SOCIALIST Party president Fred M’membe has wondered why so much hope is still being placed on the US $1.4 billion IMF loan as if it will provide a magic solution to the country’s economic problems.
Dr M’membe said the package will not do much aid or generate recovery for the rest of the economy hence the need to pay attention to peasant agriculture.
“It’s going to be another wait until the IMF deal is perhaps reached. We continue to wonder why so much hope is still being placed on the US $1.4 billion IMF loan as if this will provide a magic solution to our economic and social problems. Should the US $1.4 billion loan be granted, it will only be used to provide ‘Balance of Payment Support’,” he noted. “It won’t do much to aid or generate a recovery for the rest of the economy. We need to collect fair taxes from the mines and pay more attention to peasant agriculture.”
Dr M’membe said agriculture offers the highest growth potential but is not prioritised.
He said with the right approach and programmes the country can grow as much as 50 per cent of the current gross domestic product (GDP) from agriculture.
“Agriculture offers us the highest growth potential. But our agricultural programmes don’t seem to be focused and well prioritised. There’s too much rhetoric, posturing with not much substance or clarity. With the right approach and programmes we can grow to as much as 50 per cent of the current GDP from agriculture,” Dr M’membe said. “Today although 54.8 per cent of our workforce is deployed in agriculture, the sector only accounts for 7.5 per cent of the GDP. Industry, in which we have deployed 9.9 per cent of our workforce, is making a contribution of 35.3 per cent to our GDP. And 35.3 per cent of our workforce which is deployed in services is producing 57.2 per cent of our GDP. The contribution to agriculture – in which we have deployed the majority of our workforce – to GDP is dismally too low to make a meaningful contribution to poverty reduction or eradication.”
He added that people are faced with the most serious and anguishing situations with no alternative but to struggle for survival.
“Today, our people are faced with the most serious and anguishing situations ever known to them. But no matter how enormous the difficulties, no matter how complex the task, there can be no room for pessimism. This would be to renounce all hope and resign ourselves to final defeat. But, we have no alternative but to struggle if we wish to harbour any hope for survival. Only with tremendous effort can we face a future that objectively appears desperate and sombre,” said Dr M’membe.