|
The Consultative Group (CG) meeting which brings our national
government and the donor community to discuss Zambia’s social
and economic development issues is important to all Zambians
because of one major reason – the heart of the discussions is on
the people, resources and development capacities of Zambia. For
this reason, civil society has pledged to deepen their role of
speaking for the Zambian people, majority who are poor and
voiceless.
As a key stakeholder in such gatherings, the civil society will
participate in the coming CG. As a starting point, civil
society has built a position on what it expects from the CG
2002. According to civil society, the key issues for the CG
2002 should centre on resource flows, terms of trade, commodity
prices, debt and debt relief, the status of women and the youth,
unemployment, poverty reduction and good governance.
It is the expectation of civil society that Government and the
donors will deal with these issues in a way that will no longer
frustrate the aspirations of the Zambian people. With poverty
afflicting 80% of the Zambians, civil society calls for a
comprehensive attack on the root causes of poverty in Zambia
instead of the ‘stop-gap’ measures that have been used. Civil
society calls upon the Government and the donor community to
forge a new partnership with the Zambian people who continue to
face an increasing risk of deepening poverty and greater
deprivation.
From the donor community, civil society demands adequate
support that will enable Zambia to transform the current human
living conditions into better ones. It is the expectation of
civil society that the donor ‘promises’ of the past will become
realities of the future. The donor community must be truly
committed to fulfilling their pledges.
From the national Government, civil society demands for a more
responsive and accountable government and popular participation
in a decentralised development process. This process must
enable all people, women and the youth in particular, to become
agents of positive and sustainable change.
As the Government of Zambia, donors and representatives of
civil society meet in the coming CG, let them all remember that
they have a moral and material responsibility to the people of
Zambia. The social and economic priorities of the Zambians must
shape all the discussion during this CG.
Thank you
Gregory Chikwanka – Acting Co-ordinator
Civil Society for Poverty Reduction |
