noted that such import restrictions protect domestic jobs and improve the nation’s trade balance, thereby supporting the nation’s currency.

“We implore the Ministry of Agriculture to remain resolute in its policy implementation,” Kaleyi said. “Regulation of imported agriculture products should go beyond onions and potatoes and include all commodities in which we have a comparative advantage as producers.” Less vocal were consumer groups, whose constituents are likely to pay higher prices whenever competitors are excluded from a market.

Farmers are not the only beneficiaries of policies favouring domestic producers. In his 2020 “State of the Nation” address, President Edgar Lungu said government agencies and consumers should give preference to local products. He praised the “Proudly Zambian” campaign, a government-initiated programme that encourages consumers to buy products labelled as made in Zambia.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, 500 product types made by 33 companies have so far been certified to use the “Proudly Zambia” logo. The government and Zambian manufacturers say that, in addition to certifying that a product is local, the logo confirms that a product meets certain quality standards.

The “Proudly Zambian” campaign “creates a ready market for local producers and also employment opportunities for more of our people, particularly the youth,” President Lungu said at the start of the “Buy Zambian” exposition last November. The event showcases Zambian-made goods and services.

He added that more local companies should strive to meet the requirements of the “Proudly Zambian” logo. “I urge you to continue improving the quality and packaging of your products so that they meet these standards,” Lungu told the conference.

The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM), a trade group, works toward boosting quality standards of products made in Zambia. It also encourages companies to change production processes to add more value inside Zambia. A key to success is persuading consumers to prefer products with significant local content, says ZAM President Ezekiel Sekele.

“The ‘Buy Zambian’ campaign can succeed when people start to ‘think local’ first,” Sekele says. “I encourage consumers to think Zambia first, buy local products, help promote the growth of the Zambian manufacturing sector and keep our people in employment.”

Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka. He focuses on Zambian agriculture and sustainability issues.
derricksilimina@gmail.com