Blair whose African Governance Initiative advises three African governments, said developing countries needed to do more to promote government accountability, battle graft and create a “one-stop shop” for frontier investors.
Blair’s comments echo proposals by Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, who has called for a financial market-led approach to development.
“The problem with African countries is not just a matter of aid,” Blair told Reuters in an interview.
“The two absolutely critical things for any African country that wants to develop sustainably are that you put together the right business environment and that (investors) can come in on a transparent and open basis.”
Blair’s initiative operates in Rwanda and Sierra Leone and recently began work in Liberia, all of which are recovering from conflicts and present good opportunities for intrepid financiers, Blair said.
“You’ve got to put all the caveats in, but the natural potential of these three countries is enormous and the political leadership and determination is there,” he said.
“There are very few frontier markets that you go into where there isn’t a risk-reward balance, but if the investment pays off, it’s going to pay off in a very big way.”
Moyo, who wrote the book “Dead Aid,” has criticized aid flows, arguing instead for increased trade, foreign direct investment, and use of capital markets through bond issues.
African economies weathered the global economic slowdown relatively well.
The IMF recently forecast the continent’s growth for 2010 at 4.5 percent, although this presents a significant drop from the six percent growth rates enjoyed over the past decade.
[ Reuters]
This call is alien to the PF National socialist populism politicians who are driven by utopia. They tell kids to quit schools, and productive people to resign to insults and peddling of bath tubs in market centers and strret corners in assurance of miracle money in their pockets and mansions under PF.
Yes, these are the issues to discuss, let us hear your views. MMD spokesperson, PF-UPND pact and FDD, please debate this issue and let us hear who understands what Blair is advising you to do and HOW you would do it for the benefit of Zambia. We want clear examples of HOW your ideas would work AND not Penzanomic phrases and terms. If I don’t get any meaningful debates on this ONE, THEN I will have NO CHOICE but to ask Fr. Bwalya to RED CARD all the three parties and form a new ONE called the Real Change for Zambia (RCZ) and start campaigning for 2011. Cards may be ready as soon as 1st May, 2010 in anticipation of failed answers from the three mick-mouse political parties. Over to you Mick mouse parties spokespersons. No wonder it was called Mick-Mouse Indpendence. Hahahaha!!!
we all know that.except it is coming from blair.africa hhas the solutions .what is lacking is political will.obama said it well in ghana .we change the constitution to suit ourselves ,we fail to improve the institutions that promote good governance . unlike what blair say investors do not really need to come from outside,investment must start from within.it must be a partnership .refering always to investors coming is colonial and non inclusive on the africans country
#1 .there is nothing that blair has said that we dont know.but ur complex is so huge that anything a white man says is gospel truth.and ur immediate escape is PF.in your thinking PF is at fault ,yet pf has never formed a govt,so how can this call be foreign to them .your writting is directed at mmd.looking at doing business transparently-look at the sale of zamtel.looking at the right business environment as blair says lookt the roads in zambia .20 years fo mmd ,and the roads are worse than in unip.dont politicise everything blair is citing current govt approaches
But whenever the govt courts investors, the PF cadres and sympathizers begin to make noise. This advice should be given to PF cadres and sympathizers.
The govt is doing a lot in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, increasing trade and tapping into international credit. Zambia is in the process of obtaining a sovereign credit rating through JP Morgan. This will help us tap into the international bond markets.
THE MMD is the only party with an economically progressive manifesto that cannot be compared to the opposition whose politics evolve around insults, hatred and conflamented utopia.As an institutionalized democratic party that thrives on inclusivessness, transparency and give and take, the MMD had managed to have three presidents under one manifesto that had been sold to the people.This achievement is a confidence building measure that assures businesses and citizens that the constition and democracy are supreme under MMD rule.The MMD manifesto had been the country’s economic plan and results had shown through the reduced lending rates, single digit inflation and the increased foreign exchange reserves of US$2 billion.
The MMD was not lying to the people but that people should compare the MMD manifesto to that of the opposition because the party had been reviewing its policies regularly.The MMD was encouraging private sector growth so that more people could be employed and at the same time, increase Government revenue through taxes.It did not make sense for some people to say that they would re-nationalise Zamtel because Government wanted to make it viable so that it could employ more people and contribute through taxes.
Currently, the public sector could only accommodate 400,000 people and there was need for the growth of the private sector and that there had never been a problem with Zanaco from the time it was privatised. The MMD was not afraid of the PF/UPND pact because it stood for democratic dispensation and did not know what other parties stood for that the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) was a fraud because it was the citizens who demanded for the Constitution review.
In the law making process the MMD did not dominate the NCC because it was there as a party and that there was no money being dished out to some people because the conference was guided by laws.The issue of a degree clause for a presidential candidate was a collective decision and was not meant to bar any individual.
All these are confidence building measures a good administration has been doing which individualized self appointed life time leaders’ parties thriving at the whim of a madman cannot do. They are not institutionalized nor are they driven by manifesto but hysteria.
# 6 -10 Veteran, have you taken over Dora’s job as MMD party spokesperson and if so are answering # 2? Please say say as the communique to Fr. Bwalya is almost ready and MMD may also be RED CARDED before the end of the week. Anyway, may be we should give you more time as other party spokespersons may not have access to the internet DUE to uneven distribution of telephone lines by the ruling MMD. I had to wait for 15 years before mine was installed and even that I had to bribe the installer so I understand why the Under-Educate spokesperson may NOT have responded to #2.
Mr (B)lair is a big lair. he lied about every thing over Iraq.
“Iraq has chemical and biological weapons” and that, “Saddam has continued to produce them”.
“Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons in 45 minutes”.
Mr |(B)lair worships dark forces(father of lies) and he is a member of secret societies(the illuminati).
You have blood on hands Mr (B)lair.
:((:((
The issue at hand here is not about Weapons of Mass Destruction but rather about Africa doing more to promote investment in order to develop. And Prime Minister Blair is 100% right about it.
” (investors) can come in on a transparent and open basis” But UK companies have invested heavily in the Middle East and Far East inspite of corruption and bribery! I have often said that corruption is a problem only when it is against you. All men are naturally corrupt. All seek favours above the competition. Since men run and own companies and countries, corruption is everywhere. One Asian member of the House of Lords who is a big donor to the Labour Party said, ‘Who doesn’t want to be close to power?’ while commenting on why he donates to the party. the same goes in some churches. The big tythers and givers tend to become office bearers and their ‘sins’ are winked at. If you are known to be rich, you get less hassle from authorities. Travel to Joburg by air, no problem but by…
coach from Zambia, and you get hassled at the borders.
If you want to visit any western country at all, you have to provide bank statements to show that you have enough money to look after yourself. Why? Is not this an abuse of human rights? Anorld Schwartzennegar went to the US from Europe with only $50 in his pocket. Today he is a millionaire and a Governor of the richest state in USA! If he had been from Malawi, he would not have been allowed entry! Why is it that the western countries think that we are spongers? The most hard working people on earth are in the developing countries. Only problem is that they do not work smart.
Just leave them alone Tony they are happy with the little they have.:d
No proposal is serious, if it does not include the heavy taxation of the mines to capitalize our economies.
Mr. Goldman Sachs can criticize aid all they long, but unless she advocates the replacement of aid by tax revenues from the mines, she is just shilling for the neoliberal ‘free trade’ cause that has destroyed the manufacturing capacity of every country that tried it.
”African economies weathered the global economic slowdown relatively well ” So it’s not the called RBs policies that saw Zambia go through the crunch pretty much unscaved, huh!
Why gvt does not require foreign companies to give minorities interests to zccm-ih… just owing for its stakes instead of keeping money
So Zambia could invest… itself
Interest of foreign companies is to leave ZCCM-IH in agony, no money for developing zambia by zambian people
eg Kansanshi : the amount of minority interest (20% kansanshi) due to zccm-ih is overtaking $300 million, but Kansanshi paid only 3 m$ in 2009
and what does gvt??? Nothing…
$300 million due to zccm-ih
$37 million invested by chineses to re-open Munali Nickel Mine
a shame !! and RB is full of himself
zambian assets are selling off to foreign companies whereas zccm could develop it
at best incompetence
at worst…
What Blair has said, everybody knows!!! By the way why didn’t he encourage British investors to invest in African countries when he was in office?mmm Until he and his likes stop speading ONLY bad news about Africa (check the BBC – no positive information Africa), no investor will come. Ask Bob Mugabe!!! Secondly, what Blair & Dambisa are saying is also known but specifically in Zambia, we lack technocrats (people who can transform this theory into practice). But then, there is NO political will to make any changes. So we shall go on complaining and wailing ……..:((:((:((
#21,what is political will? government is encouraging private sector investment and government private partnership.this is where political will ends. Next stage is economic WILL by all stalk holders who should PULL money where their Mouth is.please encourage investment in all sector of the economy ,more so in AGRICULTURE. MOST Zambian investors can only invest in short term projects because they don”t have the patience.ALLOW RB TO BRING THE FOREIGN INVESTMENT BY ALL MEANS.
i used to follow lt silently but av noticed eversince elections that some people are paid guns…after investigation i have found the truth and it would be sad to learn that lt is actually very much a gun…
but if not you should know ba lt that the people you are tolerating are making a lot more money than you and you know them….just follow the election stories and upto now, people with all that info, do you think they spend all day on lt for nothng????
so much nonsense here, people talkng all sorts of crap…follow the truth, lets open our eyes…why must we be blindfolded so easily….we all don’t like rb that is a fact and lets stick with facts..
kwacha is appreciating, what has sata promised us? what is satas track record because before someone comes that is somethig we need to check so that we dont end up with another rb or worse.
what is hh track record, we are following blindly, comeon zambia we are better than that.
we need to speak ideas not politricking fingerpointing and much more non progressive nonsense
There should be a high correlation between political environment predictability (Political barometric factors stability) and business environment predictability, if not a causal relationship. Policy stability is cardinal to predictability of business environment and assured only where there is mutual respect and cohesion among major players, more especially of “leadership processes”. Predictability and transparency are just part of the many factors to sustainable development.