Maravi

Indaba can’t solve economic crisis, says Sacika

Indaba can’t solve economic crisis, says Sacika
Written by Patson Chilemba
Saturday, April 11, 2009 5:53:16 AM

FORMER secretary to the cabinet Sketchley Sacika has observed that the global economic crisis cannot be solved by platitudes from political gatherings.

And Sacika charged that calling for indabas for purposes of receiving ideas from members of the public on how to manage the country's affairs is tantamount to government passing a vote of no confidence in itself.

In a press statement on the just-ended national indaba, Sacika pointed out that reading the conclusions of the indaba, the only significant outcome was a call to government to set up a task force to deal with matters arising from the global economic crisis. He stated that the rest of the discourse was about matters that had been talked about before.

Sacika stated that diversification of the economy and the need to improve agricultural productivity were not new ideas because they had been the subject of the national conventions.

"They are as old as Zambia is and have been the subject of the National Conventions, National Indabas and UN Study Groups since 1963. The question is: why are we still talking about the same things? When are we going to see implementation?" Sacika asked. "The problem in Zambia is not about lack of ideas. It is about the government's lack of capacity to implement its programmes."

Sacika stated that this observation was made by an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Study Group in 1981 in a report it made to the Zambian government on Basic Needs in an Economy Under Pressure. He stated that the observation was as true today as it was in 1981.

"Our system of government is tardy and inefficient; our political leaders lack innovation, drive and a sense of direction; and our civil servants are constrained by ineptitude and lack of professionalism. As a result, too many government programmes and policies have failed, and will continue to fail as long as the problem remains unresolved," Sacika stated.

He stated that the biggest challenge, therefore, was to reform and restructure the system of government so that it could operate cost-effectively and efficiently.

"But the national indaba has made no recommendation on this important issue," Sacika observed.

He stated that there was some merit in the government inviting its nationals to an indaba to discuss national issues but that a government was elected to govern on the basis of its policies.

"...and it cannot transfer that responsibility to anyone else. If it succeeds, the people will re-elect it. If it does not succeed, the people will throw it out. Calling a national indaba for the purpose of receiving ideas from members of the public on how to manage the affairs of the country is an admission that the government has no ideas of its own; it is also tantamount to the government passing a vote of no confidence in itself," Sacika stated.

Sacika stated that in the United States of America, President Barack Obama was dealing with the economic crisis facing that country on the basis of the advice he is receiving from that country's National Economic Council, consisting of experts he appointed.

He observed that President Obama had not invited the Republicans, Churches and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to advise him.

Sacika stated that as a democrat, President Obama wanted to come up with solutions that reflect the policies of the Democratic Party.

"There is already in existence a National Economic Advisory Council, which is a creation of the Zambian government, and the question is: why did the government opt for a political gathering of more than five hundred people instead of making use of this institution?" asked Sacika.

"The problems of the global economic crisis cannot be solved by platitudes from political gatherings. They can only be solved by experts, a fact the national indaba recognised when it called on the government to establish a Task Force."

Labels: DR. SKETCHLEY SACIKA

posted by MrK @ 4:54 AM