We know this may sound like the politicking again which is typical of this country that spends more time bickering on trivial issues at the expense of fixing our economic challenges.
Visiting Kabwe town yesterday, which is basically a ghost town now, as a business minded people that want to create jobs for our people, especially the youths, it baffles us how a company like former Mulungushi Textiles can fail to thrive considering the huge potential that exist for it to operate profitably at full capacity.
In our daily lives, we are always surrounded by fabric in different forms. From our clothes, bedding and linen, curtains, decorative fabric, etc.
These can be made and supplied, not only to individuals, but institutions, such as universities and colleges, hotels and lodges, hospitals and clinics, etc.
From this fabric that can be made at factories such as Mulungushi Textiles, there is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to make a whole range of finished products mentioned above.
The problem has been our failure to put mechanisms in place to support and protect our local industry. Our continued problems with even such things as electricity mean costs are very high for our producers, leaving us vulnerable to cheap imports taking over the market, driving Zambians out of business.
We are equally ashamed that even us politicians stand on podiums wearing cheap party regalia imported from other countries.
The mere reopening of that textile will not only create jobs but provide a much greater market opportunity for our cotton farmers and other suppliers, hence creating both direct and indirect jobs just from one such venture.
We are equally ashamed that even us politicians stand on podiums wearing cheap party regalia imported from other countries.
Can you imagine that even our finished military uniforms for our security wings are bought from other countries at a huge cost in US dollars hence contributing to the scarcity of the foreign currency that results in the Kwacha falling?
And by the way, we previously had three viable textile industries in Zambia other than Mulungushi, that included Kafue and Zambia Textiles in Livingstone.
We need to make bold decisions together and create jobs and business opportunities for our people.
Hakainde Hichilema
UPND President
When lungu said he will create half a million jobs where do you think he was going to engage the youths from. It’s from projects like textiles and many others.
bwana HH, you can star by wearing locally made shirts, trousers and efyashala. Imagine if ka chikwanda and his friends who likes imported thing were wearing locally produced clothes, awe sure, limbi ninshi 10-20 families balekala bwino. nomba ifwe, the money we have a little money ninshi ni pierre cardrin, CK, tommy hilfiger, D&G,michael kors etc. ifyabupubafye fyeka fyeka. always giving our money to outsiders. On average a dollar circulates 2 times in our community per day while our friends in places like india, china make sure it circulates 100 times. this way it does more empowering of the people. nomba ifwe, yayaya, ni anione anione, namushita fi myotoka, nafisalaula ku japan. we kill ourselves sometimes. bafi.kamba start wearing chitenge shirts to work mwaumfwa!!!!
I like HH’s line of thinking, I really do. He sees opportunities for making money practically in everything. No wonder he is rich/wealthy. I think we should try HH for president this time around. Lets all support him.
We are really cursed as a nation. Blessed with the natural resources, but content with importing salaula, and seeing nothing amiss. We deserve better, but then who really cares?
A shame really.
Zambia had two of the best textile mills in Southern Africa, those of Kabwe and Kafue. The best quality denim was manufactured in Zambia. Companies like Serioes in Luanshya used such denim to make uniform for the New Zealand army. This was an example of fully integration of the cotton growing process. Farmers’ cotton being turned into army uniform…ALL WITHIN ZAMBIA. We have definitely gone backwards. The same applies to mining, the shoe industry, Mansa Batteries, AH Hayward, Scaw Metals, Hume Pipe and several others.
Bafi.kamba you will remember kaunda. when he was busy fighting the white supremacist machinery amongst perscution from the whites we calle dhimm names. he fought running battles trying to ensure that we continued to be a country of manufacturers amidst sanctions and machinations from CIA economic saboteurs yet we didnt see. lelo you will remember ba Lenco,zcbc, kafue textiles. viva chiluba and his liberalised economy. another educated regurgitator he was. not understanding that you liberalise the economy once yours are strong and can compete effectively alone. mwafwa ba monko,muzachucha!!
Zambia, like most blind African countries have been signing away their freedoms under the guise of international conventions such as unreciprocated open skies that ensured the overrunning of the aviation industry, unfettered liberalization that saw a flood of cheap imports and vegetable-selling Chinese investors, and many more. We have even failed to capitalize on our position as a centrally located country to put up industry such as modern refineries of minerals and oil… The bold decisions we need are to relook at some of these blind signatures and forge new partnerships with more serious, forward-looking partners. It is not always about resurfacing roads and donating to people to clean after themselves. We need real economic activity and proper decisions, painful or not.
about 99.9% of our current crop of politicians in Zed are there for personal gain…they have absolutely no will to improve personal lives of citizens…….all they know is to facilitate tarring of a road from point A to point B….whether the majority of citizens are having proper 3 square meals a day…have proper health care or having just a basic life is irrelevant to them….the so called diplomats/high commissioners/ambassadors are all out there with their families for a long all-paid for holidays….
The one in Livingstone was called Zambezi and not Zambia textiles limited. All the three companies went under because you HH in conjunction with your fellow thief Chiluba decided to privatise what ever you could lay your hands on. HH cannot talk about the death of textile industries in Zambia when all HH did was to “kill” local companies and replace them with South African companies.
HH claims to be rich but can HH point out just one local manufacturing company which he set up from the ground. HH is a trader unlike Dangote who is an industrialist.
Spot on! Well said! Does this chap really believe that we have forgotten the pain and agony they caused?
Some 20 yrs ago HH was acting under instructions, infact this was an IMF stipulation. HH was not even incharge of privatisation. Incase you don’t know all countries wishing to join the western clubs had to sell off loss making badly run companies. This is the case even today, re Greece.
HH has more to offer than convicted fraudster lungu and corrupt PF who have made building roads the most expensive in the word to enrich them selves. HH is offering solutions unlike the corrupt entire PF.
Shame on those corrupt Pf kaponyas who have nothing other than blame HH for privatisation that happened more than 20 yrs ago.
The UPND veep was Defence minister and since Mulungushi textiles was under him he should say why it was not opened as promised.
Pliz Zambians PF fools don’t mislead people HH has never been in Government how can he have anything to do with Mulungushi textile. Allow HH to rule so that he can show you how to make money not this petty history talks.Lets look forward cabe.
Of has failed and it’s the most incompetent gvt in Southern Africa as a whole
This man is very innovative indeed. Come on guys let us give this fellow a chance. I know the majority of voters do not have access to the internet however you and I could help.
Correct, at the moment he is the best hope for Zambia, but these corrupt tribalist kaponya suppoters would rather have corruption and missmangment as long as it is their tribesmen incharge.