Authors of economics book call for industrial growth
By Henry Sinyangwe
Thu 02 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
COMMENT - This is from Mohammed Yunus' outfit. I don't know what to make of it. As a bank, I've never seen how his Grameen Bank makes money. I have the book, and I have decades of background in trading stocks and ETFs, but I don't get it. Here is an explanation of their concept on their website.
BROADENING the industrial base and encouraging medium-sized manufacturing industries will earn Zambia a medium-income status, it has been observed.
John Sutton and Gillian Langmead, co-authors of a book titled An Enterprise Map of Zambia' have observed that a 10-year plan was needed to raise the living standards of Zambians.
The book has been published by the International Growth Centre, a policy research institute coordinated by the London School of Economics and Oxford University in the UK.
Speaking during the launch of the book in Lusaka on Tuesday, Prof Sutton said qualitative change is needed over the next ten years to broaden the industrial base and bring the country to middle-income status.
He said Zambia's manufacturing base had doubled in the last decade, and the country's economy was among the most rapidly growing in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Understanding what is needed to maintain this growth is crucial to the formulation of good policies. And this in turn requires a deep understanding of Zambia's current industrial capabilities," Prof Sutton explained.
He said countries that had made the advance into middle ground manufacturing had faced major challenges with regard to quality standards.
"The most powerful driver of this advance is appropriate foreign direct investment (FDI), which involves companies operating in new industrial activities and bringing new capabilities, and creating new jobs," Prof Sutton said.
[Prof. Sutton is full of sh*t, like most economists. They know their discipline, they don't know agriculture, history, politics, etc. - all the points of contact with reality outside of the field of economics. - MrK]
He praised the work of the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and emphasised the need for expansion of domestic companies into new areas of activities, as well as maintenance of a good business climate for all firms, whether domestic or foreign.
"This is a turning point for Zambia's economy, and getting the right policies and rules, and ensuring these policies and rules are implemented and enforced, is crucial to the country's future," said Prof Sutton.
And commerce permanent secretary Stephen Mwansa said the government is committed to raising the living standards of Zambians.
He said there should be an industrial data base that provides information on available trade and investment.
Mwansa said Zambia aspired to be a strong and dynamic middle income industrial nation that provided opportunities for all.
Labels: ECONOMICS, MOHAMMED YUNUS
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Humankind is threatened by poverty, says Chavez
By Larry Moonze
Sunday May 13, 2007 [04:00]
THE rich have refused to understand the need for a poverty-free world, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said. Decorating Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh with the Simon Bolivar Order in Caracas on Friday, President Chavez said humankind was threatened by poverty among other calamities.
"Humankind is threatened by poverty and the destruction of the environment but I wonder why the rich do not understand the need for a poverty-free world," President Chavez said.
He said Venezuela was now marching forward into a people-centred socialism. President Chavez said the Venezuelan socialism was fresh, Bolivarian and democratic. "Only that way can we have a world of justice and peace," President Chavez said.
He asked Venezuelans to reject oligarch-owned media messages aimed at creating anarchy and fear among communities. According to Prensa-Latina, President Chavez accused some radio stations and newspapers run by the oligarchy and some sectors that did not want change in the country of trying to spread panic among citizens.
He said oligarchy-owned media houses were hiding behind freedom of expression to spread fear among Venezuelans. President Chavez further said violence could not be fought with bombs and invasions. "This is crazy, violence generates violence and Iraq is the best example," said President Chavez.
Meanwhile, the Venezuela government has taken control of over nearly 93 per cent of the electricity company stocks. The state-owned PDVSA oil company (Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.) announced Friday on its website. It stated that after the public auction, the State held 92.98 per cent of total shares in the Distrito Capital first electricity company and that the package includes the American Depository Shares in the Bank of New York, grouping more than 3.6 billion shares. The possession of the electricity company is part of the process of the Venezuelan government's programme to get control over strategic economic sectors.
The total cost of the operation amounts to US$836.93 million. And the Venezuelan government has invited all Latin American countries to join in the laying of the foundation for the Bank of the South.
Venezuelan finance minister Rodrigo Cabezas said signing the foundation agreement to the Bank of the South was earmarked for June 26. Cabezas said the Bank of South would be an irreversible historic event of 2007.
"And we expect other countries to join because South America must meet the challenge of building a new regional financial architecture to free us from financial mechanisms created by developed countries including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank," Cabezas said. "The Bank of the South will be an instrument that will overcome poverty because there is a commitment to 200 million poor people in the continent."
The project is currently anchored on Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.
Labels: BANK OF THE SOUTH, HUGO CHAVEZ, MOHAMMED YUNUS, VENEZUELA
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