Development visionaries of Zambia...

Chief Chibesakunda and his grouping of business and banking gurus have brought light into the Zambian gloom. Here are some native Zambians, the artesian wells of Zambia's unconscious yearnings to break free from neo-colonialism, of power held at the centre, charting a path forward for the 94% of the country locked in poverty.

Married with the Landsafe investment plan where trust structures are introduced based on the clear voice of community yearnings, traditional knowledge and scientific land capability, real hope exists for the improvement in rural livelihoods and the management of Zambia's natural resources.

For Government it means structured de-centralization and some measure of agreed planning which will allow chiefs to make land available for its own people, for the expansion of towns under district councils, and, under usufruct, for investors.

Agreed by the Royal Empowerment Foundation and the Landsafe mode is that customary land is sacrosanct: not to be sold to foreigner or Zambian alike, merely its use leased out for a specific period and under certain management conditions.

The UN and its Millennium Development Goals, like NEPAD's Peer Review Mechanism, is bankrupt; the grand plan put forward by Jeffrey Sachs (The End of Poverty) just another figment of western donor imagination. Now Zambia has its own plan, not something dreamed up by a rock star or a politician.