Sat, 14 Oct 2017 14:06:52 +0000
By Violet Tembo
IT is high time Southern African countries rose to the occasion and controlled the exploitation of their minerals for the benefit of the people,” Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) executive director Siphosami Malunga has said.
And Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) director Dr. Claude Kabemba charged that politics had contributed to making Africa poor despite its abundant natural resources.
Speaking on the sidelines of a two-day conference held in Ndola under the theme “Natural Resources, Politics and Development,” Mr. Malunga said corruption had resulted in failure by some governments in the region to transform their countries.
Mr. Malunga said political leaders personal interests at the expense of saving the people was contributing to the high levels of poverty in many Southern African countries.
He observed that it was unfortunate that despite being one of the leading copper producers in Africa, a large percentage of Zambia’s population was living in abject poverty.
Mr. Malunga challenged Southern African countries to rise above board and refrain from inducements that come from investors at the expense of the masses.
And Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) Director Dr. Claude Kabemba said politics was a major setback for Africa’s development despite the continents vast natural resources.
Dr. Kabemba said the capture of the extractive industry by politics was the biggest obstacle facing the continent.
“Most countries in the southern African region do not depend on taxes paid by citizens to raise revenue. They depend on extractive industries as the main source of domestic revenue mobilisation.
“In the past decade, we did interrogate sufficiently the role of politics in undermining or promoting good governance of natural resources.
“The control of this sector by politics is a matter of life and death for those in power.
He accused governments of having no interest in listening to the people’s concerns but to extractive companies.
Dr. Kabemba said politics dictates all aspects of society in Africa.
He said the extractive industry was among the most productive sectors that generate enough revenue but because of politics the sector was not doing well in most countries in the region.
