saw the liberalisation measures as "inevitable and unavoidable," said Zambia's economic problems pre-dated 1991.

Former president Frederick Chiluba began the reform process

"There was a sharp decline in average per capita income from the 1980s onwards - from $900 to $300," he said.

"But at least for the past few years the decline has been stopped and now economic growth is beginning to kick in, despite the current drought."

While life is hard for the urban unemployed here, it is arguably even worse for small-scale farmers who make up the majority of Zambians.

Maize is the staple food of the country - it is pounded to make a tasty porridge, Nshima - and until 1991 farmers were subsidised to produce it, ensuring a steady supply to the towns and cities.

Those subsidies - onfertilizers and other inputs, as well as guaranteed cheap loans - made farmers relatively well off. All that has now changed, however, and the subsidies have been cut.

When I visited a small farming community outside the town of Choma there were heartfelt complaints about the lack of water caused by the current drought, but also about the lack of investment in rural areas.

The farmers I met showed me numerous deep wells they had tried to dig.

Most of them had yielded nothing and the farmers were relying on little more than dirty holes in the ground from which brackish liquid occasionally seeped for drinking water and to irrigate their crops.

A full report on Zambia's liberalisation will be broadcast on BBC World Service's Assignment programme on 7 July at 0805