27 August 2008
editorial
THE confidence emanating from the Zambian business community over continued investor support in the wake of Republican President Mwanawasa's death is most encouraging.
The Zambia Business Forum, the Economics Association of Zambia as well as several other key institutions and associations in the country have all expressed their continued confidence in as far as investor belief and support is concerned.
Although the passing on of President Mwanawasa might have led to some apprehension over the way forward for the Zambian economy now at its most buoyant stage, this confidence is certainly well founded.
President Mwanawasa laid a strong foundation for continued growth and development in the various sectors of the national economy and the momentum is well and truly poised for further forward movement.
Although the country's inflation rate has now crept beyond the single digit level and stands at just over 12 per cent, while bank interest rates are around 24 per cent, these are quite low compared to their levels less than a decade ago.
Furthermore, the buoyant Kwacha, has been at its most stable state in a long time and has rallied quite well from last week's initial shocks and is now trading favourably against the major currencies.
This is as it should be, because such indicators which are all pointing in the right direction are very cardinal in attracting the volumes of investment which characterised President Mwanawasa's tenure at the helm of this country.
On the other hand, the challenge now is certainly on the country's body politic to ensure that political stability, a key component of attracting meaningful levels of investment in the various sectors of the economy, is ensured.
The onus is on the players in the political field to ensure that the transition which the country is now going through, is well managed in order to reassure investors of continued stability.
As things stand now, there should be no attempts at re-inventing the wheel since appropriate programmes such as Vision 2030 or the Fifth National Development Plan mooted under President Mwanawasa's leadership are already bearing fruit.
The eyes of the world are now on Zambia, which is regarded as one of Africa's success stories as a result of prudent economic and fiscal management. During this transition, the key players should be mindful that any abrupt policy turns stand to derail the gains which have been achieved.
Rather, the transition should be managed in such a way that the country's economic drive continues rolling forward on the firm foundation left by President Mwanawasa.
With continuity in the policies which have created this solid foundation for economic growth and the requisite political stability, there should in fact be renewed investor confidence and support for this country.
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