4th of July, Donations for Cultural Festival, and Regional News

For the 4th of July, we were invited to the U.S. Ambassador's home for festivities. There are 46 U.S. citizens plus their families stationed at the Embassy, There were probably 15 families that attended; we were the only Fulbrighters that came. The event was pretty low key with grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, side dishes, soda and beer, etc. There are eight marines attached to the Embassy and they were hosting the bar to raise money for the annual marine ball. Several of the Embassy personnel are in the process of rotating out and moving on to new assignments elsewhere in the world. The Ambassador and his wife likely only have a few more months - depending on how long it takes President Trump to nominate and then the Senate to confirm someone as their replacement. Sadly (but not surprisingly) there were no fireworks. Below are some pictures of the Ambassador's residence with some of the interesting landscaping.

NUST is planning a cultural festival for August 7 - 10. They sent out a very interesting request for donations.

1.       Cows x4

2.       Donkey x2

3.       Sheep x20

4.       Game Meat x4 (Kudu, Oryx, Springbok, etc)

5.       Onthingu (dried meat)

6.       Dried Fish

7.       Fresh Fish x20 boxes

8.       Marathon Chickens x50

9.       Mopani Worms

10.   Boerewors

11.   Potatoes x20 bags

12.   Wood x70 bags

13.   Onions x5 bags

14.   Tomatoes x10 crates

15.   Cake flower x10 (12,5kg)

16.   Brown Sugar x10 (10kg)

17.   Tomato Sause x10 (5 litres)

18.   Chutney x5 (5litres)

19.   Worcester Sauce x10 (750ml)

20.   Vinegar x4  (5 litres)

21.   Marinade x4 (5 litres)

22.   Mahangu x5 (12.5kg)

23.   Spices (salt, pepper, barbeque spices, steak & chops, gloves, curry, cinnamon, borrie, etc)

So, if anybody has some cows or donkeys you would like to donate, just let me know.....

On regional news, President Lungu of Zambia just declared a state of emergency after a series of arson events, including the burning of the main market in the capital city of Lusaka, that were blamed on the political opposition. This is unfortunate as Zambia was considered one of the most democratic and stable countries in Africa. I guess things started with disputed elections last November. Then in March, Parliament suspended 46 members of the opposition party because they boycotted the President's state of the union speech. The government also started to crack down on media that supported the opposition. The head of the opposition party was then arrested for treason when he failed to yield the right-of-way to the President's motorcade. This is what President Lungu had to say when responding to claims that he was trying to establish a dictatorship:

“Zambia is the most accomplished democracy in this region or the whole Africa. If this is dictatorship, then there is no democracy in Africa,” he said.

“I know that people think I am targeting political players, I am not targeting any political player. I am only trying to bring sanity,” he added.

This should be a cautionary note for many other emerging democracies in Africa, including Namibia. Although democratic in form, many are essentially one-party democracies. In Namibia, the ruling SWAPO party and President received 86% of the vote in the last election and has held exclusive rule since independence in 1991. South Africa's ruling ANC party has been the same. In Zimbabwe, the 91 year old President Robert Mugabe makes no bones about being a dictator or president for life. Most emerging democracies have never experienced a close or contested election and have never had a peaceful transition to another opposition party. So, when they finally experience a truly competitive 2-party system and election, the long running ruling party too often resorts to fraud, corruption, and emergency rule to maintain power. It will be interesting to see if Namibia will be able to make the transition in a few decades as the SWAPO party influence begins to diminish.

We anxiously await the arrival of Kelda next week. In preparation for our trip to northern Namibia, we started our anti-malarial medication yesterday. We have to take one pill a week for the next six weeks. Had to go get a prescription, so we had our first experience with Namibia's healthcare system. I can assure you that the facilities are much nicer and more modern than anything we ever experienced in Samoa. For our two prescriptions, we only paid about $30 USD without insurance.