Are we learning from the happenings around us?

There is no doubt in my mind that there are a series of mini crisis’s happening around us, maybe none too serious to bring us to our knees. We have water shortages in Blantyre, power and fuel shortages country wide and a general lack of foreign exchange. Left unchecked these can have debilitating effects on our economic growth. Various players have promised to resolve or ease the current pressures but when? The question I keep asking myself is will Malawians will come out of all these events any smarter?

Water
There is no doubt that water is a bare necessity of life. Blantyre Water Board has been accused by many of incompetence and I tend to agree. But how can Malawians get out of this problem? Unfortunately there are not many options. Drilling boreholes and wells in urban settings is not advisable taking into the account sewerage tanks and soak aways that tend to contaminate underground water. However Malawians could learn not to contaminate natural water sources like rivers and streams and use water collected from these sources for some household chores. We have literally choked out waterways with plastics, industrial waste and silt from cultivation. The environment is being put under to much pressure it is doubtful it will ever recover.

Power
Yesterday Barack Obama was speaking in Shanghai, China on the need for Shanghai and Chicago, sisters city’s, to collaborate in building energy efficient buildings – buildings that requires less energy to heat and cool, building that provide more natural light and buildings that are built using environmentally friendly materials and technologies. How efficient are our buildings, both residential and commercial? Do we make enough use of the free solar and wind resources we have? Are we not digging ourselves deeper into a pit by not harnessing these natural and renewable sources of energy that are around us in abundance?

Fuel
Most people love to drive but there have to be limits. We can no longer afford to have a few families living in the same area each driving their child to the same school. We can no longer have neighbours, most probably working in the same office block or vicinity, each driving their gas guzzlers to work. The same applies to inter-city travel. We are simply burning too much fuel, fuel we don’t have. Fuel we have to use forex to purchase. Fuel that takes days to transport. Fuel that we have very limited storage space for.

Forex
Best Buy Malawi is an initiative that started when I was a young boy, it died, resurrected, went into hibernation and seems to be trying to make a comeback albeit not a very strong one. The initiative is great but if it lacks general political backing and widespread public support, it will amount to nothing but rhetoric. While I don’t hold Marxist views I believe that protectionist policies help in times like these. They help save forex and they help boost local industry. Such policies should get people thinking. They should get banks to refocus from generating revenue on forex commissions to making interest on money they lend to locals to produce. Protectionist policies should get people’s creative juices flowing, remind people how important it is to recycle and be efficient.

But will we come out of all this thinking along or at least some where along these lines? I am yet to see!

Charges Multichoice can't seem to explain

The other day I went to Multichoice to make a payment of K1700. I had written the cheque beforehand and upon reaching the till the conversation went as follows
Teller: The amount today is K1722
Me: Can I pay the K22 in cash?
Teller: Then you will have to pay K522
Me: On top of the K1700?
Teller: Yes
Me: Why?
Teller: Well you have to ask over there (pointing to the customer service attendants)
Me: So if I pay the whole amount in cash what will I pay?
Teller: K1722
Me: So where is this extra K500 coming from?
Teller: Ah, well you will have to ask over there
Me: I am just surprised where this K500 is coming from!
Teller: ……………. i.e. silence

When I asked the Multichoice guy (the tills are contracted out to First Merchant Bank) he was understandably disappointed that the teller failed to explain himself. In his explanation he implied that FMB collects commissions on every transaction and that on the K1700 bouquet their commission is relatively low. It was a vague explanation but I assumed my K1700 cheque and K22 cash would have been treated as two separate transactions both attracting a commission. The K500 was to cover the commission for the cash.

It’s just interesting and quite sad at the same time that I was expected to pay so heavily, a third of the bill, for wanting to top up with cash. What is even sadder is the fact that no one was willing or able or both to explain where these charges were coming from.