No export of raw materials – Let’s take a closer look

By Kellys Kaunda

President Hakainde Hichilema has repeated that he is interested in processing our minerals into finished products.

A few days ago, he told the Mining Indaba in South Africa the same thing.

When he speaks of the just-ended IMF-supported debt restructuring program, he speaks of the next step as the diversification of the economy through value-addition.

But wait a minute. The President has in the recent past also spoken of Zambia being part of the value chain from production to the sale of its minerals.

The two are different although they can be complementary if some minerals are exported raw with government participation all the way.

The ambition is welcome but it must be grounded in realities to avoid unnecessarily inflating the hopes of millions of jobless Zambians.

The world’s factory – China – is quite aggressive and advanced as far as manufacturing is concerned.

Even the US struggles to rise up to the challenge. Europe, too.

So, if we insist on value-addition, this is what we are up against. How then do we do this and remain competitive?

We’ve heard a lot about this policy idea and it’s rationale. Now, we need to hear strategies which should trigger public debate.

Said Newton Ng’ Uni:”Kellys Kaunda you may check out also why Mulungushi Textiles in Kabwe has never operated in such a long time. China doesn’t want competition in international markets from products produced in Zambia”.

Noted Innocent Daka: “We need to move Chinese manufacturing floors into Zambia. We have started. Let us count how many manufacturing sectors that China has moved into Zambia.. If we had these during UNIP, we can do it. Mostly, it is about our mineral value chain that should be linked to high consuming tertiary sectors like ICT – mobile phones, computers, then electric vehicles and military. The agriculture value is coming up, with seed and fertiliser becoming a huge export and also satisfying local market. We have also increased value addition to grain and other edible crops. Beef is a traditional export to other African countries, so is sugar, tobacco and beverages. Textile we are on the way, with Sericulture in Mpika starting to produce silk yan and finished products and then we have Mulungushi Textile coming on board. We also export tourism products, though they are consumed right up here. Our conversations should not be China stinging us manufacturing investment into Zambia, it must be about technology transfer and also enticing them more into economic production zones with good packages. China is a more willing partner. But we should also ask how China got its technological muscle from the west. Between 1996 and 2002, China sent its citizens to acquire specific kind of education from the USA and European universities. Business and Economics, Engineering, Science and Tech, were the targeted courses because these meant students getting into industries during their internship. Then they also used a steal approach, what we called fake goods. They started bringing in machinery, breaking them apart and forging it to suit their knowledge. China today is a huge producer of industrial machinery and consumer goods. They became fake and went original. It takes more than talking, it needs strategy and resolve. We need to reopen Livingstone Vehicle Assembly line, we beed Lenco, Njwazi Manufacturing and Mansa Batteries to do things that today’s markets demand. We need Indeco, China uses state companies like AVIC, we need our Indeco back with vertical integrated purpose”.

Kellys Kaunda:“Innocent Daka you need to be minister of industrial development! 😂.

Mwiya Situmbeko: “China is not the only country that processes copper. If our pricing of finished products is competitive, we will not necessarily depend on the Chinese market. Value addition comes with baggage!

Kellys Kaunda: ” Mwiya Situmbeko maybe we are just fixated with China 😂

Robert Haloba: “Possibly invite the same manufacturers in China or elsewhere who consume our minerals to set up factories right here. They can process the raw minerals here and turn them into finished products. The argument could be the high cost of production for which most industries out there criticise us for”.

Kellys Kaunda: “Robert Haloba this is one of the possible strategies”.

Moses Kahilu:”That is HH for u he is a methodical working president there many things Zambians argued that they are an impossibility but he had a way to achieve them”.
Kay Kash: *Your analysis are always around the core target yet you avoid to hit Bullseye, get over it bwana just call a spade a spade listen how long has he been talking about this Value Addition exports like exported maize including Congo and malawi recent deals he himself appended to ,the export of raw copper and various minerals Gold included to overseas destination in fact this women made some remarks, Bloomberg, listen he say this today but does something else tomorrow he doesn’t walk the talk because HE doesn’t read written scripts why ,he is the a reservoir of wisdom yesterday today and in future. 2026 vote wisely and All freight and political prisoners will be freed”.