Zambia’s Poor Foreign Policy Decsions Chocking the Zambian Economy
Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba wrote;
I know the issue of Foreign Policy is a matter for the Chief Diplomat, the Head of State.
But his key Ministers on this matter; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon.Mulambo Haimbe, Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane and Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga and their teams are failing the country lamentably.
Look at this;
● Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe has imposed a $21,500 transit fee per truck. This is against trade protocal and amounts to imposition of trade and non-trade barriers contrary to COMESA and SADC trade protocals. So far we have not seen an aggressive engagement with Zimbabwean authorities or with SADC or COMESA to ensure that Zimbabwe lifts these illegal transit fees.
Even the seemingly simple issue of surrendering and extraditing Petauke Central Independent MP, Emmanuel Jay Banda from Harare to Lusaka, was thwarted and caught up in these knots affecting the Foreign policy.
● Mozambique; Hundreds of Fuel tankers and trucks stranded in Beira and Nakala. Zambia was registering a large number of voters to participate in the Mozambican general election.
Even when we raised concerns, the Zambian authorities did not bother or demonstrate that the country hosts such a large number of Mozambicans in Zambia.
Today the outcome of that election has brought chaos and civil unrest in Mozambique.and has disrupted trade, rail and road transport.
There are hundreds of trucks carrying Zambian fuel caught up in this post-electoral conflict and instability currently occuring in Mozambique.
We have not seen Zambia push for quick resolution of this conflict or demand for an emergency and extraordinary SADC meetings to bring the belligerents together.
To overcome the power crisis that Zambia has faced as a result of the 2023 drought, ZESCO signed an agreement with Mozambique’s state-owned energy firm, Mozambique Electricity (EDM), to import 300 megawatts.
This has also been affected by the civil unrest and tensions taling place in Mozambique
● DRC; the perennial crisis at Kasumbalesa is back with over 1,500 trucks stranded. There is never a good explanation for this frequent crisis.
But there are issues.
Zambia collected an advance of $15million on the export of $50m worth of maize to the country.
Minister of Defence, Ambrose Lwiji Lufuma informed the nation that Government had received the upfront payment. This was in addition to the ZNS and murky importation of tonnes and tonnes of GMO mealie-meal imported from South Africa by Zambia and destined to the DRC.
These multi-million dollar transactions were suspicious.
● Tanzania; Protests at Tunduma Border in Tanzania that has seen another set of large numbers of fuel tankers destined to Zambia stranded.
In June 2024, Tanzania had also signed a contract to supply and deliver 650,000 tons of maize to Zambia.
But Tanzania has suspended the maize exports to Zambia due to non-payment issues, with the Tanzanian National Food Reserve Agency citing Zambia’s failure to fulfill contractual obligations regarding payment for previously supplied maize.
FRA has failed to submit letters of credit and has delayed in implementing new payment proposals. National Food Reserve Agency, has notified Zambia of the suspension of maize exports until outstanding payments are settled in full!
Zambia is a land-locked country, and the issues affecting borders, mivement of goods and services and trade must never be compromised as their failure may cause shortages of goods and services in Zambia and therefore spark civil unrest in Zambia.
Strangely, all we are hearing are press reports from the immigration department of Zambia’s escalated mass deportation of DRC, Rwandese, Mozambique and Zimbabwean nationals.
In diplomacy, occurrences are not happenstance!
Let us therefore get to attend to the concerns from the issue of AFRICOM, to sectional trade interest some powerful people in Hichilema’s government have taken in DRC, and Tanzania.
Mwamba what do you even know about foriegn policy? What do you even know about the economy of Zambia? In Ethiopia and South Africa you have experts to advise you. People technically competent. So two days you were ambassador you now want to advise the current regime on what? How you as PF failed? You as PF left a mess, and have no moral ability to tell anyone anything. Writing Judgements that you influenced using people who took an oath to serve the country not the interest of an individual? Lined your pockets with state funds and claimed you were rich?
When it comes to foriegn policy, I can listen to Madames Lemba, Kondolo, and Chalwe (ambassador). People who as graduates have spent decades in the Ministry shaping foriegn policy, as they rose in the Ministry. I reiterate again, understand the structure of the Zambian economy, before you open your mouth. If what you want is to an echo of Celestine, he is neither an ecomonist nor a foriegn policy expert but a Lawyer who has failed in his field and hangs on to politics cause he wants to live off the crumbs of “someone”. And touts that person’s stay. PF with its factions is not a self sustainable entity, neither can it run anything other your mouths. The proof is in the pudding. So please let people who are demonstrating that they can better the lives of Zambians do their work. You are a journalist by trade. Improve on that skill, after all Meta has now certified that you can ply your lies for a living without being fact check. That doesnt mean we wont call out your factless statements. Again understand the structure and history of the Zambian economy before you open your mouth.
You will wait for bad stories affecting the Nation of Zambia for you to widely open your mouth and smile like a snake but wukanaka because whatever problem that arises in Zambia or around some of our neighbours but affecting Zambian and it’s people including yourself always gives this visionary leadership of President HH and his team room to look and find solutions in the end the devil you see now will not be there anymore. This i am assuring you will happen.
So! Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba you who always celebrates and ululates when there is an issue in the Country will in the end remain with nothing tangible to say because of your character.
If this is your Plan B with your Agwa Lungu, I verily tell you that time is ccoming and has already come when your evil from the dark celebrations will be under the water in Christ Jesus’s name.
And you fat ugly face is choking the oxygen in Zambia
I don’t know what Mr. Mwamba want the Zambian government to do about the issues he has mentioned. Firstly, Zambia has no powers to stop the protests in Mozambique so I don’t know what he expect the Zambian to do about this situation in Mozambique as a country. Secondly, Zimbabwe is charging all trucks passing through their country not just Zambian trucks so again I don’t know what Mr. Mwamba want Zambia to do when all the countries in SADC are affected by this decision by Zimbabwe. This is what happens when you make institutions useless just because you don’t like the person in charge. The opposition in Zambia condemned and undermined SADC just because president HH was the chairman of security in 2022/23 and now SADC is helpless and can’t do anything to help in such situations where they are needed.
FROGS WHEN MATTING MAKE TOO MUCH CROOKING NOISES IN THE NIGHT
Mr Bwamba, please stop displaying bitterness and malice towards a duly elected government.
You imbeciles were beaten CLEAN. Be magnanimous enough to admit this.
The political unrest in Mozambique unrest has nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, to do with Zambia’s foreign policy. We as Zambians did not cause the unrest going on there. Not even the war in Ukraine. These issues in foreign countries will run their course regardless of which foreign policy we adopt. So please stop pretending to be an expert in foreign affairs. You are just an expert in missing the good life and perks you enjoyed as a diplomat at the expense of the Zambian tax payer. Stick to yowa lane and just keep quiet if you have no solutions to offer to better the lives of ordinary Zambians.
Even when they are declared redundant they stil make noise.
“Zambia was registering a large number of voters to participate in the Mozambican general election.”
What is the meaning of this?
How is it possible for Zambia to register voters to participate in elections of another country?
So he wants the Zambian government to get involved in elections of an independent state?
That is the kind of logic that prevails in PF? The kinds of advice they give each other? Who would not walk away from people that think like this?
Bwamba’s twisted logic if you try to understand..
1. Ati Zimbabwe has imposed “illegal” transit taxes breaking inter alia SADC trade protocols. The Zimbabwe -pf President Mnangagwa is also SADC chairman. This pfidiot points at HH7 for failure to call for sadc extraordinary meeting instead of wondering why the chairman of SADC is letting his cabinet impose these illegal trade protocols?
2. Mozambique has election problems again this pfidiot points at HH7 for not doing something instead of the SADC chairman who’s also Zimbabwe -pf President Mnangagwa
Te bwamba fye ubu nomba??
Chased from South Africa for being more of a cadre than a diplomat, now wants to show his sloppy diplomatic lamness to the public, this guy is a hypocrite.