'Zambia should not rely on China for development'
'Zambia should not rely on China for development'By Chibaula Silwamba
Tuesday October 02, 2007 [04:00]
LUSAKA business consultant Robert Sichinga has said Zambians should not solely rely on China to develop the country. Commenting on President Mwanawasa’s statement in the United States of America that China was the only hope to drive Zambia’s development agenda, Sichinga yesterday said Zambia would only be developed by Zambians themselves not China or any other country.
“The President’s statement is totally misplaced. If we want to make a change to our country’s development, we must build capacity and believe in our people. I don’t believe that any country, even Zambia should depend on outsiders for its survival because that kind of reliance is unsustainable,” Sichinga said. “If the country believes that another country will develop it and not its people then there is no hope. You can’t say we shall rely on that country.”
Sichinga said it was unfortunate that President Mwanawasa could classify China as the only hope for Zambia, when in fact he knew that even the ruling MMD’s manifesto was very clear that Zambia’s economic develop would be dependent on Zambians and foreigners would only supplement the local efforts.
He said although China was a strong economy, he did not believe that Zambia’s future should rely on it.
“China’s investment in Zambia is not the determining factor of what is happening in Zambia. What is the contribution of Chinese investment to Zambia‘s GDP (Gross Domestic Product)? What percentage of our economy is from China?” Sichinga asked. “China is not our major trading partner. Our major trading partner is South Africa but we can’t even rely on South Africa for our development.
Labels: CHINA, ROBERT SICHINGA
posted by MrK @ 5:31 AM
1 Comments:
“China is not our major trading partner. Our major trading partner is South Africa but we can’t even rely on South Africa for our development.
So why is this MMD so focused on foreign investment and foreign motivated development?
It is about time that either the MMD reoriented itself toward the domestic economy, or a new party should step up and get serious about Zambia's economic development - which will always first and foremost be about the stimulation of local economies.
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