Maravi

Nawakwi questions source of IDC's K20m allocation
By Henry Sinyangwe
Sun 02 Feb. 2014, 14:01 CAT

EDITH Nawakwi has wondered why President Michael Sata has allocated K20 million not budgeted for in the 2014 national budget to revive Indeco when the country is beset with poor health delivery and shortage of farming inputs, among other problems.

In a posting on her Facebook page, Nawakwi, the Forum for Democracy and Development president, also criticised the introduction of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) which would replicate the works of INDECO.

"One wonders where His Excellency President Sata got the K20 million he has allocated to Indeco when such a colossal amount of money was not budgeted for in the 2013-2014 national budget. Why use such an unbudgeted for expense on Indeco when the country is bleeding with poor health delivery, shortage of farming inputs, desks and other learning and teaching implements in our schools? Why start a new war when the old ones are still raging?" she questioned.

Nawakwi warned that the consequences of the misguided policies would be catastrophic to the lives of the majority Zambians for many years to come.

"In any case, the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) is the appropriate body to use in ensuring the appropriate state involvement in running of public enterprise. Indeco is taking us 50 years back to the days of nepotism and patronage and wanton pilfering of state resources by political elites and their friends and relatives," she stated.
Nawakwi observed that the solution was in looking at the human, natural and capital resources of the country.

"We vividly remember the pomp and splendor with which those at the helm of political power abused INDECO, MEMACO and ZIMCO, entertaining themselves and their friends and relatives to extravagance and self-aggrandisement. We remember going through ZIMCO building, where a lift was a preserve of the political elite. Even the foreign exchange allocations were only given to preferred individuals, including well-known criminals who had political connections. What about DC-10 with only five paid-up passengers and the rest of the seats being occupied by the elite from INDECO, MEMACO, ZIMCO and the ruling party for free! It was such abuse that grounded Zambia Airways," Nawakwi posted.

She stated that the anger over the looting of public resources through ineffective and inefficient parastatals such as INDECO quenched all manner of reasoning, hence the reckless privatisation that led to untold misery of joblessness and poverty.

"The exclusion of Zambians from the mainstream economic programme is what has caused poverty and destitution in our country," Nawakwi stated.

She stated that the solution to Zambia's economic malaise was not the uncoordinated and ill-thought polices such as the re-introduction of loss-making ventures like Indeco.

"The solution is to look at the human, natural and capital resource that we have as a country. Such an enormous undertaking as the re-introduction of Indeco needs extensive national dialogue through people's representatives in Parliament. Good governance entails active people's participation in national issues, hence there is need for Parliament to debate the re-introduction of Indeco," Nawakwi stated.

She stated that Parliament should actively be involved every time the government wanted to introduce major social, political and economic changes.

Nawakwi observed that such a policy shift needed to be reflected in the national budget.

Labels: EDITH NAWAKWI, INDECO

posted by MrK @ 6:42 PM