Once in the retirement circles, one will need to tap into what I call the five necessities for the wealthy. Once you have these five things on your list, your investment will be secured. That investment made with your lump sum will surely be protected, and the risk of losing it all is narrowed. There may be other things that you need; however, the ones below are what I call the Hanzala List. Please just see what may work for you.

1. You need to have a relationship with your banker. A number of people have a close relationship with the teller at the bank and have never bothered to get in touch with the banker. Usually, the banker will have all the information about the bank. The percentages are in terms of loans or on the accounts. Whether the bank is offering promotions or services to make your money grow, they can only be obtained from the banker and not the teller. Tellers are only for deposits and withdrawals. They never get advice on investments. So once you reach retirement, you have to make sure you have a banker to advise you on money matters.

2. Lawyers are trained to conduct due diligence. It is only in the legal profession that conveyance can be done properly and in accordance with the law. What better way to make sure that whatever contracts one gets into are vetted and that the terms and conditions are explained? The execution of documents that contain information that one fully understands is very important. The bigger the investment, the bigger the risk, and the bigger the loss should this not go accordingly. In this regard, it is therefore cardinal that the investment only take place after obtaining proper legal opinions and advice on the matter. The law should be followed to the letter, and lawyers will provide an opportunity for awareness of the rules and regulations in any given field.

3. Government departments, while they may appear to be slow in delivering their respective services at times, usually have reliable information. Government departments are very good at data collection; they may be slow, but you can be assured that the information given with authority and validity is enough to be trusted. For example, statistical data, historical data, and international policies and conventions The best way to invest well is to go and collect data or information from the respective government department. Whether you want to start farming, set up a chain supermarket, or transport goods, the Ministry of Agriculture or the Meteorological Department will be where you go for information on farming, and the Ministry of Commerce will be ideal for investments like chain stores. There is no other department that could have better original data than the government.

4. Those that will see their investment succeed to greater heights are individuals that have not lost touch with their culture. To begin with, the best person you can be is yourself. Part of being yourself means that you should be in touch with your culture and traditions. If you imitate other people’s culture, it will become difficult for the original owners since the former will be counterfeit. Developing your own culture tends to be easy, as it comes out naturally. Believe me, no one can ever be a better Lozi than the Lozis themselves. While Tonga could make chikanda, they could not be better than the original makers of the same. Consider chilinga mulilo, which is currently being confused left, right, and centre. The original keepers of the tradition do not even spend as much when hosting it, and the lessons attached have been preserved for generations.

5. Family is one of the greatest gifts that has ever been given to anyone. Nobody can ever defeat wealth, which was built as a family. With each generation, the business gets bigger and better as the new generations improve on what their forefathers started. The children should be well trained not only to take over but to build on what has been built already. There is a need to preserve the family content. To some extent, parents have some influence over the decisions of their children. Decisions like who is married into the family or which careers are chosen are some of the areas that need to be considered for families to be successful. It may seem old-fashioned, but dynasties have fallen due to failure to monitor such. Failure to maintain good family values will affect whatever investment is made. It is no secret how some families have lost their standing in society or thrown the family name into disrepute simply because they did not take time to make sure the family was properly maintained.

The author is a retired officer of the Zambia Airforce and an Advocate. He can be reached via email: [email protected] or Whatsapp: +260 97 9165574