ZAMBIA:Despite the warmth of its people and their big smiles, Zambia has been called the saddest country in Africa, writes Seán Flynn.
This is a place mercifully free of the tribal conflict which scars the continent. It is a place blessed with a rich abundance of copper and lush grassland.
But this is also a place which continues to languish among the world's poorest nations. Life expectancy is 37 years. One million live with HIV/Aids and another million are orphaned. It should not be like this.
Zambia's fertile land and heavy rain are ideal for producing high quality beef, but since there are no veterinary controls, there are no beef exports. Zambia is a country - one of the very few in the world - where the quality of the education system appears to be regressing rather than moving forward.
You can train as a teacher here with just five O levels - the equivalent of a decent Junior Cert. In Zambia, you can qualify as a police officer in a few short months.
The desperate poverty of the people is all around us. Out in the country, tall, striking-looking women carry four-stone bags of maize in one hand while nestling their babies in the other.
At the fruit market in downtown Lusaka, a posse of young men - dressed in fake Nike shirts - emerge from the shadows at the merest hint that we might want some souvenirs.
Out on the roads around Lusaka, there are no footpaths for the thousands who walk along the busy carriageways. There is a kind of anarchy on the roads. Few expatriates will risk travelling between the various Zambian cities at night. It is like taking your life in your hands, says one.
The Zambians are a fiercely proud people. You will hear the national anthem several times each day. Public officials will tell you of the progress being made under the Zambian president.
President Levy Mwanawasa was returned to office for a second five-year term last September. These were the fourth elections since 1991, when a multi-party system replaced one-party rule under Kenneth Kaunda. Kaunda, the father of the nation, had ruled since independence in 1964.
Zambia is a stable country, but one which has become polarised between rural and urban, Mwanawasa and his opponents.
During the election, it was Michael Sata, leader of the Patriotic Front party, who made all the running. Sata's populist message and his strong opposition to Chinese investment struck a chord with Zambia's urban poor.
His criticism of the Chinese caused a diplomatic flurry, but was welcomed by the poor, who endure shameful working conditions in the Chinese-owned mines.
Mwanawasa and Sata could scarcely be more contrasting characters. President Mwanawasa, a mild-mannered former lawyer, has been unable to speak fluently since he suffered a stroke early last year. His message is to give things time, the economy is picking up, things will get better.
Sata, nicknamed "King Cobra" because of his aggressive style, is impatient, confrontational and populist.
Western diplomats were probably relieved by the return of the president. A Sata victory would have generated a great deal of uncertainty at a time when the economic indicators are looking better than they have for some time.
There is much to be done. Two-thirds of the people live on less than a dollar a day. The economy remains hugely dependent on copper, while the agricultural sector remains underdeveloped.
Commercial farming by Zimbabwean farmers fleeing from the Mugabe regime points the way forward. Despite their small number, these Zimbabwean farmers have helped to lift Zambia's economy by building an export market for their crops.
In truth, very few of Zambia's 11 million people have much in the way of gainful employment. Many eke out an income by selling their crops on market stalls, but only 400,000 contribute to the tax system.
Many of these are teachers and other junior public officials, earning only about €69 per month.
Corruption permeates every aspect of Zambian society. Former president Chiluba is on trial on corruption charges and a government taskforce is continuing its investigation.
On the main roads, billboards exhort the public to do things the right way rather than the corrupt way, but this marketing campaign has had little impact.
Things are getting better, slowly. A significant amount of Zimbabwean investment has moved to Zambia. There has been a resurgence in world demand for copper, Zambia's key export.
But in Lusaka, there seems little confidence that Zambia will grow and prosper.
The agents which might drive change - a robust free press and a demanding professional class - have still to emerge.
Zambia retains a traditional African approach to governance and other issues. It has great potential, but this has yet to be realised.
