Industrialisation key to unlocking Zambia’s economy – Harry Kalaba

Citizens First Leader Harry Kalaba states that industrialisation is key to unlocking the country’s economy.

The Opposition leader indicated that a number of developed countries have prioritised industrialisation.
He said that the New Dawn Administration needs to take this route in order for the country to see significant growth , adding that in the time of UNIP the manufacturing industry contributed about 20 percent to the Gross Domestic Product – GDP of the country.

Mr Kalaba cited that it is therefore important for the New Dawn Government to prioritise this lucrative sector.
He said that the New Dawn Administration must follow this advice so that the economy can be improved.

“We have argued that when Zambia, in 1991 was changing power or government, 20 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product – GDP was supported by manufacturing, and to become an industrialised country, you need to be 25 percent and we only have 5 percent of the 25 percent threshold to for us to become an industrialised country as Zambia,” he said
“Remember, that we are doing our own tyres for vehicles as a country, and remember that we also used to put vehicles together for Landrovers in Livingstone, we were also making our own blankets, even ceramic tiles where there was Zambia Ceramics which used to make tiles, we had National Milling and Kifkor which was making sacks for packaging of maize and other products, we had companies all over this country but all those have gone down, and the question is why have they gone down?” Mr Kalaba questioned

“And for as long as we have a leadership that whats to do business as usual, it will be a problem because what we need as a country is to begin value addition, and for us we have said that, watch the space when we take over government, within the first six months (6) there are certain pronouncements we are going to make, policy decisions that we will take, because there’s no way that 58 years after Zambia gained its independence, we can be importing vitenges from Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC, we can be importing vitenges from China the Chinese don’t even wear vitenges, when we had our own Kafue and Mulungushi Textiles it only takes decisions, and you have to be bold about it,” Mr Kalaba said

Meanwhile, the Citizens First party has embarked on a mobilisation process of members in Eastern Province with the aim of building structures in all the 15 districts in the Province.

And over 100 United Party for National Development – UPND members led by Former UPND Eastern Provincial Publicity Secretary Willson Mwale have defected to the Citizens First party citing poor leadership qualities in the ruling party.
Speaking during the Citizens First party mobilisation meeting in Chipata, Citizens First Provincial Chairperson Danton Ndhlovu said that their party is concerned with the manner the UPND government is responding to the needs of the people in the province.

“Our President has been very factual in explaining the problems that the Farmer Support Input – FISP is facing as well as providing the solutions, that our colleagues in the UPND if they were leaders they could have used in order to find solutions, this is January, can we expect that the UPND leadership in 2023 they will be more truthful for the people have cried,” he said

“How we wish that certain things like FISP, when they saw that the money was not enough, you could have called for what we call a supplementary budget and Parliamentarians would have approved because every Parliamentarian is affected by the Constituency where they are coming from, as there is no single Member of Parliament who has said that their constituency has seen fertilizer, FISP and CDF (Constituency Development Fund) these are lifeline areas of our people, we have seen even our markets here in Chipata, our markets are not being constructed and our roads are pathetic,” he added

Mr Ndhlovu has since called upon the New Dawn Administration to respond to the needs of the people this year.

And Citizens First (Chipata) Provincial Chairlady Regina Nyoni welcomed the 100 people who defected from the UPND to Citizens First party, adding that their party is happy to receive them for they have seen the problems that were in the UPND.

And one of the defectors, Wilson Mwale said the reason for leaving the UPND to join the Citizens First party is because they have seen a future in the Citizens First.