Thursday, September 27, 2007

A case for diversity and inclusion.

Last year, I attended a company hosted conference on diversity and inclusion; the conference featured a 15 minute video of Mauritius. The video outlined how the diverse population of this small Island, has worked together for national development and social cohesion against diverse origins, religion and culture.
It is therefore no wonder that the Ibrahim index of African governance has ranked Mauritius, as the best governed state in Africa.
Zambia has many diverse ethnic groups however I can not state without doubt that Zambians value, the different attributes each group brings to the national table.
Perhaps it is the size and geographical challenges of our vast land but, extreme differences in rate of human development i.e. public institutions and infrastructure among diverse tribal areas, lends credence to fears of marginalization and exclusion of others.

Just as a company with a diverse workforce, is best suited to meet costumer needs and consequently more successful in business; a nation that values diversity and the inclusion of its diverse population groups in national representation and development is most likely to achieve a higher rate human development and social cohesion.
As Zambians deliberate and seek the ever elusive consensus on the content and nature of our constitution, it is imperative that no section of our population is marginalized or excluded in this all important process.

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