Enticing Business

Zambia appears to be in the international spotlight in recent weeks as evidenced by the hourly BBC World Service radio announcements that Lusaka listeners can tune in on 98.0Mhz. In addition, top ranking officers of the World Bank, Japanese industry, and the United States diplomatic corps have put Zambia on their international tour agendas for the first quarter of 2009.

A quick stock take of the region does reveal that Zambia is indeed a safe and hospitable place to visit compared to; Zimbabwe which is in a political and economic crisis; Malawi that is entering into a controversial Presidential race; Kenya a country which is currently crisscrossed with corruption issues; the Democratic Republic of Congo which is in the middle of a civil war of some sort; and Uganda the east African nation dogged with rebel insurgents and issues of democracy.

Zambia in comparison is that oasis of safety in the middle of a desert. It may be the explanation for the centre stage attention that the country currently enjoys.

Now that we have the world’s attention, how can we make it work for our economy and for our people? This should be the preoccupation of every Zambian whether in Government, in the opposition, in the private sector, or in the streets. How can we convert this scenario into cash in our pockets and jobs for our people?

The obvious short answer is tourism. Open our doors to tourists. Give them the red carpet treatment, and take the money out of their pockets by the plane load. Bring down visa fees to USD20 per person irrespective of where they come from except for our traditional Commonwealth and Regional brothers and sisters who should continue to enjoy visa free entry into the country. Make arrangements for visa procurement at the airport or any other port of entry to allow for hassle free tourist travel plans to Zambia. Promote as many tourism focused businesses across Zambia that will offer accommodation, transport, entertainment, uniquely Zambian experiences, and cultural foods, so that any visitor to Zambia not only feels welcome, but enjoys some real Zambian hospitality.

The opportunities are abound in tourism but we must make some concerted efforts to make it all happen. The 2009 budget attempts to articulate the development of tourism but falls short of carrying out the necessary ground work to motivate and stimulate investment in this sector.

It is a night mare for many Zambians to go to Durban or Dar-es-salaam to purchase a used Japanese vehicle and have it shipped to Zambia by car carrier trucks only to find that the wheels have been changed, the music system has been pilfered, some body parts have been removed, and the vehicle is no longer the same as when it was purchased. The Zambian importer is sold short, and has to spend more money at spare parts shops trying to replace the lost items. Why don’t we take the bold step of opening our doors to Dry Ports in Zambia? Kapiri Mposhi would make an excellent site for a used car dry port that would initially site 1,000 vehicles of all descriptions to be marketed in Zambia and our neighbours in the DRC and Malawi. The business options for spare parts shops and repair workshops at Kapiri would soon be taken up by our own people in an attempt to upgrade all those vehicles being cleared from Customs and going into peoples businesses and homes. Kapiri would soon transform into a city with the influx of new businesses that would support the motor vehicle industry. The impact on Tazara would result in more business and more profitability in the rail transport system. The opportunities are too numerous to mention. South Africa did it with Durban, Tanzania has done it with Dar, Mozambique is doing it with Beira albeit in a small way, why can we not do it in Zambia?

The 2009 budget puts much emphasis on agriculture. Again, there are many options in Agriculture that have not yet been tapped. Food processing and packaging is still in the infancy stage. The cotton processing value chain was stopped at ginning and there is a lot to be done to develop the value chain towards fabric production. In the recent past there was the foolish notion that Zambia could not produce world class fabric. We may not be able to currently produce suiting fabric, but our Chitenge, Cotton Fabric, and Calico are special fabrics for special African and household products. That is where our attention may need to be directed. We need to be looking for strategic partners in this regard and promoting Zambian investors in this direction if we are to reap some long term benefits that will contribute towards uplifting the lives of our people.

Zambia must start to market her good side. The days of primarily focusing on our good people, our stable environment, and our 44 years of peace are over. We need to offer more. We need to offer opportunities for good business, options for value addition, special incentives for green field investments of varying sizes, and hassle free processes for entering into the business world.

We have started 2009 on a cautious note. We recognize that the global recession will affect our economy negatively. Now we must adjust our thinking and our planning to be much more proactive in an effort to make business more prominent and absorb the shocks that 2009 will no doubt deliver to Zambia.

This is the year when we should be enticing business and investment into Zambia in a way that will create more jobs and economic activity to counter the job losses and lost production that the mining sector is now preparing to undergo.

Zambia has two years to build some economic fat and sustainable enterprises. In the third year the country will be preoccupied with General and Presidential elections and no appreciable economic activity will take place except for spending vast sums of money in the election campaigns.

The next twenty four months must be managed carefully and diligently so that Zambia attracts as much investment as possible be it local or foreign. And in so doing, we must sharpen our competitive and comparative advantages all the time. Our cheaper hydro energy , our educated people, our better English speaking ability, our abundant water resources, our vast arable land, our mineral resources, our tourism potential, and our central location are but some of the attributes that will entice investment into the country. If Zambia allows these attributes to slip and become hurdles, then we only have ourselves to blame for the hardships that our people will endure in the future.

Published 10 February 2009