Politicians focus on votes rather than economic growth

Zambian talk radio stations are filled with political discussions and interviews – well ahead of national elections which have to take place sometime in 2016. Business and the people of Zambia are affected because the politicians are focusing on scoring votes rather than growing the economy. Developments are being monitored closely by the logistics industry, from clearing agents to transporters. A common refrain heard by FTW during its recent visit to Zambia was that companies were now working twice as hard for less money. With the market being overserviced for now, shippers are able to dictate prices and demand additional services. One result is a shake-up within the industry, with a slew of mergers and acquisitions, as well as the formation of new alliances and partnerships. The positive for investors is that multi-party rule is now entrenched, with no party being dominant. It will be a tight race judging by the presidential election held in January 2015, which resulted in the closest results in the 25 years of multi-party democracy in Zambia. Hakainde Hichilema, a successful businessman and president of the United Party for National Development (UPND), lost the elections with a margin of just 27 000 votes to Edgar Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF). Under the now deceased Michael Sata, the PF in 2011 brought to an end 20 years of rule by the Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). With the copper price under pressure along with other commodities there are no shortterm solutions to the current economic downturn. The diversification of the economy to reduce its reliance on copper is taking time. This is bad news for Lungu and the PF who have possibly less than a year to win the public vote – and for the logistics sector, which like the rest of the Zambian economy is dependent on the mining industry.