allAfrica.com: Zambia: Zambia Is a Peaceful Destination for Tourism and Investment

Levy Mwanawasa, who took part in last week's U.S.-Africa Business Summit, became president of Zambia in January 2002 after a hotly contested election the previous month in which he polled 28.69 percent of the vote, less than two percent more than his closest rival.

Addressing the summit, Mwanawasa said Zambia has a lot to offer investors who are prepared to partner with Zambians for their mutual benefit. In an AllAfrica interview, he discussed his government's policy priorities, the fight against corruption and HIV/Aids and what he is doing to promote development and make the country a more attractive tourist and investment destination.

Zambia is one of the 18 countries slated for debt relief under the agreement that has been announced by G8 nations. What impact will that have on your country?

Debt relief in relation to Africa in general and to Zambia in particular is extremely important. These debts were incurred by previous administrations when some of us were still young. We not know what it is all about, but we have been told that it was used largely in the liberation wars. But those of us who have read books also know that most of this debt was used on subsidies, to over-employ in the public sector. We had politicians employed within parastatal organizations, and the government took over the salaries of party officials. So there was a lot of misuse of funds, and the current leadership is trying to repair the mess that was created over a long period of time.

It is unfortunate that we who are sweeping the mess which was left are the ones facing the blame that we created this debt in the first instance. So it is a good thing that this debt is being written off so that we can be given a clean slate to begin from. We are against partial debt write-off, as good as it may be. What we want is a complete write-off.

What is your case for Zambia as a good investment destination?

The people in Zambia are extremely hardworking. They are warmhearted, and the country is endowed with an abundance of natural resources. We have abundant sunshine, good soils, plenty of water. In fact, it is estimated that 40 percent of the water in southern Africa is located in Zambia. Those water resources could be exploited for irrigation purposes, for example.

Zambia has been a peaceful haven since independence. I will not argue with you if you say there is a lot of freedom of speech, and sometimes we tear ourselves. But it is the price that we have to pay for democracy. You allow people to express themselves. I say that it is better for people to say what is in them than suppress them.

So the investor coming to Zambia will be coming to a country that is receptive. It used to be said that the cost of doing business in Zambia was extreme. I agree, but for the past three-and-a-half years that my administration has been in power, we have fought relentlessly hard to improve our economic performance. You will find that the interest rates have not only gone down but they are stable. The exchange rates have also substantially gone down and, for the past three-and-a-half years, they have been stable - somewhere around 4800 kwacha to the dollar. When you compare that to rates that used to exist before we came to power - about 15,000 to 20,000 kwacha per dollar - that is a very big step. Inflation has also been under control. It has been hovering around 15-16 percent. But obviously we would like to do even better than that.

Good governance, the rule of law and transparency are all important issues for investors, donors and indeed for the people of Zambia. What is your record in that area?

The rule of law is my favorite subject. I am a lawyer myself, having practiced for about 30 years before I became president of Zambia. I am anxious that the law should govern our behavior. So right from the start, on the date that I was inaugurated, the 2nd of February 2002, I said that governance in Zambia would be of laws rather than men. We have checks and balances through the courts. If I exceed my powers, I can be challenged in court. Equally, we have the legislature, members of parliament debate freely how we carry out our duties. So I can say that the rule of law is very paramount in our country.

I want to mention, however, that if you came to Zambia, you would find local attacks on the government of the day. Sometimes the president will be insulted. It might create the impression that indeed we are a country that is governed by the rule of men rather than the rule of law but that is far from it. What will strike you the most is that our people are able to talk about these things freely, a thing which you will never see anywhere else. And when you examine what is happening, you will in fact see that the rule of law is paramount.

On the fight against corruption, we have regarded it as essential to national development. There can never be any sustainable development when you embrace corruption. Corruption is a cost to development. We have encouraged our people to be vigilant and to ensure that all cases of corruption are reported to the authorities.

What this has meant over the past three years is that public service officials and the people generally have come to respect public property. It is not uncommon to hear a person saying that if I engage in any corrupt practice, I am going to be in trouble. The deterrent effect that this crusade has had on the Zambian people is great, and I am encouraged by the fact that majority of our people have responded very well. They have realized that we have been rendered as poor as we are because the major factor is corrupt practices.

web allafrica.com	Enter your search terms	Submit search form
OR subscribers use AllAfrica's premium search engine


Use our pull-down menus to find more stories