Donors pledge US $1 billion

Zambia’s donors this week pledged to make available US $1 billion in balance of payments support and for poverty reduction programmes over a two-year period from this year to 2002.

The pledges were made during a three-day Consultative Group (CG) meeting in the capital, Lusaka, which was attended by representatives of the Zambian government, donor countries, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as NGOs. The balance of payments support amounts to US $355 million.

The donors, however, attached conditionalities to the disbursement of the funds. Muleya Mwananyanda of the human rights group, Afronet, told IRIN that these relate mainly to issues of governance and economic performance. “Growing corruption in government and a disregard of human rights were the main concerns raised by NGOs and donors,” Mwananyanda said.

She said the donors and Zambian NGOs urged President Frederick Chiluba’s government to publish a governance programme in which it should state its commitment to improve governance, extend participation in policy-making decisions as well as the protection of human rights.

“The public order Act, for example,” said Mwananyanda, “needs to be scrapped as the government uses it as a tool to stifle opposition to the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and to undermine human rights.”

She added that NGOs will monitor the government’s actions to ensure that it implements the conditionalities. “We will engage the government when it is not living up to its commitment to improve governance and respect human rights.”

The government’s interim poverty reduction strategy (PRSP), presented to the donors at the meeting, has drawn a mixed response. Mwananyanda said NGO’s are cautiously optimistic that the strategies proposed by government in the PRSP to reduce poverty could work.

“There is, however, a feeling that (economic) structural adjustment reforms have contributed a lot to the rising poverty levels. But the government’s willingness to engage NGOs in drawing up the final PRSP offers hope that more relevant poverty reduction strategies will be formulated,” she said.

Moses Banda, a Zambian analyst, said the CG meeting was a success. He said the fact that the meeting came against the backdrop of the completion of the privatisation of the assets of the loss-making Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) was a bonus for the country.

He said the privatisation of ZCCM assets, which was one of the conditions for World Bank and IMF support, will help attract investment to the country. “Investment will rejuvenate economic activity in Zambia and will help reduce poverty,” Banda said.

He added that the participation of NGOs in the CG meeting has helped reduce suspicions about the government’s approach to poverty alleviation. “The strategies should succeed because the government has acknowledged the root causes of poverty in its PRSP,” which include lack of economic growth, investments, and a reduced revenue base.