WE NEED TO OWN STRATEGIC ASSETS…so that we have control and grow our economy, says DR MUSUMALI

WE NEED TO OWN STRATEGIC ASSETS

….so that we have control and grow our economy, says DR MUSUMALI

Lusaka… Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Socialist Party (SP) General Secretary Dr Cosmas Musumali says there is need to own strategic assets in order to have control of the economy.

Dr. Musumali argues that it is practically impossible to control what you do not own.

He believes that a nation can grow and strengthen its economy when it has control of strategic assets.

He said the country should own the mines in order to develop and forget that notion that Zambia has no capacity to manage it’s mining assets.

“Ownership of our mines has been a dream for a certain period of time. The UNIP goverment fought so hard they said mines were critical to the future of this country. They said they were going to be the majority shareholders and they worked out a scheme where 51 percent of the shares of ZCCM-IH were acquired. Unfortunately, the payment schedules and the deals that were struck, at the end of the day those that were said were getting the shares benefited more than Zambia itself,” said Dr. Musumali.

“It was a noble attempt until somewhere in the 90’s when we handed over the mines free to them. We got a situation where someone would come in the country and says I went to Zambia I had nothing. I got a mine and I made use of it and earned over US$700 million and I am rich without investing anything. That’s how bad it was!”

He said the nation was duped as stated by those who bought shares.

“But again we gave away our birthright because the wealth is a birthright. First we gave it away through col0nialism because they occupied our mines and after independence we tried to get back those mines but we didn’t do it well. So we were duped and then today we have surrendered and even the little that is remaining we are surrendering it to trans-national corporations that elsewhere are said to be cr!minals. And these corporations are in court everywhere,” he stated.

“We should learn from other countries on ownership. Ownership comes first and you can’t control what you don’t own. So, why is control so important? Control is about decision making, priority setting and being able to steer development where no one is left behind. You need to ensure that your environment is not destroyed but protected and there is peace and harmony in your country.”

The SP General Secretary further observed the need to have a regulatory framework that says business activities are in the interest of the common good.

“Of course the individuals and actors involved are beneficiaries but at the same time you can’t benefit if you are destroying that same country. But if you are dealing with trans-national corporations that have no affiliation and do not respect your leaders you are in deep problems. One American President Donald Trump once characterized our third world economies as ‘sh!t hall’. In Zambia and Africa, ownership is a big issue and you can’t control what you don’t own,” he added.