Former Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairperson Musa Mwenye says it’s a mark of shame on Zambians that the country is ranked the 6th poorest country in the world.
Mwenye says according to the World Bank’s Zambia Poverty and Equality assessment report issued this month, 63.4 percent of Zambians were extremely poor, making the country the 6th poorest in the world on the extreme poverty score.
“This is a mark of shame for all of us and it should be a wake-up call to us as a nation. How can so many people be so poor in this resource rich nation where we are boasting of mines being opened left, right and center. How can any of us be proud of being leaders in a nation where so many of our citizens are sleeping hungry?” asked Mwenye.
There is no better way to describe the country’s poverty status than what Mwenye has aptly said. This status is a mark of shame that hangs over the heads of Zambians, whether they are here going about their day-to-day activities, or travelling abroad. This is not something anyone can be proud of. It should shame those leading this country more actually, because everywhere they go they carry the mark of being leaders of the 6th poorest nation in the world.
They may ride the best of cars and live in the best of homes, however, that status won’t take away the fact that they are leading the 6th poorest nation in the world. Such a mark of shame on them, and the people they are leading actually. If the sorry status truly bothers them, they will not sit comfortably in their homes, until they work their socks off to redress this situation. Just imagine for a minute, our President Hakainde Hichilema landing in any nation for some national assignment, like the recent one he took to Egypt, with his hosts silently whispering amongst themselves as his plane is landing, saying ‘here comes the President of the 6th poorest country on earth.’ Surely, with such a mark, we wonder if our dignitaries are even accorded respect in their engagements with other leaders. Popular opinion out there says there is very little respect for a poor person.
But we only have ourselves to blame for this, particularly the various leadership we have allowed to reign in this country, because if they had set their priorities right, and were driven solely on improving the people’s lives, we would not be in this situation we are in. Because how can a country which is so richly endowed with minerals, abundant water resources and huge tracts of arable land allow itself to be this poor? As Mwenye asks, how can any of us be proud of being leaders in a nation where so many citizens are sleeping hungry, where we are boasting of mines being opened left, right and centre?
Our leaders keep on boasting about the pledged investments into the country, and that the country has scored so and so investment, without any tangible benefit to the people. This should remind us of one thing, that it is not necessarily the investment coming into the country that will change the status core, but the value the country gets from the investment. For instance, we are now boasting about mines being opened left, right and center, but what are we gaining from the same? Instead of benefiting from the investments, we are at the same time shooting ourselves in the foot by giving tax holidays to the same investors, from the very key lifeblood of our economy, when copper prices are at their historically highest. And then we expect to fight poverty? Dream on!
By Daily Revelation Editor
Former Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairperson Musa Mwenye says it’s a mark of shame on Zambians that the country is ranked the 6th poorest country in the world.
Mwenye says according to the World Bank’s Zambia Poverty and Equality assessment report issued this month, 63.4 percent of Zambians were extremely poor, making the country the 6th poorest in the world on the extreme poverty score.
“This is a mark of shame for all of us and it should be a wake-up call to us as a nation. How can so many people be so poor in this resource rich nation where we are boasting of mines being opened left, right and center. How can any of us be proud of being leaders in a nation where so many of our citizens are sleeping hungry?” asked Mwenye.
There is no better way to describe the country’s poverty status than what Mwenye has aptly said. This status is a mark of shame that hangs over the heads of Zambians, whether they are here going about their day-to-day activities, or travelling abroad. This is not something anyone can be proud of. It should shame those leading this country more actually, because everywhere they go they carry the mark of being leaders of the 6th poorest nation in the world.
They may ride the best of cars and live in the best of homes, however, that status won’t take away the fact that they are leading the 6th poorest nation in the world. Such a mark of shame on them, and the people they are leading actually. If the sorry status truly bothers them, they will not sit comfortably in their homes, until they work their socks off to redress this situation. Just imagine for a minute, our President Hakainde Hichilema landing in any nation for some national assignment, like the recent one he took to Egypt, with his hosts silently whispering amongst themselves as his plane is landing, saying ‘here comes the President of the 6th poorest country on earth.’ Surely, with such a mark, we wonder if our dignitaries are even accorded respect in their engagements with other leaders. Popular opinion out there says there is very little respect for a poor person.
But we only have ourselves to blame for this, particularly the various leadership we have allowed to reign in this country, because if they had set their priorities right, and were driven solely on improving the people’s lives, we would not be in this situation we are in. Because how can a country which is so richly endowed with minerals, abundant water resources and huge tracts of arable land allow itself to be this poor? As Mwenye asks, how can any of us be proud of being leaders in a nation where so many citizens are sleeping hungry, where we are boasting of mines being opened left, right and centre?
Our leaders keep on boasting about the pledged investments into the country, and that the country has scored so and so investment, without any tangible benefit to the people. This should remind us of one thing, that it is not necessarily the investment coming into the country that will change the status core, but the value the country gets from the investment. For instance, we are now boasting about mines being opened left, right and center, but what are we gaining from the same? Instead of benefiting from the investments, we are at the same time shooting ourselves in the foot by giving tax holidays to the same investors, from the very key lifeblood of our economy, when copper prices are at their historically highest. And then we expect to fight poverty? Dream on!
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