PATRIOTIC Front (PF) presidential aspiring candidate Joseph Mudolo says Zambia does not need to kneel before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or other lenders to fix its struggling economy because the country is literally sitting on a goldmine.
Speaking during an online interview last night, Mudolo, a Zambian business man based in South Africa said Zambia’s mineral wealth, if properly structured and leveraged, could raise between US$12 billion and US$15 billion without borrowing a single cent from foreign institutions.
“The issue which we are facing today, if I am given an opportunity to come in as a president under my government, one thing I would do is to establish a sovereign fund,” Mudolo said.
“We have assets. What they (Government) needed to do was to look on the asset side, because you need to look at external balance.”
Mudolo, declared his bid for the PF presidency ahead of the 2026 general elections, said Zambia’s economic challenges stem from overdependence on copper exports and a lack of creativity in financing.
He explained that the government could have used the country’s mineral resources, including assets in Mopani, KCM and other mining interests, to create a national fund that would bring in money for development without borrowing from outside..
The PF 2026 presidential hopeful argued that instead of celebrating debt restructuring and IMF packages, Zambia should be focusing on wealth creation through strategic partnerships and value addition.
He said the country could easily fund key sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and energy using proceeds from structured mineral offtake agreements.
The South Africa-based entrepreneur said under his leadership, Zambia would embark on homegrown economic engineering, turning its natural assets into instruments of progress instead of collateral for loans.
By George Musonda
Kalemba October 13, 2024
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