(DAILY MAIL) People must benefit from economic growth - Levy
People must benefit from economic growth - LevyBy ANGELA CHISHIMBA
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa says his administration wants to ensure that the macro-economic growth the country has attained starts to trickle down to ordinary Zambians. “We are happy with the economic growth this country has registered, but now that we have stabilised the macro-economic sphere, we want to ensure that what we have achieved benefits the people,” Dr Mwanawasa said. “It is about time we saw the movement of gross domestic product from paper to people.”
Dr Mwanawasa was speaking at State House yesterday when Japanese Ambassador to Zambia, Hideto Mitamura, presented his credentials. He said Government had taken bold measures aimed at improving the economy.
The President said the economy was showing positive growth of 5.8 per cent and he was confident it would be accelerated and sustained through economic and technical cooperation initiatives such as the Triangle of Hope, which Japan funded as part of investment promotion and infrastructure development.
Zambia was keen to participate in the forthcoming Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Japan in May 2008. Mr Mitamura commended Zambia’s commitment to good governance, transparency and efforts at improving the economy. He pledged his country’s continued assistance to Zambia in various sectors.
Meanwhile, France says she will support the Southern African Development Community’s efforts to resolve economic problems in Zimbabwe. French Ambassador to Zambia, Francoise Le Bihan, said her country was preoccupied with the situation in Zimbabwe.
Presenting her credentials to President Mwanawasa at State House yesterday, Ms Le Bihan also said her country would assist Zambia in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
President Mwanawasa commended the French Embassy for facilitating the translation of the Zambia National Tourist Board (ZNTB) website into French, thereby making Zambia more accessible to French-speaking tourists. He said Africa must not be left out of globalisation.
“Its destiny is intertwined with that of the rest of humanity. As such, the developed world should do their utmost to support Africa in its search for sustainable development,” he said.
He called on the French Government and other European, American and Asian nations to boost efforts undertaken by African countries to better the lives of their people.
And President Mwanawasa told Finland’s new Ambassador to Zambia, Sinikka Antila, that Zambia was certain of attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He was speaking when ambassador Antila presented her credentials to him.
Dr Mwanawasa said Zambia was committed to upholding the principles of democracy and good governance, and commended Finland for her support to strengthening the Drug Enforcement Commission, Electoral Commission of Zambia, and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
“With this valuable support, Zambia shall not relent in its fight against corruption,” Dr Mwanawasa said.
Ms Antila pledged her country’s increased support to Zambia. She pledged support in agriculture, environment and natural resources and support to civil society.
In another development, President Mwanawasa commended Egypt’s economic achievements and said Zambia desired to learn from that country’s vast experience.
This was when that country’s new Ambassador to Zambia, Sherif Mohamed Kamal El Din Shaheen, presented his credentials to President Mwanawasa.
Mr El Din Shaheen said Egypt was ready to offer her experience to help enhance Zambia’s economic growth.
Labels: NEOLIBERALISM
posted by MrK @ 6:40 PM
1 Comments:
“It is about time we saw the movement of gross domestic product from paper to people.”
And this is at the center of everything we have been talking about. The fact that the increase in economic activity caused solely by FDI has no direct impact on the economic life of most people, was both predictable and inevitable.
If one refuses to benefit from the wealth of ones natural resources, by making sure you get paid the maximum for it, it should be no surprise that selling them for next to nothing; keeping no share of the profits that are made; and not being serious about collecting taxes; not ensuring that Zambian suppliers are used; is going to mean that the benefit of this 'Foreign Direct Investment' is going to be negligable.
As everyone from the writer of Blackonomics to Warren Buffett knows, wealth creation is about re-investment and compound returns. Having the present FDI model a certain way of ensuring that all wealth flees the country and the economy.
So the question then becomes - what is this MMD willing to do, to make sure that Zambia benefits from it's natural wealth - being it's mines and it's land. And in a way that it hands everyone the opportunity to make a middle class income.
I am looking forward seeing the MMD putting a program together with the same degree of breadth and follow-up as ZANU-PF is putting into land reform.
I think that would cement the MMD's place in history. It would also make all other parties obsolete.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/61/8/37987613.pdf
I came across this file, while searching for the Triangle Of Hope concept, which apparently was already in existence in 1992. President Mwanawasa mentioned this as one way he would pay attention to the domestic economy instead of foreign investment.
The problem I have is that the government doesn't seem to take initiative in the involvement of the ordinary citizen in the economy. Waiting for taxation of their wages from their employment in foreign firms seems to have been the only way the state wanted to benefit from the mines, at least until recently.
If they're not careful, Zimbabwe will overtake Zambia when their land reform program takes off. It will be the final laying to rest of the case for neoliberalism.
A few comments on this file:
- Non-discrimination as a general principal underpinning laws and
regulations governing investment
Isn't the government in direct violation of this rule every time they advantage foreign investors and businesses over Zambian investors and businesses?
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