Saasa urges change of mindset in govt
Saasa urges change of mindset in govtWritten by Patson Chilemba
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 4:42:22 PM
ECONOMIC consultant Professor Oliver Saasa has said a change of mindset must be seen to happen within the government systems and procedures as well as at individual level.
Giving the way forward on the recommendations that emerged from the just-ended indaba, Prof Saasa, who was chief rapporteur, said the change of mindset among Zambians was pivotal.
"This change must be seen to happen within the government systems and procedures as well as at individual level. This comes in different forms, including (a) attitude towards work; (b) the elimination of processes and systems that merely worsen the bureaucracy with no tangible benefits (the protracted licensing and registration protocols have been cited as examples of this); and, lastly, (c) mindset change with respect to elimination of self-doubt and the exaggerated faith in external solutions to our own internal problems," Prof Saasa said.
"This has resulted in underutilisation of our own human resources in preference of external ones."
Prof Saasa said there was need for enhancement of government capacity and political will to implement both its stated programmes and what it received through consultative processes like the indaba.
He said this was core to the restoration and consolidation of public confidence in the consultative processes.
"In this regard, the following recommendations have emerged: (a) political will calls for unreserved commitment on the part of the Executive to lend policy and resource support to what has been agreed upon. The identification of the 'Champion' within the government system is essential as such, a person or office shall serve. As reference point for policy backstopping," Prof Saasa said.
He said in most cases, resolutions from indabas and similar consultative instruments were never followed up with actionable interventions with clearly identified government structures.
Prof Saasa said consequently, the business-as-usual postures were maintained with the resultant frustration from those that would otherwise have played strategic roles in both the consultative and implementation practices.
He said there was need to significantly reduce bureaucracy and red tape so as to improve service delivery and that this had complementary effect of reducing and subsequently eliminating corrupt practices. Prof Saasa said government should strive to maintain key social services, notably education, health and social protection, including assistance to those that had lost jobs as a result of the global meltdown.
He said the government should develop a transparent and accountable system of determining who should be the beneficiaries of special support [through fiscal stimulus measures] for affected economic sectors.
Prof Saasa said indabas should be mounted periodically irrespective of whether or not there was a crisis.
"Indabas prior to the presentation of the annual national budget are recommended," Prof Saasa said. "The government should set up a task force to deal with matters arising from the global economic crisis. Complimentary to this, there is need to establish a team that would monitor the implementation of the resolutions from this indaba."
On short term recommendations for finance and doing business, Prof Saasa said the introduction of a discount window should be stepped up to enhance liquidity in the market and that government must immediately look for sources of financing to pay-off suppliers to alleviate the credit shortage.
He said there was urgent need to introduce appropriate legislation for proper functioning of the Credit Reference Bureau and need for government to look at the feasibility of reducing steep corporate tax, currently standing at 40 per cent.
On the medium to long-term recommendations, Prof Saasa said government should support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through promotion of venture capital funds targeting mainly SMEs and review of enabling legislation.
He said there was need to reduce the cost of establishing business in Zambia and this should involve the reduction in paperwork and the shortening of time it takes to approve licences.
On agriculture, Prof Saasa said there should be establishment of land/rural banks, re-opening of the Cooperative Bank and establishment of the Livestock Bank.
He also pointed out the zero-rating of selective agricultural inputs and implements so as to make the farmers competitive regionally.
Prof Saasa said livestock restocking was important and should be better managed and also there should be compulsory dipping and more investment in livestock vaccine research.
He said the management of the Fertiliser Support Programme (FSP) should be improved to ensure that the targeted people benefit from it, through the voucher system.
Prof Saasa said the Irrigation Revolving Fund with clear guidelines on how to access and use the facility should be implemented immediately.
He said agricultural subsidies should be well-targeted to producers not consumers.
On tourism, Prof Saasa said there was need to review the tourism and hospitality Act to put it in line with market demands.
"Create incentives that would promote domestic investment in domestic tourism. Zero-rate VAT on tour packages for domestic tourists. Remove duty and tax on imported tourism equipment. Expedite the restructuring of the Zambia National Tourism Board and strengthen tourism marketing," Prof Saasa said. "Make access to tourist attractions easier and attractive by, inter alia, revision of Visa fees, licensing procedures. Implement open sky policy and reduce landing and parking fees. Develop the requisite infrastructure: rehabilitation of air strips in national parks and GMAs [Game Management Areas] as well as major roads connecting tourists and major destinations. Simplify licensing procedures by introducing a one-stop tourism licensing centre."
On mining, Prof Saasa said there was need to set up a task force whose mandate would be to review the entire mining industry in the light of the global meltdown.
He said for the small-scale gemstone industry, there was need to enable them access affordable finance and leasing of equipment.
For large-scale mining, Prof Saasa said it was recommended that there should be a power tariff freeze and custom duty waiver on raw materials.
"It is recommended that there should be restoration and review of the Development Agreements. There is a call for the review of the mines and minerals development Act," Prof Saasa said. "Zambia should focus on 3-5 strategic minerals to ignite mineral wealth development. There is need to develop a policy that would encourage local entrepreneurship in the mining industry."
On energy, Prof Saasa said Public Private Partnership (PPP) should be encouraged in the energy sector and government should look into the feasibility of further reduction on pump price taxes.
On entrepreneurship, Prof Saasa said there was need to introduce incentives to SMEs that form joint ventures or strategic alliances, including special access to finance.
He said there was need to strengthen National Savings and Credit Bank to provide affordable credit to SMEs.
Prof Saasa said the government should support the implementation of a credit guarantee scheme for SMEs under the auspices of the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ).
On infrastructure, Prof Saasa said all infrastructure development activities should be brought under one institution, which could be called the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.
He said there was need to strictly enforce standards and sanctions for non-performing contractors and consultants.
"Merge the National Road Fund Agency and the Road Development Agency and put them under the PS. Liberalise and lower the fee for the International Gateway so as to fully release the full potential of ICT [Information Communication and Technology]," said Prof Saasa.
He said the global financial crisis seemed poised to undermine Zambia's prosperity in the medium-term and is threatening to undo the developmental successes that the country had registered so far towards vision 2030.
And officially closing the indaba, Vice-President George Kunda said the indaba managed to achieve objectives on the actionable policy measures government should take to address the effects of the crisis.
He said government would present the recommendations before Cabinet.
Vice-President Kunda said the global meltdown required the Zambian people to work together.
Labels: CRB, GOVERNANCE, OLIVER SAASA
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