Fifty Chinese companies plan to invest over $800 million in a tax free zone in Zambia within the next five years under an agreement to be signed shortly, trade and commerce minister said on Tuesday.
Felix Mutati said Zambia and China would sign an investment deal to allow foreign companies, mainly from China, to start construction at the Multifacility Economic Zone (MFEZ) in the Chambishi town on the copperbelt.
Negotiations between Zambia and Chinese authorities were currently under way and an agreement was expected to be reached soon for the companies to start setting up in May, Mutati told Reuters in an interview.
Zambia had planned to allow only Chinese companies to invest in the zone. But Mutati said there was a change in policy.
“Initially we had agreed that this should only be a Chinese zone, but they (Chinese) want other foreign firms to come and invest in the multi-facility economic zone,” said Mutati.
“We are looking for a cocktail of companies that will add value to our raw materials to use the Chambishi zone. China is helping to attract other foreign companies on our behalf.”
Preliminary data provided by China indicated that the Chambishi zone would generate in excess of $900 million per year in turnover by firms that would invest in the processing of copper into finished products.
Zambian officials have not given details on which Chinese companies would invest in the zone but China Non-Ferrous Metals (Group) Co Ltd. is one of them.
China has drawn fire from Western nations and aid groups, who accuse Beijing of turning a blind eye to misrule, corruption and human rights abuses.
China argues it is spreading prosperity in the world’s poorest continent where the West has failed.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has vowed to fight political opponents who try to limit or frustrate Chinese investments in the country.
The growing presence of Chinese firms in Zambia has prompted an anti-Chinese backlash in some parts of the country, with the main opposition party accusing Mwanawasa of allowing the Asian newcomers to exploit workers.
Workers at Zambia’s Chinese-owned Chambishi Smelter rioted over pay on Tuesday, injuring a Chinese manager and damaging property as a wage dispute entered a second day, a union official said.
Mutati said the Chambishi zone, which should be fully functional within five years, would initially create 6,000 jobs and offer incentives such as tax relief and easing customs duties on imported equipment and machinery.
Zambia’s government would build roads and set up telecommunications, and water facilities in the zone, said Mutati.
I hope these guys don’t come with their pollutions into the country. China is one of the worst polluter of the environment and I hope this is not a gimmick to shift to those heavy polluting industries in china to desperate cash strapped developing countries like ours.
We should be wise in making these deals. The USA’s NAFTA agreement has hunted them. 250,000 people have lost jobs in Ohio. The govenment should not just look in the short term results but also ensure that the future is not worse. Supreme furnitures and other south Africans companies have showed that tax free deals are exploited. Do your homework Levy and your cabinet to safeguard our future.
Short term gain from a country who does not give a shit about Zambians, as long as they can rape the natural resources and fill the pockets of corrupt politicians, AFRICA wake up and smell the Coffee,,,,,,China is not your friend, BUT a very Dangerous Enemy,,,,And When Zambia is flooded with crappy Chinese goods, they cant sell elsewere, like poisoned lead painted toys and the like, when your children dying like flies, and your river looking a swer of cheap chinese plastic crap….
What a great legacy from the greedy and corrupt politicians who claim to act in your interest…..
To whose benefit is a tax free zone? Chinese have certainly seen another window of making money without paying tax. When are we going to woke up, soon we will be crying foul after seeing the profits these guys will be making from this new initiative. To me we do not need this zone if it has no economic benefits for Zambians.
If Levy is not careful he will end up more disgraced than his predecessor Chiluba. The real deals he is making with the Chinese will be uncovered and he will be put to shame. The Zambian people need the tax free zone in order for them to bring growth to the Zambian economy. The reason the Chinese are coming with $800M is because there is 1000% more already in Zambia. The problem is that Levy is unable to manage the Zambian people to extract it and use it effectively. Shame on him for selling our country, he dose not realize that it will be a great problem to get rid of them once they are here.
As Zambians we have failed in to produce crapy cheap products, peharps we might learn something from China. China and Malaysia realised that their greatest assest was cheap labour, China has never pretended that it has expensive labour.Today China is flooded with investers from the west. Why? Becuase China has cheap labour and today the same cheap labour staff led a far better life than ten years ago. In Zambia we have cheap labour but we want to pretend to investers to be expensive. We expect the invester to pay unskilled personale salaries which even the government cant pay their skilled staff.
Do you know that some people would spend 11 hrs in a day crushing stones by hand and only earn k2500. per day if lack. Now imagin if an invester organises the same people to crush stones with a machine pays them K 3500 for 7 hrs work. The invester will be accused of paying degrading wages. Why? Because we wont recognise that the work has in actual fact increased the normal wages by K1000 and that the working hours have been reduced.
The govenment should come up with a minimum wage for industrial and formal jobs. People have no option but to get the less than $1(K3,500) a day. These guys are making huge profits and should pay the people who do the job reasonably.
Nenze kamba ine, Osa doger Ku pre-school. :)-Seriously what we need is a GOOD EDUCATION AND BINGO! WE CAN GET THERE
This is good investment on the part of Zambia. With this investment, university graduates (UNZA, CBU) will be able to put the theory they had been learning to practice. This will also bring employment to the country. Now as Zambians lets not be sleepy, lets also get our industries running so we can also export our products to China. After all, Japan started by assembling bicycles and today they are designing cars.
It is indeed such a shame that Zambia can still have tax free zone.Govt if fully aware that their major source of income is through taxation. In the hope of winning more investors who run away at the end of the windfall period. These guys are indeed reaping us off.
Tax free zone!my foot!! There is no free lunch in the coporate world. The chinese has found a cheap way of making millions in the pretext of bringing economic emancipation to Africa, Zed in particular. Bear in mind that thier products are substandard and will not amount to much in trying to help raise our econimic profile. Gov use your heads and think thru this before you commit us to this scam.
In my opinion, the greatest investment any nation can make is in its own people. It is high time gov’t creates an environment were Zambian owned and run businesses can grow and develop. In my opinion this is one strategy that should be on top of the agenda for any right thinking gov’t. Yes foreigners come with knowledge, technology and experience but if Zambian businesses are making good money, they can get knowledge, buy technology and even recruit foreigners with experience and skills. Let us look after number one, the local Zambians!!
But where do you start ? What is stopping Zambians investing ? The Governemnet should print money and give it tio Zambians to invest. Is that your idea of how a country grows ? Of course in the long run you need your people to invest. If they do not have money as is the case with Zambians how do you build the capacity ? That is where foreign investors come in. There is right now a huge denmand for power generation in ZAmbia and in fact in the whole Southern region. Let us see Zambia investors raise the one billion required for Kafue Gorge. Unless you appreciate this fact Zambians will contuinue walking bare feet and worms entering their feet while other nations are landing on the moon.
Good news atleast.
We need not to put much blame on the Chinese but see to it that our labour laws are revised.
Before leaving for China in 2001,i worked with the Chinese people in Lusaka for almost 4years.One time we wanted to stage a protest in claim for the increments of wages,.Being the youngest Guy in age but senior in position i rashed to the gov printers to have some copies of the laws and minimal wage thing.I was so embarrassed to discover that the Chinese were giving me more than what the laws claim.So we had to discuss with my friends about how to convince these guys.Being the most trusted worker by the employers,e
Cheese
you’re right, we just cannot print money and give it to Zambians because this will lead to inflation. Plus most Zambians lack the knowledge, skills, technology and most important of all EXPERIENCE to run a successful company. With foreign investors coming in, Zambians will be able to get the experience to run a successful company. As of now, very few zambians have the experience to run successful companies, a lot only have the theory. So lets get as much skills as we can from the chinese so that we’ll be able to do our own thing.
continued…
I asked my employers to se my pay to increase for my dudez who were married and had more responsibities than i did.I sat with them to explain the value of our money and how much it could afford.In reply i was asked as to why the labour laws on minimum wage were below the capacity i stipulated.To cut the story short,i once used my opportunity to explain issues when we went shopping to prepare for big function.Everything was clear and the result was overwhelming.Wages were increased to more than double and we were all smiles.
I JUST WANNA SAY THAT CHINESE ARE NOT AS RIGID AS ONE MIGHT THINK.jUST THE GOV NEEDS TO PUT THINGS RIGHT AND ALL ZAMBIANS SHALL LIKE THEM.tHEY ARE SO STRICT
IN THEIR COUNTRY AND THEY REALLY RESPECT LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.aM SORRY TO SAY THAT EVEN RULES WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION ARE FOLLOWED.iN THEIR LANGUAGE THEY SAY ‘GUIDING JIU SHI GUIDING”mEANING A LAW IS A LAW AND IT MUST BE FOLLOWED WHOLE HEARTEDLY.
fOR ANY MISTUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CHINESE PEOPLE AND THE ZAMBIAN COMMUNITY,THEN,SOMEBODY MUST BE ANSWERABLE SOON.(wHEN TWO ELEPHANTS FIGHT,ITS THE GRASS THAT SURFERS
gOD BLESS ZAMBIA
Zambians should come first, if the Zambian Govt. is serious, yes by now we should have had a satellite of our own (Nigeria has it’s own) that is because we have the human resources but no manager. The Chinese have realized that human resources, if used properly, is the biggest asset they have. Now they are using it so effectively that the USA only recently realized (I wonder where the intelligence is) that they (Chinese) have been spying on them. So given a good development focused government Zambian can raise $800M and even more. The problem we have is that if some muswamashi (foreigner) tells us it cannot be done we believe them and Levy is very religious about this, he has no faith in us
Cizubwe
I think you are wrong. LPM has faith in the youth since they make up most of the educated population of zambia (well in lsk and CB atleast). That why he set up some money in the budget for the youth so they can start small enterprises. You cannot tell some UNZA grads to run a major electricity company simply because they don’t have the experience. Thats where foreign investors come in since they bring their experience, knowledge, expertise, skills and technology. Even UAE had to call foreigners for all those skyscrapers in DUBAI simply because foreigners had the expertise to engineer a skyscraper.
China is being demonised by the West by making the World believe that anything out of that country is bad. What is currently happening to the American or Japanese economies is not an accident. These two countries have lost it to China and India as number 1 and 2 most powerful economies in the World and they cannot live with this scenario. They would rather fight these new economic giants by whatever weapons they have including environment, sub standard goods etc to discourage the weak-minded in the Third World particularly. Wasn’t it China that served us from ‘the talons’ of that murderer Ian Smith by building us the TAZARA. Where was your celebrated USA? Short memories? VIVA LPM.
CONT’D
DO WHAT IS GOOD FOR ZAMBIA.
Without an increase in spending on education, primary, secondary and university, manpower quality of Zambia will be so poor that for many years our nation is now condemned to be only composed of people who are drawers of water and wood cutters.
Tax free entities from China without smart oversight by the government of their business affairs will mean continued enslavement of the already vanquished citizens. Levy, Mutati are agents of slavery. They must be kicked out if the nation is to rescue some sanity in national development for citizens. There is no win-win scenario that has been modelled by Levy and Mutati. These guys have turned the country into a “Peking Trading Outpost” for China.
These stupid chinese are already humiliating our people and they still want to came. They think this is china where people work their butt but get paid so little…..What can we do to ensure the pay off their nose on the employees coz i believe we are running into a war which we wont win. Clearly Mwanawasa is bringing them.
Lets be Positive guys, Maybe we can learn to grow our economy from India and china.US and friends have never invested in Zed so what crap are pipo crying foul over chinese? Show me nat US symbol of trade ib Zed, go on show me.Well, If u asked Chinese? Tazara is one.Us will only come for oil, we tried to cheat them that we have iol , they never cared cause they know where theoil is in the world.Go LPM do whats good for zambia … utter dreamland we zedians keep living in.
You cannot be positive on Chinese and Indians when the net benefits to Zambia and its people are zero. All they are getting are resources from us and great cost to our nation- both economically and environmentally. Levy has made commerce ministry with Mutati the ” Beijing – New Delhi Trade Clearing House” with its sole aim at increasing exploitation of Zambian national resources with nothing positive in return for Zambia and its people.
Allowing these infestors into Zed without any rules is essentially criminal as they will rape Zambia without any remorse.
Here we go again. More Zambians thinking they are Economists and know about development just because some old uneducated President wannabe called Sata made them hate the same people who have single handedly done more for Zambia than any aid from Europe. It’s funny, you Zambians where crying for control of the same mines during KK time and when you got control over them, the mines where working below capacity. They where incuring huge losses. A chinese investor comes in and runs the mine and now they are incuring profits. Output has increased greatly.
It is clear that Zambians are just good at talking and complaining and yaping their mouths and yet they don’t know anything about anything. Theres a word for that, IGNORANCE. Until Zambians learn how chinese investment has given Zambia a boost you’ll always complain and when they chinese leave what are you gonna do again??? COMPLAIN. I think i should talk to LPM so he can buy Zambians a CLUE. The bible does say after all, “it is not good to have zeal without knowledge”. You Zambians need to grow up and appreciate what the Chinese have done for the country.
#27 Rightly said.We were so colonised that any white investment is ok and anything else we mourn.Sata has planted the seed of chinese hatred and he will take full responsibility if anything disturbs LPM’s vision for development in Zed.Common Zeds … Lets just make goo policy and legal framework to protect our kids for a better future.All I see is good for Zed.Forget US investment, coz it will never come.Chiluba was promised, show me any US symbol for investment in Zed, Zero.Chinese … Tazara, etc.
#25 What benefits do you expect for Zedians from any investor? Give me three … I will be soft.
Choncholi
The benefits I expect from investors for zambians:
1. Safe workplace practices;
2. Fair remunuration for the value of work done;
3. Employee training programmes with new technology;
4. Responsible environmental practices with zero or near zero discharge of dangerous emmissions to the environment. Application of systems to ensure that dangerous emmissions are not discharged to the environment;
5. If in mining, apply the legislated taxes on time;
6. Recruit foreigners after ensuring that Zambia does not have citizens with the required qualifications for the job at hand. (This is a grz task, but the grz is fast asleep with ignorance at its centre.)
..continued:
7. GRZ must ensure that no single job is filled by a foreigner without satisfying itself that there is no citizen with the right qualifications and experience in order to see more Zambians employed;
8. All foreign owned companies must have all their employees represented by a trade union of their choice;
9. All Zambians must have access to all agreements signed by the grz with any company so that our educational institutions such as UNZA and CBU produce graduates with companies in mind that are ready to absorb them.
I suggest that Zambia take on no more Chinese / Indian firms until an audit on current established firms is done to ensure that we are on the right track.
way to go china! zhong guo wan sui!!!
I really do not support blind capitalism as practised by the mmd and Levy. I would be pleased if we had a mixed economy so that we set up our own mines with modern mining standards and practices instead of crying out to foreigners. This is one reaon I do not trust Zambia is on the correct path of development. We are too dependant on foreigners. We do not have leaders with balls.
#31 I’m impressed I can say.Thats calls for legislation and a strong governace framework to realise all these benefits.Though I add two Infrastructure & Jobs.I can only concurr with you.Maybe, we can start tuning all this after these guys are confortable in Zed.On a positive note; lets embrace these guys and just tell them how we want things done in zed.
When strict communism, china experimented with economic zones in shanghai etc, Japanese and western investors flocked in, partnered with chinese businesses, the rest is history. The west is now complaining of trade defit in favour of china. Chinese exports are harasing EU, USA, etc. Give this initiative a chance, it wont be long before SADC, COMESA etc is flooded with “made in Zed” China have done it, we can do it, lets learn from them. Wages in China too were very low, improved greatly wit economic growth, and life styles hav changed. Urban china is no diff. from west cities. For this, we need a lot of power, France is in RSA big time! We also need nuclear power, after all we hav uranium!
When strict communism failed, china experimented with economic zones in shanghai etc, Japanese & west investors flocked in, partnered with chinese businesses, the rest is history. The west is now complaining of trade defit in favour of china. Chinese exports are harasing EU, USA, etc. Give this initiative a chance, it wont be long before SADC, COMESA etc is flooded with “made in Zed” China have done it, we can do it, lets learn from them. Wages in China too were very low, improved greatly wit economic growth, and life styles hav changed. Urban china is no diff. from west cities. For this, we need a lot of power, France is in RSA big time! We also need nuclear power, after all we hav uranium!
Not that im denying wages need to increase but we have to do this with negotiations. We shouldn’t chase them mostly because when we tried to manage the mines ourselves, we failed so lets learn from people who are experienced in these fields. After all, the town that chases the baker without learning how to bake bread starves. But the town that learns how to bake bread from the baker may start a new bakery or chase the baker and still have bread. Since when did Zambians become racist. Im so disappointed. You want to listen to a power hungry politician than think about the long run. I want my children to grow up in an industrialized economy rather than grow up in an agricultural economy.
Miyoba/ Mwanangwa, Guys i dont think you read the situation. China is amasing so much wealth coz u rightly indicated poor wages with its huge population and internal market it grow very fast. Allowed US firms and British firms to industrialise it and as a result they are now export big time. But do you think they are here to make Zambia better. All profits are kept in the China bank , low and exploitative conditions for Zambias and long hours of work. They are fighting for our uranium if you dont know. Bush was also supposed to have came just that Chuchu is pro China.Do u know Mrs Bush, Clinton ,the chinese premier etc all just for our high grade uranium.
so dont expect anything
In addition we had the Abrab guy who came over, yesterday Dr Mpande confirmed the oil deposits are real in NW so……..why do you think these chaps are here?
When it rains, the head gets wet before the feet. The people at the bottom have not yet seen the gains in the economy and i do sympathize with them but soon they’ll gain. The people at the top can see these gains. You’ve all heard that LCC approved the extension of “Manda Hill” which will include 30 more shops, a spar and a cinema (Nu metro). And arcades is still waiting for their approval. Kenya airways is going to be increasing flights to LSK. Barclays Bank is planning to reduce its interest rates and have more money available for loans. Talks of having a vehicle assembly plant in Ndola. Talks of having a tobacco curing plant in lusaka. A singapore mobile company is planning on…
[cont…]
setting up a mobile assembly plant in lusaka. These are but a few economic gains happening in Zambia and i want to be part of it and also live in these times. Learn to appreciate what the Chinese have done, dont criticize blindly and then regret later on.
A tax free zone is just another way of saying ‘please take over my country – I am too foolish to realise how good it is for me’
#40 Ndife i like your contributions but always wonder the time you dedicate yourself to work (and that is if you blog from work). You are always blogging the whole day.
Tax free zones are a recipe for national disaster. The GRZ has not articulated the benefits of this crap. All literature I have read points out that in these places, no local laws apply, and the Zambian citizens will just become pieces of shovels to be tossed about. These are the famous sweat shops you may have read about. People of all ages will be working out as Chinese do, human slaves. I look forward to the day sanity prevails in Zambia with our sick leaders.
#43..your admission is humourous but the salient message it conveys is VERY important.It is indeed up to GRZ to win us over by explaining the expected benefits to all and sundry.I personally see job creation as an immediate benefit…but bearing in mind our weak legislative framework i also fear unabated employee exploitation!ZRA will have a few more people in FORMAL employment to tax which inadvertently should reduce the existing taxation burden on the formally employed.maybe i’m the foolish one here ??
44 u behave like Mrs Clinton!
Looks like people are in love with a Tax free zone concept and the mashrooming of Chinese businesses without understanding exactly what they have benefitted to date with the already setup Chinese firms. The concept appears great, but the interface that would enable citizens benefit appears to be written in books on mars. No one seems to know what the real benefits are expected to be. The absence of an effective policy monitoring unit constantly on its toes to beat the abusive firms into line means that reality and dreams are grossly mismatched. There is no synergic entity to ensure that the investors and the receipients are on the same wavelength. LPM is at a loss as he has nothing to offer.
1. Number 31 and 32 on right track but i wish to add, let the minumum wage be graduated in accordance with the amount of investment by these investors. This will protect our brothers and sisters with small shop owners in Kamwala
2.Magande wants chocholi’s to make money and give the hospitals and roads nothing and tax me almost half of my pay ? what are we doing ?
I read somewhere that LPM promised the Chinese that their investment is safe in ZAmbia. I fail to understand LPM. How can he say that knowing fully well that the majority of citizens working for Chinese firms and Indian firms are slaves of the 21st century? How can he guarantee the safety of their investment when his GRZ has not shown prodence with tax-payers’ money as exposed by the Auditor General? If I were Chinese, I would tell him to care for ZAmbian money first and not foreigners’! I am sure that Chinese know of rampant theft in LPMs’ GRZ. They do not believe him as he has failed to safeguard his own people’s interest via good governance.
#49, We need a poevrty datum line and a minimum wage. These guys are reaping heaven and earth from our resources. LPM and his GRZ are not investing the future of our people via good medical care, education, sound and sustained agric policies, and a good constitution. These people want to sell everything thir ears are told is now found in Zambia. I doubt he can write thse words – FUTURE GENERATIONS MATTER in all we do today!!
Investment is a good, good idea. Ofcourse it is. But let this be wise investment, most of us have been let down by the quality of the so called investors Levy has brought in.
I’m not against the Chinese guys, I mean, life is hard. They also want to make a leaving.
There’s too much competition in China so Zambia has become their window of opportunity. Now what i would like to see from them is higher levels of competence and a profound appreciation for human labour.
The concept of a tax free zone is a welcome idea as long as the country can benefit from increased export earnings arising therefrom. If, as is the case now, all the forex earned from the tax free zone will be sent straight to China, then we are in for another stupid deal. What is needed at this point, since the signing has alreafy been done, is to put mechanisms in place to strictly monitor production/exports from the ZONE and ensure that forex is remitted to Zambia. I am not sure if Chuchu’s government have the capacity to monitor this. I have no doubt in the calibre of professional civil servants but doubt the will of the government to monitor the operations of Cheng Chung infestors.
Here comes poor salaries and cheap, poor products!
Ba Keyser#54,you may already know that over 40% of the components in modern day aeroplanes and cars are made either in China or by Chinese firms !!!it called ISO or BS accreditation.our Bureau of Standards is one of the most anonymous regulatory bodies in Zambia….even the ethics committee of the THAPZ(traditional healers) are more vocal !!
these chaines are clever.you are busy fighting on the bog and yet there ‘re just coming to zed to take our copper and build their military base.its very unfortunate for us,instead of making money out them,but there ‘re benefiting from our ignorance by giving them tax free zone.why ba levy zoona?
Hey Guys. Heard of the Silicon Valley (in USA)? It started off as a tax free zone. This is where you find most technology/communication based companies. Essentially, a tax free zone is not a bad idea. It is one of the best/easiest ways of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and is a positive job creation system. It is a practice world over and it is long overdue. My concern, as I indicated in #53, is monitoring to ensure the forex earned comes back to Zambia. While companies in the Tax Free Zone will not pay input taxes, they will still be liable to pay corporate taxes. The Chinese have a tendency of abandoning projects(check Swaziland clothing factory).
Original Pundit, acknowledging your comments in #46. A carte blanche tax free zone with no qualifying clauses to protect the hosting nation is what we all fear.
There are two possibilities – either Levy does not think Zambians are worthy of an explanation for giving away part of the country or the benefits expected from this nebulous tax free zone are not well defined. If they are not well defined, that is a loop hole for the infestors to dribble us and leave our people, environment and future wasted.
You guys busy complaining about the Chinese are just selfish, greedy, spoiled little rich boys who know nothing about Economics. You dont really care about the person at the bottom. Im sure the people at the bottom dont like the life of selling sweets in the street hoping for World Vision to raise enough AID money so they can have something to eat. A person who was making on average K100,000 a month would be more than happy to have a job where they will be earning K450,000 – K500,000 a month. National Mealing PLC which is a Zambian company pays its employees K350,000 – K375,000. Some of you have got gardeners or house boys who you pay K150,000 – K200,000 per month…
[cont…]
And you are complaining about this “tax free” deal. Do you think when LPM goes to countries like Angola or Madagascar he goes on holiday. He goes to make trade deals and trade agreements. When LPM is working on the railway from Chipata which passes through Malawi to Beira in Mozambique he is not thinking of trade. When LPM starts construction of a dry port in Namibia he is simply just spending money. People think, he is thinking of Trade. China wants to get its products in the African Market. It already has access to the American and Australian Markets but bringing things through Dar es Salaam can be expensive…
People consider this: The chinese donated hardware and software used for the electronic transfer of election results by the ECZ during presidential elections. They are also offering technical support to zamtel for broadband. These guys are setting themselves up to ensure that they remain stakeholders and decide who wins and loses in elections. If they can hack into the US military system steal technology and secrets without detection, I’m sure tweaking election results using their own donated software and hardware plus the fibre optic broadband will be easy. That is why they can afford to invest US$800 million because they know that Zambia will always have a pro china gov’t.
[cont…]
If you haven’t noticed, Zambia is in a central location in the continent of Africa. It is surrounded by 9 neighbors. If the Chinese set up their industries in Zambia, it would be able to export all its products to Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, DRC, Angola, Tanzania even South Africa. This will give Zambia a major boost economically making it one of the fastest growing economies in Africa because these neighboring countries might be dependent on Zambia for their products the way Zambia is dependent on South Africa for long term assets like machinery. Aren’t you guys tired of buying proudly…
[cont…]
South African products. Do you think the $1 billion dollars LPM is trying to raise for Kafue Gorge is just a gimmick. Most of you know that Eskom which is a South African power company monopoly is running below capacity, where do you think they’ll turn to for the much needed electricity during the 2010 world cup if Kafue Gorge will be ready by then. Eskom will have to make a decision either to cut power from neighboring countries or buy power from Zambia and if it cuts power from neighboring countries, the neighbors will turn to Zambia for the much needed power. Power rates will go up. Think things through before you complain…
Fellow Countrymen there is nothing wrong with chinese investment and if something wrong comes up,then we should only have ourselves to blame.The chinese are coming as Partners and its upto to the Zambian leaders to strike a better deal on behalf of the Zambian people.This is why it will always be great to send to Parliament or have governance,men and women who will not have problems understanding and analysing issues.Every investment be it Chinese,Zambian or South African or American etc could have a negative impact on a country if wrongly handled and implemented.If the chinese dribble us then we should all take the blame but am not seeing this happening we are equal to the task of negotiati
[cont…]
Even China started with cheap labor and the North American and EU companies started shifting their jobs to China and India for this cheap labor. Today the North American and EU countries are so dependent on China and India that if China had to decide to cut exports to these places, their economies would crumble into nothing. Don’t only think of the short run, think of the long run. [done]
According to ZNBC all the 500 striking workers at the chinese run mine have been sacked and the minister supports the move. So it means that if you work for the chinese don’t even think of striking, what a shame!
ghosh…so viva in china means loss of employment? what will my children eat tomorrow. Please, chinese, forgive me…i didn’t throw any single stone!!! I need the job…wowooo wooo!!!!
They should get sacked. How dare they behave that way in a country where employment is hard to come by. Some of them where selling sweets before and then the Chinese give them jobs where they’ll be getting K450,000 – K500,000 a month. With unemployment at 50% they should have thought better. Now they should go apply to Sata’s smelter at Sata’s contruction site since Sata is the one infusing so much hate towards the Chinese. Let Sata give them jobs we see. Thats what you get listening to uneducated greedy power hungry politicians like Sata.
Zambians should start asking themselves as to why so many Chinese people are pouring into Zambia literally in droves. The truth is that they have realized that the Zambian leadership, bottom to top or vice versa, is diabolically corrupt. It’s no wonder the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is now their playground. It’s annoying to hear Mutati talk about unity in Zambia as a critical factor for development. All that is bullshit and merely intended to hoodwink and blind ordinary Zambian into believing that politicians have their best interest at heart. Those politicians are basically positioning themselves so that with the help of the Chinese they can plunder the country silly.
#27 and many others with that school of thought are progressive and i concur with them. Does Zambia or those people opposed to this Chinese investment have an alternative master plan to suggest to LPM and FM (Felix Mutati)? If you do, then let’s have it, otherwise keep quiet and see what the two and the rest of the Leadership are trying to achieve for Zambia. Give them chance! You tried the ”Western Countries” and you have failed to attract meaningful investment. Let’s try the”Eastern Countries” in the spirit of ” South-South” Co-operation. By the way, where is the Anglo-American ? Didn’t they abandon Zambia at the time we were at cross-roads in our mining sector and we needed them mos
Tax free zones should not be encouraged anymore. Soon or later Zambians will cry, over this arrangement, the way they are crying on mineral loyalties!!!!
LEVY WILL BE SORRY ONCE HE IS KICKED OUT BY SATA.. TWALAMONA, TIZOANA….
sometimes i wonder if some of you blog with facts or just for the sake.
first of all,its no secret that the best chance for growing an economy in this globalised world today is FDI(foreign direct investment).ask even the americans,they are competing for this.
Secondly,the same chinese everyone seems so bent on demonising are the people holding the world economy from colapsing with all the problems in america.
All we need to do is tell them how we want them to behave while they are here and hear them out,then compromise.thats what its about.
stop pretending,we need these people.coming to economic zones,ask the malaysians how they got where they are,or the south koreans,need i say more.
:). I think it is great that Zambia has choosen China over the U.S and other western white countries. They have a long history of abuse and inhuman restrictions. More facilities must be built that allow the processing of Zambias resources within the country for export. Looking at how western countries like France with her demonic CFA Pact and the strangle hold it has on the economies of the former French colonies should be a fine example.These western companies from the U.S never include black Americans in their contingent. Also, Zambians abroad should return with their skills and talents and develope their country for the good of Zambians. Finally, foreign businesses should be majority owned by Zambians with options of buyout after a reasonable period.
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