Gov’t failing to use advantage of bilateral relations to improve economy – Emmanuel Mwamba 

By NAMO PHIRI

Zambia’s former Ambassador to Ethiopia,  Emmanuel Mwamba says the new dawn administration has not taken  advantage of the diplomatic  relations  with other countries to improve the economy by attracting  Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Mr. Mwamba told Millennium TV that Zambia is a land-linked country with a comparative  advantage of making economic progress through bilateral relations. We’ve been emphasising that the President must go to China to help unlock and resolve the issue of debt restructuring and it has taken  him almost 20 months to make such a decision. So he is not capitalizing on our bilateral relations.

“We  thank the United States  to where he leans,  we thank the US  that they are the biggest bilateral partner, especially the support they give us to the health, education and social sectors. However, we need to balance all our interest in the region and across the world,” Mr Mwamba said.

He also said it was important for Zambia to benefit from the BRICS countries, which are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Mr Mwamba stated that taking advantage of the country’s geographical  position meant balancing relations in the region and worldwide.

Mr. Mwamba who is also a Patriotic Front (PF) presidential aspirant,  added that Government’s failure to directly engage with China over debt restructuring was an indication that Zambia is failing to capitalize on already existing foreign relations.

He said the relations that President Hichilema claims to have  established with other countries should translate into tangible investment.