Ng’andu Peter Magande’s personal Reflection
By Cibiya Magande
Dr. Katele Kalumba, Ng’andu Peter Magande, Ng’andu Peter Magande, Edith Nawakwi, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda and Rabson Chongo
I ENROLLED at Namaila Primary School in August 1954 as Cibiya Magande and started attending school in Sub A at the age of seven years. Namaila School had only four grades of Sub A, Sub B, Standard I and Standard II.
To get to the school on time, I woke up very early in the morning. With a packed meal of either left-over nsima called mbuba, some roast maize or cibwantu, I and other pupils from my village jogged all the way to school. On the way, we washed our faces, hands and legs in the Simaila River.
I was excited to sit in a classroom and to have the opportunity of interacting with so many strangers from other villages. My exhibition of the ability in arithmetic made me a darling of the teachers, who protected me against bullies.
During the first few weeks of schooling, we wrote in the dust outside the classroom with a finger and later with a stick. Apart from excelling in arithmetic, I quickly managed to recite the alphabet and got my letters straight and graduated to using a slate.
Being the youngest pupils in the class, I and Sandoki Mweemba were abused by the older pupils by being ordered to clean the classroom even when it was not our turn. I schemed to help Sandoki with his school work and soon we were on top of the class in most tests. This earned us the respect of the teachers, who exempted us from cleaning the classroom under the pretext of being young. This gave us more time to study and do even better.
I enjoyed attending school because it gave me an opportunity to know so many young people from other villages. I soon learnt that there was a much wider space away from Namaila if I took up the challenge. The little school fired my ambition to live beyond my wildest dreams.
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa
Mwanakatwe with Lungu
The tranquility of the bush, while herding the cattle, gave me the opportunity to study. I learnt how to skilfully combine the roles of a shepherd boy and student by taking my school work with me into the bush, since we had no lights to read at night. I practiced my arithmetic by counting the different tree species. The new maize crop, which was very attractive to the cattle and goats, meant that I had to be very alert throughout the day. Any lapse resulting in the animals straying into a crop field invoked a beating by the owner of the maize and by my father for being careless.
For the final examinations in Standard II, we trekked some fifty kilometres to the examination centre at Malala School, where we camped for two days. I did not find the examinations very challenging. I was elated when the results came out, as I’d got the highest marks in our school. My father was happy when I did not speak of competing with any pupil but with the examiners. Since I and Sandoki earned high marks, we were selected to attend the senior primary school at Chikankata Mission, the new headquarters of the Salvation Army, as boarders.
Peter Ng’andu Magande
Zambia’s Works and Supply Minister Felix Chipota Mutati with Finance Minister Margaret Mh’ango Mwanakatwe
Editorial Note: Ng’andu Peter Magande previously worked at Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ), former Managing Director & CEO at Zambia national Commercial Bank (ZNCB), now renamed ZANACO, former Minister of Finance and National Planning at Government of the Republic of Zambia, served as a former Secretary General at African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, as a former Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance and is a former Director of Budget (1981 – 1983) in Zambia.
Aside from being a former Minister of Finance in Third President, late Levy Patrick Mwanawasa’s Government, Magande served as a former Economist/Senior Economist/Credit Specialist/Planning Coordinator in Government of the Republic of Zambia and studied Agricultural economics at Makerere University Kampala, Uganda. Before taking a course in Agricultural economics, Magande studied Economics and Mathematics at University of Zambia, after a stint at Munali Secondary School and Chikankata Secondary School.
Dr. Katele Kalumba, Ng’andu Peter Magande, Ng’andu Peter Magande, Edith Nawakwi, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda and Rabson Chongo have previously served as Zambia’s Finance Ministers, while Works and Supply Minister, Felix Chipota Mutati was recently succeeded by Margaret Mh’ango Mwanakatwe, formerly Commerce Trade and Industry Minister.
