Reducing Developmental Inequalities Under PF

PART 23

By Hon Davies Mwila

REDUCING DEVELOPMENTAL INEQUALITIES (Continued): SOME OF THE MANY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PATRIOTIC FRONT (PF) GOVERNMENT IN SEVEN YEARS (2011 – 2018) – FROM A 7NDP AND VISION 2030 PERSPECTIVE

INTRODUCTION

The Patriotic Front Manifesto (2016-2021) states that:

“The Vision of the Patriotic Front for the next five years is to make Zambia more industrious, prosperous, peaceful, stable, united, democratic, and inclusive society, under the motto of One Zambia, One Nation”.

The above mentioned goal is actively being implemented by the PF Government through the programmes and strategies outlined in the 7NDP, in order to achieve the Zambian dream: “A Prosperous Middle-Income Nation by 2030”.

Some of these programmes and interventions are briefly explained below:

RURAL FINANCING PROMOTION

In line with the 7NDP, the PF Government is promoting rural financing through initiatives such as the Rural Finance Expansion Programme (RUFEP), a US Dollar 26.315 Million programme whose aim is to offer rural financial services to smallholder farmers in rural communities.

The Financing Agreement for RUFEP between the Government of the Republic of Zambia, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Spanish Food Security Facility Trust Fund (SFSFTF) was signed on 22nd July 2014.

RUFEP is managed through Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with IFAD, and will increase access to and the use of sustainable financial services for 140,000 rural households countrywide by 2021 as well as offer new opportunities for financial service providers to provide services to customers in rural areas. This is in line with Government financial sector development policies and strategies including the National Financial Sector Development Policy, National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) and the Rural Finance Policy and Strategy.

RURAL INDUSTRIALISATION

His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, during the official opening of Parliament, informed the nation, among other things, that:

“Government will develop an Industrialisation Policy which shall stipulate achievable outcomes in order to stimulate job creation through Industrialisation and tackle high levels of poverty and unemployment. (Thus, the PF) Government will take to Parliament a new Trade, Investment and Enterprise Development Bill which will facilitate the growth of non-traditional exports, enterprise growth and domestic and foreign direct investment. Diversification and Industrialisation are important strategies which (the PF) Government will employ to attain sustainable economic growth, which is in line with what the just-ended COMESA Summit was discussing under the theme, ‘Inclusive and sustainable Industrialisation.’”

Against this background, the Ministry on Commerce, Trade and Industry developed an Industrial Policy to support and accelerate Industrialisation in Zambia in line with other countries in the COMESA bloc. The aim of the Industrial Policy is to address issues of productive capacity for enterprises to promote the production and consumption of local contents. Furthermore, the policy focuses on value-addition to products that are locally produced; uses cooperatives as viable business models to industrialise, and strengthens innovations and technologies required in production and eventual Industrialisation of Zambia.

In addition to Industrial Policy Formulation and Implementation, the PF Government is supporting collaborations among traditional leaders, cooperating partners, prospective investors and relevant stakeholders, to identify and secure land for the development of industrial parks, ultra- modern international airports, and other economic developments in rural areas countrywide. The aim is to significantly reduce developmental inequalities between urban and rural areas; strengthen agricultural productivity in rural areas; generate decent jobs and various economic activities – which are all key pillars of the overall goals of the PF as a pro-poor party.

SOCIAL SERVICES PROVISION

President Lungu gave the following summarised account on the performance of his Government regarding to the provision of social services, during his speech to Parliament on 14th September, 2018, when he said:

“To ensure food security for vulnerable but viable poor households, Government will, in the 2018/2019 farming season, increase the coverage of the Food Security Pack Programme from 27,650 beneficiaries in the previous farming season to 80,000.

Through the Girl’s Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood Project, Government is supporting vulnerable women and girls. For example, in 2017, 12,445 vulnerable women in 11 districts were empowered with life and business skills as well as provided with grants of K2, 000 each.

By the end of 2018, an additional 21,000 women in 31 districts were supported. Further, Government is supporting 15,082 girls aged between 14 and 18 years to be retained in school.”

Clearly, the PF Government has expanded the provision of social services as evidenced above and through other programmes such as the Food Security Pack (FSP).

The PF Government, through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, is bridging the gap between the rich and the poor countrywide through the successful implementation of the FSP.

The FSP aims to increase food security at household level for vulnerable but viable farmers. For example, in 2017/2018 farming season; 27,650 benefited from FSP. The PF Government increased this number to 80,000 beneficiaries in 2018/2019 farming season.

RURAL-URBAN PARTNERSHIP PROMOTION

In order to promote urban and peri-urban economies, the PF Government has prioritised the development and implementation of Integrated Development Plans in the identified areas and regions with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship, creating urban industrial clusters, strengthening value-chain linkages, and improving infrastructure in formal settlements. The PF Government is also implementing measures targeting deprived segments of urban settings countrywide in form of infrastructure development and delivery, such as water and sanitation services, waste management, road and rail network and housing. Speaking to this development outcome, Her Honour the Vice President Mrs. Inonge Mutukwa Wina recently observed:

“Women entrepreneurs in Zambia face many challenges in the conduct of their business such as, access to credit due to stringent lending criteria by financial institutions requiring collateral and financial records, access to market due to lack of information and contacts, poor packaging and product presentation due to lack of technology and skill, lack of networking platforms and opportunities for exchange of information and best practice, and lack of knowledge in financial management and accounting. (In this regard), the Zambian Government has taken steps to address challenges of market access, land allocation and credit.

For example, (there is) the Presidential Market Initiative; an initiative which His Excellency the President, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, is promoting and championing, by providing small credit loans to enable the Marketeers in town markets grow and expand their businesses. Furthermore, my office (i.e. of the Vice President) is championing an initiative called Jubilee Women Integrated Highway Modern Markets, whose objective is to use these highway markets as economic development hubs and in the process empower women who constitute 80 percent of Marketeers.

Furthermore, under the PF Government), 30 percent of land allocation is reserved for women in order to improve access to land.”

Apart from enabling equality by ensuring that existing public procurement policies and guidelines require that some segments of construction contracts such as paving, road maintenance and provision of building materials, to be undertaken by Zambian Small Scale Entrepreneurs, especially the women and youth, the PF Government has established industrial parks in all the 10 provinces for establishment of value adding industries such as agro-processing.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

The strategic position of the PF Government, through the Ministry of Local Government, is that the waste management sector has potential to contribute positively to the sustainable growth of the economy.

In this regard, Government through the Ministry of Local Government is continuously engaging stakeholders in the waste management industry to take it upon themselves to become champions of the necessary paradigm shift which no longer views waste as merely a by-product of society’s economic and social activities to be dealt with by Government, but rather as something from which both the private and public sectors can derive economic opportunities while reducing national vulnerability to the risks of climate change and environmental degradation, among others – all key pillars in actualizing the goals stated in the 7NDP and Vision 2030.

CONCLUSION:

These are just a few of the initiatives and interventions currently being implemented by the PF Government under President Lungu with the aim of “Reducing Developmental Inequalities” as stated in the 7NDP.

This shall in turn lead to the achievement of the Zambian Dream: “A Nation without Hunger and Poverty” and “A Prosperous Middle-Income Nation by 2030”.