Of ZNBC, Hangers-on and Miracles
Watching (Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation) ZNBC news on Friday last week, I was surprised at the number of hangers-on. You know the type that will be in the picture while the main guy makes a statement. They will be nodding their heads profusely while all the time keeping an eye on the camera and making sure they are in the picture.
I believe my opinion is more than a mere product of the fastidiousness and cynicism that we all go through once we shed off our innocence. As I will show, watching ZNBC news can be torturous.
That was certainly the case when Bowman Lusambo (I still have difficulty believing these are his real names) was beamed as he made a statement. Mr Lusambo is the leader of the controversially named MMD Diehard Youth Wing. Why anyone would choose to call themselves "die-hard" over a political party is really beyond me. Anyway there was this bloke standing beside him, unblinkingly staring in the camera and nodding at every sound Lusambo made. To my mind the only value the guy was adding was the nodding of the head and making grunting noises to indicate the mood of Lusambo's words.
Before long another news item that involved the ruling party was broadcast. yet again this time, I could count a number of hangers-on nodding to every word of Brian Hapunda, the ruling party's provincial secretary for Southern Province. It appears there are people with plenty of time on their hands. How else would you explain grown up men rising up to to simply go and standby while a person more important than them makes a statement. This just doesn't add up.
The commercial breaks only incensed me as the miracle hunters/offers were at it again. Tales of this and that power packed conference screamed from the screen while Nigerian accented prophets, bishops and evangelists with hoarse voices promoted the same (what is it about the Nigerian accent?). Scores of people in different stages of miracle reception such as grovelling on the ground, hysterically darting from one corner of the hall to the next or simply raising hands and screaming were paraded in the adverts. Those that opted for further visual stimulation paraded wheel chairs whose erstwhile occupants had been miraculously healed they claimed.
The miracle hunters
No doubt come the weekend, miracle hunters will flock en-mass to these preachers. They will gorge themselves on anointing water, they will sing and pray their voices hoarse. They will parade themselves so that the man of God can prophesy on their lives. All in the hope that a miracle will fall into their ever eager lap.
After the break came the business news which displayed all the creativity and imagination of a "stop" signpost. My simple and free advice to ZNBC is "if you do not have business news, please simply scrap the business news segment". It is irritating at best and extremely annoying at worst.
The national broadcaster chose to feature a motivational talk to students by ZICTA as its lead business story. I was left wondering how that passed for business news even for those with the wildest imaginations. In the meantime, closing share prices for companies listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange whizzed by on the bottom of the screen. No expert was invited to talk about the stock market indices, there was nothing on the volatility being experienced in the copper prices and nothing on the labour unrest that is sipping through from the Copperbelt, no talk of the effect of the new Bank of Zambia regulations on the strength of the Kwacha. In short business news was devoid of anything related to business.
My conclusion was that for anyone genuinely interested in business news, this was a waste of time and the only knowledge they would have gained, if the didn't know that already, was that Diamond Insurance sponsored this sorry segment.
Halfway through the news you got the impression that ZNBC were deliberately drawing out the news in order to fill the one hour allotted to the programme. It is the only plausible explanation for the numerous breaks, the lengthy introductions and the content of some of the feature stories. I try but fail to find what is newsworthy about a restaurant that cooks Nshima. Yet this was given close to five minutes.
But perhaps the most annoying thing for me was the incessant and unpredictable fluctuations in sound both in terms of quality and volume. You would have blasts of immense volume without warning, cackles, tweeps and squeals. Whereas at other times you would have to ramp the volume on your telly to the max just to get what was being said. Surely we expect better from our national broadcaster.
I believe my opinion is more than a mere product of the fastidiousness and cynicism that we all go through once we shed off our innocence. As I will show, watching ZNBC news can be torturous.
That was certainly the case when Bowman Lusambo (I still have difficulty believing these are his real names) was beamed as he made a statement. Mr Lusambo is the leader of the controversially named MMD Diehard Youth Wing. Why anyone would choose to call themselves "die-hard" over a political party is really beyond me. Anyway there was this bloke standing beside him, unblinkingly staring in the camera and nodding at every sound Lusambo made. To my mind the only value the guy was adding was the nodding of the head and making grunting noises to indicate the mood of Lusambo's words.
Before long another news item that involved the ruling party was broadcast. yet again this time, I could count a number of hangers-on nodding to every word of Brian Hapunda, the ruling party's provincial secretary for Southern Province. It appears there are people with plenty of time on their hands. How else would you explain grown up men rising up to to simply go and standby while a person more important than them makes a statement. This just doesn't add up.
The commercial breaks only incensed me as the miracle hunters/offers were at it again. Tales of this and that power packed conference screamed from the screen while Nigerian accented prophets, bishops and evangelists with hoarse voices promoted the same (what is it about the Nigerian accent?). Scores of people in different stages of miracle reception such as grovelling on the ground, hysterically darting from one corner of the hall to the next or simply raising hands and screaming were paraded in the adverts. Those that opted for further visual stimulation paraded wheel chairs whose erstwhile occupants had been miraculously healed they claimed.
The miracle hunters
No doubt come the weekend, miracle hunters will flock en-mass to these preachers. They will gorge themselves on anointing water, they will sing and pray their voices hoarse. They will parade themselves so that the man of God can prophesy on their lives. All in the hope that a miracle will fall into their ever eager lap.
After the break came the business news which displayed all the creativity and imagination of a "stop" signpost. My simple and free advice to ZNBC is "if you do not have business news, please simply scrap the business news segment". It is irritating at best and extremely annoying at worst.
The national broadcaster chose to feature a motivational talk to students by ZICTA as its lead business story. I was left wondering how that passed for business news even for those with the wildest imaginations. In the meantime, closing share prices for companies listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange whizzed by on the bottom of the screen. No expert was invited to talk about the stock market indices, there was nothing on the volatility being experienced in the copper prices and nothing on the labour unrest that is sipping through from the Copperbelt, no talk of the effect of the new Bank of Zambia regulations on the strength of the Kwacha. In short business news was devoid of anything related to business.
My conclusion was that for anyone genuinely interested in business news, this was a waste of time and the only knowledge they would have gained, if the didn't know that already, was that Diamond Insurance sponsored this sorry segment.
Halfway through the news you got the impression that ZNBC were deliberately drawing out the news in order to fill the one hour allotted to the programme. It is the only plausible explanation for the numerous breaks, the lengthy introductions and the content of some of the feature stories. I try but fail to find what is newsworthy about a restaurant that cooks Nshima. Yet this was given close to five minutes.
But perhaps the most annoying thing for me was the incessant and unpredictable fluctuations in sound both in terms of quality and volume. You would have blasts of immense volume without warning, cackles, tweeps and squeals. Whereas at other times you would have to ramp the volume on your telly to the max just to get what was being said. Surely we expect better from our national broadcaster.
Bowman Lusambo and his MMD die hard... and the miracle seeker! well I have written a piece each on these, only it they are both too long so i will put them up on my blog once I've edited and put other topics.
ReplyDeleteAs for ZNBC business news, it does not pass for business news anywhere in the world.I remember watching ZNBC news one Friday evening and I was really just interested in a sports item that would come at the end of the 1 hour and sitting there in front of the TV watching countless commercial breaks and i tell you it was such an annoying experience.
Why they don't get a business expert to anchor the programme I will never know. I would have thought with Chibamba Kanyama in charge, that particular angle to the news would be well taken care of, but it seems they are too content with mediocrity. Some public broadcaster they are.
DeleteI can't wait for your piece on Bowman (if that is even his real name). Thanks for the support.
Keith, this piece was a very good one. Great analysis, precise and concise. Its not only the business news that needs improvement but the entire current affairs department. Sport news is something else too. Interviews are pathetic for a lack of a better term.
DeleteBut I'd like to give credit where it is due, Grevazio Zulu is doing a great job with his interviews. Well researched and it doesn't matter what the topic is he seems to do him home work well.
I personally watched when Grevasio interviewed Prof Chirwa at the height of the ZR wrangles, then the interview with Daniel Munkombwe of the famed politics of benefits theory and another one with Winter Kabimba on the state of the nation. On all of them the presenter accounted for himself very well. I had started entertaining thoughts that only Costa Mwansa was accounting himself well. Thumbs up to Grevasio.
Bowman Lusambo. Now that is a character i personally know and met Through Brian Munamwimbu. My interactions with him have taken me to meeting with ministers, visiting him in police cells and organising bail for him. Then he goes ahead to join politics!!!!
I would love to meet him as well. I just want to know what goes on in his mind. I will ask Brian to set me up.
DeleteThanks for the support.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Patrice & Keith! Great analyses to issues you know best! I pray that you shall continue to dig into happenings and give us updates!
ReplyDeleteKeith, "Bowman Lusambo" are the real names of the Person you are describing. He is my own brother and I just wanted to help you know that those are his real names.
This is one very humble boy I have ever known. He is a Man of few Words, very social and a generous personality. No one can deny that Bowman is a Crowd-puller and very charismatic. But naturally, he does not talk too much, he appreciates friendships and he is calm.To tell you the Truth, I was shocked when I first saw him issue a statement through the media.I could not imagine the boldness I saw! I did not know he was training himself as a Roaring Lion behind the scenes. As he said when he was featured on ZNBC, he is a very normal character, hard-working and one of the most reliable persons I have ever known. He Loves people and he is very determined when it comes to commitments. I am also not sure who has helped him gain the type of Authority he carries but I see it vivdly; and only God can do that.
ReplyDelete*I have know the young Man as a Great Footballer whose name was coming up in the Mid 90s. I am sure Solwezi Boys Technical School and people Like Authur Kamuloso can nod with me on this point.
However, I thank the Lord God Almighty for His interest in Politics. My Prayer is that he does his Politics well; but who does not know that every successful Politician was once a Mposa-Mabwe? Bowman shows great interest into this career and I may wish to see him rise to greater heights. He is a Young Man who definitely may not be appreciated at this stage but the scores he is making through his current efforts will surely take him somewhere. He only needs guidance from well-meaning Politicians. Not selfish Politicians who do not want to retire and be replaced.Such brave Boys need to be embraced by those that mean well for the Nation. That is indeed a rare breed. Let them help him to grow instead of praying for his down-fall. That is selfishness of the worst kind.
*I do not think Bowman is doing Politics of the Tummy even, he is just interested in Politics. The young Man is very good at his career(Marketing)which he did at Mulungushi University here in Zambia and has practised quiet as much. And when he does his Marketing every one is amazed! he has introduced a lot of renowned Men and Women here in Zambia into Business (many have testified to this fact).
*Let me share with you that Bowman got himself inside MMD through his Marketing Business with the MMD Party Officials. Maybe at that time he had not even started gaining momentum into his new Career, but he mingled with top Officials quiet match. This is not easy, and this in itself shows that there is some divine appointment between Bowman & God concerning Politics.
*Yes Patrice, you are very right; Bowman is one Young Man who has associated with a lot of Ministers at Personal/business Levels.
*Bowman does not only do Politics, he is also a very experienced business Man and he the Director for LUCAS NUCLEARS the Hi-Fi business which he has been running since 1999 with his late Brother.
*Like any other Human being, Bowman could have errors but its is just Human to error. Let us also look at his potential and contributions to MMD; Surely he needs a pat on his shoulder. People must not only see negatives in him.
*You know guys, I am a great blogger and I Love reading; and so I have raed a lot about Bowman on the Online Sites. Some people do not know Bowman perse. They have said a lot of things which are exactly the opposite of what he is.
*His Political aspirations could have been slowly growing from our Father who besides being a Forester, was a Politician. We are also coming from a background of a lot of close relations who have served Zambia in the Political Field.
*Bowman is a husband and a Father of two beautiful children Son & Daughter) and a wide range of humble nieces and nephews!
*Utmostly, Bowman comes from a very humble lifting Family glued to the Body of Christ.
Maria Lusambo
Maria,
DeleteI couldn't agree with you any better your description of Bowman. Yours is as correct a description as i'd put it any day. at the time Maj. Kachingwe was man handled at the MMD secretariat, Bowman's name came up so many times. I remember explaining to a few of my friends that i doubted he was part of it. The one thing i know him for is that he is not violent.
To quote your words; "He is a Man of few Words, very social and a generous personality." I can attest to that because he once paid for my taxi ride from Arcades to Libala in 2007. I can also confirm his love for football together with Joseph Mulenga the elder brother to Clifford.
The last time i met Bowman I asked mentioned to him that I was proud of what he was doing. It was bold of him. I also mentioned to him to avoid off the cuff statements as politics was a very bad game that spared no one once you said something the powers that be are not comfortable with. In any case I got his number as the one I had before was no longer going through. That one isn't going through also at the moment.
My point is that bowman being my friend must try by all means not to be orderly in his statements. The media is not painting a good picture of him. And unfortunately not that many people know him personally like you and I, so they will believe the image created in the media. And the media can build but very unfortunately it can destroy quite as hard too.
He needs to work at ridding the tag the media is giving him-- a militant violent guy! that is not Bowman.When i manage to get through to his phone, i will ask him to work at ridding himself from the tag in the media.
See from the link below my blog where i touched on Bowman.
http://www.patricenambayo.blogspot.com/2013/07/vuvuzela.html
Maria
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the insight about your brother. The truth is I tried to search for information on Bowman on the internet when researching for my article, but ended up getting these polarising views. What cannot be denied is that Bowmwan has shown remarkable courage to the extent that his every word is now news.
I am not a politician myself and frankly believe that the world would be a much better place without the lies, insults and innuendo peddled by most politicians. But I will be the first to admit that there are those few who honestly go into politics to serve the people and at great sacrifice have tried to distinguish themselves as such. They belong to a rare breed of virtuous men and women who sacrifice everything to stay above the putrid rot of petty politics.
Unfortunately many of these never even get a chance to hold political office but are often revered by posterity once the people realise the extent to which they went to help others. You can think of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Julius Nyerere and Nelson Mandela, whose blood boiled with desire to serve others less privileged than themselves.
I have no reason to doubt Bowman's authenticity in his political career, except to note that he should be careful lest his career ends before it even blossoms. If he holds on to the principles that have served him well thus far and sticks to his calling as you suggest, then he too can make a telling contribution to the political landscape.
Once again thank you for the contribution.
Maria,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you any better on your description of Bowman. Yours is as correct a description as i'd put it any day. At the time Maj. Kachingwe was man handled at the MMD secretariat, Bowman's name came up so many times. I remember explaining to a few of my friends that I doubted he was part of it. The one thing i know him for is that he is not violent.
To quote your words; "He is a Man of few Words, very social and a generous personality." I can attest to that, he once paid for my taxi ride from Arcades to Libala in 2007. I can also confirm his love for football together with Joseph Mulenga the elder brother to Clifford.
The last time I met Bowman I asked mentioned to him that I was proud of what he was doing. It was bold of him. I also mentioned to him to avoid 'off the cuff' statements as politics was a very bad game that spared no one once you said something the powers that be are not comfortable with. In any case I got his number as the one I had before was no longer going through. That one isn't going through also at the moment.
My point is that bowman being my friend must try by all means to be orderly in his statements. The media is not painting a good picture of him. And unfortunately not that many people know him personally like you and I, so they will believe the image created in the media. And the media can build but very unfortunately it can destroy quite as hard too.
He needs to work at ridding the tag the media is giving him-- a militant violent guy! that is not Bowman.When i manage to get through to his phone, i will ask him to work at ridding himself from the tag in the media.
See from the link below my blog where i touched on Bowman.
http://www.patricenambayo.blogspot.com/2013/07/vuvuzela.html