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Manipulation highs

There are many things Malawian even though we do not pay attention. If you have been a trader on the market with a bench or some kind of table selling merchandise, including smelly fish, you have heard of different fictitious stories. You can call it the case of a triton among the minnows. Because we believe in magic and witchcraft irrespective of how religion is entrenched in our society. I am imagining the guy or trader selling his wares and outdoing his colleagues in the trade.

So, you are indeed Malawian because a person trading next to you has a huge snake or the nsendawana. Whether you believe the folktales of khwelero and other mysterious tales the story remains. A snake goes around at night swallowing money from competitors. One person prospers in his or her business while the rest stagnate or even close shop. I do not know how snakes would bust in electronic transactions but they could because their forms are quite mythical. But if you paid close attention, it is how you polish your rotten fish that makes one fish monger better than the other. It is manipulation just like central banks and their surrogates manipulate currencies.

You should indeed be one of us if the notion of dead man operating inside a maize mill resonates with you. It is a story of magic and manipulation and the tales you hear in our village markets intrigue our minds. You should know this if you have a village, or have made errands to the market.

For the philosopher, the village market is a place of ideas where traders manipulate the system to benefit themselves. To the student of business, it is entrepreneurship. It requires some skill and tenacity to outdo competitors and make profit. The beautiful thing about private business at the village market, or its bigger variants is that it has rules outside the social contract. That is, as an entrepreneur, you are not elected to do business. You actually decide to do so and without an obligation to help anyone or the politically-correct corporate social responsibility. It is not part of the deal but revolutions do change such approaches.

Reality checks are quite important though. The bigger the village, and indeed as it grows, roles change. Not everyone can be a trader. Others have to play the role of creating that environment for the village market to flourish. Take for example, the mobile markets across the country. We know when to go to Govala, Kampempuza or Mitundu.   A closer look at these markets and many others across the country, appreciates the great organisation. You do not just display your merchandise anyhow. Roles are clearly defined and the custodians ensure the system works well to the benefit of that community. The choice of days was careful manipulation to maximise returns of its members. It would make Adam Smith proud. The invisible hand of common sense that was endangered before its conception.

While not sounding very philosophical, let me admit, manipulation is part of our life. It is entrenched in our nature and we cannot ignore the fact that human beings are selfish and manipulative. In the world of currencies, manipulation is the game. Take an example of the US and China. The Americans believe China undervalues its currency to export more while at the same time the Federal Reserve undertakes something called quantitative easing, a polite way of doing exactly what the Chinese are accused. Economists love to coin a term, reveled preference while the psychologist thinks its pain minimisation. They mean the same thing anyway.

Over the last few days, the kwacha has been losing its value against any currency except the famous chimangafisi dollar whose depreciation against the kwacha is rocket science. In the world of speculation, three stories abound at the moment. One version goes to imply a deliberate manipulation to ensure the tobacco farmer gets a lot of kwacha to compensate for their losses during the input season when the kwacha was strong beyond recognition. This notion holds that the tobacco farmer is so daft and does not understand inflation. The other speculation school holds that the currency swap is due and we are paying back the borrowed dollars and depleting our reserves. I do not know what is true but what I know is that any trick played by authorities is quite legal and we simply have to live with it. The third line reckons that the powerful money dispensing institutions, that would never reduce interest rates to nine percent even if the bank rate was below zero percent are playing poker and love it.

Nonetheless, I like the village or ghetto market entrepreneur with his money swallowing snake. They manipulate the market and make their bench quite attractive. If they were a country, I believe these breeders of money-eating snakes would thrill in the pride of a stable currency that is in high demand and their monstrous reptiles eat away any piece of soil on which high interest rates thrive. We need these invasive snakes for sure.

All I am saying is that manipulating currencies is legal so would be for interest rates. The interest rate puzzle that has never been, can be fixed because there is much we can do. One of the ways is to force each one of us to go on a Mediterranean diet. We do not have to start drinking wine or munching on olives, but can dine on hypothetical one. It is good for the brain but bad news for creators of doom and failure. We are a product of the way we do business.

Welcome to the village market.

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