Stop moving around with begging bowl in hand- PF aspiring candidate Mudolo ‘tells HH’
Patriotic Front (PF) aspiring presidential candidate Joseph Mudolo says the country should not be moving around with begging bowl in hand as it is doing under President Hakainde Hichilema.
He adds that Zambia should not be asking for alms from Briton woods institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to fix its ailing economy.
Speaking during the Emmanuel Mwamba Verified (EMV) Podcast interview last night, Mudolo, a Zambian business man based in South Africa said the country is literally sitting on a goldmine.
He pointed out that Zambia is able to raise between US$12 billion and US$15 billion from its vast resources without borrowing.
“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. -PF