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Zambia must use the law to check Chinese - Nevers

Zambia must use the law to check Chinese - Nevers
By Speedwell Mupuchi, Maluba Kaindu-Jere, Mutale Kapekele and M
Monday October 29, 2007 [03:00]

ZAMBIA must use the power of domestic legislation, effective negotiation and diplomacy to get its slice of the international cake, former Republican vice-president Pastor Nevers Mumba has said. And United Liberal Party president Sakwiba Sikota has said it is unfortunate that there is an influx of Chinese labourers in Zambia. Commenting on the Zambia-China relations, Pastor Mumba yesterday said Zambians should be street-wise and put in place guidelines and regulations that would forever protect the vulnerable citizens.

“The issue of China and Zambia can be likened to a sloppy Zambian stadium. The stadium slopes towards our goal post. The visiting team (China) just has to roll the ball into our goal post. It is easy for them and it is working for them. It is not in their interest to spend money to level the playing field. We have to level the playing field,” he said.
Pastor Mumba said that he discovered while he was in government that Zambians were failing to police own regulations.

“One of the reasons for such failure is corruption. Those ministries and departments responsible for issuing work permits, inspecting safety equipment and procedures are usually compromised by these investors who have lots of money,” he said.
Pastor Mumba said in a global world of international commerce, Zambia must use the power of domestic legislation, effective negotiation and diplomacy to get its slice of the international cake. He said he did not think in choosing Taiwan above China, one had to hate one to love the other.

“Zambia, like any other nation of the world must to a larger extent remain non-aligned. America deals with both Taiwan and China. America which promotes democracy and is opposed to dictatorships has gone to bed in broad daylight with nations like, Saudi Arabia and Musharaf’s Pakistan! This might appear immoral, but for America, an ally is the one who is most relevant to the battle they are fighting,” Pastor Mumba said.
He said it was not China’s responsibility to put in place guidelines and regulations to protect the vulnerable citizens.

“China, like any other nation of the world, is hungry for our resources and will take advantage of any loophole created by our carelessness. We are the only ones who can ensure that investors pay Zambians well,” Pastor Mumba said. “We are the only ones that can ensure that safety regulations are followed. We are the only ones who can decide the conditions to sell any national asset to a foreigner or foreign firm.”
Pastor Mumba said China could not be ignored. He said America today did more business with China than any other nation of the world and yet they were opposed to China politically.

“All that America has done is to create strong controls on how foreign investment will be handled. Chinese investors cannot oppress an American in broad daylight, because the government will withdraw their investment license and possibly be deported,” he said.
Pastor Mumba called for removal of inequalities in the nation that seemed to favour foreigners above locals without jeopardising Zambia’s ability to continue attracting foreign investment.

“Today, it appears to be easier for a foreigner to get a job in Zambia than it is for a Zambian. This cannot be China’s fault. Their goal, if they had a way, is to make maximum profit with minimum input. This can mean bringing in their own labourers and paying Zambians poorly so that they maximise on the profits they externalise back to China.”

Pastor Mumba said the issue of Chinese labour being brought into Zambia deserves closer scrutiny.

“When Zambia’s unemployment rates are growing higher, it is only fair to ask, ‘why should Chinese labour be brought in when we have thousands of our people who are able-bodied and ready to be trained and work for a life-sustaining wage?’ That’s a fair question that deserves to be asked,” Pastor Mumba said.
He said it fell upon the Ministry of Labour and Social Services to justify why Chinese cheap labour was needed in Zambia.

And Sakwiba Sikota expressed surprise that commerce minister Felix Mutati was complaining about the influx of the Chinese when government was the one that issued permits. He also said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure Zambia did not have unnecessary labour.

“Instead of complaining about the influx of the Chinese, Mutati should have told us what the government will do to solve this problem,” Sikota said. “Zambians have a lot of skills and there is no need of giving jobs to Chinese which can be handled by Zambians. The next time the government comments, we expect them to tell the nation how they would have solved this problem.”

Last week, Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata during a Human Rights forum at Harvard University in the United States where he was invited to make a presentation on human rights, charged that crooked Chinese had invaded Zambia.
However, Mutati last Thursday called for the enforcement of labour laws to address the problem of the influx of Chinese labourers.

And Sikota said that Zambia should have good relations with all governments.
“Our policy is to cultivate and have good relations with all governments because doing so can ensure good investments to benefit the Zambian people. We want investors who will give good positions to Zambians and not just exploit them,” said Sikota.

Labels: CHINESE, FDI, NEVERS MUMBA, SAKWIBA SIKOTA

posted by MrK @ 6:19 AM