HOMEGROWN ANSWERS

WE are on our own.

It is up to us as a nation to find a way out of the crippling debt situation we have found ourselves in as a nation.

While Government has been trying to engage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to help, the onus still remains on Zambians to resolve the debt crisis.

Economist John Kasanga is right that the country needs to urgently institute a massive and demonstrable inward looking economic recovery plan that emphasises cost saving programmes that cut across all sectors of the economy, especially in areas where savings can be made to help generate revenue to pay the bondholders.

Mr Kasanga argued that Zambia could only convince the creditors for debt referral payments if it had a strong case of revenue generation to prove that it would be able to pay back the loans, and the plan should conclude discussions with IMF.

“We have to demonstrate how we are going to generate resources locally, Government right now is asking for deferral payment. The debt burden will still be there, we may delay when it has to be paid but we will still have to pay,” he said.

Mr Kasanga emphasised that Zambia needed to demonstrate how it would generate revenue locally to meet the payments even if the country would be granted debt relief.

Zambia indeed has potential to generate substantial revenue not from the traditional minerals – copper – but from the newly discovered gold deposits in several parts of the country.

We have for example suggested that a master-plan be formulated to guide the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines - Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) to manage the gold deposits so that the country could earn the much needed revenue.

If anything, what Zambia needs is a “Marshall Plan” that spells out how the country will take charge and exploit not only her mineral resources but also agricultural yields from the envisaged legalisation of Marijuana cultivation,

Zambia has suffered in the past and failed to take advantage of her rich mineral wealth because foreigners are the ones who have gained the most – by crook or other means.

The “discovery” of gold deposits in several parts of the country, particularly in the North-Western Province has sparked off wide debate on how the country can benefit.

One of the country’s leading economists Mr Yusuf Dodia sometime back said Government should appoint independent experts to come up with a master plan on how ZCCM-IH can well manage gold mining so that there are no kickbacks.

A well-thought out master plan, he said, would guide how best the mineral which had been discovered in various parts of the country could be mined.

Government has also legalised the growing of marijuana for medicinal purposes. This decision has been misunderstood in some quarters to mean that anyone can grow the crop and smoke anyhow. But Government is yet to announce policy guidelines on its cultivation.

But while Government is dilly-dallying, other countries like Rwanda are implementing programmes that ensure that they make the most out of marijuana.

The Rwandese government recently approved guidelines for medical cannabis cultivation, processing, and export.

The Rwanda Development Board reiterated in a statement that “medical cannabis produced in Rwanda will be solely for export markets,” adding that it plans to introduce a special export tax for cannabis products.

Government’s failure to act with urgency is the country’s undoing for the private sector needs to be brought on board quickly to exploit this potential arising from gold deposits and cultivation of marijuana.

We agree with Mr Kasanga that the onus should be on stimulating and supporting the private sector to create wealth and employment, especially among small enterprises that have suffered most from business and job losses in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the Bank of Zambia has injected K10 billion stimulus package into the country’s economy, it appears that the initial excitement with which it was received has also raised some anxiety among stakeholders.

Government has stipulated that the package is meant to help local businesses navigate through the uncertain terrain brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19).

One of the most asked question has been who is eligible and how to access the facility.

No one doubts the government’s intentions to resolve the debt crisis but a home-grown approach should be the best basis – the basic requirements are there.