Maravi

NGO urges pro-economic justice leadership

NGO urges pro-economic justice leadership
By Misheck Wangåwe
Mon 10 Jan. 2011, 04:00 CAT

THE country is in need of leaders who will promote economic justice, says the Alliance for the Zambia Informal Economy Association. In a statement, association secretary general Lameck Kashiwa stated that nothing significant had been done by successive governments to protect the informal economy.

Kashiwa said the country needed leaders who would put in place policies that recognised the existence and contributions of the informal economy to national development.

He said the contributions of the informal sector to the country’s economy would only be felt if the government worked towards extending social protection to the sector.

Kashiwa said as the country goes to the polls this year, there was need for Zambians to vote for leaders who would promote human integral development and adopt a holistic approach towards the general citizenry.

“Very little, if not nothing, had been done to alleviate the plight of the poor who have tightened their belts in their quest for an improved economy but remain trapped in a dehumanising cycle of poverty and despair. The gap between the poor and the rich is widening every second of the hour of the day,” Kashiwa said.

He said with the current socio-economic challenges the country faced, every citizen was called to speak out on the injustice the country faced in many areas of governance.

He said Zambians must begin to identify leaders who would restore the country's prosperity ahead of the general elections this year.

“We shall and cannot lose hope and think things can't change but look at the future with an economy that will embrace right relations, justice and peace for all,” he said

Kashiwa said the current economic policies did not favour or recognise the existence and contributions of the informal economy both in monetary and employment creation terms.

He said it was a pity that with the workforce of more than 90 per cent, the informal economy was still seen as a nuisance.

Kashiwa said the informal economy needed decent work and should enjoy an environment which could motivate them to grow from small business to medium or big businesses with well paid salaries.

Labels: ALEXANDER NGOSA, INFORMAL ECONOMY

posted by MrK @ 7:01 AM