DM: Excellency, in the last decades Zambia has been regarded as a shining example of a budding democracy in Africa. The collapse of copper prices in recent years, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of Zambian foreign currency receipts, however, has made life difficult for ordinary citizens. What is the government of President Edgar Lungu’s solution to this?
H.E. Anthony Mukwita: The solution lies in the government’s plan to diversify the economy with a view to gradually reduce dependence on copper as the main source of foreign currency. So, for instance, the government of President Edgar Lungu is now encouraging further growth in agriculture and tourism activities in order to expand the economy, to create new jobs and combat poverty in a systematic and practical manner. There is no silver bullet but the solutions in place appear to achieve long term results. Agriculture, for instance, is labour-intensive and sustainably contributes to food security. At the same time we remain largely economically independent because we can export surplus agriculture products to other African countries. And compared to copper prices which are dictated in London the prices for agricultural products remain more under the control of Zambia.
Zambia's foreign policy is inevitably linked with its eight neighboring countries. You are also a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the African Union (AU). How do you want to intensify cooperation with the industrialized countries in the world?
We intend to corporate with the industrialized West by accelerating the corporation agreements that already exist and develop new ones via several channels of economic diplomacy wherever we have international representation. So, in total there are 38 foreign missions abroad in addition to everything we are doing back home under the direction of President Lungu and our Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Joe Malanji. We believe the world is a better place with integration rather than disintegration. We also strongly believe that countries are better off when forging closer ties instead of cutting them, because in unity there is strength. Of course, we likewise respect the uniqueness of each nation state.
In recent years, Zambia has faced an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees, mainly from neighboring Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. How is Zambia dealing with this situation?
We would rather not call the difficult times of refugees a ‘situation’, because in Zambia refugees are brothers and sisters who found themselves in an unfortunate predicament they did not plan for and who – being away from their own beloved homes – need shelter. We have lived side by side with refugees since 1964, when we gained political independence without discrimination. It’s just our nature, and it gives us joy to note that some of the refugees who lived in Zambia during the independence struggles of their respective countries later became Presidents, such as President Thabo Mbeki, H.E Robert Mugabe and H.E Sam Nujoma, just to mention a few. The current President H.E Edgar Lungu is an ardent supporter of refugees, and I think it is commendable that, despite his busy schedule, he always takes the time to personally raise awareness and money for the needs of refugees. Allow me also to praise the Federal Government of Germany for recently donating millions of dollars to improve the quality of life of refugees in areas such as water and sanitation. Germany is indeed a great friend. Refugees are people just like you and me. Some of us who come from Christian countries will tell you that Jesus Christ was once a refugee, too.
Zambia has great potential in the field of water resources and mineral resources such as copper, cobalt and precious stones. How does your government want to raise this treasure?
Our country wants to add value to minerals through various economic forms in order to create jobs and earn more money. Instead of exporting raw copper, President Lungu now wants to refine it in Zambia. Instead of exporting corn and soybeans and so on, we have to produce flour and bread. This is how Zambia wants to develop: by adding value to and not exporting raw materials, as has been the case for 50 years. We learn daily from countries like Nigeria, which is now building a multi-billion-dollar oil refinery company with the help of the Dangote Group instead of exporting raw black gold (oil). We must wake up and step up our National Development Plan, which seeks to lower the poverty line through more jobs, and we are getting there. We can’t deny the special place copper has in our “GDP DNA”, but we are slowly taking steps to distribute the assets rather than keeping them in a basket, as this leads to what is commonly known as a resource curse. President Lungu also wants us to ensure that we reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture and use our water resources to irrigate crops so that we can have food security, come rain or come shine. We currently produce just over three million metric tonnes of corn annually when we need to consume only one million a year, so we can export the rest and store some of it for a dry day.
On the other hand, Zambia is currently undergoing a severe energy crisis, to which, for example, the weather phenomenon El Niño and an overuse of the reservoirs contributed. What measures does your government want to counteract this trend?
The severe energy crisis, as you call it, has been nothing but a blessing in disguise for us because it has opened us up to the realities of the adverse effects of climate change, that water levels will never always be the same, but that at some point they will drop and temperatures will rise beyond normal. Due to the energy crisis resulting from climate change, our president has abolished subsidies for power generation to make it profitable. We are now sitting on billions of dollars in proposals for the energy sector after President Lungu responded to the crisis and made the sector profitable for the first time in more than 40 years by eliminating subsidies. It was a bold decision that previous Presidents did not make before President Lungu. At first people complained, but now they clearly see the point of it all as investors line up to illuminate Zambia.
The protection of the environment and natural resources was enshrined in the 6th National Development Plan (2011-2015) of Zambia as an important issue. However, in recent years, poaching has increased again and there is a legal dispute over the licensing of mining activities in national parks. How can environmental protection and economic development be reconciled?
Environmental protection remains a key issue in Zambia, where the continent’s first ecological park is located in the South Luangwa Park. Those who have polluted the rivers through mining have been punished in the past because of the respect Zambia has for the environment and environmental protection. However, we are not perfect, and we have much more to do. At least we acknowledge that climate change is a real thing and that the ozone layer is thinning. Reconciling nature and development will remain a challenge forever, but nonetheless we stay ready to tackle it. In December, for instance, our Minister for Lands, Environment and Natural Resources Jean Kapata was in Katowice, Poland, where she represented Zambia at the important COP24 or Climate Change Conference.
Due to the economic decline from about 1970 to 2000, the infrastructure of schools in many places is inadequate and there is a lack of equipment, teaching material and teachers. How does your government want to reverse this decline?
Zambia is currently building new roads and railway lines as well as rehabilitating old ones to make up for the decline you mentioned. We are talking about 8000 kilometres of roads, about 1000 kilometres of railway lines and so on. In fact, we are also talking about building ten universities in all ten provinces of Zambia to reduce educational deficits. It all comes at a high price, but we have been shown that if we do not learn from the past, we will be forced to repeat it.
In 2019, Zambia and Germany celebrate the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. In addition, Zambia is one of the priority cooperation countries of German development cooperation. Which current projects would you like to highlight?
As the representative of my country, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the German Federal Government for the 100 million euro cooperation in the field of renewable energies in the energy sector currently carried out by KFW and for the more than one billion US dollars in investment aid provided by the Bundesrepublik for Zambia, which began more than 55 years ago. Among many partners, hundreds of refugees living in Zambia have to thank above all Germany for the clean water, which no longer makes them sick. From my humble point of view, Germany is a great reliable all-weather partner and we pray that we will continue these special warm relations in happy and challenging times.
The culture of Zambia is diverse at local and tribal level, and traditions are passed on primarily in the form of dance, music, theater and festivities. In addition, Zambia is a sport-loving country, especially in football. How can Zambia's cultural potential be better integrated into the flourishing tourism sector?
Zambian culture, traditions and values are something that is passed down from generation to generation and respected as Zambian. In my opinion, however, it can still be improved and a little desecrated. For instance, we should be careful not to allow early marriages and violence against our women. The rest of the culture is to love one’s neighbour and to do something good for others. That needs to be improved for future growth, if you ask me. We also greatly appreciate the diversity in Zambia and have not been at war for 55 consecutive years, even though we have more than 70 tribes. We cherish and embrace peace and stability. It is our greatest asset and makes us unique.
Zambia is world famous for the many waterfalls in the country, of which the Victoria Falls of the Zambezi are the best known. The capital Lusaka is also a tourist magnet. Which highlights would you personally recommend?
Zambia has, I admit, what you say, many tourist highlights that we have to show. This requires money and investment, and we have to find both. But as Germans say: “Wir werden nicht aufhören!” We won’t stop! I would recommend you, if you have the stomach, the bungee jump over the Victoria Falls, white water rafting or just walking in the park or watching the sunset in a country that has 365 sunny days a year. I could give you another 100 ideas, but our tourism agency can do that much better than I can, just visit www.zambiatourism.com. In my view, Zambia has more “wow” moments than any other country in southern Africa. The biggest thing, however, is the genuine warm smile of the Zambians and the peace and stability. These qualities also make Zambia a perfect investment destination for anyone who is adventurous and fun-loving.
Any last words to our readers, Ambassador?
The only last word or words are that, on behalf of the Embassy of Zambia in Berlin, we are very grateful that you have given us the chance to talk about our great country. Vielen Dank.
Excellency, vielen Dank an Sie.
INTERVIEW Markus Feller