Africa-Press – Zambia. Recent media captioned above headline caught my eye when President HH bragged that Zambia is the blue eyed boy of the IMF because we have followed the script well to qualify.
Well indeed President HH and the UPND government should be commended for having taken the painstaking negotiations and patience to achieve what they have with the IMF via the common debtors framework solution. Most drop the ball through the hard and painful negotiations with the IMF whose programme is a necessary evil for Zambia and most African Countries now looking to Zambia to teach them how to get to the signature point with the IMF.
The IMF deal is however only a panadol or pain killer and not a solution to curing the economic Malaria that Zambia is suffering from and now turned into cerebral. The foreign based economic solution is a good start point given the historical debt circumstances but it is not sustainable.
There is urgent need for a home grown economic solution. Reminds me of the UNIP days when nearly everything begun to be manufactured in Zambia after we ditched IMF. We saw Tarino or Top Top manufactured in Ndola as home beverage of choice. Bicycle manufacturing plant in Chipata, Mansa batteries , Kawambwa tea, Mwinilunga pineapples, Livingstone motor assembly etc. That was the fantastic home grown economic solution by KK of setting up production plants nearly in all provinces and districts based on their raw material comparative advantage. Make no mistake. This was the best solution at the time and KK (& UNIP folks) should be commended for having been brave to bite the bullet to plan and commence implementing a home based economic solution away from the West.
The ideaology worked well for a few years however then failed lamentably. Why? Simple. The UNIP government itself wrongly decided to be the ones to run and manage these companies parastatal. They formed Indeco, Mindeco, Findeco etc to run the parastatals from production, wholesale, retail (ZCBC) even to consumption (Coupons) stages to some extent. The model failed simply because government did not hand over the production process to the private sector. It’s the private sector that are in the business of doing business and know it best. Government role is to create an enabling environment for the private sector like favorable local production tax regime.
High local production of all manner of goods and services will increase much needed tax revenue for government coffers and with that, more ability to prevent and tackle Cholera pandemics.
Brings me to the ZNS mealie meal production. A very welcome move but again it’s just a Pandol solution and not sustainable. Unless ZNS will produce all the maize they will need to gaya the maize meal but if they have to buy from peasant or commercial farmers, subsidy will kick in and then we’ll be back to square 1.
To resolve a medical problem like covid or Cholera, a round table meeting is vital with medical experts or Doctors. In the same way to get enhanced local based economic productivity, a round table meeting is vital with the private sector. They need to be heard and their input not only heard but implemented.
Zambia is in economic quagmire and I don’t care who is to blame but that a solution has to be found. We are a consumption and no production based economy. Population been increasing exponentially while productivity and for food in particular, been on the equal decline. Atleast DRC can say they are in that mess due to the semi civil war in the East part of their Country. Ngaifwe (& us ) what’s our excuse with so much vast land, rivers, good weather, good people etc.
A private sector driven home grown economic model is Zambia’s solution to a better GDP, better Foreign exchange rate and a better life for all of ‘more (genuine) money in everyone’s pockets’. The IMF panadol solution should be exited or massaged going forward while we in full gear for a home grown solution.
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