PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has said global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has had minimal effect in reducing poverty levels, improving people’s livelihood and facilitating access to economic and social opportunities in many countries.
Mr Lungu said this here during the United Nations (UN) Summit on the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda held under the theme ‘Operationalisation of the 2030 Agenda for Africa’s Industrialisation’.
The President said although the African continent had recorded higher GDP growth rates and a significant increase in total trade, unemployment levels remained high, especially among the youth and young women.
Mr Lungu said Africa was a continent that had been characterised by poverty with almost half its population earning below US$1.25 per day.
Zambia is among 34 countries in Africa that are classified as Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Mr Lungu said although Zambia was an LDC, it had also been classified as a lower middle-income country as the country had sustained a steady GDP and growth in trade over the last decade.
“Despite the strides that have been made in economic growth and expanded trade, the major share of its exports are raw materials. As a result, this growth has not been sufficient to significantly reduce poverty and unemployment levels in the country which remain high, especially among women and the youth,” he said.
Mr Lungu said that unemployment levels were also in part as a result of the economic growth being propelled mostly by exports of raw commodity products rather than value-added ones.
He said the weak manufacturing base in most LDCs did not allow for local value-addition and, as a result, jobs that should be in the country with the natural resource were being exported to countries that had the capacity to add value.
President Lungu said industrialisation was indispensable for countries to achieve sustained and sustainable economic growth that was also socially inclusive and environmentally sound.
“It is, therefore, an inevitable solution to bring about the much-needed structural economic transformation,” he said.
The President said that industrialisation-induced structural economic transformation would help countries to diversity their economies, raise productivity, create better jobs and increase their competitiveness in the global market.
Meanwhile, Mr Lungu said the spirit of South-South and triangular cooperation continued to soar.
This was evident in the fact that in the last few years, several developments had taken place in the countries of the South and the North.
Mr Lungu said this when he gave an intervention statement at the high-level roundtable meeting on South-South cooperation, at the ongoing 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York at the weekend.
He said the rising standards of living of the peoples of the South had created challenges and opportunities for enhancing development among the UN countries.
Mr Lungu said emerging economic powerhouses of the South would play a catalytic role in uplifting the economic fortunes of the regions.
“Further, South-South cooperation must result in increased foreign direct investments among countries of the South particularly among the least developed countries and land-locked developing countries which will result in value-addition, industrialisation, job creation as well as women and youth empowerment,” he said.
Mr Lungu said that Zambia, like the upper middle-income countries of the South, had witnessed a growing demand for better health services, especially with the growing middle-class population.
So what are you doing about it Mr Lungu. Rhetoric all the time shuwa as though you are in opposition. This statement should come from opposition not you as head of state. get to work mudala.
Sounds like an essay by a social sciences graduate from one of the universities around. As President, he should try to address the so what (next) question? Practically, what is he doing about it? E.g If someone imports manufacturing equipment that can employ more than 50 people, why not give tax rebate for 2 yrs? If somebody imports a tractor, the govts buys you a plough and you pay back after 2 yrs!!
Visionless, visionless and visionless Lungu does not cease to amaze the masses. Zambia is currently the POOREST country on the UNIVERSE and you are busy talking the talk and failing to walk the talk!
Hey visionless PF BANDITS, the ECONOMY & KWACHA are ROTTING, $1=K15,000 and a British posting at K20,000 because of BANDITS in power, PF (Pathetic Failures). Now the Skeleton and many others are now being vindicated over these PF & RBs economical mismanagement.
6 months left people until these BANDITS are VOTED out. Visionless is busy asking for pocket money from Zambians living in the USA, whilst hung-overs are toiling the Jameson guy.
Vote wisely in 6 months time & show these PF & RBs MMD BANDITS & BUFFOONS the EXIT DOOR!
The Skeleton Key
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What’s wrong with ka Lungu? talking no-brainers. The reason is simply theft. Too much thieving by the likes of ka Lungu himself. All over this continent the story is the same.
Ka Lungu, either you are jealous or couth does not become thee. Critique his character content and not insult his person. We shall perceive your strengths by your skills and talents, and not base insults. I dispute president Lungu’s choices, but not insult him for lack of practicum.
Viva President Nawakwi.
brother Nzelu, your definition of an insult differs from mine. Vastly so.
This idi0t just reads what is written for him! That’s why he runs away from addressing the press. I’m sure delegates at UN are shocked that a president who is supposed to take responsibility talks like an opposition leader!
The 4 years in power of PF has lowered Zambia from lower middle income to another poor developing country. The Kwacha is on free fall, inflation is up, mining jobs are being lost, etc and yet Lungu is still complaining about a higher GDP not reducing poverty. If I were him, I would be worrying that Zambia would have been pulverised by the time he returns from the UN.
Your Excellency,
We are hungry!!! What are you doing about?
I cannot give my children your rhetoric as a meal. They want food. What are you doing about?
So his govt is trying low to negative GDP growth, maybe it will yield the opposite result. How clever!
When the 500,000 jobs he has boasted about fail to materialise what will he say?
He will blame it on lower GDP!
This clueless clown is simply out of his depth. He must resign with IMMEDIATE EFFECT and make way for competent leadership.
Zambia cannot “wait” for another election while the economy is collapsing and people are starving. We need real solutions RIGHT NOW. Lungus talk about 2064 is proof that he has completely lost touch with the reality on the ground.
Those theories expounded by the president have been known for a long time, and remained just that, theories. Our problem as a country is that we fail to utilise opportunities when they arise. For once, let the people we elect as leaders courageously and selflessly implement the good policies.
Yes Lungu,blame the poor ball but not the mediocre football player.You *****ic African leaders have been busy politicking rather than building your economies so who is to blame?
Mr obvious Lungu, we don’t need to hear the same rubbish NGOs have been preaching for a while. The speeches are getting better and better everyday. $300,000 for someone to.waste time in new York.
PURE STUPlDTY on display!
Jamesoni, please do not disgrace us on the international stage with such ill-considered banal and nonsensical ramblings. If you do not have anything intelligent and constructive to say, learn to keep your mouth shut and your EARS open to those that DO know what they are talking about!
Lusaka times used to be a decent site with smart ideas from smart bloggers before it got infested with parasites from zwd. I can’t read a comment from the first one without an insult or demeaning statement. I wonder why some people consider themselves intelligent when they are in public discussion. Can you grow a brain and blogg responsibly. We all live overseas but what you are displaying is an Zambian.
Sponge Bob, unlike you, some of us bloggers are actually here in Zambia. And we have to live with load shedding, no water, filthy streets, losing jobs, AND NO MONEY IN OUR POCKETS!
All this while this USELESS clown is malingering about and failing to do anything positive except try and win more by-elections!
We want a President that WORKS! Not someone that thinks he is on permanent holiday? Are you surprised we are ANGRY. VERY ANGRY! How can anyone have respect for nonsense like this. That is why people are insulting him. And he does not even have the decency to give a PRESS CONFERENCE and talk to the people that elected him!
@sponge
I think your observation regarding insults and derogatory remarks on this site is worrying. I hope bafika la nabomfwa because insults will never develop the country. Even tunfweko which used to be known for such is more decent than LT. What a shame. This is all because of upnd and hh. That’s why we should not allow hooligans to rule us.
Well said, @sponge bob. I sometimes agonize to blog when I see so much negativity. Sadly, though, it appears we have to respect their “freedom of expression” and hope they will wilt from lack of attention (we should try to restrain ourselves from responding to their drivel). That said, our President fails to notice that the structure of our economic and political governance is highly extractive and centric. The re-creation of a centralized parastatal oversight body is a clear case of why GDP will never mean anything. When we count wealth amassed only by a select, and usually politically enabled few, the result on the ground will always be the same, and deficient. It is not a very difficult thing of understand. We have moved from one-party monopolies to multi-party monopolies supervised…
@ Sponge BOb, thanks for acknowledging that Lusaka times used to have intelligent blockers… I reckon everyone was giving Our president time to actualize what he was preaching, people are tired and want results…
EL I bet you know that 2016 is fast approaching and you won’t have time to go back to the drawing board without any tangible thing to show for it.
People are watching….
Fellow bloggers lets start condemning insults demeaning and derogatory remarks by some bloggers here to serve the reputation of this site. People like skeleton key ndobo wanzelu and other hooligans should be castigated for bringing shame on this site . If we allow these people to continue am sorry to say LT will be reduced to the level of zwd and tunfweko and our pride of blogging here will be lost. Insults will never make anyone switch camp. Think twice before you post them.
@sponge bob
It would be helpful if you provided anything in your postings that show us the progressiveness of the current government that some of us are failing to see.
i fully agree with the need for LT to block any blog with insults. but to insinuate that only HH suppoerters insult is an insult itself because i have read many insults here on LT from the time i started blogging on LT 3 years ago
Fellow bloggers, it will be draconian to expect that insults can be policed. Most of us are already writing st.upid or f00lish or fo.ol to evade detection as a mild example, so to expect that someone will start doing the iteration of figuring out “insult”, much less vernacular-based invective is asking too much. What I can suggest to LT is to use a world standard of setting a threshold of vote-downs. So, for example any comment voted down more than 20 or so is blanked out or optionally collapsed for only the curious. That should do the trick.