Mulenga: Government Changing FDI Model by Promoting Joint Ventures

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga says the government is restructuring Zambia’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) model by pushing joint ventures to cut dependence on foreign capital.

Responding to economist Noah Kabwita’s call for reduced reliance on FDI, Mulenga said the government was already shifting towards partnerships with local participation. 

“In the past year, all the investors that came were solely owned by foreign nationals, but we have changed the narratives and the model,” he said.

“Many times, the president has clearly said we need partnerships and joint ventures… there’s share of capital, share of technology, share of skills,” he said. “So, when [Kabwita] says we need to depend on our abilities and not foreign direct investment, I don’t know what he is talking about.”

 “But I agree with him that if the narrative can be shifted, we can also depend on ourselves to own a certain number of entities so that we can grow our own resources. And that is what the government is doing by changing the model through joint ventures and partnerships with investors,” he added.

Mulenga said FDI should come with local considerations. “They can bring in their capital but we should preserve some certain supply and contractual jobs for our local people and then you are going to see the benefits. We should preserve certain key decision-making positions for the Zambians because the country has to develop skills and talents to manage these enterprises.”

“You can’t learn just by sending people outside, you can also learn by working with the partners that have come” he said. “Then your country men and women begin to have money… now they can set up entities on their own and then there will be independence of self-sustenance and self-reliance.”

Mulenga noted that major economies also rely on FDI. “I respect Kabwita’s opinion, and I would love to learn from him how he thinks we would create wealth without attracting foreign direct investment. Because even big economies like the United States of America attract foreign direct investment. China attracts foreign direct investment, and no country can exist as an island.”

“FDI is not bad, it is very good but it’s about how the country attracts it… Look at Americans, they are also attracting foreign direct investment, but they are asking that partnership should be done inland USA. And this is exactly what our country is doing,” Mulenga said.