Maravi

It’s surprising rural people voted for Rupiah, says Dr Imakando

It’s surprising rural people voted for Rupiah, says Dr Imakando
Written by Kelvin Tembo
Sunday, November 09, 2008 6:29:27 AM

It is surprising that rural people voted for the MMD when they are the most hit by poverty, Economic Association of Zambia (EAZ) chairperson Dr Mwilola Imakando has observed.

Speaking on ZNBC's Kwacha Good Morning Zambia programme yesterday, Dr Imakando said although Zambia had seen a reduction of poverty in urban areas, it was still rampant in rural areas.

“It's surprising that the rural people are the ones that even voted for the MMD,” he said.

Dr Imakando said a lot of economic strides had been made during the rule of the late president Levy Mwanawasa and it was good that President Rupiah Banda was talking about continuity. He said Zambia had continued to enjoy peace which was good for the attraction of investors.

He said maintaining peace would help the country, especially that it had a lot of natural resources which could be exported.

Dr Imakando said Zambia had enjoyed good economic fortunes because it was the best investment destination in the region.

He also said the global financial crisis would not hit Zambia so much because a lot of investment had been made.

Dr Imakando said a setback would be experienced in the country's economy when demand for its commodities is reduced because it would affect economic growth.

He said tourism was a major contributor to the growth of any economy and that it was good the government was making efforts to rejuvenate the sector.

Dr Imakando said there was hope Zambia's inflation would reduce before the year ended.

Labels: MMD, RUPIAH BANDA, RURAL AREAS

posted by MrK @ 6:31 AM