|
|
Article: Mining windfall buys critical time: with Levy Mwanawasa back in the driving seat, Zambia is reassessing its fortunes and how best to get on with business and life, neither of which has been particularly easy. Now Zambians will be watching closely to see if he can improve on his first term. Report by Tom Nevin.(ZAMBIA)(Levy Mwanawasa)
- Article from:
- African Business
- Article date:
- December 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Economically, Zambia is on an upswing, riding the positive cycle of commodity performance and cashing in on copper prices not seen since the 1960s and 70s. Levy Mwanawasa's most urgent job now is to ensure that Zambia's newfound wealth, coupled with recent debt forgiveness and a fresh flow of development aid, finds its way to the millions of very poor Zambians.
[GRAPHIC OMITTED]
Although the election was one of the roughest on record in Zambia, Mwanawasa, 59, in power since 2001, banked on his image as safe, dependable and proven and this was sufficient to tilt the ballot in his favour. On his watch GDP rose by nearly 5%, with inflation in single ...