Newly appointed Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Emmanuel Mwamba has announced that a standing business Forum between Zambia and Ethiopia will be formed. In a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT by press secretary Inutu Mwanza, Mwamba stated that he was impressed that the Ethiopian economy was booming and driven by local people and local investors.
Mwamba said Ethiopia with a population of 105 million was the fastest growing economy in Africa in the last five years and it was imperative that private sector links between Zambia and Ethiopia were formalized.
He said he would collaborate with Chambers of Commerce in Zambia and Ethiopia to appoint a board that should drive the private sector trade and business between the two countries. He has since called for a meeting with chambers of commerce to action the formation of the Business Forum.
Mwamba further said government had shifted priority from political diplomacy to economic, business and tourism diplomacy to help fast track the economic development of the country. “We will also market tourism products to the Ethiopian tourists to sample the heritage and tourism sites in Zambia,” he said.
Mwamba who is also accredited to the African Union as Permanent Representative, said Zambia’s role at the African Union would be to champion calls that promote regional trade and integration of local Afro-economies.
He said it was unacceptable that Africa currently trades with the rest of the world up-to 88% and only trades with itself to a paltry 12%. He added that by this action Africa was inadvertantly exporting jobs, opportunities and raw materials thereby stifling prospects of implementing industrialization program and losing benefits of upwards linkages.
African countries have despite attaining political independence continued with trade and economic ties with former colonial powers who account for the largest trade volumes. You will find neighboring countries in Africa not trading through shared land borders but importing the very products available from former colonial powers who are thousands of miles away.
Non tarriff barriers as well as corrupt bureaucrats who have connived with agents of colonial interests to frustrate the provision of legal frameworks for the local small and medium size exporters and importers between neighboring countries is still the order of the day.
The local importing and exporting small businesses are labeled as smugglers and treated with disdain when all that is needed is a regulatory framework to formalize small scale importing and exporting businesses who can in time grow to become large companies.
In Zambia, the belief is more skilled to attracting foreign direct investments at the expense of supporting and developing local small and medium size businesses to grow, an attitude that needs a complete mindset shift for the country to develop.
