ECONOMIST URGES GOVERNMENT TO RENOUNCE ZAMBIA’S SADC MEMBERSHIP FOR THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY-EAC
By Michael Kaluba
Economist Munyumba Mutwale is urging government to reconsider Zambia’s status as a member of the Southern African Development Community-SADC and instead join the East African Community-EAC to harness the latter’s regional integration and trade potential.
Mr. Mutwale argues that Zambia has no significant benefits from SADC especially that South Africa has allegedly continued to resists regional integration in preference of its domination while losing the Democratic Republic of Congo to the eastern bloc will injure the country’s economy.
Mr. Mutwale says with an integrated passport system, a regional currency and central bank among others envisaged by the eastern bloc, the DRC will completely take its trade to east hence Zambia will lose out especially that 10 percent of the country’s total copper exports come from there.
He further argues it will be more beneficial to Zambia to join the East African Community whose bloc is not trade based only but is a political, social and economic environment of debt sustainable and fastest growing country on the continent which will also be more useful for both traditional and non-traditional exports through the Indian Ocean.
He adds that the impact of the DRC move to East Africa will gradually manifest on Zambia who gains substantial United States Dollars from trade with its northern neighbor that was on Tuesday announced as the latest member of the EAC giving it access to the Atlantic Ocean and new trading partners with strong currencies and over 7 percent economic growth.
PHOENIX NEWS
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