ZAMBIA RANKS 6th POOREST COUNTY
Zambia is the 6th poorest country in the world according to the World Bank.
And the opposition says this ranking is unacceptable and the country must not continue on this path.
The World Bank also observes that Zambia is the most unequal country in the world, with 12.6 million of its people living below $2.15 a day.
https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099021825125536607
The World Bank says this level is not only the 6th highest but it also misaligned with the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita level.
In four of the five poorer countries, GDP per capita is between one-quarter and one-half of Zambia’s GDP per capita. The remaining country is South Sudan, which is immersed in a protracted and fragility and conflict situation.
Leader of the opposition Socialist Party Dr Fred M’membe has questioned why the country would found itself in this status.
“How can we be in the same league with countries at war like South Sudan and Yemen?” Dr M’membe wondered.
The World Bank observes that at the same time, Zambia’s consumption inequality is high, even when compared with the subgroup of highly unequal resource-rich countries.
In 2022, the Gini index stood 51.5 – significantly above the World Bank”s newly adopted high-inequality threshold of 40. This places Zambia as the country with the 4th highest inequality in the region and the 6th highest globally.
Resource-rich countries with similar or higher inequality have substantial lower poverty levels. This is certainly not a just economy. This is certainly not a recipe for peace and stability. This is certainly a recipe for conflict, tension, and instability. How can we have peace and stability in such an unjust economy? How can we expect to have peace and stability where there’s no justice.
Dr M’membe says Zambia is sitting on a time bomb about to explode.
“We are sitting on a time bomb. It can’t be business as usual. We have to think outside the box and abandon the methods or approaches that have brought us to this miserable position. New alternatives are needed,” he says.
He says it’s only his party offering alternatives.
“Today, it is only the Socialist Party offering us that alternative, that different approach that moves us away from Calvary,” Dr M’membe a Journalist turned politician says.
But President Hakainde Hichilema who took over in 2021 says the country’s economic growth is now 4+ from negative it was. He says the previous administration had destroyed the economy.