SHUNNING TANZANIA WOULD BE A MORAL HEADLINE WITH AN ECONOMIC BILL
By Hon Sunday Chanda – Kanchibiya MP
In the realm of international relations, diplomacy is never guided by emotion alone. Even amid deep disagreement, nations engage when their interests demand it. Recent images of the United States President meeting with Vladimir Putin and even North Korea’s Kim Jong Un remind us that global powers negotiate not out of friendship, but out of strategy.
For Zambia, this reality holds special meaning as we respond to reports of post-election violence and loss of life in Tanzania. As a democracy anchored on human rights, Zambia must condemn all acts that devalue life. Yet, in doing so, we must also ask: to shun or not to shun Tanzania; and what would be the cost to our nation?
Tanzania is not merely a neighbour but a strategic economic partner. The Port of Dar es Salaam remains Zambia’s most reliable maritime outlet, handling more than 2 million metric tons of Zambian cargo annually. In 2024 alone, our exports to Tanzania were valued at around US$193 million, covering copper, fuel, and agricultural goods. A diplomatic freeze would raise trade costs, delay exports, and threaten thousands of livelihoods tied to cross-border commerce.
Therefore, Zambia must pursue a dual track; moral conviction and pragmatic diplomacy. We should continue to advocate, through SADC, the African Union, and the United Nations, for an independent investigation into the violence in Tanzania, etc, while maintaining cooperation on trade, energy, and transport. Calibrated engagement, not confrontation, secures both our values and our economy.
Shunning our neighbour would be a moral headline with an economic bill: Zambia should demand accountability through multilateral channels while protecting the corridors, ports, and projects that keep Zambian livelihoods and exports moving.
At the end of the day, our compass must remain fixed: what is good for Zambia?
Let us always remember that diplomacy is not an act of friendship but an instrument of national interest. As such, calibrated engagement, not confrontation, secures both our values and our economy.
As global powers meet even their adversaries for strategic reasons, Zambia must combine moral clarity with economic realism in managing relations with Tanzania.
Let me repeat: Shunning our neighbour would be a moral headline with an economic bill.
[About the Author:
Sunday Chanda is the Member of Parliament for Kanchibiya Constituency and a proponent of pragmatic diplomacy and inclusive economic transformation].
Excellent!! You are really turning out to be a reliable and desirable alternative candidate. Keep up the good work and good leadership traits. This is what we desperately need as country. We have had enough of emotionally charged political whose minds can’t see beyond their noses.
Well articulated Amos. Can these disfunctional opposition who’s stock in trade is hate and divisiveness learn something from you?
With that reasoning, the liberation of southern Africa would have been impossible. KK was prepared the economic bill, and it was huge. The problem with business men is that lives can be lost, but if business is booming it is all fine.
KK could afford to do so because he found billions in the treasury, but it’s not the same today, because our economy is still limping, so why would we risk to add more problems when we are still struggling with issues like loadshedding among others?
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