As the Green Party, we are worried that President Donald Trump has wrong trade data for Zambia. As will be noted on the official website for the Executive Office of the President of the United States of America, the data reflecting Zambia is for Zimbabwe.
This development is extremely worrisome to us as the Green Party because it is evidence we have incompetent people running the country. Why should such a grave mistake happen when the country has a trade attache in the USA? Why should it happen when President Edgar Lungu has a special assistant in charge of economics and trade? Why should such a farce happen when we have a fully-fledged ministry of commerce and trade with competent staff who should on daily basis monitor global trade trends and accordingly advise government?
If I were in-charge of the country, a number of officials at State House, US Embassy in Washington DC, and at the ministry of Commerce and Trade would have been fired as a consequence.
It is shocking that despite the current threats to multilateralism and global trade through Trump’s “America First”and unilateral breach of WTO rules on trade tariffs, the PF Government has paid a blind eye to Zambia’s trade relationship, and trade data with the US.
We urge the PF Government to come out of slumber and develop a Trump strategy before he directs his “America First”arsenals towards our direction. If he can, with impunity embark on a trade war with Canada and EU, who traditionally are America’s closest allies, would he really hesitate to withdraw the assistance to Zambia?
The United States assistance, which is estimated at US$ 250 million per year, focuses on improving health with a particular focus on women and vulnerable children; reducing the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS and other illnesses; increasing agriculture-led economic development to reduce rural poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition; mitigating climate change and wildlife trafficking; raising education quality and learner reading performance; and advancing civil society, governance, and human rights. The US also supports government’s efforts to root out corruption.
Zambia is a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and a variety of technical assistance and other support that is managed by the Department of State, US Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies. The bulk of US assistance to Zambia is provided through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in support of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
We once again urge President Edgar Lungu, and his PF government, to promptly develop a “Plan B” strategy to confront the reality of Donald Trump’s “America First” policy otherwise, sooner rather than later, our great country may suffer grave consequences.
Yesterday at the G7 Meeting in Canada, Trump made it clearer that ever before: “We’re like the piggy bank that everybody’s robbing. And that ends”, he said. Man can never be any clearer than this. Those with ears have heard.
Peter Sinkamba
President
Yeah, whatever!!!!
And what is the trade attache doing at the Mission ??? Just chewing our money they cannot even monitor the key windows to Zambia. And then they stupidly say resources like Mosi o tunya falls are hijacked by Zimbabwe and South Africa ? Have this corrected
When we tell you we are run by Kaponyas you think its an insult…I mean the High Commissioner in Washington lamentably failed to file his nomination papers on time at the previous election because he was busy drinking…even Ministry Of Foreign Affairs is full to the rafters with cadres.
This man is a breath of fresh air, considering we have a corrupt Presdent, and a misguided opposition in HH.
If he is serious on tackling corruption, as Mwanawasa did, Zambians should give him a chance. He also needs to tell the nation on his stance on foreigners owning land, and his intended relationship with our Chinese partners.
Kalaba would have had my vote, but his association with Bushiri is worrying. Zambia does not need false prophets.
Green Party…please stop making noise you’re irrelevant to Zambian Politics…just leave tbe stage for PF and UPND
from where I stand, the mistake is from Mr. Trump’s office…They are the ones who have posted wrong data…People must learn to reason and stop blaming wrong people just because they are in opposition…
I concur with Sinkamba. This is proof beyond all reasonable doubt that Edgar is surrounded by clueless advisers. How can they allow this? Lungu needs to fire the whole lot. He also needs to summon the US Ambassador to counsel Trump that Zambia and Zimbabwe are two different countries and that Mugabe never ruled Zambia……
When I call Edgar Lungu govt LAZY you think its a joke…simply guess where he is today in Mongu when they are serious issues in Lusaka concerning FCI Report…he is at a church somewhere pretending to a humble christian
Lungu is NOT lazy.
He works very hard to enrich himself via corrupt means. He is very busy mismanaging this beautiful country, drinking himself to a pulp, embarrassing this country.
Lungu is a complete joke and waste of time.
Just go and watch that video of his trip to Mongu….with all his staff on a “working holiday” every weekend is a “working holiday” why does he not go between Monday and Friday as he does absolutely nothing in State House.
Surely even if you are a company CEO ….the board would be concerned about you taking “working visits” for more than one day every weekend when you have absolutely nothing to show for during the week at headquarters not even a press briefing even that you cower behind bricks of State House…does he have any conscious about how much allowances have to dished out? On top of that the civil servants based in Mongu or Solwezi welcoming him have to be paid…Lazy Lungu is a reckless, utterly lazy individual with a mind of a playboy as BUFFOON CK puts it.
Doesn’t surprise me at all when we still embrace Grade 12 level as prerequisite qualification to run for political office knowing fully that the party cadres who fail in an election are rewarded with postings in Zambian missions abroad! This prerequisite needs revisiting for the country to make a difference in both governance and economic development! Officials responsible for providing the correct information need to account for the lapses and inaction!
Ba Sinkamba, you may be expecting too much from the PF government… .Anyway, let us wait and see whether there will be any action. Or maybe someone like Sunday Chanda or Dorah Siliya, will ask why you have chosen to bring this out in the media and not reported “officially” to the line ministry instead!
It is not the duty of Sinkamba to do so. Tax payers are folking out daily to sustain extravagant lifestyles of officers paid to do this sort of job. They have been exposed as incompetent fellows who should be immediately fired
The action will taken by US Embassy in Lusaka as its equally embarrassing for them!!
This is a serious breach on the part of the Zambian officials charged with the responsibility to monitor such data. False and misleading economic data has grave consequences. We live in a data-driven world where we intelligently gather, streamline and organize billions of bits of information on consumers’ preferences, economic sectors’ performance, credit flows, and sift the data to provide precious information that will influence, in fact will determine investments, marketing strategies, purchases, and even the pitch of political campaigns, bilateral and multilateral decisions. It is hard to attract serious foreign investors when your country has wrong data online. You saw what Zimbabwe went through on account of bilateral and multilateral sanctions ….investors never came to Zimbabwe…
The Americans are embarrassed to show trade figures with Zambia because there is none.
We qualify for free textile exports to the US but this corrupt theif lungu would rather corruptly give his cronies Zambian import licences for GRZ uniforms thus condemning the Zambian textile industry to zero…..
I dont think we qualify anymore just ask Rwanda…they are in a trade war with US regarding textiles as Trump imposed restrictions on that and Rwanda hit back by banning all salaula as its killing its textile industry…Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were scared to fight back even though the export more than Rwanda.
Meanwhile in Zambia its open door even secondhand underpants, bras, are imported in ….
Shame on the the Zambian H commissioner to the US , that Dr who is always showing off in the news like he is the best yet he is clueless of what is happening under his watch…..
Really laughable that guy is drunkard remember he was Lazy’s legal adviser and he even failed to file his nomination paper’s on time.
Anyway this is what happens when you have cadres in these Embassy…that website should be on their PC’s bookmarks but oh no they are merely interested in shopping and messing about like Cosmas.
As always Mr Sinkamba, you bring out real issues. You focus on what is important and not name calling. I appreciate your efforts to continually raise dialogue in the country from the petty to the important. You should consider teaming up with NAREP.
And this is what we call proper checks and balances that benefit the whole country.
@my Zambia well said I so believe should Green party join hands with Zarep, ZDC, rainbow and a few other noteworthy parties we would be heading in the right direction. What Green Party needs is a Kambwili type character but without the corruption and thieving behaviour someone who talks the everyday man’s language. Someone who can bring the points baba Sinkamba propounds on to the averagean or woman on the Street.
This is what I mean when I say Africa especially Zambia has two issues to tackle, leadership and governance…if the leaders are lacking and there is no good governance no one will do their job!!
THUMBS UP BA PRESIDO PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY ARE DULL IF ZAMBIA WAS A SWITCH I WAS GOING TO SWITH IT OFF
Ba Sinkamba naimwe, blame the US embassy for the typo error. All this data is about Zambia and just how Zimbabwe was introduced in the article God knows. Or could it be the same auto spelling confusion which has landed so many brains in problems? Leave President Lungu alone and give him space to do his work.
Also leave God out of this crap. Its wholly mans’ fault
Ati blame the US embassy ?
It takes the opposition to notice while lungu and his gang of theives are in full campain mode if they are not looting….
Americans are generally ignorant of Africa I am not surprised the can not distinguish Zambia from Zimbabwe that is an American for you. The only thing an American knows is America.
Are you telling me that they dont know where they are pumping over $450 million to clean your sanitation and water because you are too lazy to do it yourselves!!
Yeah, they are very ignorant. They dont know the difference between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Even people I have been working with the last 6 years sometimes refer to me as Zimbabwean and I have even stopped correcting the. The mistake Peter has pointed out was made by the Americans and the Zambian officials have engaged the Americans diplomatically. Do you really expect someone from the Zambian mission to post in our dailies that they saw a mistake and have asked the Americans to correct it? No, that is something they do on a regular basis.
Am already defecting to the greens
By the time these imbeciles are out of government, the Zambian economy will resemble Zimbabwe’s.
Zimbabwe economy is on the up already …they already have the infrastructure they just need injection of capital…remember Zim didnt have a paper currency two years ago because it was worthless they used an innovative mobile payment solution called EcoCash; you buy groceries, drinks with it …i mean in Zambia the govt has LAMENTABLY FAILED to make use of this mobile payment to even pay farmers because of stinking corruption.
Theses are wasted years under this lazy man ..I wonder where he is spending next weekend..Chipata, Livingstone??
Narep, Green party pact can work. It can be a party where true intellectuals who can bring change to this country can ride.
Mukatukana nemisula yenu ikalalepuka.Lungu is the legitimate President for Zambia up to 2021,again will go for another 5 years of running thing Country Zambia. You like it or not.You leave Zambia and go to another Country where HH can rule in hell.
# 9 Malinso, agreed. I also note that the US export data should be referring to Zambia and not Zimbabwe. Isn’t Zimbabwe under US trade embargo for the whole period the report covers?
upnd cadres have found something to sing about, you know the usual cadres….I don’t feel like a fight just now so I will not name them…but you know them anyway and they know themselves anyway!
Newsflash if you did not get it earlier: Most of Europe and the States DO think Africa is a country so it does not matter which country is mentioned for what aspect. That is why Trump did not single out a sh!thole country … he directed it to the entire continent. They even think they will fly into South Africa to discuss the statement instead of all 54 capitals of the continent. Go figure.
Iwe Sinkamba chikamba uchite shut-up.
I bet the time when trump said ‘Nambia’ it was the Namibians (or Gambians) fault? Question we should ask is what is the source of the information…was it the US’ own research or was it collected from the Zambian Govt?
Tell us