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Caution!!! Holidays are here. Beware of Travel or Airline Ticket Scams here’s why.

Kimberly
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Caution!!! Holidays are here. Beware of Travel or Airline Ticket Scams here’s why.

You know the saying that “cheap things are not cheap”? As travel resumes this summer, so too will airline ticket scams. Airline ticket scams are not new, yet they continue to be on the rise. In this day with the possibility of obtaining cheap websites cloning the original domain name as well as creating a fake social media account, impersonation is easy. Scammers can now take up the identity of a travel agency or even an airline.

Though scams are widely prevalent with online bookings, you could even get scammed from a travel agency that has a well established and functional office. Caution is of the essence.

How do these scams work?

adults-airport-architecture-518244

Source:Pexels.com

Here’s what the scenario would look like

  • The passenger goes to a travel agency to purchase a ticket.
  • The ticket is issued by a travel agent and payment is made either by cash or card. This works well when payment is made by cash except in cases where the management is (dubious too and) involved in the scam.
  • The ignorant passenger goes to the airport and checks in and boards the flight.
  • Travel agent calls passenger (from a customer care standpoint) to find out if the passenger is boarded. Once confirmed, the travel agent goes ahead and voids/cancels the ticket. Tickets can be cancelled in the system when the status is still shown as ‘O’ for Open. Once the status changes to ‘F’ meaning flown, the ticket can no longer be cancelled. It may be partially refunded later depending on the conditions of the ticket.
  • The entire network involving the agent, cashier and accountant all get a cut from this dubious transaction.
  • Such activities are very common with First and Business class tickets. However, this doesn’t exempt economy class tickets.

Another scenario

You search online for cheap flights and get a great deal with a major airline. You book the flight—either through the website or by calling a customer support number—and receive a confirmation message. However, when you look more closely at the email, you notice that you never actually received your ticket.

In another version of this scam, you book a flight on a travel website offering deals on airfare. You pay with your credit card like normal. Shortly after making the payment, you receive a call from the company saying that there’s been a sudden price increase or an extra charge to finalize your booking. This is something a legitimate company would never do! Beware.

Read Also

How to Avoid Airline Ticket Scams

How to avoid airline ticket scams

Source:Pexels.com

  1. Pay by Card Debit/Credit card for easy traceability. Scammers usually refuse card payments because these can be tracked. If you are dealing with an agent and they refuse card payment, it’s better to step back.
  2. Double-check the URL (for any spelling errors) before entering any sensitive information. Secure links start with “https://” and include a lock icon on the purchase page.
  3. Do not grant access to your computer to any agent you are on the phone with. They’d hack into your computer.
  4. Buy tickets from reputable travel agencies or directly from the airline. And also beware of 3rd party sites. Be suspicious of websites with no working customer service number and no physical address. Typos and grammatical errors can be indications of a scammer’s handiwork, too.
  5. Beware of calls from travel agents finding out what level of the boarding process you are(depicting excellent customer service). They may be tracking you just to know when to cancel/void your ticket.
  6. Beware of deals that look too good to be true. They most likely would be scams. Moreover, cheap things are not always cheap or such deals have hidden costs like baggage charges, seat charges etc or you might be called later indicating a price change. Be sure of what you are paying for.
  7. Avoid sending money via cash transfers to individuals. If you cannot attach a face/brand to whoever you are sending money for ticket payment to, do not.
  8. Ensure you have a valid flight ticket with a ticket number and booking reference(PNR) which can be confirmed with the airline before the travel date. There have been cases where travel agents hand over ticket reservations instead of valid tickets to ignorant passengers who get embarrassed at the airport.
  9. Ensure to have a valid proof of payment (e-)receipt, including a company logo, stamp, and authorized signature.
  10. When buying from a Travel agency, avoid dealing with a single individual. In a well-structured organization, there would be people to handle different aspects of the business. The person issuing the ticket shouldn’t be the same as receiving the cash. A lot of ticketing agents can be very dubious so beware of that.
  11. If you are dealing with a travel agency, if you can, it is better to buy your ticket in advance. Why? This is because tickets can be voided/cancelled within 24 hrs of being issued. Dubious travel agents can cancel the ticket within this time after they know you have safely boarded the flight.

Did you find these tips helpful? Let us know in the comment section how else your ticket scams can be avoided. If you have you been a victim of ticket fraud? Feel free to leave your comments in the comment section below.

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The Commonwealth Games 2022 call for cultural collaboration with Cameroonian Artists in the UK

Kimberly
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0
The Commonwealth Games 2022 call for cultural collaboration with Cameroonian Artists in the UK

Cameroonian artists in the United Kingdom are invited to seize the opportunity for cultural collaboration offered by the Commonwealth games 2022 to be held in the city of Birmingham, UK from 28 July 2022 to 8th August 2022. The opportunities range from Media, Food, culinary art and dance amongst many others.

The Cameroon High Commission in London published the below press release.

Commonwealth Games 2022

Commonwealth Games 2022 call for collaboration with Cameroonian Artists in the UK.

Useful contacts with which artists may engage and collaborate include:

Louisa Davies, Senior Producer, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme – louisa.davies@birmingham2022.com

Lloyd Broad, Head of European and International Affairs, Birmingham City Council – Lloyd.broad@birmingham.gov.uk

Heather Law, Senior Programme Coordinator, European and International Affairs – Heathers.law@birmingham.gov.uk

Gavin Wade, Director Eastside Projects – gavin@eastsideprojects.org and Zoe Sawyer, Offside Curator – zoe@eastsideprojects.org

For general enquiries, email culture@birmingham2022.com or contact the Birmingham Commonwealth Association.

Read Also: How to apply or renew a Cameroon Passport in the UK in 2021

Where will the Common Wealth Games be in 2022?

Birmingham will be the host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games after a tumultuous bidding process. The South African city of Durban had been selected as the original host but it was stripped of the Games in March, after failing to meet numerous financial deadlines. Birmingham and Liverpool were both interested in hosting and it became a head-to-head battle between the two but the government preferred the Birmingham bid. After it was eventually deemed “non compliant”, however, the deadline for other cities to apply was extended in an effort to encourage a rival bidder.

The Games will therefore be held in England for the first time since Manchester hosted the multi-sport event in 2002.

What are Common Wealth Games?

The Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has taken place every four years since then. The Commonwealth Games were known as the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. Athletes with a disability are also included as full members of their national teams, making the Commonwealth Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event. It is also the world’s first multi-sport event which inducts an equal number of women’s and men’s medal events and was implemented recently in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. With such unique features, the World Economic Forum called the event inspiring and significant.

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Wes Madiko – Cameroonian legendary singer has died at age 57

Kimberly
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0
Wes Madiko – Cameroonian legendary singer has died at age 57

Wes Madiko one of Cameroon’s greatest artists has died at age 57. He was a Grammy Award winner and a 3-time winner of the world music award.

The death of Wes Madiko on the night of June 25 at Alençon hospital “following a medical operation due to a nosocomial infection“ was announced by his family. In a press release, the relatives of Wes Madiko: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce that the Cameroonian singer Wes, performer of the title “Alane”, died on the night of June 25, 2021, at the age of 57 years. “There come times when the feeling of helplessness seizes you and threatens to break you, but leaves you standing there, convincing you that there is a breath of life somewhere.” His words, spoken by singer Wes a few years ago following the death of his loved ones, resonate with us today more than ever. A legend has passed away, leaving us a final message of peace for humanity on his hospital bed which will be communicated to you in the days to come.“.

Wes Madiko’s name means “The Roots of the land of Ancestor”. He was born in Mouataba, some hundred miles away from the city of Douala, Cameroon. From the age of two, his grandfather taught him about music and how to play the kalimba. The pair soon became inseparable. His grandfather taught him his love of Bantu history and the wisdom of the elephant within animist Bantu philosophy. This was responsible for an important part of his education: “it was in bush school and during night-time gatherings listening to the metallic beat of the kalimba that I learned the adventures of the father of all ancestors, E’kwa Mutu.”

Wes Madiko

In 1974, at the age of ten, Madiko became the conductor of the group Kwa Kwassi, which means “think right”. This musical formation brought together the most talented youngsters in the village, who received instruction together in history and art.

In 1987, once more, Wes started to enjoy musical nights at the Wouri riverbanks. He was impatient to get back in touch with the Mouataba spirit, to promote the bafoun-bantou tradition, and return to the home of his ancestors. He revived the Kwa Kwassi orchestra and embarked on a tour in Bafoun country. A group of tourists turned up and were all impressed by the music, including a young woman from Lille, France. And so Wes set off for Europe, with his kalimba under his arm. – Source: Wikipedia

His title Alane was the hit of the summer (in the year) 1997. In 2020, the track was remixed by popular German DJ Robin Schulz and once again, the success was at the rendezvous. And no one forgot the famous 1997 music video which was choreographed by Mia Frye, who was also present in the video.

How to apply or renew a Cameroon Passport in the UK in 2021

Alane was indeed THE hit of 1997, ranking first on the charts of many countries including Austria, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. He is probably best known among Western audiences for “In Youpendi”, a song from The Lion King II soundtrack, as well as work with Deep Forest and his own 1997 hit “Alane” produced by Michel Sanchez.

Our prayers are with the family, friends, and fans of Wes Madiko.
The legend sleeps.

Critical Components of Strong Institutions and Good Governance

Dr Richard Munang
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Critical Components of Strong Institutions and Good Governance

It is the seeming “invisible” issues that are easy to ignore that end up being the most consequential. Institutions are not buildings. Institutions are people and if the people have wrong attitudes this will manifest through the institutions they lead and vice versa. For quite so long, we in Africa seem to have formulated a wrong thesis to begin with, hence looking at the wrong place for solutions.

I say this because we have most of the time overlooked the most critical component of good institutions and good governance which is: people. Strong institutions need people to run them. These people come from the very societies that practice the negative vices that manifest in the very institutions we talk about every day. When we talk sometimes, I always ask why don’t each and every one of us ask what he/she can offer and start doing it because these very people who run institutions come from our societies. Societies that are riddled with individualism, selfishness, entitlement, failure to take responsibility, jealousy, tribalism and such. This reality then brings to the fore the most important aspect of strong institutions and good governance in Africa. And that is attitude. The attitudes of citizens determine whether strong institutions and good governance can take root.

These attitudes manifest in a preference for individualism rather than collectivism. These flawed attitudes manifest in our failure to nurture selflessness and a preference for selfishness. Entitlement runs throughout society.

The point is this – strong institutions are a manifestation of the collective attitudes of people. When we talk of “weak institutions,” we are talking of the collective impact of a citizenry attitude in society. And unless we address the attitudes of the collective citizenry, then talk of strong institutions will continue to be elusive.

BRIDGING THE GAP

Nurturing strong institutions needs a purposeful and enterprising Africa. And these cannot happen if all of us at an individual level, do not align our drive for socio-economic solutions around selflessness. A whole of society approach is urgently needed where we:

Read Also: How every positive action from each of us can help move the needle

First, the purpose is to act with what we have as individuals – our skills, talents, interest, ongoing work, not always waiting for elusive perfection or hoping to get what we think we need before we take action – what is called “stubborn optimism”.

Second, work selflessly with the communities to co-create solutions with them to the socio-economic challenges they face. And as we do so, we remain firmly focused on the impact being made to touch many lives, and work to perfect this system of solutions. Not look at a personal material gain. It is out of proffering and delivering solutions to the socio-economic challenges we face that more changes in attitudes towards selflessness in more citizens can be achieved. Because many will start to see that material creation of a groundswell of solutions which create an environment to ensure no one experiences the fear of want or need and could reduce the attitudes to grasp everything everywhere which is the main cause. If  we start to do this it will not only inform policy from a more practical dimension but also create an attractive product that inspires

“One camel does not make fun of the other camel’s hump”. this African proverb reminds us, that the strong institutions or lack therefore in Africa, are not a matter of finger-pointing and blame game. We are all guilty as an African society for nurturing them, deliberately or otherwise. And in solving them, there are no shortcuts. We all must engage and become selfless solutions providers in whatever we do. It is out of nurturing selfless values at an individual level, that we change the societal norms of self-centeredness that have fueled our governance and weak institutions challenges and failures. Such selfless actions aimed at generating solutions to challenges around us, and using what we already have, will also serve to provide empirical lessons to inform policy and institutional processes from a more practical realistic dimension. Over time, like selflessness, and solutions first, rather than self-interest, gets entrenched as a societal norm, we will ensure more of those who end up in policy decision making, that we have become accustomed to blame, actually bring to their job, selflessness as a core value. With these values nurtured, strong institutions will start to emerge.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of his affiliated institution.

4 Ways To Easily Integrate Into A New Country

Dr Judwin Ndzo
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4 Ways To Easily Integrate Into A New Country

Moving to a new country can be daunting and it’s quite normal for people to struggle to adapt to a new society. I often say Cameroonians are very friendly and welcoming people. They open up easily to foreigners and go out of their way to invite them for a drink, to their homes and generally to socialize.

I cannot say the same for the UK where I currently live and I’m not sure about other places. Not that people are bad, they simply are different. And so, as a foreigner immigrating to another country, the onus is on you to integrate yourself into that society. Life can be pretty much hellish when you constantly feel the nostalgia of home, when you have no friends and when life gets tough. And it can get really tough out there.

And so, here are my favourite tips to help you settle into your new country.

1. Familiarise yourself with the culture

One feedback I got from my supervisor while at university, was that I did not look people in the eye while talking to them. This, according to her, was seen as a sign of someone being distracted and not engaging in a discussion. And she was equally surprised to find out that in Cameroon where I am from, looking an elder in the eye while talking to them was a sign of disrespect. When you move to a new place, endeavour to read as much about the culture as you can. Some expressions may not be offensive to you but will be in your new home. Brits will say “sorry” at everything without really meaning to apologize. Brits will address you as “my love”. Don’t be fazed out. You aren’t getting a new lover. That’s simply very British.

Also, make it a habit now to read daily newspapers and watch the news. This is a really good way of getting a feel of the society, their humour and generally, their sentiments. Watch the latest soap operas and reality TV (if that`s your sort of thing). At work, you can chip in something and feel like a part of the discussions, rather than sit back and feel like an unwelcome stranger.

2. Get to know the locals and try to learn the Language

Social media has made it so easy to connect to each other. When I travel to a new country, I like to meet fellow Cameroonians and so I’d pop a question on Facebook, asking if there are any Cameroonians in that area. You’d be surprised someone who knows someone will always respond. Even in the most remote places.

Connect through professional groups and blog forums around. There will be plenty of people like you looking to connect. There are plenty of volunteering opportunities that work in communities. Joining such groups could be very helpful as well.
One mistake we often make is to stick with our fellow nationals. While this is a good thing, it limits our view of society. This takes me to my next point.

Expat Interview – A guide to living in Malawi in 2021

3. Be engaged in your local community.

When I first moved to England, it took me two years to join the Cameroonian community in my area. That was a year ago. I have since met some really lovely souls, some people who would go out of their way to help you. People with whom you can socialize “à là Camerounaise” while out here.
I know many people refuse to join such communities because they get put off by things like gossip and unnecessary friends and problems. Those were some of the reasons I stayed away in the first place. And I did encounter some of those problems when I finally joined. But then, as an older brother said, “You cannot live as an island”. You are Cameroonian, that’s your identity. You can’t run.
My advice to others will be to join but cherry-pick their own friends. You don’t have to be friends with everyone.

4. Socialize, socialize, socialize

Your friends don’t have to all be Cameroonians or black people. Socialize with colleagues, hang out at the pub, attend work or school dinners, respond to invitations etc. Just be yourself at such gatherings and do what makes you comfortable. Most of these societies are multinational and multicultural, and people tend to be curious and open to other religions.

There’s a website I’ll recommend called MEETUP. There you’ll be able to find people with the same interests as you do.

Finally, do not forget to stay in touch with home.

Do you know any more tips you’ll like to share with us? Feel free to do so in the comment section below or on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

How Africans are responsible for the governance failures – Practical Solutions

Dr Richard Munang
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How Africans are responsible for the governance failures – Practical Solutions

The reality is that governance has been misconstrued most of the time, and I will be as realistic as I can in my discussions today. I am not going to go into abstractions but look at the realities we face every day that reflect on governance which never make it to the mainstream governance discussions. Just to give you a hint, you will hear people point fingers at inadequately capacitated institutions, underfunded institutions, ineffective policies, outdated constitutions, unpopular legislation etc., as being the bedrock of governance failures. You will hear people use terms like “a strong judiciary” as being some form of panacea to solving Africa’s governance challenges. Yet all these aspects are driven directly by human beings who carry certain attitudes, that reflect society. So then what should we be focusing on? The people and their attitudes or the policies, institutions, legislations?

This then is my take – that governance carries with it both soft and hard aspects. The soft being people’s attitudes while ‘the hard’ is the intuitional processes we like to blame. My premise will be that to address the continent’s governance challenges, we must prioritize the soft aspect.

Why? Governance is about actions and decisions whether it is policies, legislation etc., that work for or against the people. These decisions are made by people who harbour certain attitudes, and this is the crux of the matter. If we start pinning it down on traditional areas such as institutions etc., then it becomes very abstract and more of an academic exercise we have had and continue to have across the continent. And by this, we limit the discussion. So, my take is that governance is both soft and hard aspects. But quite often, we focus on the hard – expecting the hard to function optimally when the soft remains unaddressed. And this soft aspect is the people. It is our mindsets. It is more our attitudes than the hard aspects that are most visible to us which are driven by human influence. So, policies, legislations, institutions etc., do not act on their own. They are activated and driven by people.

This then is the big misnomer I would like to address today – that we cannot relegate governance to “black-box” hard aspects like institutions, legislation etc. Rather, we must cut through them and address the real issue here which is the people’s attitudes. And that these people in these institutions are drawn from our society and reflect our attitudes and mindsets as a society. As a result, we cannot take a backseat and point fingers because we are equally implicated in any governance failures in this continent. For example, when you applaud notoriety among politicians, institutions etc. as we do across the continent, what do we expect? How can notoriety deliver? These will be occupying positions to make decisions on behalf of a country, which then manifests as governance failures. The point is that the governance aspect we are supposed to focus on are both the hard & the soft – but more so the soft – because it drives the hard. And the soft is our attitudes.

In the long run, the result of governance that matters is touching people’s lives. It is socioeconomics. We want security to be able to do our businesses in an environment that we know we will not be harmed, our businesses will not be vandalized. The government then comes in to provide security. We want an enabling environment in finance such that when one takes a loan, the interest rates should not skyrocket. But these decisions that get deployed and enforced through institutions, policies etc., are taken by people.  And one cannot expect the person(s) to make such decisions if they do not have a selfless attitude – an attitude of kindness & love for the people. This is governance.        

 You get what you deserve 

How do you explain a continent that is most endowed with natural resources, taking last in nearly everything? How can we have everything but fail miserably in socioeconomic prosperity which is the desired result of good governance?  

Whenever we talk of “good governance”, our default thinking is “government responsibility”. We place the onus of good governance squarely on those who occupy government positions. By extension, the blame for failures in governance is placed squarely on these same “government” people. So what is our responsibility? Do these people in government we like to blame come from outer space? Are we not from that same society that nurtures them? Don’t some of us even make long queues to vote some of them into office?

My point is that failures in governance are a by-product of failed societies. And failed societies, are a result of flawed mindsets in ordinary citizens like you and me. We citizens produce the failed mindsets that end up in positions of authority.

To make this even more relatable, let us contrast Africa’s trajectory of development with that of some countries in Asia that are by far less endowed with natural resources. And specifically, countries that started from a baseline far much lower than Africa, yet today are what you can call “light-years” ahead of Africa.

Case 1 is South Korea. In the early 60s, just as most African countries were gaining their independence, South Korea, a mineral barren country, unlike most countries in Africa that have some form of mineral wealth, had dry coffers and faced starvation. This dire situation of South Korea prompted goodwill from nations. Kenya in 1963 gave the troubled South Korea a $10,000 loan and relief food. The loan was later repaid. But today, this mineral-barren country roughly five times smaller than Kenya has an economy estimated at 15times the size of Africa’s combined economy – the totality of 54 countries in the continent. It grew its per capita income 275 times over a period of 50 years. So how did this country seemingly much more disadvantaged than most of us in Africa from the start, turn its fortunes?

The answer – maximizing on strategic industries accessible to most of its people – which was textile and clothing – for exports. So, who sent these people to work in textile & clothing? Were they whipped to work? Absolutely not. They sent themselves to work. They leveraged the existing enabling policy environment and focused on their catalytic sectors as they continued to perfect what they had. We must not always have everything to start. The lesson from South Korea is to leverage what you have and work with it as you perfect further. Sitting and waiting for miracles as we complain is not a strategy to drive transformational development.

The second case is Singapore – which in the 60s as it was gaining independence, was a struggling small country facing precarious markets, water scarcity, few natural resources, small land among key limitations in the factors of production. For 30years, this country was ruled by Mr Lee Kuan Yew its founding father. Today, this is Asia’s smallest country, which has one of the world’s most powerful financial centres with a GDP being among the highest in the world. So how did it transform? Mr Lee was not a genius economist. As a matter of fact, he was not even an economist, but a lawyer by profession. Without the productivity of the citizenry, it would have been impossible to make an economic miracle out of Singapore. As a matter of fact, Mr Lee was criticized by many for leading the country in an authoritarian style. But his authoritarian style – which would be classified as bad governance in our books, did not stop the citizenry from achieving for themselves, the desired product of good governance – which is socio-economic prosperity. A prosperity that is attracting the whole world to it.

I am giving these examples because they send a very strong message- if we do not take Africa’s transformation as a personal responsibility, just as these other nations who faced Africa’s predicament did, then we will still be talking of “bad governance” for a very long time to come. We will still be marking time. Africa is not special. As we can see from these shining examples, the only key to achieving the desired end of good governance lies in us the people, taking the personal responsibility to do right.

Building a quality populace for the fruits of good governance

The following are what I will consider the tenets of good governance that we can embrace as citizens to start healing our society, and by this, experience the desired results of good governance.

a) Heart of service Not a Heart of Disservice – I usually say that my religion is love and kindness. The unfortunate thing is whenever I say this, many do not understand. Yet love and kindness are the foundation of Christianity. When the Son of Man came, He was on a mission – going out to the people, touching lives healing the sick, teaching the truths of the Kingdom of God – in very difficult circumstances. So, what was His motivation? Love & kindness. I am not preaching here but sharing a very critical principle here – we are talking about God, the creator of heaven and earth, using this difficult route of love & service to achieve impact. What makes us, mere mortals, think that we can somehow achieve real impact in any other way?

The point then is simple, good governance will not be achieved unless we ordinary citizens adopt a heart of service in everything we do. We must be motivated and moved by the desire to touch lives in all our actions. We cannot allow self-serving, selfish interests to rule us. So, wherever you are, whatever you do, be moved by the desire to touch many lives, not serving self.  The point is, you have to have love and kindness in your heart to be able to have a heart of service.

b) Impactful democracy tied to a bold realistic vision– It is said that it is not what happens during elections that matter, but that which happens between elections. Changing leaders, yet we are drawing from the same pool of people who come from a flawed society really is of little impact. I just shared the story of Mr Lee of Singapore. His remaining in power for 30 years did not stop citizens from doing that which they did in exercising their talents, gifts, abilities to drive real transformative economic development. Like all of us, Mr Lee was not an angel. He was a human being like we are. But the difference was made by the society in which he came from, and which he led. In addition, the difference was made by having a clear bold realistic vision tied to working with the people to deliver the vision. Visions are not slogans and must be tied to citizens actions. Visions, therefore, need purposeful enterprising passionate inspired discipline citizenry to sustain it.

In the same fashion, the pathway to impactful democracy that unlocks the socioeconomic fruits of good governance we all desire, starts from a transformed society that embraces a heart of service, not self-serving. So, the politics of changing leaders does not equate to the desired results of good governance which is socioeconomics.

c)  People, not positions is what matters – I have heard many at times people say things to the effect that “when I get this promotion or that job, then I will do such and such. But what we neglect to realise is that what really matters is what you as a person do with what you have at hand. This world is not ideal. It is far from perfection. You will never really have these “positions” you think you need. So wherever you are, invest in yourself to improve your skills, expand them, refine them, perfect them and apply them to that which touches many lives. Forget about positions. They do not implement. It is willing selfless people who do despite positions. So be one of these willing selfless people.

 d) Never equate effort as struggle – success in anything requires some form of effort. But this effort should never be equated to “struggle”. If you equate it as “struggle”, then the next thing will be that you will want to be “rewarded” for your struggles. You will want to reward yourself. This is the reason why we have people leaving school looking for jobs to “reward” their struggles in school. Yet the school was actually an opportunity to be prepared to become solutions providers. Now with this “struggle” and “reward” dichotomy, you have people who will not have the ability to be selfless, who will work to satisfy themselves, who will do the bare minimum to get a paycheque and who will perpetuate the society breeding grounds for the bad governance we see around us.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of his affiliated institution.

16 Things to consider before deciding to take an International Job

Venatius Tsi Fon
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16 Things to consider before deciding to take an International Job

Before you decide to take an International job and move with your family, it is important to ask the right questions, do some background checks to ensure you and your family will be comfortable in the new country and organization before moving.

How aligned is the organization to my passion and values?

Before taking up a new role in any office or organization, kindly ask yourself how the organization is aligned with your passion, skills, and values. This will be able to guide you to know if this organization will be the type of organization you will be happy to work and stay in. This simply means that, if you are passionate and have core competencies in climate change or food security, then those are the types of organizations you should be targeting; as these organizations will enable you to be able to live your passion. You will be able to create more impact in such an organization and be happier in your job. This happiness in your job is very important as it transcends into your happiness in your home or personal life.

Do a background check on the organization

Before taking up a role please check if the organization is financially stable, going through restructuring and find out from colleagues in that organization if they are happy working for that organization or not(organization culture). You could easily move into an organization that is struggling and end up losing your job because of funding. if you had carried your children out of your country and this happens, it may be devastating for you and them. Take time to talk to staff in the organization and how they find the culture and growth potentials before making the move.

Safety of the country and the culture of the people

Before taking an International Job, it’s important to look at is the safety of the country and the culture of the people in the country. You may not carry your family in any country that is politically unstable as this will affect your children’s safety and their education. It is very important also to look at the facilities for children in that country like education standards, the language as well and other facilities for leisure for you and your family. One very important thing to look at is the culture of your destination country and how you and your family will easily integrate or not. If you find yourself having an offer to a country that is hostile to blacks (for example) then you have no business taking up a job there.

Salary against the cost of living in the country

You need to be sure that the salary versus the cost of living in that country is worth it. You can’t take up a job in a country that does not allow you to save enough and take care of your children as an expatriate. The way to check this is to talk to people living in that country and working for similar organizations and ask how they cope with the salaries they get or you can go through this blog Passports Beyond Borders for related experiences you can learn from. This will help you to make an informed decision before taking up the offer. Use the search icon and enter a destination.

Read Also: Expat Interview – A guide to living in Malawi in 2021

Housing and Cost

You need to confirm if your organization will give you a house and pay for the bills or not. This is very typical of INGO and companies, with the UN, you bear the cost. This will really enable you to understand the full offer and how this may offset your salary as housing may also mean a reduction of the net salary. However, if this is covered, it would mean that one huge burden has been taken off your shoulders.


Taxes

You need to know if you will be paying taxes in the country or not, and if so, how this will affect your net salary. In some organizations and countries, you are required to pay taxes as an expatriate for some countries you are not allowed to. You should clarify with your organization if this is the case and who will pay the taxes. Some organizations cover taxes for their staff and some do not.

Transport

You need to know also if the organization will provide transportation or not and if not, how easy it is to get public or private transport in the country. Will you get a duty free or duty paid car? It’s important to ask all these questions. This will enable you to prepare and ship a car before arrival or rent/buy a car while in-country. Some organizations give you free transport for the first three months, thus giving you enough time to prepare to get your own transport.


Home leave

You need to be sure if the office pays your ticket for home leave/vacation or not, and if you are in a danger zone you need to know your RnR (Rest and Recuperation) entitlements. You should ask the questions on your leave entitlement including sick leave, paternity, and maternity leave. This is usually part of the offer package and in cases where you are not clear kindly ask other colleagues or the HR person for clarification.

Relocation and settling-in allowance

You need to check and be sure that the contract covers that as well as repatriation allowances. These allowances really help you to settle in a new country, and where these are not available, ask how the organizations facilitate your settling in the new country especially if you are travelling with your family.

Health insurance

You need to be sure that the contract covers health insurance for you and your children even if you are not moving with them. You must check your insurance policy to know what is covered and what is not and ask all the necessary questions. Also, check what percentages it covers and which countries the health insurance is valid in. This really helps you to plan especially if you like travelling. It also gives you peace of mind as you know that health for you and your children are covered irrespective of where you are. Also, find out if you get coverage that you can pay when you retire.

Life insurance

You also need to ask what your family gets as life insurance coverage if you die in the duty station or become incapacitated due to work-related accidents. This is very important as you really wish to be sure that if you are not around your children are still well taken care of and that if you were incapacitated that your organization will be able to pay you.

Pension

You need to seek clarity on the pension scheme how many years you need to work for and what you will benefit from when you retire and how to access it. This is a very important question because as an expatriate you usually don’t pay for social insurance in your country of origin in most cases. This is a safety net when you retire.

Break clause

Most people do not pay attention to this, but you need to pay attention to the break clause in the contract, if the organization or you can break it and what notification is needed. Try and understand the type of contract you are having because you don’t wish to have a contract that plays more in favour of the organization. You are not sure about the break clause, feel free to ask HR to clarify the contract type and the break clauses.

Culture and language

You really need to be sure that the continent or country you are going to work in is racially unbiased. This can be traumatizing for the kids if the country is racist. You need to know if they speak English or French and if you have to learn an additional language.

Children and spouse allowance

You need to check if your spouse and children get allowances or not in the contract and what other benefits they may receive as your dependents while in active service, if you become incapacitated and if you retire or die.

In conclusion, before applying it’s always good to do a background check. Once the offer comes in, take your time and ask the above questions so that you are sure that you are moving to a country that will enable you and your children to live happily, without fear of being terminated due to break clauses or lack of funding. Deciding to move when you are married with kids can be daunting, you really need to balance the pros and cons and make the decision. Working internationally however exposes you and your children to other cultures and prepare them for a better future as well.

Do you want to write or share your experiences on PBB? Take a look at the kind of articles we would be happy to publish here.

Tips on Travelling with a green passport – Number 7 is my favourite

Dr Judwin Ndzo
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Tips on Travelling with a green passport – Number 7 is my favourite

Now that the lock-down is easing off, some of us are googling up holiday destinations.

And if like me, you are an African expatriate who lives in the west, then you know what it is like, travelling with a green passport.

My Experiences Travelling with a Green Passport

As a UK resident, my first experience travelling outside of the UK with my green Cameroonian passport was at the French immigration. I am an avid follower of Mrs Chimamanda Adiche and so I had watched her interview with “The Nuit des idées 2018 – Quai d’Orsay” where she described the arrogance and condescendingness (if that’s a thing) of French immigration officers. On that occasion, Mrs Chimamanda who is a bearer of both a green Nigerian passport and an American one had chosen to travel with the former.

And so on my first trip to France, I had braced myself to the frowns and puzzled faces of the French immigration officers encountering an African girl on a green passport, coming to France for a weekend with friends, accommodation all booked at a hotel. Not until I displayed my British residence permit that his demeanour visibly relaxed.

This, however, did not prepare me for the overtly racist treatment I was later to experience in Switzerland while I was transiting to Israel for a brief holiday. The immigration officers singled me out, checked me for drugs, arms, you name it, all the while apologising and informing me that this was the standard operating procedure. Never mind that of hundreds of passengers, he’d singled out the only black female. And so I found myself waiting in a separate bay with a couple of bearded Muslim-looking Asian men, who like me, had been informed of the famous SOP. And never mind that all these checks did not stop my passport from being flagged as red prior to boarding.

Think you’ve heard the worst? Certainly not!

The worst immigration experience I had was in Zimbabwe. Yes, you heard me right! Travelling to Zimbabwe for a friend’s wedding, I was met by two angry-looking men who refused to believe that though I was a medical doctor with a UK residence permit, I had not come to Zimbabwe to run off wild and become an illegal immigrant! Fortunately, the airport was a small one and so my friend and his wife-to-be could see me from the arrivals lobby, and so they came to my rescue. Meanwhile, my Nigerian travel partner sailed through unceremoniously with his British passport.

Read Also

At Brussels, I got puzzled looks from the immigration officer, who asked me if I was coming to work, even though I had a visitor’s visa and had informed him I was coming for the weekend only. Not until he saw my UK residence permit that he exclaimed “Ah voilà! Cest tout ce que je voulais” (Ah, that’s all I needed to see) that he gave a sly smile and stamped my passport. By this time, being a seasoned traveller that I was and having learnt the tricks of the trade, I had lost my poor patience and switched from French to English (I only speak English when upset), calling out his biased treatment.

Interestingly, at the American borders, I was graciously ushered in without question, even though my passport was only valid for 3 months on my passport (American immigration rules stipulate you must have at least 6 months validity). Perhaps being a doctor in the USA carries more weight than in Zimbabwe? Forget the humanitarian principles of treating people the same regardless of who they are!

I’ve also met really friendly immigration officers in several airports in Germany and several Scandinavian countries.

Here are some of my top tips for travelling with a green passport

Having bagged a few years of experience dealing with hostile immigration officers of various shades and nationalities, here are a few tips I found helpful for those stuck with a not so travel-friendly passport:

1. When applying for a passport, it is helpful to state your occupation. Get the evidence you need as proof. Have a professional-looking picture. Unfortunately, these matter. Apply well in advance as everything has been slowed down by the pandemic.

2. Remember to stamp your passport when entering and leaving a region. For example, you don’t need your passport stamped when travelling within the Schengen area. However, you must stamp your passport when leaving the Schengen area. My friend got in trouble months later for not somehow not getting her passport stamped when she left France for the UK.

3. Ensure you read through the government website of your country of destination, including passport requirements, number of free pages needed, passport validity, etc.

4. If you travel on a budget, the country of transit is as important as that of your final destination. You don’t want to be denied boarding because your passport doesn’t meet the requirement of your country of transit. True story!

5. If you’re looking to get a Schengen visa, France is the least complicated country and gives 6-12 months validity. Be prepared though, to queue up at the visa application centre under the rain.

6. Have proof of reasons for your visit ready at hand. Hotel bookings, booked touristic sites. Also be ready to show proof that you will not overstay your visa eg Residence permits from your country of origin, emails from your employer stating you’re on annual leave. Avoid deleting electronic records of these.

7. Have a brave face and remain polite but assertive.

8. Apply for your visa early enough. It can take up to 4 months to get a visa appointment sometimes, and you usually will only be able to apply for the visa only in the weeks or days prior to travel.

And finally, if your destination is another African country, be ready to be denied entry even if you have all the right documents. Happy holidays people!

Have you got a travel experience with your green passport? Tell us in the comment section what your experience was including some tips to help another green passport user.

Also, feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Expat Interview – A guide to living in Malawi in 2021

Kimberly
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Expat Interview – A guide to living in Malawi in 2021

Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, is defined by its topography of highlands split by the Great Rift Valley and enormous Lake Malawi. The lake’s southern end falls within Lake Malawi National Park – sheltering diverse wildlife from colourful fish to baboons – and its clear waters are popular for diving and boating.

Malawi by 2063 aims to be an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant industrialized upper-middle-income country, vibrant knowledge-based economy with world-class urban centres and tourism hubs, a united peaceful and patriotic people with effective governing systems and institution and an environmentally stable economy.

While these may be the expectations for a futuristic Malawi, these are the current realities on the ground that you should know if you are planning a move to Malawi as an expat.

LIVING IN MALAWI

What do you enjoy most about Malawi, how’s the quality of life, are there any negatives?

Malawi is peaceful and nice, and the people are warm. The country is very green both the city the villages. This is because the place has not been fully developed so you drive around and see trees and its lovely love the lakeside and the parks. I enjoy travelling to the lakeside to enjoy the environment as well as visiting the parks to see the animals. Like any country it has its own issues like lack of good roads, stable water and electricity are some the issues to expect here. However, unlike most African countries, Malawi is a very organized country with strong governance institutions. This is a country in Africa where the opposition wins the elections after appealing the results in court, which must tell you a lot about the country. They are very Democratic. The judiciary is independent of the president. The court’s army and police are independent unlike in many African countries. It is amazing

One of the major cons of living in Malawi is the tardiness of the people. If a Malawian says tomorrow, Just be rest assured it will take about two weeks. I remember one time, we gave a tailor here materials to do uniforms for my son and he said it was going to be ready the following day, it took him three weeks. We also got a carpenter to do nets and build the wood around the bed to hold the nets. He gave us a 1week time frame. It took him five weeks to complete the task. And this sluggishness cuts across almost everything in the country. If you are moving to Malawi from a fast-paced environment, you will have to brace yourself.

How do you communicate with the locals? Is English the official language?

Most educated Malawians if not all speak English but the national language that you must also learn is Chichewa as it is widely spoken in Malawi by everyone. The uneducated ones speak mostly in Chichewa.

Is the city safe for foreigners? Are there any areas expats should avoid?

The city is relatively safe for visitors and expatriates can go anywhere but you have to adhere to security measures both at home and when travelling as well.

Read Also: Expat Interview – A guide to living in Qatar

How would you rate the public transport? What are the different options to commute? Do you need to own a car?

As an expatriate, having a car is a MUST the public transport system is not the best. You have buses that take people from one part of the town to the other and then you have the unmarked taxis. As an expat only take taxis recommended by a friend without which you could easily fall into the hands of thieves or robbers. The good thing about the location of Malawi is that you can plan road trips to Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa if you have a 4X4.

What’s your opinion on healthcare?

The health care system is not up to standard as well, if you have pre-existing conditions make sure you come with your medication. There are however some good hospitals to go to but most serious cases are referred to Kenya or South Africa as they are neighbouring countries to Malawi.

Which are the best neighbourhoods for expats to live in the city in your opinion and how would you rate accommodation in the City?

In Malawi as an expatriate, I would advise you to live in area, 3, 10, 12, 43, new 43. These are UN vetted so they’re really safe.

What’s the cost of living compared to your home country? What are the things you find really affordable here?

The cost of living here is affordable, housing is a bit expensive for good housing in expat areas. But you can get it cheap in other areas, food is relatively cheap here when you go to the markets. But buying from the supermarket here is very expensive as EVERYTHING is IMPORTED and also you don’t get to see some things you need; you have to really bring in your stuff as locally buying household furniture is very expensive.

What’s the minimum salary to accept to guarantee a decent standard of living in Malawi?

USD 4000 a month for entry-level jobs will help you live in decent accommodation and save some money. Note this is the same rate that most international UNVS get so you could live on this as a beginner.

Are you part of any associations or do you associate solely with expats?

We have a Cameroonian association here we meet monthly and have fun, talk about Cameroon and catch up. Apart from that, I have mostly expat friends and few nationals who have studied abroad as that also makes a difference.

LIVING WITH FAMILY

How did your spouse and kids adjust to their new home?

They adjusted quickly as the kids are in international schools adjusting is not that difficult. But you know the change from Tanzania to Malawi was huge, so it took time for them to settle. we know that we are a mobile family so mentally we know after three or four years we have to move its part of the fun as well.

My kids have already made new friends and are enjoying the place; they miss Daresalam though as our house was on the beach and had a pool. They always say we want to go back to Tanzania; we miss the beach.

What’s the education system like? Would you recommend local schools?

Local schools are a NO, as standards are very low. If your kids come here, you have to get them to the international schools which are not cheap ranges from 17 to 21 thousand USD a year. This is one thing to pay attention to in your contract if the office will pay for the kids or not.

How are you as a family impacted by the pandemic?

We didn’t really feel it, as we are still here and am still working from home. However, the kids are bored, they miss their friends and school. we also miss our social life as we like organizing or hosting parties. we also miss church as we don’t go anymore due to COVID apart from that we are fine. The main thing was that we couldn’t go on holiday as planned, we had planned a trip to Europe, but it had to be cancelled.

FINALLY….

As an African/Cameroonian expat, how do you (in the future) plan to impact your home country considering the African diaspora is vital in the development of Africa?

whenever I am in Cameroon, I try to either go on radio or TV and educate young Cameroonians about careers. I do review Cameroonian’s CVs and coach them for interviews. I have helped and supported many Cameroonians pick up their dream jobs I do this as passion. when there are any workshops that need experts to talk about career development, I readily make myself available. I feel Africans should not think they can change their country only by changing governments, yes participating in governance issues is relevant but we need to start by doing small things like supporting the young ones to grow as well as investing back home and not only wait and say the government is bad or there are no jobs.

Have you lived in Malawi or planning to move there? Feel free to contribute or ask any questions in the comment section below. Also, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram

How every positive action from each of us can help move the needle

Dr Richard Munang
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How every positive action from each of us can help move the needle

Sometimes it baffles me when I see people complain 24/7 without proffering solutions. They complain about everything. They blame everyone except themselves. What many forget to know is that we live in a world as it is not as it should be. Hence every positive action from all of us can help move the needle forward. We blame the government all the time as if the government is a building or a house. Government is people who come from the very societies we come from and their attitudes will not change with the complaints we have been making for over 60 years.

My point is simple: there is nothing wrong with anyone pointing out a problem. But as you do so, make sure you play your part and leverage what is working to make the case and show what you have done. We are not strangers in this continent, and we all know that complaining and blame game most of the time is not helpful. If you doubt it, take up your phone and log into Facebook and Twitter etc. and see what is happening there. I see this every day and it’s always someone to do it but for ourselves and the circus of blame game continues.

Become a solution provider yourself: Government alone is not a repository of all solutions. If we all do what we can and become innovative, we can make a positive difference. The best policy solutions are not always from the government alone. Policy is not always established through top-down approaches. Effective policy is established more through bottom-up approaches. Where pockets of success stories from ground actions by ordinary citizen are leveraged to generate a groundswell of empirical data and knowledge that feeds back to inform and influence policy prioritization from a more practical and implementable position.

For example, The African continent needs to create no less than 13 million jobs each year, for a growing youthful population currently at 60%, and with up to 60% of these youth being unemployed. To this end, nearly every African country has a jobs strategy, an employment policy, a youth jobs creation policy etc. Implementation of these jobs policies needs enablers in form of incentives that come from across different ministries. For example, the finance ministry may need to put in place fiscal incentives to activate investment in certain sectors that can engage the most youth in job creation. Energy, transport ministries may need to put in place certain infrastructural incentives, to activate optimal job-creating investments. And by this, we have diverse sectorial policies being synchronized and harmonized for implementation towards a shared priority of implementing a jobs strategy. But the question is, how do we know which sectors/sub-sectors to incentivize to have the maximum impact on job creation? This is where empirical data from a groundswell of success stories that have demonstrated their potential for engaging the youth in enterprise and jobs become a critical input.

And for this, an example of how these groundswells of empirical success data can inform harmonized policy incentives for jobs is in the agriculture sector, Africa’s engine sector of development. But empirical data from Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, among other countries shows that convening agro-value chain actors in local cooperatives, to “co-operate around” accessing a solar dryer solution to cut their postharvest losses (PHLs), instead of convening around savings only, will result in them cutting their PHLs, increasing shelf-life, while achieving statutory food safety, health and quality standards benchmarks of their produce through preventing the growth of aflatoxin linked to cancer disease burden. With these savings, they can then put youth to work to start fabricating these accessible solar dryers and hence create enterprise opportunities for youth.

These empirical results then provide empirical evidence that can be taken up by diverse sectoral ministries, to inform prioritization of their policies towards the shared bottom-line economic aim of creating jobs while meeting their respective sector-specific priorities. This empirical data will inform them such that they prioritize their fiscal incentives towards this area – e.g. integrate waiver of taxes in imported spare parts needed to make solar dryers. Education policy needs to offer bursaries to needy, bright students. They can now leverage this data to offer bursaries to youth to get training and skills in fabricating solar dryers and deploying these to power agro-value addition to ensure their bursaries go to where youth can get jobs for themselves while solving development challenges.

If we do not leverage what we do to create this data at the ground level who will? Everyone has a role to play and sometimes what we complain about needs us to trigger it from a solution’s perspective. We must leverage what we have to create more. That’s the effort we now must usher ourselves into rather than the easy blame games and complaining attitudes that have for so long derailed a continent.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the institution with which he is affiliated.

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