Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Amusaa K Mwanamwambwa has called on other World Parliamentarians to work with the Executive in their respective countries in order to provide appropriate policy responses to mitigate the impact of the global economic melt-down. Hon Mwanamwambwa said this when he recently addressed the 120th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Addis Ababa during the General Debate on the political, economic and social situation in the world under the theme “Parliaments: Building Peace, Democracy and Development in Times of Crisis.”

“Parliaments, through their legislative oversight function, should create an enabling legislative framework to strengthen corporate governance to protect the interests of stakeholders, that is to say, Government, investors, creditors and employees alike”, said Hon Mwanamwambwa.

He also stated that the current global economic melt-down had far-reaching consequences for all countries and that it was necessary as Parliamentarians, they show leadership in finding solutions to the prevailing political and socio-economic challenges that the world is facing today.  He said that these problems did not only require regional but also global co-operation.

Hon Mwanamwambwa added that, while short-term measures may be necessary to relieve the immediate hardships of especially the poor people, lasting solutions require fundamental long-term plans that would transform the political, economic, and social institutions of the world.

He observed that Africa’s economic growth prospects were being adversely affected by the slump in commodity prices at the world markets which inevitably, the majority of African countries rely on export commodities such as copper, coffee, oil, diamonds and tourism whose prices have fallen due to reduced demand.  Hon Mwanamwambwa added that ultimately, the global economic recession was likely to worsen the unemployment and poverty levels in Africa as more workers were being laid off.

Hon Mwanamwambwa however regretably noted that some countries in Africa were experiencing political challenges and these included the newly established power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe and the recent military coups in Mauritania and Guinea.  He also cited the political challenges in the Darfur region of Sudan, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Uganda and Somalia, as well as the unconstitutional removal of the Head of State in Madagascar as some of the areas that needed practical support to overcome the situations. He further stated that, Africa, sadly, recorded two-thirds of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world and was a negative factor on the socio-economic development of the continent. 

Hon Mwanamwambwa informed the Assembly that, the stable political situation in Zambia has resulted in satisfactory economic reforms, resulting in the average annual growth in GDP of 5 percent in recent years.  He said that the annual inflation reached the single digit level of 8.9 percent at the end of December, 2007 but has however, risen to 14.0 percent now due to the negative impact of the global economic crisis. Nevertheless, local and foreign investors continue to consider investing in the mining industry for long-term benefits. 

He however noted that poverty levels in Zambia are still relatively too high. However, Economic and Social Surveys that have been conducted by Government from 1991 to date have shown that the incidence of poverty has declined from 70 percent in 1991 to 64 percent now. This has been due to initiatives that include the provision of resources to the Citizens’ Economic Empowerment Fund, Youth Fund, Tourism Fund and Women’s Fund which provides start-up capital for new small-scale projects, and to the establishment of Multi-facility Economic Zones to generate employment and create wealth.

The 120th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 5 to 10th April 2009. The Zambian delegation was led by was Hon Amusaa K Mwanamwambwa. Others in the delegation included Hon Lucy Changwe, Deputy Minister of Gender and Women in Development, Mr Jack Mwiimbu, Member of Parliament for Monze, Mr Given Lubinda, Member of Parliament for Kabwata and Mr Percy Chanda, Member of Parliament for Kankoyo.  Ms Jean Kapata, Member of Parliament for Mandevu also attended the 120th IPU Conference under the sponsorship of UNICEF.  The Clerk of the National Assembly, Mrs Doris Katai K Mwinga, was also part of the Zambian Parliamentary Delegation.