Post-Zambia: a whole new appreciation for taxes and ZEBRAS... can you imagine?

Zebras grazing to the waking sun - Livingstone, Zambia

In Zambia, less than a million people work within "formal" and "legal" employment structures, according to Costa Mwansa, a local journalist. For a country of 12 million, that's a pretty thin taxe base for the government to feed on. A lot of people work "informally" - in agriculture, as street vendors - and don't pay taxes, but also don't benefit from social services.

(N.B. the TV production Costa and I are working on aims to show Zambia from a dynamic perspective, blending challenges and successes. Success is often overlooked when representing African countries.)

Nevertheless, my point here is that I developed a whole new appreciation for taxes when being in an environment where most people don't pay any.



I understand the result is a lower quality of publicly used goods: roads, schools, electricity supply, waste disposal, etc. We take these services for granted on an everyday basis. In Zambia, there are frequent power cuts, many bumpy roads, a lack of schools, a suuuuuppppper slow internet connection ... 

There is no "public" transportation as we know it in Canada, i.e., subsidized by the government. There is a privately owned network of buses, and even though I haven't used it, I suspect it to be rather efficient. Most countries that I've visited that had similar systems were quite easy to navigate.

Now, another topic: zebras and wildlife. The zebras found in the national parc in Livingstone (home to the Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of the world) are pure beauty. They look like someone painted stripes on them. There are impalas everywhere and one of the most magical experiences is to lock eyes with one of them, standing still. They freeze. And when you lift a finger - WOOOSH, they are gone.

The elephant walks its slow majestic strut with the rising African sun in the background, ears flapping, horn sniffing, head slowly moving up and down ... it is only a few meters away and I want to touch its rough-looking skin.

This trip to Africa, like most trips, has made me feel very much alive.  I recommend anyone wanting to understand their own country to come to this sunny, crisp, vibrant continent full of life and challenges.