A Memo to President Sata

Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

ZAMBIAN ECONOMIST

Economic perspectives on Zambia

1

A MEMO TO PRESIDENT SATA

Congratulations, Mr President!You ran an inspirational, issued based and transformational campaign that has not only earned thepresidential seal but has also won the admiration of the Zambian people. Your victory has rekindledthe ancient hope of our people for sound and effective government. A government that governs inthe interests of its people and not in the pockets of powerful foreign corporations or governments.

A government that puts the nation’s most vulnerable before

those who live in lavish gatedcommunities; the oppressed before the oppressor; the weak before the strong; and, the poor beforethe rich.As you no doubt know, your journey, and that of our nation, has just begun, even as the campaignroad has just ended. Over the next few months and years, together we shall face many challenges.The world once again finds itself staring into another global recession, perhaps much worse than the2009 crisis. Although Zambia may be far geographically from the current turmoil engulfing the EuroZone and the United States, in an ever globalised world we are not immune. We will begin to feelthe effects through tightening remittances, slowdown in commodity prices and the inevitablereduction in overseas development aid. Not to mention the potential negative impacts on ouremerging tourism industry. Impacts the world experienced in 2009-10, again threaten us all.To make matters worse, you have assumed the Presidency at a time of great uncertainty in ourregion. The Zimbabwean political situation remains volatile with political players in our sister nationseemingly stack in perpetual equilibrium of stagnation. Malawi is no better with a government therethat has failed to rise above petty politics. To the north, DRC has n

ot fully recovered from Africa’s

world war and its historic failure to develop remains a huge constraint to our own advancement.Our economy which has grown consistently over the last seven years unfortunately continues togrow slower than many of our regional competitors such as Angola and Mozambique. To complicatethe national equation, it now appears that our already high rural poverty and inequality is forevermarching upwards. Our human and physical infrastructure is broken and more than 70% of ourpeople live on less than $1 a day. Our people are both physical and psychologically broken. As younoted on the campaign trail,

there’s an urgent need to “restore our dignity”. It is

surely a grossinjustice and testament to the MMD regime that a country so richly endowed should fail to nourishthe young and secure the future of the elderly. Our children are being born literally in economicchains, with their future shackled by never-ending corruption and greedy reinforced over twodecades of tyrannical rule under the previous regimes especially under the Banda administration.

It’s within this context that

I write you this short memo with

few

broad pieces of advice as you buildon an excellent start that has already pressed the reset button in many areas.

Listen to your instincts.

The nation is most fortunate that for the first time we have a President whohas a genuine heart for the poor and is comfortable with every strata of our society. The resonanceof your campaign messages is self evident. We now look to you to apply your people centredphilosophy to the greatest issues facing our nation. But in doing this you have already recognisedthat no man knows everything. Zambia is blessed with many individuals at home and abroad. Youmust now do what you can to put together a brilliant group of experts that will provide you the very

ZAMBIAN ECONOMIST

Economic perspectives on Zambia

2

best advice in the core areas - finance, mining, transport, education, information technology,engineering, manufacturing and health. We no longer need to go down the MMD way of relyingsolely on advice from the IMF and World Bank. As you said several times during your campaigns, realand effective solutions are home grown. We are masters of our destiny and God has given us thatopportunity.

Consult openly -

The failed MMD regime ran government like a personal pig bank as well as a closed

shop with no clear consultation with the public. It treated government policy as “personal toholder”. It was particularly

notorious for not issuing Green and White Papers as is customary in wellran governments around the globe. These papers were replaced by poor "Cabinet Policy Papers"that ordinary Zambians never saw or commented on. Zambians were treated with impunity andtaken for granted. Only in rare instances would one outside the ministry be lucky enough to hearthe odd "Ministerial Statement" which often was poorly debated in the House. Consultation is thehallmark of effective government. Whether

it’s

restoring ZAMTEL in Zambian hands, away from thefailed Gaddafi regime, or restoring the Windfall Tax on Mining or borrowing more externally.Ordinary Zambians long to have a say in these things. The use of modern technology to engage thepublic has not been fully utilised. Though effort has been made in the past to create Governmentwebsites

, there’s still no integrated portal for accessing and commenting on important policy

decisions. But consultation must never be an excuse for policy inaction, therefore balance must befound between open consultation and work of the government. We have already seen good fruits of this careful balancing in the way you have excellently dealt with the relics of the old regime.

Be patient with the critics -

Divergence of opinion in government and outside is critical for creativeand innovative solutions. It is critical that

every tier of our Government emulates your ‘down toearth approach’, in particular the mantra

no man is an island. Rather than seeing people withdivergent opinions as "enemies", men and women in Government should now see such individualsas critical partners in ensuring that its policies are perfected. This is a serious point because underthe previous administration things became so bad that we start seeing ranning battles betweenGovernment and

The Post

. It was sad seeing the previous president engaging in insults and beinginsulted. His actions did terrible damage to the presidency, which your victory has now gratefully

restored. The lesson from Mr Banda’s failures is that antagonism between Government and the

media creates an impression of a government that does not listen. More importantly it makes itdifficult for those that feel that the holder of the highest office in the land must be respected tocome out and say so. We hope that you will continue the spirit of open criticism and debate that hascharacterised your campaign and early presidency. Indeed, there

’s

room, where appropriate, forthose in opposition to advice government. You have already taken an important step in this directionby bringing MMD members within the new ministerial team. What is now needed is for your newadministration to transform how politics is done in our country by moving Zambians beyondentrenched partisan positions, towards more open and direct engagement with the leadingopposition parties.

This is good for your Government and it’s good for our people.

Plan for the long term

. The problem with our current rampant poverty levels is that it comes with

political pressure for immediate solutions. In finding those solutions there’s always a

lurking threatof turning back the clock and implementing dangerous policies that look like they are intended tosave the day but imprison us in the long term. The last government failed to plan for the long term,so it started pursuing senseless policies which included, borrowing senselessly; attracting the wrong

ZAMBIAN ECONOMIST

Economic perspectives on Zambia

3

investors; eliminate crucial taxes to please a certain group; reducing certain taxes that do nothing forthe average person; and, handover of our resources (and sovereignty) to outsiders. Sadly, it has nowbecome clear that the Rupiah government will most likely be remembered as one of desperatepeople who did desperate things. The new Zambia you are building must now avoid this at all costs.Yes we should strive for a better today, but equally we should be prepared to take the pain of todayto secure a better future for our children. This call for continuous updated long term planning thathas the buy-in of all Zambians, as appropriately set out in your manifesto.

Avoid profligate spending.

We all understand the need for Government to act swiftly and respondto queries from specific groups. However, it is important to first recognise that the national budget isnot different from household budgets. If money is spent on something, adjustments would need tobe made elsewhere. This calls for careful planning to underpin

Government’s

spending decisions,and most importantly explaining to the Zambian public how those trade-offs are being made. As you

noted in the election campaign, “Zambia is broke”

. Under the MMD regime we had become a nationof beggars that continuously feed off debt and foreign aid. Zambia has a limited pot of funds, andtherefore we need to learn again to

use it wisely and timely. It’s therefore important that early on in

your presidency you are clear on what government can and cannot do, and where its prioritiesshould be. This will allow debate and input from the general public on your general direction. Again,your instincts and understanding of our people and the advice of your experts will become handyhere.

Cut wasteful spending

. As you know Government's fiscal space can only be increased in two ways -cutting waste and increasing the funding pot through larger revenue generation. Given yourGovernment rightly stated b that larger revenue generation will come through widening the tax basethrough low taxation, there will be need to secure long term sources of revenue. We are tired of borrowing, especially in the absence of an effective debt management strategy. That means thatnot only should we keep a closer rein on spending, but we must actively seek ways to cut wastefulspending. Inefficiencies must be identified systematically. A vital part of this process is

“

crowdsourcing" of areas where government can cut waste. The public should direct this process by offering

ideas as part of a broader “savings challenge” to help create

fiscal space.

Zambian Economist

is inthe process of identifying this waste and will soon submit paper on some areas which have alreadybeen enthusiastically identified by our readership. We hope such an approach can be applied tospecific ministries to help identify savings.

Prioritise the security of our national wealth.

We recognise that you have assumed the Presidencyafter decades of relentless plunder by the previous administrations especially alleged extravaganciesand plunder by the Banda administration. You have already done exceptionally well, respecting therule of law and putting forward a bold case for Zambia to be comfortable with its past whileexpanding the freedoms of tomorrow. As you build on a solid start, it would be important to payattention to securing our national wealth. The most pressing economic question facing our countryis how we as a people should harness the vast mineral wealth that is beneath our feet. In solvingthis problem it is important to always remember that the current situation of mining companiestreating our taxation system with impunity must come to an end. Zambians expect these companiesto pay their fair share and to do so without fail. The culture of secret deals and negotiations mustcome to an end. Government should set an optimal tax and all people and companies must simplyfollow.

It’s

not right that a certain constituency is able to sit down and negotiate their way to certain

of 00

Leave a Comment