Thu, 22 Feb 2018 08:44:35 +0000
By CHITE MTONGA
STOP complaining about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and be productive, says Rainbow Party secretary General, Wynter Kabimba.
“We do not need to be on an IMF programme, really we can do without them and for me I feel it is better not to be on a programme with them,” Mr Kabimba said.
Mr Kabimba told the Daily Nation that there was no country in Africa that had developed by depending on the IMF and debates over the matter were irrelevant and a waste of time.
He said upholding radical philosophy’s that encouraged productivity were the best approaches for developing a country as it encouraged development to be initiated internally.
Mr Kabimba said Zambians should not depend on assistance from organisations like the IMF if it was going to develop.
He said several countries in Africa had been on IMF programmes yet they did not develop. Mr Kabimba said the country could be developed without the IMF and debates on whether we needed the institution to develop as a country were not relevant.
He said the IMF and World Bank could not develop the country for Zambians but it was up to Zambians to concentrate on putting up measures that would develop the country.
Mr Kabimba said Cuba had not been a member of the IMF but was economically stable as compared to Zambia.
He said the IMF programmes were only debt traps and government should look beyond such an institution to enhance the economy.
Mr Kabimba said Zambian graduates should stop parroting what they read in text books and find workable local solutions to grow the economy.
“We have to know the background of these institutions, and not just have shallow debates, even when you are on an IMF programmes you are not supposed to be happy because it only perpetuates your dependency on them, and in turn they will tell you what to do all the time and you will not refuse because you owe them,” he said.
Mr Kabimba said Zambians should not celebrate when they are on an IMF program as it was just meant to easily usurp natural resources from the country.
He said politicians should stop politicking and educate the masses on matters that were of national interest.
