A problem of priorities, not resources

The Open School provides basic education for infants whose families can't afford places in government schools [Gideon Mendel]

For a country such as Zambia to achieve the MDGs by 2015, it is vital for its leaders to put development at the very heart of political decision-making

by Peter Henriot, director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) in Lusaka

Despite the current flurry of debate over the new constitution for Zambia, we must not forget other important topics affecting the daily lives of all our citizens. Topics such as poverty, education, health, women’s rights, and environment.

Of course, these are central in the draft constitution, but are also taken up in the lively discussions going on now about the MDGs. In preparation for the forthcoming UN Summit, our Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is holding a conference to explore the attainment of these goals here in Zambia.

Stakeholders will be expected to evaluate how Zambia has been doing since the commitment was made to the MDGs and what prospects there are for achieving the goals by 2015.

The adverts for this government conference optimistically highlight the positive thesis: “It’s Possible!” But is it?

True Development

The MDGs present a picture of human development that is certainly desirable, highlighting conditions considered necessary for the well-being of the human family.

For me, they sum up the elements required to attain true development, defined as “the movement from less human conditions to more human conditions”.

Boys at Syanalumba Basic School, Zambia. Fewer children are going to school because they are looking for food or earning money to survive. [Annie Bungeroth]

This is a people-centred view of development, one that asks as the very first question to evaluate any policy, project, programme or plan, at any level: “What is happening to the people and, especially, what is happening to the poor?”

To achieve the MDGs in Zambia by 2015 would mean tremendous improvements in the lives of all our ten million citizens. Today, 70-80% of the population live below the poverty line, unable to meet basic daily needs, life expectancy is under forty years, infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world, and our health and education systems are sadly lacking in basics.

Achieving the MDGs should be what we hear our leaders – those presently in government and those who would like to come into office – talking about in concrete and creative ways. But all too often, this is not the case.

What Is Required?

To attain the MDGs here in Zambia, three key elements are essential. Firstly, we need the knowledge of the right steps to take, such as knowing how to build dozens of new schools and training hundreds of new teachers, as well as small steps such as providing mosquito nets to households in malaria zones. We need the wisdom.

Secondly, we need enough resources to take these steps. We need money resources (generated from inside the country and coming from outside the country), as well as personnel resources.

Linda Community School provides a home and education to 50 former street children from all over Zambia. [Annie Bungeroth]

But thirdly and, I would say, most importantly, we need the political will to make the hard decisions required to move us forward towards the goals.

By political will, I mean much more than just the rhetoric that gains headlines in newspapers today but achieves nothing on the ground tomorrow.

Political will is about being prepared to make unpopular moves, and even taking real risks, when it is clear these are the best choices to improve the lives of the people. It is about putting priorities into planning, priorities into budgeting, and priorities into implementation.

For several years now, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), in analysis of the national budget, has repeatedly said: “The problem for Zambia is not resources but priorities”.

Yes, we can admit there are scarce resources in the country, but we also have to admit that resources can always be found when they are for priorities that government considers important.

How else can we explain the paradox that funds for motorcades to the airport, or for new vehicles for top officials always seem readily available, but funds to provide drugs in the hospitals or to supply books in the schools always seem severely limited?

What a difference it would make in Zambia if all of the political debates made the achievement of the MDGs a central feature. Then we might read less headlines in the papers about politicians fighting each other, and more about issues such as education policies, economic rights, and eradicating poverty. We could move from the politics of personalities to the politics of policies.

Potential

Last year, the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) released a study in Zambia which revealed that only the goal of improving gender equality and women’s empowerment was “probable” to achieve by 2015.

Every month two nurses from Mpika district hospital in Zambia immunise babies and carry out medical checks [Gideon Mendel]

Although the report claims the country has “high potential” in other areas like universal primary education and dealing with diseases and environmental challenges, it is “unlikely” to reach the targets for dealing with poverty, hunger and maternal health needs.

But this year we have some promising hopes of debt cancellation and more focused efforts for national development planning. Will this improve our chances of attaining the MDGs?

It is possible. But let us hear our government officials, politicians, civil society and church leaders, trade union officials and business leaders tell us what they think – and what they are willing to do to make that possibility a reality.

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