Zambia, in comparison to other African states, has one of the most "progressive"
governments in the continent. Its self-declared official philosophy is "Humanism". The best way to assess its progressiveness and its relationship to the global struggle against imperialism and capitalism is simply to study what Kaunda and other Zambian leaders have said, and also what has been said about chem by their friends and enemies.
According to the authorative Jeune Afrique reference volume on Africa, "Kenneth Kaunda has said that Zambia does not want to follow the western capitalist nor the communist path.
He also said that he does not want to replace these systems with state capitalism but rather with "popular capitalism" based mainly on co-operatives. Many industries are already in a state of semi-nationalisation." This philosophy, needless to add, does not envisage the control of the industries by the workers and peasants, in the short or long run.
Apart from "Humanism", the other official phrase which has been used to describe Zambia's system is "African democratic socialism"
which is the twelfth aim of the United National Independence Party (UNIP) in its pre-independence constitution. Commenting on Zambia's progress towards the "African President Kaunda said. on August 11th 1969, "Our record of achievement stands high and we are determined to raise it even higher.
What is "African Democratic Socialism"also called "popular capitalism"-and with whom is it popular? It is indeed popular in Zambia, but only among those who directly benefit from it. Who are they?
With several foreign-owned businesses partisally nationalised, the Industrial Development Corporation (INDECO) which is in charge of industrial development in Zambia has now enough resources to be an important factor in • the polities and economies of the country. It helps African traders and businessmen who face fierce competition from foreign businessmen who take a lot of their profits out of Zambia.
The following was an advertisement in the Financial Times, London, on 13th August 1970: "Indeco Ltd., a State Corporation grouping over 80 subsidiary and associate companies, controls a £70,000,000 stake in Zambia's booming economy. In 1969/70 the group profit represented 21.8 per cent of shareholders equity and 7.7 percent of group net assets. Indeco's activities, industrial and commercial, extend from textiles to cement *and fertiliser, to transport, property and hotels. to wholesale and retail trading, and to finance.
Projects on the drawing board include a car assembly plant, an oil refinery, an iron and steel mill, a glass factory and a plant to manufacture agricultural implements.
"Many Indeco enterprises have been underboration with investment partners Smatien. witzerland, ranzania, and the United States o America. on panies include Dunlo. 1c. Shell. B.P Indeco's partners amon Tate & Lyle, United Transport and the Com monwealth Development Corporation.
"Indeco is a young and vigorous organisation, vishing to pursue Zambia's rapid industrialisa ion. The country's index of industrial produc IN LECUMBERRI PRISON. These photographs were taken Janvary 1, 1970, twenty-three days into a hunger strike called by the Mexican political prisoners to tion has risen from a base of 100 in 1961 to 124.4 in 1964, to 233.4 at the end of 1969. and there exist many openings for profitable investment across the whole manufacturing spectrum. Indeco invites enquiries from potential investors in this rapidly expanding economy. Indeco Limited, P.O. Box 1935 Lusaka, Republic of Zambia. Telephone 74051. Telegrams 'Indeco'."
Through nationalisation, more money comes to the government for the development of the nation. But the political set-up as a whole helps the rich, or favourably placed, Africans to get richer. Many young people in Zambia are known to be shouting *One Zambia-Form Four! One Zambia-Form Four?" instead of the official slogan, "One Zambia-One Nation!" What they mean is that in Zambia if you have not gone through four years of secondary education, you are not likely to get a job, and if you do get one, your wages are hopelessly low in comparison to those of the educated.
In fact, if you have not done the General Certificate of Education or Cambridge Certificate, you are generally looked down on.
In other words, "African Democratic Socialism" or "popular capitalism" is very popular with the educated, and the rich Africans. This class includes feudalists and religious leaders. With the extended family system still going strong, most of the close relations of this class also benefit from "popular capitalism".
What Simon Kapepwe, the Zambian Vice-President, said about the mentality of this ruling class is relevant here: ...we have to add that you are different from the man working, outside. It formed the mentality "I am superior, I must have a big increment, a good house, a big car. The essence of that education was that, if you don't dress or live like a European, you are not educated. These status symbols were deeply implanted in middle-class African consciousness and were, therefore, producing people who are now in the civil service, in the industries-everyone wanting to be like the Englishmen who governed. (New Africa magazine, volume 10, 1968).
In ten years time, under "popular capitalism" which is also "humanism in practice, there will emerge a strong nationalist progressive bourgeoisie which will have become conerent, homogeneous and productive. There will therefore be some contradictions between this Zambian ruling class and the foreign exploiters because of its progressive nationalist nature, but this, of course, is based on the premise that the situation remains static, which is unlikely.
Slogans like "One Zambia-Form Four!" among young people and the ever-increasing number of unofficial strikes in Zambia represen the forces of class struggle today.
In the interests of international capitalism, the West will continue to support Kaunda's leadership. It provides the guarantee for the West's economic interests there. As quoted in The Guardian of 10th August 1970, Kaunda himself explained at a reception of Roman Catholic bishops from East and Central Africa "The spread of communism by China car only be stopped by the true interpretation of Christian principles where man is regarded as An article entitled "The Goodies and the Baddies" by Colin Legum, who is one of the most well-informed journalists in Britain on British "relations" with the "Third World"
attacked by common prisoners, demand that they be standing in the corridor outside his cell.
countries, in the Observer of 26th July 1970, had something relevant to say on the matter.
He pointed out that the British Foreign Ministe Sir Alee Douglas-Home, considered Kaunda Banda and Kenyatta to be some of the "sensible chaps" in Africa who had not sold out to the Chinese and the Russians. Kaunda was thought to be the man worth going after.
Discussing Zambian polities and the Chou En-Lai visit to Tanzania and Zambia, the Daily Telegraph of 17th August 1970 explained in its editoral: " President Kaunda uses a long spoon to sup with the devil and Western fears that certainly groundless in the short term. When Kaunda and President Nyerere of Tanzaniaboth devout Christians, "sons of the mission' and deeply imbued with Western values-pass away, their countries may indeed look more to the East for succour. But for the time being at least, despite the fracas over Britain's roposal to resume arms sales to Sout La, they seem happy to play China of against Russia and both against the West;.. "
And the Telegraph is a very well-informed spokesman of the higher interests of the slowly crumbling remnants of the British empiaunda's statement as published in the Africa Digest, June 1970, of the Africa Bureau, London, might further help us to understand the mind of the Zambian leader.
A part of the statement reads:
*Today the forces of non-violence have been silenced completely in South Africa and there. Young militants are coming up... I see this whole political and economic problem unfolding with real dangers in sight for all of us in Southern Africa. The conflagration that will come out of this is going to envelop the whole of Southern Africa...
"The Black masses have looked to the West because essentially they have been, and are still, Christian in their outlook. They have looked to Western capitals in vain for help, for salvation. Whereas I was able to go over the Governor's head to speak to the British people and whereas I was able to appeal over the heads of the British Government officials to the British electorate and my voice was listened to with sympathy, no one can do that in South Africa. Britain has lost her chance in Rhodesia. If any African leader raised his voice in Angola or Mozambique or Guinea Bissau that would be the first and last we should hear of him. Is the Western world so blind to all these facts? ... Because Western capitals have been silent or they have raised their voices in some pious manner, completely ineffective and indeed meaningless to the sufferer, the young people who are coming up in non-independent Africa have decided to fight it out...
"Again the West is completely unable to supply them with the weapons of destruction they need to free themselves. They look round and the only countries which are able to give them are the Eastern bloc ones. And may I say that while I believe that some of these countries are giving their aid genuinely because of their principles there are others who are doing so in order to gain influence in this part of the world. We can't deceive ourselves. We have to be honest and frank. What does this mean? As I have said before, out of every hundred young men and women who go to the Eastern bloc countries.
armed and incited by prison authorities. At left above is Jose Revueltas, the famous novelist, At right is a group ninety to ninety-four may come back still very much nationalists, dedicated to the cause for which they stand. At the same time, six to ten may come back confirmed Communists. Thus the very argument these minority regimes are pretending to use to withhold the legitimate rights of the majority of the people is what now they are sadly introducing to this part of the world..
The Zambian leader has further defined in various speeches and writings his ideology of "Humanism". In his well-known speech of 1Ith August 1969, Kaunda says that a humanist society is a "man-centred and mutual aid society"-where the individual is the most important factor. He goes on to defend the ideology of property-capital by saying that "even the most ultra-left govern ments are allowing private enterprise to continue. African humanists therefore can be justly proud of their definition of socialism.
It should be clear that Kaunda is not a true ally in any way of those who believe in "scientific socialism and the class struggle Against the exploitation of man by mai The British Foreign Ministry and The Tele graph, who are not fools, rightly regard him Is a man worth going afte They know ull well that in the long term it is th Kaunda's of this world who will defend capitalism in Africa much more effectively than the Vorsters.
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HUS DE RAMPET POR LA LIBERIAO
Zambia may become dependent on the Chinese, who are to build her new life-line, are almost
Rhodesia. They have not even tried in Angola and Mozambique. The Luthulis are no longer