Create jobs to end violence, Kyambalesa urges govt
By Misheck Wangwe
Thu 21 Nov. 2013, 14:00 CAT
THE fact that some political cadres are readily available to be used in violence on a regular basis attests to the unprecedented lack of employment in the country, says Professor Henry Kyambalesa.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Prof Kyambalesa, a US-based Zambian academician, said political hooliganism would be entrenched in the country's democratic institutions if the PF leadership fails to show serious commitment to addressing the levels of violence among its members.
He stated that it was important for the PF government to make a more serious effort in bolstering the creation of jobs in the country.
Prof Kyambalesa stated that politics should not create divisions amongst the people to an extent of battering each other during campaigns, and whenever there were differences in opinion over intra-party politics.
"We should avoid acting savagely towards one another. And we need to pray for one another, and for our beloved country," Prof Kyambalesa stated.
He stated that there was need to work towards the creation of jobs that would easily be facilitated through lower taxes and interest rates designed to stimulate investment, consumption and savings by pouring more financial resources into the small business sector.
Prof Kyambalesa stated that political alignments, tribal identities, religious convictions, and professional affiliations must be put aside for people to work together as a nation.
He stated that there was need for every Zambian to learn to engage in politics without physically assaulting others, or threatening violence.
"Let's preoccupy ourselves with issues seriously affecting the nation such as unemployment. We need to avoid violence and remember that we are Zambians, in spite of the different political parties we belong to, the 73 different tribes to which we belong, the different languages we speak, or the different politicians we support within or outside our political parties," Prof Kyambalesa stated.
He stated that the real enemy of the country was not individuals but poverty, illiteracy, disease, widespread unemployment, crime, corruption and moral decay.
Prof Kyambalesa stated that Zambia continues to face a catalogue of serious socio-economic woes in areas such as the health care system that is yet to meet the basic needs of the majority of citizens, a critical shortage of decent public housing that has compelled many people to live in shanty townships nationwide as well as the lack of access to clean water and electricity, among many other ills.
Labels: HENRY KYAMBALESA
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Kyambalesa calls for visionary leadership
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Thu 11 Oct. 2012, 13:59 CAT
IT will be unrealistic to expect Zambia to attain meaningful socio-economic development in an economic setting where the labour force is largely composed of sickly, illiterate and starving citizens, says Professor Henry Kyambalesa.
Commenting on the PF's performance during its first year in government, Prof Kyambalesa, a US-based Zambian academician at Regis University in Denver said heightened and sustained socio-economic development would not come like "manna from heaven".
"It will need to be adequately planned for and diligently pursued. Basically, this will require a passion for radical change, and leadership with both vision and compass. We need to start engaging some of the most talented sons and daughters of our beloved country who are either locally based or in the Diaspora in positions of leadership if we expect to succeed in meeting the basic needs and expectations of all our people. And we need to start doing so sooner rather than later," he said.
He said there was absolutely no reason why Zambia could not create a socio-economic system that could be emulated by other developing nations worldwide, given the fact that the country was blessed with abundant natural endowments, including fertile soil, ideal weather conditions, an ideal system of perennial rivers, a wide range of wildlife, wide stretches of natural forests and grasslands, a wide assortment of mineral resources and a sizeable population of peaceful and hard-working citizens.
Prof Kyambalesa said an objective assessment of the ruling political party's performance during its first year in government would reveal that it had actually made a significant contribution to the country's quest to improve the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.
He said the PF administration had introduced more important changes over a period of one year which the MMD administration had completely overlooked over a period of 20 years as the ruling political party.
Prof Kyambalesa said there was need to make a sustained effort to cater for the basic needs of the educational system by ensuring that schools and classrooms were adequately equipped for both teaching and learning.
He said every classroom should have qualified self-motivated and well-paid teachers or lecturers, and institutions of learning should have competent school administrators on competitive conditions of service and adequate office supplies and fixtures.
On health, Prof Kyambalesa said there was need to provide for the construction of more permanent healthcare facilities nationwide; provide adequate medicines, medical equipment, and ambulances at all healthcare facilities; provide adequate financial and material resources for research designed to find cures for HIV and AIDS, cancer, tuberculosis, and other deadly diseases; and provide adequate financial and material resources designed to facilitate the hiring, training and retention of health personnel.
On agriculture, he said there was need to boost agricultural production through government-financed irrigation dams and canals, continued cattle re-stocking and disease control, subsidised seeds and fertiliser and zero value-added tax on all agricultural inputs and raw food.
"And we should promote food canning, agribusiness and efficient marketing of agricultural produce. Besides, we should promote agricultural schemes by municipalities, the prison service, the defence forces, and by educational and training institutions in order to enhance our beloved country's food security and self-sufficiency," he said.
He said the country needed a well-developed transportation infrastructure and services to commercial, industrial and residential areas including an efficient inter-modal and safe network of air, road, railway, and water transportation.
"We should also develop malleable stretches of the Zambezi, Kafue, Luangwa and other sizable perennial rivers for water transportation - including the proposed Shire-Zambezi Waterway involving Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique," he said.
Prof Kyambalesa said there was need to enhance the country's social safety net by detaching the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) from the Ministry of Agriculture and converting it into an autonomous body designed to provide assistance to the needy, and which should incorporate the functions of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme currently administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services including the Social Cash Transfer Scheme without any political meddling or manipulation.
He said there was need to make an effort to build on Dr Kenneth Kaunda's concept of "One Zambia, One Nation" in order to instil a greater sense of unity among the country's 73 tribes, as well as foster a sense of oneness nationwide.
Labels: HENRY KYAMBALESA, LEADERSHIP, PF
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‘Sata's sense of urgency on corruption will enhance accountability'
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Mon 09 Jan. 2012, 13:56 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata's renewed sense of urgency in fighting corruption will enhance accountability in the management of national resources and lead to economic development, says Professor Henry Kyambalesa.
Commenting on the performance of the PF government in its first 90 days,
Prof Kyambalesa, a US-based Zambian academician at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, said
the PF administration had introduced more positive changes over a short period of time which the MMD completely overlooked for 20 years.
He said it was gratifying that the Republican President was leading by example in his administration's quest to stem reckless spending of public resources.
Prof Kyambalesa said the public media in Zambia was freer in their operations than they have ever been since independence in 1964 and was able to highlight various corrupt activities that had hindered national progress.
"I totally support the creation of a tenth province called Muchinga Province, and the relocation of the provincial capital of Southern Province from Livingstone to Choma. Also, the re-naming of Livingstone International Airport, Lusaka International Airport and Ndola International Airport after comrades Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, Kenneth David Kaunda and Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe. This is certainly a welcome development considering the trio's extraordinary contribution to our beloved country's political independence.These are some of the positive things happening under the PF government," Prof Kyambalesa said.
He said the decisions leading to the abolition of all primary healthcare fees, an upward review of the minimum wage from K419,000 per month, and an increase in the PAYE tax-exempt threshold from K1 million to K2 million were commendable.
Prof Kyambalesa said the government must this year aggressively bolster job creation through heightened promotion of both private-sector investments and small business ownership by reducing interest rates, corporate taxes and value-added tax.
He said the move would make it possible for individuals and companies to keep more of their hard-earned incomes for investment, savings and consumption.
"Other priorities of the new government must include investments designed to improve the transportation infrastructure, improvements in garbage collection and disposal, improved socio-economic conditions in rural areas, speedy rural electrification, working cooperatively with utility companies in reducing water charges and electricity tariffs, and sustained protection of the fragile natural environment. These are the issues Zambians would like to see addressed," he said.
Prof Kyambalesa said the government must relentlessly pursue lasting peace and stability within Zambia and the African Union, as well as foster sound relations between countries and all peace-loving nations worldwide.
Labels: CORRUPTION, HENRY KYAMBALESA, MICHAEL SATA, PF
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Probing Rupiah will be exemplary - Kyambales
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Tue 11 Oct. 2011, 10:20 CAT
PROBING former president Rupiah Banda and those who served in high offices during his reign will send a clear message to the current and future leaders to desist from corrupt practices, says Professor Henry Kyambalesa.
In a statement, Prof Kyambalesa, a US-based Zambian academician in Professional Studies at Regis University in Denver said Banda should in fact welcome investigations on him to have his name cleared over allegations of corruption and abuse of office during his three-year tenure.
"Former president Rupiah Banda's predecessor, the late Levy Mwanawasa, set a precedent by spearheading the removal of the late Frederick Chiluba's immunity and he was probed for corruption.
The late Chiluba also instituted somewhat similar instigations of Dr Kaunda. Rupiah Banda should welcome a similar probe on him in order to have his name cleared on any wrongdoing if at all he is actually innocent," Prof Kyambalesa said.
He said there was an urgent need to resolutely and relentlessly fight corruption as it had subverted the political process in the country and thwarted economic growth and stability.
Prof Kyambalesa said every Zambian could see that corruption had undermined honest enterprise, discouraged foreign direct investment, tarnished the country's image and eroded the country's moral fibre.
"Like any other problem confronting us today, corruption cannot be effectively fought without first understanding its causes. Since independence, the causes of corruption in our beloved country have included a weak judicial system; unstable political setting; regular reshuffles of political appointees; a weak legislative system, cumbersome and rigid administrative routines," he said.
Prof Kyambalesa said the current government should therefore bring corruption under control through sustained political will and zero tolerance of the scourge.
He said strict pieces of legislation designed to prevent conflicts of interest in institutional settings and limitation of recourse to immunity by public officials and business leaders and their organisations was vital in the fight against widespread poverty in the country.
He said fostering the development of a free press to facilitate the exposure of unscrupulous activities in institutional settings was another important key element in the fight against corruption, a vice which was behind the country's underdevelopment and chronic poverty.
Labels: CORRUPTION, HENRY KYAMBALESA, RUPIAH BANDA
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Rupiah wants to woo rural vote with mobile hospitals - Kyambalesa
By Kombe Chimpinde
Mon 16 May 2011, 11:00 CAT
THE US$53 million deal to procure mobile hospitals has all the characteristics of an attempt by President Rupiah Banda to use the facility as a campaign tool for the general elections, says Professor Henry Kyambalesa. And Prof Kyambalesa has noted that there is excess socio-economic decay obtaining under President Banda's leadership.
The US-based Zambian professor in development studies who had earlier described the Zambia-Chinese government mobile hospital deal as a gigantic policy blunder for the nation, in a statement said the move was purely designed to woo voters in rural areas by President Banda.
Prof Kyambalesa warned that President Banda was plunging the country into serious problems by procuring loans calculated at enhancing his political fortune.
“President Banda won't be there to personally make a contribution to the repayment of these loans.
How does one explain the prominence of single-source procurement by the President during the short period he has been in office if it is not to reap personal or political benefits from the deals involved?
What is the use of having a procurement authority and technocrats in government ministries whose function is merely the acquisition of machinery?” Prof Kyambalesa asked.
He said it was unacceptable that government business was being done at State House where decisions were approved without undertaking any needed assessment.
“There is a need for the Chinese government officials to guard against encouraging President Banda to borrow lavishly from their country's state companies to finance projects which are conceived without consultation with Parliament,” he advised.
“They will do well not to participate in such furtive schemes if they are interested in cementing the existing cordial relations between their country and the people of Zambia.”
Prof Kyambalesa said that giving President Banda another five years in government was what Zambians should avoid at all costs.
He urged President Banda to re-assign the mobile hospitals to Zambia National Service (ZNS) camps in the nine provinces after incorporating the functions of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) that is currently vested in the Office of the Vice-President.
“No doubt, the procurement of such temporary facilities is going to be the most conspicuous case of misapplication of resources by a Republican president thus far. It is a clear case of misplaced priorities!
Sooner or later, the President and/or members of his inner circle will be crossing national borders for medical treatment or check-ups after wasting the US$53 million on mobile hospitals,” he warned.
Prof Kyambalesa said there was no question that government’s decision to procure mobile hospitals was a gigantic blunder.
“Each mobile hospital, which consists of seven trucks will require more than 36 personnel per visit of two weeks in any given rural area, including medical doctors, nurses, clinicians, laboratory staff, surgeons, pharmacists, and support staff.”
He noted that all these expenditures were in addition to the US$53 million secured from the EX-IM Bank of China to purchase the nine mobile hospitals from the China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation, and which would need to be repaid over a period of 40 years.
“It is irresponsible, wasteful and unwise for President Banda," said Prof Kyambalesa.
Labels: HEALTHCARE, HENRY KYAMBALESA, MOBILE HOSPITALS, RUPIAH BANDA
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Prof Kyambalesa urges Zambians to back Sata
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Sun 08 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
ALL well-meaning Zambians must put their partisan and ethnic interests aside and support Michael Sata and the PF in this year’s general elections, says Professor Henry Kyambalesa.
In an interview, Prof Kyambalesa, a US-based Zambian academician at Denver University said the Patriotic Front was capable of transforming Zambia into a prosperous nation. Prof Kyambalesa said five years of MMD should be the last thing Zambians should wish for as they had suffered enough over the past 19 years it had been in power.
“We need to put personal, ethnic, religious and partisan interests aside and give the mandate to Michael Sata and the Patriotic Front to form government later this year and hope that they will work to break the socioeconomic decay and backwardness which has haunted our beloved country over the last 19 or so years of the MMD administration,” Prof Kyambalesa said.
He said there were many serious blunders the government of President Rupiah Banda had made that necessitated change of government.
Prof Kyambalesa said it was sad that President Banda was committing the country to more worthless debts through loans appropriated on worthless projects.
“I wish to ask all those who teach our children, those who take care of the sick, those who extract and process copper and other minerals, those who provide transport services, those who create goods and services in the private sector, those who sell products in open markets and retail outlets, those who work in the civil service, those who serve orphaned and vulnerable children, and those who are currently unemployed to join and participate actively in this endeavour of changing the government,” Prof Kyambalesa said.
He said the country needed a leader who had the interest of the country at heart and should not wait for heavy criticism for him to act positively on matters of national interest.
Prof Kyambalesa said the problem with President Banda’s government was that many of its decisions were contrary to the needs of the people.
He said there was need for Chinese government officials to guard against encouraging President Banda to borrow lavishly from their country’s state companies to finance projects which were conceived without consultation with Parliament or the Zambia Public Procurement Authority.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, DEBT, HENRY KYAMBALESA, MICHAEL SATA, PF
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Mobile hospitals a gigantic blunder - Prof Kyambalesa
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Thu 05 May 2011, 04:00 CAT
THE purchase of mobile hospitals has been recorded in the country’s history as a gigantic policy blunder of President Rupiah Banda, says Professor Henry Kyambalesa.
In a statement, Prof Kyambalesa, A US-based Zambian academician at Denver University said the revelations that each mobile hospital which consists of seven trucks would gobble K450 million per trip was unacceptable. He said every well-meaning Zambian should condemn the wasteful and irresponsible exercise President Banda was making.
Prof Kyambalesa said the mobile hospitals were only ideal for a country that was at war adding that for Zambia, it was a luxury that should not be tolerated. He said there was no doubt that the procurement of such temporary facilities was going to be the most conspicuous case of misapplication of resources by President Banda’s government.
“It is a clear case of misplaced priorities. Sooner or later, the President and all members of his inner circle will be crossing national borders for medical treatment or check-ups after wasting the US $53 million on mobile hospitals and President Banda and the MMD want to continue to rule Zambia beyond 2011 after committing the country to such kinds of loans, appropriated on worthless projects? This is unacceptable,” Prof Kyambalesa said.
He said the information that each mobile hospital, which consists of seven trucks, will require more than 36 personnel per visit of two weeks in any given rural area, including medical doctors, nurses, clinicians, laboratory staff, surgeons, pharmacists, and support staff and that K450 million would be spent on each mobile clinic as allowances made sad reading. Prof Kyambalesa said the US$53 million loan would have made sense if it was secured to cater for the provision of free healthcare for all Zambians through the construction of more permanent health care facilities nationwide.
He said the people expected the government to prioritise provision of adequate medicines, medical equipment and ambulances for the majority poor in rural areas and not mobile hospitals. Prof Kyambalesa said the country was also in need of money to finance research designed to find cures for HIV/AIDS, cancer, tuberculosis, and other deadly diseases and the retention of trained of health personnel.
Labels: HEALTHCARE, HENRY KYAMBALESA, MOBILE HOSPITALS
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Politicization of Disaster Management
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 15:01
by Henry Kyambalesa
I wish to comment on The Post newspaper article of March 23, 2010 entitled “Politicization of Relief Distribution Worries DMMU” by Florence Bupe. In the article, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) is quoted as having called for reduced political interference in the distribution of relief resources to victims of disasters.
Specifically, DMMU national coordinator Dominiciano Mulenga has said that the Unit is faced with the challenge of dealing with political interference in the distribution of relief resources, and that he is concerned about the direct involvement of some political leaders in the relief distribution exercise for their benefit.
Not too long ago (in January 2010), I suggested that President Rupiah Banda and Vice President George Kunda should seriously consider the prospect of creating a statutory and autonomous agency to be accountable to the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Community Development and Social Welfare, and which should assume the functions of DMMU and those of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS).
I made the suggestion in response to the donation of various relief items worth US$100,000 to DMMU by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in December 2009. The donation included blankets, tents, shovels, wheelbarrows, water containers, sanitary towels, and other essential items.
The main reason for the suggestion was to forestall the potential for DMMU and PWAS to be abused by the MMD or future ruling political parties to achieve partisan objectives.
I again wish to call upon President Rupiah Banda to use his executive powers and create a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), an autonomous agency which should assume the functions of DMMU and PWAS. Currently, DMMU is vested in the Office of the Vice-President, and PWAS (which includes the Social Cash Transfer Scheme) is administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services.
Donor countries and humanitarian organizations also need to be aware of the potential for selective distribution of donated relief supplies by the ruling political party with the intention of gaining political leverage. They need to encourage the government to create a statutory and autonomous government agency that will distribute donated relief supplies without any political meddling or manipulation by government officials.
Labels: DMMU, FLORENCE BUPE, HENRY KYAMBALESA
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President Banda Should Dissolve the NCC
Henry Kyambalesa
Monday, February 1, 2010, 10:22
The National Constitutional Conference (NCC) is a fraud. Among other things, it does not have any legitimacy in the eyes of the majority of Zambians, especially after having made highly controversial and contentious recommendations – such as the recommendations requiring a Republican presidential candidate to have a bachelor’s degree as a minimum academic qualification, and to have been resident in Zambia for 10 consecutive years preceding any given presidential election.
It should, therefore, be dissolved as suggested by Citizens Forum executive secretary Simon Kabanda, Federation of Free Trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) president Joyce Nonde-Simukoko and other prominent members of Zambian society. It is not possible for a constitution-making process that is suspected of being highly politicized to produce a constitution that will be acceptable to the majority of citizens – a constitution that will stand the test of time!
We can hold the 2011 general elections under the 1996 Republican constitution and place an indefinite moratorium on the constitution-making process.
However, we can have a referendum requiring citizens to vote “yes” or “no” on whether the Republican constitution should be amended to include clauses stipulating that: (a) the Republican president should be elected by a minimum of 50+1% vote; (b) the Republican president should appoint government ministers from the general public rather than from elected members of Parliament; and (c) a specific date should be enshrined in the constitution during which general elections should be conducted.
These three issues need to be resolved, and amendments made to the current constitution based on the outcomes of the referendum, before the 2011 tripartite elections. There are a number of reasons why this should be done, some of which are stated briefly below.
The 50+1% Threshold: The Republican president needs to be elected by the majority of Zambians rather than by a simple majority as provided for in Article 34(8) of the current constitution. Amendment of Article 34(8) will, therefore, enhance our nascent multi-party democracy.
Appointment of Ministers: Ministerial appointments from the Zambian society at large can afford a Republican president a larger pool of competent people from which he or she can constitute a Cabinet. Secondly, it can provide for greater separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of the government.
Thirdly, it can afford presidential aspirants enough time to identify potential ministerial appointees well before tripartite elections rather than waiting for parliamentary elections to be concluded. Further, it would reduce the work overload on government officials who have to handle both ministerial and parliamentary functions.
There is, therefore, a need to amend Articles 46(2) and 47(3), which require the Republican president to appoint Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Provincial Ministers from elected members of Parliament.
Date for General Elections: There is a need for a constitutional clause which should provide for a specific day or date for holding general elections in order to forestall past suspicions that the ECZ director and the Republican president conspired to rig elections whenever they met to determine the dates for elections. The day or date to be considered should be during the dry season, and should give the new Republican president enough time to prepare for the hosting of Independence Day celebrations in October.
As an alternative to the dissolution of the NCC, Parliament should be tasked to appoint a group of at least ten prominent lawyers to examine the recommendations made by the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission for the purpose of correcting potential errors and inconsistencies in the recommendations. It makes no sense for a tiny fraction of Zambians who are members of the NCC to repeal or alter recommendations that were based on the submissions of citizens nationwide.
Labels: 50 PERCENT PLUS 1, CONSTITUTION, HENRY KYAMBALESA, NCC, RUPIAH BANDA
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Zambia: The Declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation
By Henry Kyambalesa
I wish to comment on statements made in recent months by Ronnie Shikapwasha, George Kunda and Rupiah Banda in support of the Declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation by Dr. Frederick Chiluba at State House on 29th December 1991, which was later incorporated into the Preamble of the 1996 Republican constitution.
It is important for national leaders to guard against the imposition of any particular religion on the entire society. The Republican constitution particularly should be a neutral document that does not discriminate against atheists or pagans, or those who believe in Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, or Jainism.
In the long run, the Declaration is likely to make non-Christian citizens to feel that they are second-class citizens. And, as Venkatesh Seshamani has argued, a feeling of religious superiority is likely to develop among Christians by virtue of their religion having been accorded constitutional status, which may lead to bigotry that would prompt them to view non-Christians as lost souls.
Clearly, the Declaration was made without consideration of the dangers of dragging religion into politics. Religion is deadly if it is not handled with utmost caution. The precarious problem currently facing Algeria, Nigeria, the Sudan, Afghanistan, and a host of other countries around the world which are beleaguered by religious conflicts should serve as a clear warning to each and every peace-loving Zambian to refrain from creating a similar situation that will dog our beloved country in perpetuity.
We should not be blinded by our having experienced no serious religious conflicts so far, but as our country’s population and the membership of each religious denomination swells, we would be shortsighted not to anticipate and make an effort to forestall the incidence such conflicts. We need to act proactively. To wait until the consequences of our failure to reason are upon us is to leave serious problems for future generations to grapple with. And such failure will eventually prove to us that experience, in relation to this issue, teaches fools, since we have thus far not been able to see beyond our noses.
What Zambia needs is a secular state that genuinely recognizes and safeguards each and every individual’s freedom of worship and the freedom to choose one’s religion. At the same time, we should actively DISCOURAGE the following in a deliberate effort to forestall the potential for disruption of public order and socio-economic activities by cliques of fanatics from any of our country’s religious denominations:
(a) The use of public funds by a local or national government to set up a church or mosque, and/or to provide any form of support to any given religious group, institution or activity;
(b) Official participation by government leaders in the affairs of any given religious group or institution, or official participation by any given religious leader or group in political or governmental affairs;
(c) The use of a religious platform by any individual or group of individuals to form a political party;
(d) The use of a religious platform by any individual to seek a leadership position in any of the three branches of government—that is, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive;
(e) Inclusion of denominational religious subjects in the curricula of schools funded by the government; and
(f) Religious sermons which are contemptuous to, or are designed to slight, other religious groupings or denominations.
In countries where government leaders have not provided for these kinds of safeguards mainly due to lack of foresight, violent clashes among religious groups in their quest to dominate the political sphere, and to impose their religious laws on the citizenry, have become exceedingly difficult to contain. As it is often said, prevention is better than cure! Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohammad summed up the perilous nature of religious conflicts in his address to the World Evangelical Fellowship in May 2001 thus: “Once started, religious … [conflicts have] a tendency to go on and on, [and] to become permanent feuds.”
In a country that is already inundated by violence and threats of violence mainly by cadres from the MMD on a regular basis, to add the potential for religious conflicts would be akin to spraying gasoline over burning charcoal.
In all, I am confident that religious institutions in Zambia will continue to provide the moral and spiritual direction to our nation in an era that has been high-jacked by unprecedented violence and moral decay, and to articulate the people’s demands on the government for a more democratic, more peaceful, more prosperous, and more egalitarian society.
Labels: CHRISTIANITY, HENRY KYAMBALESA
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Conflicting statistics: Zambia Needs a Bureau of Statistics and Archives
By Henry Kyambalesa
I wish to comment on discrepancies in the reported levels of poverty in Zambia following a recent Zambia Daily Mail report in which the Director of Central Statistical Office (CSO) is quoted as having said that the poverty level in Zambia had declined from
68.1% to 59.3% between 1996 and 2006.
It is regrettable that, over the years, there have been serious discrepancies in the reported levels of poverty in Zambia. In this regard, I wish to cite a few of such reports, which may be paraphrased as follows:
Times of Zambia (October 2005), “Poverty Levels Drop to 68 p.c.,” by Times Reporter: Poverty incidence in Zambia has dropped from 73% in 1998 to 68% in 2005, a CSO survey has revealed. According to a statement released by CSO director Buleti Nsemukila, the preliminary results of the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey of 2004 revealed that the incidence of poverty in terms of head counts had reduced by 7%.
Times of Zambia (November 2009), “Poverty Levels Go Down,” by Times Reporter: Zambia recorded reduced poverty levels from 80% to 64% midway through the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP), according to Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane.
Zambia Daily Mail (January 2010), “Poverty Levels Drop,” by Nancy Mwape: Zambia’s poverty level has declined from 68.1% in 1996 to 59.3% in 2006, CSO director Efreda Chulu is quoted as having said this at a press briefing in Lusaka recently.
There is clearly a need for the government to create an autonomous “Bureau of Statistics and Archives” to replace the CSO so that it can freely and independently collect, process, maintain, and publish essential data and information about our country. The Bureau should also assume complete responsibility over the operations of the National Archives of Zambia.
Such a Bureau is necessary if we are to forestall the potential for fudging and/or manipulating of vital data and information. The autonomy of the Bureau could also lend a great deal of credence to the data and information published about the country. There is perhaps no other way in which leaders in the MMD, the ruling political party, are going to exonerate themselves from suspicions that they are trying to fudge national statistics for political gain.
Labels: CSO, HENRY KYAMBALESA, STATISTICS
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Zambia: Price Controls on Fuel Will Inhibit Competition
By Henry Kyambalesa
I wish to comment on plans by Energy and Water Development Minister Kenneth Konga to “introduce uniform prices for oil products throughout Zambia to ensure equity among consumers regardless of their geographical location,” as reported in a recent Times of Zambia article entitled “Government to Introduce Uniform Fuel Prices.”
If by “uniform prices” the Minister means “uniform retail prices,” then I am afraid this would not be a good idea as it would lead to price controls by the government.
One of the essential elements of the economic liberalization program that we embarked on upon the defeat of the UNIP administration and its regime of price controls and state monopoly in commerce and industry was the idea of competition, which, in Economics, actually refers to price competition in contrast to non-price competition involving advertising and other sales-getting tools.
Competition provides the incentive for business entities to operate more efficiently in order to reduce costs and prices, and benefits consumers in a variety of ways. Among other things, it leads to lower prices when businesses are discouraged by law from charging uniform prices for similar (or substitute) products. Moreover, it can reduce the smuggling of products whose government-controlled prices are below those obtaining in neighboring countries.
Besides, competition generally cures the problem of black markets since it entices suppliers to increase their outputs in order to benefit from economies of scale, thereby resolving the problem of commodity shortages which can bolster black marketeering in a country’s economy. In this regard, I am often reminded of the words of Murray Sanderson, which I wish to quote from a paper entitled “The Remedies for Black Marketeering and Smuggling” presented at a seminar held at Baluba River Motel between August 26 and 27, 1989:
“Price controls have the effect of discouraging supply while encouraging demand. The inevitable result is scarcity of commodities; and when there is scarcity, you always get people who buy up commodities wherever they can and resell them on the black market. In Zambia, we call them ‘black marketeers’. It is a useful term, for it puts the blame upon them rather than the authorities.”
Under a regime of price controls, there are certain arrangements which suppliers may resort to in an effort to maximize income (or minimize costs) which would tend to have adverse effects on the economic welfare of citizens.
Examples of such arrangements include the following:
(a) discontinuing the production or sale of affected commodities;
(b) restricting or reducing the quantity and quality of affected commodities;
(c) smuggling of affected commodities to countries where prices are higher than controlled prices obtaining in the domestic market;
(d) restricting or abandoning attendant marketing services, such as delivery service;
(e) imposing conditional sales on consumers, such as tying contracts;
(f) engaging in speculation in the controlled commodity.
There are several important elements which suppliers take into account when making pricing decisions other than transportation and storage costs; they include costs relating to labor, insurance, advertising, buildings, and contributions to host communities. These costs may not necessarily be the same among the retailers of oil products in Zambia. Also, the returns on investment expected by oil retailers are not likely to be the same. The idea of uniform retail prices for oil products is, therefore, uncalled-for.
Labels: FUEL, HENRY KYAMBALESA, KENNETH KONGA, PRICE CONTROLS
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Zambia’s leadership problematique
By Henry Kyambalesa
During the 1960s, we harbored very high and somewhat unrealistic expectations about the socio-economic prospects of our beloved country, Zambia. Equating independence with not only self-rule, but also with genuine democracy and prosperity, we strongly believed that the transfer of political power from colonial to Zambian hands would create greater opportunities for us to enhance our socio-economic well-being.
Unfortunately, political freedom could not deliver its promises, and disappointment soon ensued. The early euphoria, therefore faded within a few years of political freedom when, in 1972, UNIP imposed a one-party political system on the people. As could be expected, the single-party system could not tolerate dissent or criticism, which could have been essential in moderating the behavior of political actors. (It is perhaps important to note here that current MMD leaders and hooligans are equally and perhaps more dangerously averse to criticism and dissent.)
Stuck at a political, social and economic cul-de-sac, Zambia seemed to be heading to calamity when the ripples of democratization and freedom from Eastern Europe reached the country. Taking advantage of the new wind of change, the resilient Zambian civil society got out of hibernation and implored the UNIP administration to liberalize the country’s political system. Again, Zambians reconnected with expectations in 1991 when they voted for the MMD to rule the country.
But, once again, the renewed sense of hope has been waning rapidly over the years due to the realization that it takes more than a multi-party system to redress decades of socio-economic decay and backwardness.
But how could a country that is endowed with abundant natural and human resources find itself in a predicament whereby 64% of its citizens are wallowing in abject poverty? The answer lies in what may be referred to as the “leadership problematique.” The need for a new cadre of leaders in Zambia is, therefore, overdue—leaders who understand the Gordian knot of the country’s plight and are in a hurry to move it forward in huge strides in order to change its current trajectory.
Let us consider a classification of nation-states paraphrased from a multitude of literary sources to determine Zambia’s current status. The sources include: Amoako, K.Y., “Governance for a Progressing Africa: Opening Statement at the Second Africa Governance Forum,” Accra, Ghana, June 25, 1998; and Kyambalesa, H., “The 27th Ordinary Summit of SADC,” a Press Release prepared for Heads of State and Government who attended the 27th Ordinary Summit of SADC in Lusaka, Zambia between August 10 and 18, 2007.
(a) The Patrimonial State: A nation-state in which government leaders treat the state as their own piece of property.
(b) The Predatory State: A nation-state in which government officials look upon the citizenry as prey for their rapacious greed.
(c) The Shadow State: A nation-state that is generally characterized by informal political networks and a shadow national economy.
(d) The Collapsed State: A nation-state in which common people are generally left to their own devices while government officials revel in conspicuous, state-financed luxury.
(e) The Repressive State: A nation-state where leaders impose sufficient repression to keep their opponents weak and maintain their own power, while adhering to enough democratic formalities that they might just pass themselves off as democrats. And
(f) The Criminal State: A nation-state where the government is oblivious to crimes committed by government leaders and the elite, individuals with criminal records are appointed to positions of authority, and/or government leaders and the elite are engaged in criminal activities, such as money laundering, drug trafficking, human trafficking, or corrupt practices.
Zambia is predominantly a “repressive state,” and mildly portrays some elements of the other kinds of nation-states. What do other Zambians think?
The challenge for the Zambian government is to create what I may refer to as the “propitious state,” that is, a nation-state whose government embraces the following elements of good governance in both word and deed: accountability, transparency, rule of law, citizen participation, and a free press.
By the way, it is meaningless to talk about Zambia becoming “the hub of Africa” as though such a status can be achieved merely through abracadabra without making massive investments in education and training, public health and sanitation, agriculture and food security, public infrastructure, and so forth.
In fact, there is a need to periodically reduce taxes and interest rates in order to stimulate economic activity and job creation. Government revenue that would be lost through lower income and value-added taxes could be recouped through to be paid by new workers, and by abolishing the positions of Deputy Minister, District Commissioner and other locally based sinecures, as well as sinecures in foreign missions.
Labels: GOVERNANCE, HENRY KYAMBALESA, LEADERSHIP
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COMMENT - I would add that the government could lower the commercial bank's lending rates, if it stopped borrowing from them to make up their bloated budget's inevitable shortfall. This is a major reason why lending rates are and remain in the double digits.
2010 National Budget Not Inspiring
Saturday, October 10, 2009, 8:25
The 2010 national budget unveiled in a speech delivered to the Zambian National Assembly on October 9, 2009 by the Honorable Minister of Finance and National Planning is not inspiring at all, given the depth of socio-economic woes the country has been facing since the 1970s. It is not possible for our beloved country to make any headway in socio-economic development with such a mild budget, not even by the year 2030 when the MMD government is dreaming of turning Zambia into a middle-income country.
For reasons of brevity, let me comment on a few highlights of the budget.
Inflation and Taxes:
The attainment of single-digit annual inflation (of 8%) is a target that would be appropriate for countries that have already achieved a high level of job creation and socio-economic development. Zambia is clearly not one of such countries.
There is a need to reduce PAYE, VAT and interest rates in order to stimulate both the supply of goods and services and the demand for goods and services and, in the process, bolster job creation and economic growth. We need to reverse the recurrent emphasis on stabilizing inflation at the expense of job creation and economic growth.
Value-added tax, for example, could have been reduced to 12.5% from 16%. The increase in the PAYE exempt threshold from K700,000 to K800,000 is not adequate; this should have been increased to at least K1,000,000. And the income bands should have been expanded to make them fairer to tax payers as follows:
2010 Income Bands and Tax Rates:
K0 – K800,000 per month 0%
K800,001 — K1,335,000 per month 25%
K1,335,001 — K4,100,000 per month 30%
K4,100,001 and above per month 35%
Proposed Income Bands and Tax Rates:
K0 – K1,000,000 per month 0%
K1,000,001 — K1,435,000 per month 10%
K1,435,001 — K1,970,000 per month 15%
K1,970,001 — K2,370,000 per month 20%
K2,770,001 — K3,170,000 per month 25%
K3,570,001 — K3,970,000 per month 30%
K3,970,001 and above per month 35%
Lower taxes and interest rates could have functioned as an effective economic stimulus that could have spurred economic activity and job creation, as well as create a new class of tax payers. There is really no other obvious way in which a country can jump-start an economically beleaguered economy like ours.
Dependency on Foreign Investors:
There is too much emphasis in the budget on creating opportunities for foreign investment with little or no emphasis on promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by Zambians. As the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has maintained, a growing body of empirical evidence supports the widely held view that SMEs are instrumental to socio-economic development. They can, as such, play an important role in improving the socio-economic welfare of a lot of people in a country.
There are many ways in which SMEs can positively contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic well-being of a country’s people, such as the following:
(a) They can create employment opportunities for talented citizens and family members who cannot find jobs in large business establishments;
(b) They can function as a vehicle through which a country’s government can economically empower its people by enabling them to participate actively and directly in their country’s commercial and industrial activities;
(c) They can facilitate the generation of wealth for all sectors of the national economy and thereby reduce existing income disparities;
(d) They can contribute to the improvement of the social and economic welfare of people in their host communities through the provision of various kinds of needed goods and services; and
(e) They can function as the backbone of a country’s economy if they are mainly operated by citizens, as they would be both indigenous and permanent, as Andrew Sardanis has maintained.
Negative Thoughts:
If Zambians “spend lots of their time on negative thoughts,” as the Minister has claimed in his budget speech, it is because over 65% of them cannot find jobs and are eking out a mere living. I cannot imagine people who are wallowing in abject poverty singing empty praises glorifying a government that is incapable of addressing their basic needs.
Henry Kyambalesa
Labels: BUDGET, HENRY KYAMBALESA
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The Clash between MMD and PF Cadres
Saturday, August 29, 2009, 10:27
By Henry Kyambalesa
I wish to comment on the recent clash between Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and Patriotic Front (PF) cadres outside Lusaka magistrate court complex during the trial of Post news editor Chansa Kabwela yesterday.
The scuffle left one PF cadre with a deep cut on the forehead. Joseph Chama was allegedly hit with a screw driver during the physical confrontation. He was immediately rushed to the University Teaching Hospital for treatment.
What is really the source of such savage and uncivilized behavior among political cadres in our beloved country?
We need to learn to engage in politics without physically assaulting others. We need to remember that we are Zambians first in spite of the different political parties we belong to.There are 73 different tribes to which we belong, or the different languages we speak. And we also have the same dreams as members of the larger Zambian family!
As we seek to improve the livelihoods of each and every Zambian, we should put our political alignments, tribal identities, religious convictions, and professional affiliations aside and work together as a nation. We need to strive to create a society in which political, ethnic, cultural, racial, and religious diversity is appreciated, tolerated and celebrated.
We should not allow politics to create divisions amongst us to the extent of battering each other during campaigns and whenever we have differences in opinion over national issues. We should avoid acting savagely toward one another. And we need to pray for one another, and for our beloved country. After all, we are one and the same people – we are members of the Zambian family!
“How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in oneness!” ? Psalms 133:1.
Labels: CADRES, CHANSA KABWELA, HENRY KYAMBALESA, MMD, PF, THE POST
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The Chitambo Parliamentary By-Election
Sunday, August 2, 2009, 12:15
Author: Henry Kyambalesa-
The forthcoming Chitambo Parliamentary by-election set for August 13, 2009 should provide an opportunity for the people in Central Province to vote for a candidate from an opposition political party to join Parliament. Voting for an MMD candidate will be a sheer waste of votes.
Zambians need to realize that the MMD will not bring about any meaningful socio-economic development in the country. Its leaders are all intoxicated by an unquenchable desire to maintain power at any cost by using chiefs, public resources and intimidation by the party’s leaders and hooligans.
This is one reason why the party has failed to address the people’s demands for a smaller and more efficient government, free formal education without Grades 7 and 9 elimination examinations, no examination fees, merit-based scholarships for vocational training and university education, low-interest educational loans, free life-saving healthcare for all Zambians, greater and sustained food security, greater employment opportunities, lower PAYE and value-added taxes, lower interest rates, safer local communities, improved infrastructure, privatization of the public mass media, lower water charges and electricity tariffs, and a genuine effort to address the scourge of corruption.
We should, however, thank them (the MMD) for spearheading our beloved country’s transition to multi-party democracy and economic liberalization, just as we should also acknowledge the role played by UNIP in Zambia’s struggle for independence. But if we are to reap the benefits of our country’s independence, democracy and economic liberalization, we need new political players; we cannot afford to depend on some of the current crop of politicians – many of whom are clueless figureheads!
We desperately need leaders who are going to have a clear social contract with the citizenry – a contract with specific projects and programs, and a timetable when such projects and programs should be expected to take off and/or completed. Otherwise we will continue to be fed on stories of Vision 2030 and the like.
MMD leaders are all intoxicated by an unquenchable desire to maintain power at any cost by using chiefs, public resources and intimidation by the party’s leaders and hooligans.
There should, of course, be no doubting the importance of sound long-term planning to our country’s future, and to the well-being of future generations. But such planning should be balanced with the needs of our generation because in the long run, to paraphrase the famous economist John Maynard Keynes, we are all going to be dead!
For this reason, we need politicians who are keen on devising schedules for implementing some of our short-term and medium-term projects and programs in order to strike a balance between our needs and expectations, and the needs and expectations of future generations.
As I have always maintained, heightened and sustained socio-economic development will not come to Zambia like manna from heaven; it will need to be adequately planned for and diligently pursued. Basically, this will require a passion for radical change, and leadership with both vision and compass.
Change, as experience and observation have taught us, is a fact of life; all living things must adapt to the demands of their environments and their own stages of growth. History is full of examples of plants and animals which have become extinct because of their inability to change when it became necessary.
This fact of life applies to countries as well; if they cannot change in order to align their goals, aspirations and development strategies to the dictates of local, national, regional, and global socio-economic conditions, therefore, they are not likely succeed in improving their people’s standards of living. And our country is no exception!
But in spite of this obvious fact of life, we are all generally and naturally resistant to change. This is perhaps one of the reasons why we have tended to lend a receptive ear to the rehearsed warning by the MMD that we should not experiment with leadership – a warning we will soon start hearing as we get closer to the 2011 general elections.
Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, HENRY KYAMBALESA, MMD
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The 27th Ordinary Summit of SADC
Written by Henry Kyambalesa
Aug 21, 2007 at 08:00 PM
LUSAKA, Aug. 21 - It is gratifying to learn that Zambians warmly welcomed to Lusaka the SADC Heads of State and Government, First Ladies, Ministers, the Executive Secretary, the Deputy Executive Secretary, the Chief Director, Heads of Delegations, and Delegates who have come to attend the 27th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
I am confident that they all enjoyed the beauty, warmth, friendliness, and rich cultures and traditions of our beloved country and its people during their brief stay in Lusaka between August 10 and 18, 2007.
Was It a Mere Political Gathering?
The extreme and persistent poverty, hunger, disease, and a host of other problems that have come to characterize life in SADC member-countries in particular, and in the African Union in general, are certainly unprecedented in recent human history. And, to make things worse, there seem to be no easy solutions or quick fixes to the catalogue of socio-economic ills facing the African conti¬nent!
Integration of Africa’s national economies, I believe, is one of the viable ways in which the continent’s sons and daughters are likely to redeem their Mother from its current state of socio-economic decay and backwardness. If it is diligently and relentlessly pursued, economic integration can actually facilitate the attainment of pronounced and sustained levels of socio-economic development in member-countries.
As such, citizens in SADC member-countries expected Heads of State and Government to consider the Lusaka Summit as a great opportunity for them—individually and collectively—to seek and eventually pursue viable development strategies and initiatives that will lead to a meaningful improvement in the livelihoods of the citizenry in each and every SADC member-country.
Given the enormous public resources that were committed to the convening of the Summit, we will all be disappointed if it turns out to have been a “talk show”—a mere political gathering characterized by rhetoric and speech-making that will not culminate in concrete action.
Zambians, particularly, had very high expectations of the outcome of the Summit mainly because the Zambian government, as the host of the Summit, was responsible for providing transport and protocol facilities, and to provide security for all delegates during their brief stay in Lusaka.
Local public resources were, for example, committed to cater for the following: (a) State Escort for each of the SADC Heads of State and Government; (b) One Chauffer-Driven Car for each of the visiting First Ladies; (c) One Chauffer-Driven Car for each of the visiting Ministers; (d) One Chauffer-Driven Car for the Executive Secretary; (e) One Chauffer-Driven Car for the Deputy Executive Secretary; (f) One Chauffer-Driven Car for the Chief Director; (g) One Chauffer-Driven Car for each of the Heads of Delegations; and (h) mini-buses for the transportation of Delegates between the conference venue and their respective hotels.
Importance of Membership in the SADC
SADC member-countries are not going to make any headway in socio-economic development if they cannot profoundly integrate their economies. The enormity of development hurdles facing much of the SADC region—including limited domestic markets, inaccessible foreign markets, lack of investment capital, and unfavorable terms of trade with industrialized nations—certainly calls for what may be referred to as “south-south” economic cooperation if the current socio-economic decay and backwardness in the region are to be redressed.
SADC leaders, therefore, need to realize that their countries’ real future does not hinge on seeking the compassion of, or excessive and protracted reliance on, industrialized nations in matters of socio-economic development; rather, they need to take full responsibility for finding viable solutions to their countries’ socio-economic ills.
There are many reasons why strong and permanent membership in a regional economic bloc like the SADC is essential in a country’s quest for sustained and heightened socio-economic development. Let us consider some of these reasons.
1. A Competitive Edge.—There is a pressing need for Southern African countries to maintain strong and permanent membership in the SADC in order to become more competitive through cooperative scientific and technological endeavors and eventually be in a better position to venture in the modern global economic system that is characterized by such regional economic blocs as the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) bloc of countries, the Organization of American States, the South American Community of Nations, the Arab Common Market, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round in December 1993 (which re-affirmed the need for an open, liberal and competitive international trading system) should particularly prompt SADC member-countries to move briskly in converting SADC from a mere regional grouping to a free trade area, a customs union, a common market, an economic union, a monetary union, and, ultimately, a political union.
If they dilly-dally in taking up this challenge, they should not expect economic units in their countries to gain the necessary technological and industrial competence they need to be able to become sturdy participants in the potentially competitive global economy of the 21st century. In the longer run, the region’s leaders should not be surprised when their national economies turn into permanent retail outlets for commodities produced in various economic blocs around the world.
2. Market Limitations.—A large population is an important element in a country’s quest for enhanced socio-economic development. Many development economists have recognized this fact, arguing that a large overall population can, among other things, increase the potential size of a country’s domestic market to a level that is economically favorable to an expansion in both local and foreign investment.
For Southern African countries, this should be obvious considering the fact that ready access to foreign markets is thwarted by numerous and insurmountable export-related problems—including poor transportation infrastructure, inadequate information relating to foreign markets, dependence on the exportation of cheap primary commodities, and inadequate communications infrastructure. After all, it should be common sense that growing markets generally stimulate invention, rather than invention coming first and creating a market!
The issue concerning the size of a country’s market may also be discerned in terms of population density. The low population densities of some of the countries in the Southern African region have partly made the provision of educational, healthcare and training facilities in the region’s countries difficult, and have also negatively affected agricultural development by complicating the distribution of essential tools, fertilizers and pesticides.
The Malthusian view that population growth needs to be stemmed in order to prevent the misery, hunger and pestilence that can follow if the population exceeds the carrying capacity of a given physical environment does not, therefore, apply to most of sparsely populated, resource-rich Southern African countries. As such, global population control efforts need to be appropriately directed at countries whose population densities are excessive, such as Belgium, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
In this regard, it is important to be mindful of the fact that African countries in general cannot benefit from economies of scale that are usually associated with large-scale production mainly due to the limited potential markets for their outputs. In other words, most African countries cannot achieve economies of scale in production due to their small populations and can, as such, benefit from large-scale production only through openness and regional integration.
In addition to the problem of limited local goods markets, African countries cannot, by and large, depend on foreign markets as a “vent for surplus” for their products due to the inaccessibility of such markets.
In short, Africa’s most urgent need is an internal market that is large enough to absorb African economies’ outputs of both agriculture and industrialization—and economic integration seems to be the most, if not the only, feasible way in which such an internal market can be created within a few years or so if African leaders are keen on pursuing the endeavor!
In fact, the larger consumer and industrial markets that can be created through the integration of national economies can make it possible for member-countries to attract the foreign capital they need for boosting business activity and, among other worthwhile benefits, increasing the level of employment.
3. Economies of Scale.—Economic integration is, among other things, a means of doing away with the disadvantages of small size, and of making possible the attainment of member-countries’ desired levels of socio-economic development; among other things, it can make it possible for member-countries to exploit both economies of scale and economies of scope, and to capitalize on differences in comparative advantage in the production of commodities.
Also, there are important gains from economic integration that are associated with the opportunities for specialization made possible by the integration of markets; for example, economies of scale may be realized not only from the manufacturing industry, but also from the potential large-scale dispensation of public services and utilities.
For certain kinds of public services, there may also be economies to be derived from operation over a wider geographical area. In the case of air and rail transport, for instance, there is a very strong case for operating on a large enough scale to make full use of both specialized abilities and any available machines of large capacity.
4. Competitive Environment.—Another potential and benign effect of economic integration relates to the emergence of greater competition in commerce and industry in an economic bloc. The reduction or removal of trade barriers brings about a more competitive market environment and eventually reduces the degree of monopoly power that might have been present prior to integration.
5. Stable Financial Market.—The eventual creation of a monetary union and/or an optimum currency area can facilitate the creation of a larger, more stable financial market since it can, among other things, eliminate exchange-rate variability in an economically integrated region. Also, the attainment of greater exchange-rate stability and certainty facilitated by a common currency can result in more stable and soundly based economic growth for an integrated region as a whole.
Moreover, it can be reasoned that elimination of currency fluctuations within an integrated region can increase trade among member-countries, since such fluctuations inhibit business enterprises from expanding their operations in other member-countries. This seems all too obvious considering the fact that fluctuations in exchange rates can more than wipe out the normal profits from any given business organization’s sales.
Further, it may be assumed that a monetary union can eliminate the need for member-countries that may experience a decline in the aggregate demand for their export products to consider currency devaluations—which are now proved to be both ineffective in correcting a country’s economic shocks and more likely to generate high levels of inflation—as a means of making their products competitive in other member-countries.
Besides, economic integration can lead to intra-industry specialization so that all member-countries can produce and sell similar products, making them more alike and eventually reducing the chances of any one member-country becoming a victim of an economic shock.
6. Terms of Trade.—By and large, Southern African countries, like all other developing countries worldwide, face unfavorable terms of trade (TOT) in their trade with industrialized nations; the price indices of their export products—that is, primary commodities—are generally lower than the price indices of the manufactured goods which they import from industrialized nations. The greater trade among African countries which is likely to culminate from economic integration can, on the other hand, lead to “even TOT,” since their economies are generally at similar stages of industrialization.
7. Other Rationales.—Economic integration can also benefit member-countries in terms of administrative savings which they are likely to realize from a reduction in the functions of the customs units of their governments, and, among other things, the greater bargaining power which they can collectively gain by being constituent members of a regional economic bloc.
People Are Fed Up of the Blame Game
In every African country today, there is a general expectation (among the citizenry) for leadership with both vision and compass. Citizens are sick and tired of leaders who have continued to find scapegoats for their own failure to address the basic needs and expectations of the common people—leaders who have continued to attribute failure and mediocrity in governance to what have become traditional and convenient scapegoats; that is: colonialism, neo-colonialism, globalization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), among others.
But really, can any of these scapegoats be faulted for bloated national governments which cannot live within their means, the electoral malpractices which block cadres of competent potential leaders from the realm of national leadership, or the hemorrhage of public resources through corruption and misappropriation?
A few selected views on who is really to blame for Africa’s persistent socio-economic ills is perhaps in order at this juncture:
(a) “We cannot avoid the fact that a lot of our problems in Africa arise from bad governance.”—Julius K. Nyerere, “Governance in Africa: Address,” http://www.uneca.org/, Addis Ababa, March 2, 1998.
(b) “The failure of African rulers, African governments, African governance institutions … account for the emergence of first, political decay, then socio-political instability, followed by social fragmentation, and finally political disorders in contemporary Africa.”—Anice, L., “Descent into Sociopolitical Decay: Legacies of Maldevelopment in Africa,” in Mulugeta, A., editor, Africa in the Contemporary International Disorder: Crises and Possibilities (New York: University Press of America, Inc., 1996).
(c) The African continent has, thus far, been led by leaders who lack “creativity and ingenuity” and are slow “to understand how the world system operates.”—Paraphrased from Mathurin Houngnikpo, “Stuck at the Runway: Africa’s Distress Call,” Africa Insight, Volume 30/Number 1, May 2000.
According to Alassane D. Ouattara, bad or poor governance can very easily be identified; among other things, it manifests itself through a large public sector and a small private sector, weak public institutions, and weak, complex, inequitable, and arbitrarily enforced rules and regulations. (Ouattara, A. D., “Towards Better Governance: The Next Stage of Africa’s Journey of Economic Reform,” International Monetary Fund (IMF), June 27, 1998.
It may, therefore, not be an exaggeration to conclude that it is, by and large, the leadership factor which has made Africa to become a haven for the following kinds of nation-states in post-independence Africa that are cited in the literature, which Kingsley Y. Amoako has discussed in a speech entitled “Governance for a Progressing Africa: Opening Statement at the Second Africa Governance Forum,” presented in Accra, Ghana, on June 25, 1998:
(a) The Patrimonial State: A political setting in which government leaders treat the state as their own piece of property;
(b) The Predatory State: A state in which government officials look upon the citizenry as prey for their rapacious greed;
(c) The Shadow State: The kind of state that is generally characterized by informal political networks and a shadow economy punctuated by illegal activities; and
(d) The Collapsed State: A state in which common people are generally left to their own devices while government officials revel in conspicuous, state-financed luxury.
Further, Amoako has identified a fifth kind of state—that is, a state where leaders impose sufficient repression to keep their opponents weak and maintain their own power, while adhering to enough democratic formalities that they might just pass themselves off as democrats. Accordingly, we may refer to this additional kind of nation-state as “the repressive state.”
Membership in Both SADC and COMESA
The current proliferation of integration projects in Africa has tended to result in some countries becoming members of two or more economic groupings. This is likely to generate commercial problems arising from obligations which individual African states have assumed under the different treaties and trade agreements governing the regional groupings.
In 2002, the World Trade Organization (WTO) cited the problem facing the Republic of Zambia in this regard: the country’s membership in overlapping preferential trade arrangements has made its trade regime more difficult to manage given the different provisions, goals and geographical coverage involved.
A prudent measure which African leaders can take in order to circumvent the potential problems and implications associated with membership in two or more economic blocs is to merge some of the economic blocs. In fact, such a measure can also forestall the potential for costly duplication of effort by regional economic blocs on the continent.
The European Union’s advice (cited in Wasamunu, M., “EU Advises COMESA, SADC to Merge,” The Post, http://www.zamnet.zm/zamnet/post/, February 10, 2000) to leaders of SADC and COMESA member-countries to merge the two institutions is, therefore, worthy of urgent and serious consideration; after all, this is an issue which leaders of the member-countries of the two regional blocs have generally shown great interest in resolving since the early 1990s.
Preferably, the smaller SADC needs to be incorporated into the larger COMESA bloc. In August 1992, Dr. Frederick Chiluba (former president of Zambia) minced no words in stating some of the compelling reasons why it would be prudent for SADC and COMESA heads of state to seriously consider the prospect of merging the two regional economic blocs:
“Having one institution is the way forward. It will combine resources and expertise which are currently dissipated in the two institutions. It will provide the wider market [needed] ... for achievement of economies of scale necessary for resilient economic production units.”—Chiluba, F., Dr., quoted in Mandaza, I., “SADC: An Economic Agenda or a Mere Political Expression?” Southern Africa Political and Economic Monthly, August 1992, Volume 5, Number 11, p. 19.
Henry Kyambalesa
www.agenda123.com
Founder and President
Agenda for Change (AfC)
Labels: HENRY KYAMBALESA, SADC
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