THE FUTURE OF ZAMBIA
COLONIALISM in Zambia was a political tool deployed by the British to extract economic value out of our land. The value extracted out of Zambia in particular and Africa in general financed the development of Western Europe and through the slave trade contributed to the development of the southeastern United States of America.
Walter Rodney (1973, How Europe under-developed
Africa) has eloquently dealt with the dynamics of how Europe underdeveloped Africa through resource extraction as part of the framework of colonialism.
After losing control of their colonies, the colonial empires begun a slow decline in both political influence and economic power. For example, the Britain of a hundred years ago or even sixty years ago is perceptively a far stronger (politically and economically) Britain than today’s.
At the stroke of the midnight hour on October 24, 1964, Zambia became independent and British political power begun to fade immediately. Even though Britain left the political centre stage, it left us the government systems that are still with us today and impact how well we live our lives. One of those systems is the economic system.
Post-colonial economic
Because the people love foreign luxury products, the country spends a lot of foreign exchange to import them. And because we do not make products we need and like in our country, the country must import them, thereby using more foreign exchange.
development has not been much to write home about, at least in the first 50 years of independent Zambia. Even though our colonisers have been long gone, we still look for them to come back to invest in our country so that our standards of living can improve.
The constant search for
and consequent coming in of foreign investors has left the country exposed to exploitation by national governments and private corporations often supported by home governments.
But the development of Zambia must be done by Zambians if Zambians have to
maintain control of the country, otherwise we risk becoming colonised by corporations and other governments.
To develop our country, we must solve our foreign exchange problem by addressing two fundamental perennial problems that have plagued the nation from independence.
Solving these problems will solve, at least in a considerable way, the unemployment problem in the country.
The first is the people’s propensity to consume high value foreign luxury products. The second is the low level of investment by Zambians into production of goods and services for both local consumption and for export.
Because the people love foreign luxury products, the country spends a lot of foreign exchange to import them.
And because we do not make products we need and like in our country, the country must import them, thereby using more foreign exchange.
These problems will not go away on their own. The country through its elected and appointed leadership, must deliberately decide to shift our economic paradigm and reorient the economy strategically towards manufacturing in Zambia those goods we import from other countries.
Today Zambia, by consuming imported products, has become an engine of job creation not in Zambia but in the countries where those products are made. By making them in Zambia the
products we love to consume, and owning the factories manufacturing those goods, we will solve, to a large extent, the foreign exchange problem and at the same time create jobs for our citizens.
Using this logic, President Lungu’s speech opening the fifth session of the national assembly as well as his speech launching
the 2020-2023 Economic Recovery Programme are both serious indications of his administration’s understanding that entrepreneurship is the gateway determinant of development in Zambia.
The frugality and care in the use of foreign exchange will decide, in a major way, the extent to which Zambia
develops. The complexity of foreign and domestic actors and their actions require diligent and qualified monitors backed by sound law, regulations, statues, and diligent enforcement.
For example, Zambia must go to the mountain top to reflect and debate within itself, whether foreign investment has yielded the benefits the country expected, or whether to take a different direction, and how far to go in that direction.
For example, consider a foreign company that came into Zambia 25 years ago during the privatisation programme and bought a dead national chain of stores for US$1 million. If this chain, which only sales merchandise from its home country, has been externalising $5million every year to its home country, over the time of its presence in Zambia it has externalised $125 million.
If there are 200 of these companies, then Zambia will be sending $2 billion every year to the home countries of these companies. (The actual figure is $2.4billion per year).
In essence Zambia has no manufacturing or production jobs in its domestic market because it has created them in the home country of these companies. It is debatable whether this company and others should be forced to buy their merchandise from Zambian suppliers because of quality differences and unreliable supplier commitments.
In addition, while Zambians, since pre-independence days, have had a large appetite for foreign luxury goods, and like to indulge in pretended affluence, it is time to modify these appetites and be content with goods manufactured and produced in our domestic market.
The idea is to insist on international quality standards so that these locally produced goods could also be exported. This is one way our country can conserve foreign exchange for use on critical needs of the nation.
The fluctuating exchange rate is simply a reflection of our own untamed appetites for foreign goods, and our lack of vigilance over who accesses our market and our assets.