Ba Malume was seated like a retired minister of wisdom, radio pressed to his ear, when the announcer proudly declared that Zambia had attracted 12 billion US dollars in mining investments. Before the sentence could even land, one man burst out laughing. “Malume, these billions are like dreams, we don’t see them!” Another added, “Maybe they are hiding them in the mines themselves!” Ba Malume slowly removed the radio, looked at them the way a teacher looks at a class that has failed before the exam even starts, and said, “You people can laugh at money until money decides to laugh back at you.”
He cleared his throat and began. “Listen carefully before your ignorance becomes permanent. Twelve billion dollars is not something you carry in a plastic bag. It means investors are bringing machines, building mines, employing people, and expanding operations.” He drew a line in the sand with his stick. “Imagine someone brings a big hammer mill here. Farmers come, pay to grind maize, workers get jobs, transporters start moving goods, even the woman selling fritters nearby starts smiling. That one investment changes the whole area. Now multiply that by mines across the country. That is what you are laughing at.”
The group went quiet, but one stubborn man asked, “So where is my share?” Malume laughed loudly. “You want your share before the work has even started? You are like a man who plants maize today and tomorrow he is checking for nshima!” The others burst into laughter. Malume continued, “President Aisha is attracting these investments because Zambia is stable. Investors do not take billions to a place where tomorrow they might be chased away like goats from a garden. Stability is what invites money.”
He paced slowly, now fully in lecture mode. “Mining and energy are the backbone of this country. When mines expand, jobs increase. When jobs increase, people have money. When people have money, they buy from your small businesses. Even that tomato seller benefits. And the government collects revenue to build roads, schools, and support programmes. It is a chain, not magic.” He pointed at them. “You don’t see the billions directly, but you feel them in opportunities.” Another man scratched his head. “And this talk of 3 million tonnes of copper?” Malume smiled. “That is the target. More copper means more production, more exports, more money entering the country. Even the mineral mapping they are doing is like checking your land properly before farming, so you know where to plant and what to expect. That is planning, not guessing.”
He picked up his radio again and shook it slightly. “So next time you hear ‘12 billion dollars,’ don’t laugh like you have heard a joke. That is serious business. That is the country planting seeds for a bigger harvest.” He paused, then added with a grin, “And please, stop expecting to wake up and find dollars under your pillow. Even the Tooth Fairy has retired in this economy.” Ba Malume walked off slowly, leaving them thinking. “Copper may be underground,” he said over his shoulder, “but when it starts working, even those who were busy laughing will start asking for overtime.”
