PROMINENT economist Oliver Saasa has said the Patriotic Front (PF) is on the right economic footing as evidenced by the increase in Foreign Direct Investment from US$300 million to the current US$3billion.
Professor Saasa said the increase in FDI indicated that Zambia’s economy was poised to record further positive growth under President Michael Sata.
Prof Saasa said in an interview in Lusaka during the week the PF Government would manage to record positive economic transformation.
Prof Saasa said the post-election period was still within a bracket of uncertainty on investment inflows but was happy that there was no major shift in policy after the change of Government in September last year.
“This goes to show that the Government is on the right track because it is normally difficult for a Government to hold on to investment when there is change of Government and when there are too many speculations. Many investors hold on to their money because they do not know what is next for them.
“This happens any where in the world, even in the most developed countries. For example, in the United States of America this happened during the Barack Obama election and people should understand that this is normal. All that the Government should do is put in place measures that will attract more investment in the country,” Prof Saasa said.
Prof Saasa said when a country experienced a change of Government, investors became cautious of happenings and awaited a clear direction of how the economy would progress and were particular about the shift in policies.
He said it was gratifying to note that the PF Government did not take a major shift in policy direction and this had maintained the investment confidence the country had with foreign investors.
He said the 2012 national Budget address by Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda reflected positive economic fundamentals that renewed the strategy, confidence and vision to Zambia and the investors.
He said this contributed to the increase in FDI and pledges to national coffers that had reached 61 per cent as recorded by the Zambia Development Agency.
He called on Zambians still gauging the PF performance on the 90-day theory to realise that it was not possible to deliver within that short space of time but was confident of the economy to record more growth and benefits for the citizens.
“The process of attracting investors is an on-going one and there is no time that a country will ever say that it has attracted enough investors, so the public should be a patient. It is an on-going process and we have to be patient,” Prof Saasa said.
He called on the media to desist from alarming the investors of happenings in the economy but to be factual and professional.
”The way we dealt with Zamtel and the way we might deal with Zanaco will have either a positive or negative bearing on the economy of the country, hence we need to be careful as we embark on such reviews. The media should be very careful on how they report on issues to do with investment because investors are very keen on such matters.
“I implore the media to be more professional in their work becauseonce we mislead, any negative impact on the economy will not be feltonly by the PF or the MMD but the whole country will suffer. So instead of giving wrong information to the outside world, we should strive to give them what is exactly pertaining on the ground,” Prof Saasa added.
He appealed to the Government to put in place strategies and systemeffect for attracting more investment into the country.
[Times of Zambia]
what do u expect from ukwanomics?
THIS WILL BE GOOD IF IT COMES TO PASS
Ukwa has not taken any shift on major policy direction because he has no plan
But Ukwa is far far much better than you and your entire family and generations to come. Learn to hide your bitterness. You end up not making any sense. Wake up and Grow up.
Nice piece prof. Iwe chi reporter stanyoko chi bantustan
Prof., bauze ba kwindi. (Tell them)
wel aticulated Professor.! Like Late Levy put it they wil always be behind jst lyk my black ass..shame to the Ng’ombestans n their dull cousins..u Rotten milk drinkers..
You bitter, shameless tribalist!! Prof Saasa who you are using to validate your hatred is one of “the dull cousins who drink rotten milk” – he is Lozi.
Nationalization of private companies is a major shift in policy. Balancing brains and not tribes in government is a major shift in policy. Donchi kubeba governance is a major shift in public policies, two universities in one province is a major shift in educational policies. Prof the good you see was planted by MMD wait until you see the effects of PF policies. Ask the people in Barotseland if in doubt
Saasa is PF no doubt,why can’t he see that under PF Kwacha is on free fall.
It’s good the kwacha is no longer overvalued, overvaluation is suicidal economics
Ukwanomist Saasa… we will blv wen dat tym comes. the pf government hs always bn abt promises… its like listening to da opposition everytym they speak.
Stop tribal comments, jst state ur points pipo.
THANK GOD IT IS NOT BOB SICHINGA AT FINANCE. ABC IS DOING A GOOD JOB. HATS OFF TO U SIR. I CANT GIVE CREDIT TO UKWA, MAYBE FOR CHOOSING ABC. ABC IS DOING A GOOD JOB. BUT NEEDS TO LEARN TO TRIBAL BALANCE THE COUNTRY.
bob sichinga has been a serious let down wen u compare him to mutati.he sounds like those broke motivational speakers on muvi tv who spend half the day loitering on cairo road.the cobra needs to fire bob,bring in somebody to complement the guy at finance.prof great analysis!
Prof Saasa what about the increase in the inflation?The creation of useless provinces ,amputating districts,useless COIs,numerous none performing ministers,realigning ministries on almost daily basis,lack of priorities,increase of Bemba deputy ministers to create provincial TV stations at the expense of health and education etc.I truly think Saasa on this one you are off mark go and revisit your sources or you just looking for a job from Ukwa?
Prof, we need economic development not growth which is as a result of increase in raw materials production largely done by Foreign Investment. We do not need increase in FDI but Local Bred Investment(LBI). The economics of dependability on FDI is long gone. We need local promotion of Investment in different fields such as agric, manufacturing, raw material extraction and many others. As long as we invite people to invest in Zambia, we shall never develop but continue providing cheap labour. Let us practical not bookish and theoretical. If we can have 200 indigenous farmersof Chilala status, we can begin to at least tick not depending on the so called FDI.
What has stopped other Zambians from becoming like Chilala? Just curiosity.
Saasa , you are slowly drifting away from the saasa we knew. Is it because of the position of vice chancellor that you were given or ‘nabakupelako’ something. Surely if pipo like saasa can be supporting aimless decisions by govt like coi, realigning districts, creatin districts,hiring and firing pipo, having more than two d/minister and the list is endless. Who budgeted for what has been mentioned. Asaasa just enjoy kaposition.
What wrong with creating district? After all many more people will be employed. If you are not employed in the districts you can be a businessman and do business with the new districts. What wrong with that. Some people are really daft! Its about empowerment. We have a lot of un tapped resources which you should go for instead of that cheap talk of creating or realligning districts. Think differently from those who just reinforce into you negativity. See positivity in what Sata has done so far.
”Professor Saasa, are you also thinking of going to BarotseLand or you will remain an expertriate in Zambia? I am thinking of deporting you immediately BL goes it alone and you will loose everything you have ever acquired in Zambia. Immediately, not only you but all Lozis, whatever their qualifications and experiences. You will go and discover oil and diamonds in the Deep sands of Barotseland. You are all out to sabotage Zambia’ economy”….. This could be a very terrible position that would be if some dictator would think and behave like the Barotseland Front is behaving. In so much as you act and react you should clearly understand that others can also act and react. We need to be Zambians all the way. Let us be creative and develop the country
Good unbiased analysis by the prof.Any change of govt anywhere even in America comes with shocks and changes were necessary.PF has done well so far,its not easy,there is always the temptation to make big policy shifts but in the fragile economic situation Zambia is in the PF has managed to tread with maturity and soberness.People easily forget that its the first time in 20 years that we are having a CHANGE of govt admnistration and its the management of this change that the prof is acknowledging here.
In as much as there is an economic advantage with increase in FDI I find this analysis more of a political cadre than an economist!
This prof is shit. So he cannot see that the kwacha is on free fall – he cant see that and he wants to cheat that we are on course. Some professors need to be examined. No wonder our academicians are rubbish full of crooks laws and no proper research. What a country! I end here!
I think Prof should have stated the period when Foreign Direct Investment increased from US$300 million to the current US$3billion. He should have also stated the names of the major projects. Prof also lacks coherence as on one hand he talks of the PF being on the right track and on the other hand he says the way PF govt dealt with ZAMTEL and ZANACO may have positive or negative effects. Prof also says the zambians still gauging the PF performance on the 90-day theory to realise that it was not possible to deliver within that short space of time. Surely can people who have no ca[pacity to plan manage to run our economy? Prof is just speaking the language of govt because of his position as VC. Why has Prof ignored the negative effects of PF like rebasing of the kwacha
Prof should have assessed the PF govt by looking at the positives and negatives. Here, the Prof is completely biased and his statements can easily be found faulty. If the author’s name was withheld, you can think the statements were made by Kabimba.
Sorry look at the picture and identify Prof. On this picture he is on the Rt. Please get facts.
Nice article and to the critics you are entiltled to your views.Let the prof enjoy his work.
I had problems comprehending that Professor Saasa had really passed such a statement, well until I saw that the source of the story was Times of Zambia. I mean how on earth can FDI increase from $300M to $3Billion within 2×90 days? These days the state media specialises in twisting stories to suit their paymasters. They are either ignorant or such *****s that they assume no one will notice. Recently ZNBC misquoted two dons at CBU who stated that if Mr Bob Sichimga’s claim on the fake 3 trillion kwacha was correct, we would have seen a collapse of the kwacha, and of all things ZNBC quoted them as agreeing with Sichinga! Prof Saasa must quickly correct this or his reputation will be damaged by desperate donchi kubeba.
Prof on this picture is on the Lt get the facts. Thanyou prof for coming to Kabwe. Please invite Frank mutubila, Chibamba Kanyama, Kenneth Maduma the list is endless. This is good for decentralisation of knowlege. Hope Francis Ndovi is coming to invest his pension from ZNBC in Central provice. Take a leaf from Kennedy Mweene.
You clearly don’t know the man: he is on the right, the one with a name tag.
Free advice: Always take what these Zambian one-station professors say with a pinch of salt. I do not need to repeat the flaws in the statement that others have already pointed out.
FDI increase from $300M to $3Billion within 6 months? Is there a breakdown of this?
Is Saasa looking for a job from PF? This man is so disappointing. He should keep his brains to himself and let the kaponyas rot in their ignorance.
Prof’s Analysis is more right than wrong. Standard and Poors initially down graded our rating to B+ in the first 3 months of the PF Govt largely due to inconsistency in stating and driving economic policy by the PF govt. In the recent assessment by Standard and Poor our rating has been maintained at B+ and economic outlook described as stable. Now Standard and Poors is an international organisation that provided unbiased economic data which foreign investors rely on when making investment decisions. Prof’s analysis is largely similar to Standard and Poors recent assessment. We are beginning to see some level of stability in economic policy direction. Yes the Kwacha has depreciated against major currencies but again we are seeing the Kwacha flactuate in a very narrow corridor.