Indaba In A Bind

Just as every subject under the sun was discussed at the Sixth National Convention, or Indaba, so every attitude under the sun has been displayed in the reactions to the indaba, both before and since. Will it come to anything?

Predictably government supporters hailed the meeting as a great success, while those who had opposed the idea all along pointed to its failures. Even some of those who attended the indaba were scathing in their criticisms.

Interestingly, organisations which occupy the offices at the rear of Mulungushi Conference Centre, if they wanted business as usual, also had to register for the four days of the Convention, and only three representatives of each organisation were accepted.

There were undoubtedly many questionable aspects, but the boycott by Zambia's main opposition parties and the Oasis Forum did not prevent the "indaba" from attracting over 600 delegates for four days of intensive discussions.

A major thrust of the final recommendations is that Zambians need much more support than they have been getting from government. The Zambian economy has suffered greatly from overliberalisation, said the delegates, and the time has come to redress the balance.

No longer should preference be given to foreign investors at the expense of nationals. Local suppliers and contractors should be given preference in the award of tenders.

Tariff and duty adjustments should be made to ensure that Zambia's manufacturing industry can compete against foreign imports.

Commercial and industrial sub-sectors should be identified which can be reserved for Zambians. Externalisation of foreign exchange should be regulated, the indaba concluded.

Most of this is inevitable in view of the fact that the influx of South African investors over the past few years has not halted the decline of the Zambian economy. But these were "contentious issues" only in that government rarely listens to civil society. It has all been said before.

The most lively aspect of the proceedings was the uproar over the retention of the District Administrators. There was no provision for a vote on the issue, and chairman Siteke Mwale accepted the finance committee recommendation that the post be professionalised rather than abolished.

The finance committee also recommended reducing the number of government ministries from 21 to 14. Government is not noted for listening to advice. If the institutionalising of the time-worn complaints and suggestions (and the appointment of a special assistant to follow up the recommendations) means we shall get some good results at last, then this expensive indaba was worthwhile.