By Jane Chanda
Former Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) board chairperson Musa Mwenye says it is a mark of shame for Zambians to be ranked the 6th poorest country in the world.
And Mwenye revealed that, according to the 2023 (Financial Intelligence Report (FIC) report, some companies with Zambian shareholders secretly took out a massive $2.5 billion from the country and sent it to Asia between 2021 and 2023.
In a social media post on his Facebook page yesterday, Mwenye lamented that despite being a resource-rich nation, Zambia boasted of having a significant number of its citizens living in extreme poverty, with many sleeping hungry.
The former chairperson stated that the vast majority of Zambia’s poor people were hardworking but structurally disadvantaged, citing examples of market traders who started their day as early as 4 am and wheelbarrow pushers who travelled long distances to feed their families.
Mwenye further noted that if this money was shared among Zambians, each person would have received at least $119 or approximately K3,200, emphasising the need for a pro-poor agenda to lift people out of poverty.
“Their hard work can be seen from the several people who start trading as early as 4 am in our markets or the people who push wheelbarrows from Comesa market to Emmasdale and other far-flung areas just to feed their families!” he stated.
Mwenye stated that although being pro-business was important, a pro-poor agenda was a must for Zambia, ensuring that the country’s resources benefited all its citizens.
He stated that 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 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.
