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Control in the Parastatal Sector of Zambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Ben Turok
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Extract

The term ‘parastatal’ is used rather loosely in Zambia, being often applied to a wide range of bodies such as boards, corporations, and companies that operate in the state-dominated sector of the economy. It is unfortunate that there has not been greater consistency in official usage, but these organisations have grown up over the years in different forms to meet felt needs and not according to a preconceived plan. The vagaries in terminology also reflect a degree of uncertainty in government policy on how the public sector should be ordered, as well as a piecemeal approach in its interventions in the economy since independence. However, in recent years the nomenclature has received greater attention out of a recognition that the parastatals loom rather large in the economy, often being more prominent than government departments and more visible than the private sector.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 1981 , pp. 421 - 445
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

page 422 note 1 Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Salaries, Salary Structures and Conditions of Service of Zambia, Vol.1, The Public Services and Parastatal Sector (Lusaka, 1975), p. 130.Google Scholar

page 423 note 1 James Mapona, interview, Lusaka, 15 January 1980.

page 424 note * Those marked with an asterisk fall under Z.I.M.C.O., and are marginal cases with greater autonomy.

page 424 note 1 Kaunda, Kenneth, ‘The Watershed Speech’, Address to the National Council of U.N.I.P., Mulungushi Hall, Lusaka, 30 06 1975.Google Scholar

page 424 note 2 Simwinga, George K., ‘Corporate Autonomy and Government Control’, Ph.D. thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 1977, pp. 132–42.Google Scholar

page 426 note 1 Simwinga, op. cit. p. 170.

page 427 note 1 Ibid. p. 198.

page 428 note 1 Imports of crude petroleum products in 1979 declined by 10·4 per cent to just under 700,000 tonnes from 780,000 tonnes the previous year, but the cost rose to K97·1 million from K68·1 million. Standard Chartered Review (Lusaka), 09 1980.Google Scholar

page 428 note 2 Times of Zambia (Lusaka), 23 01 1980.Google Scholar

page 429 note 1 Republic of Zambia, Standing Order 79 (2), Lusaka, 1974.

page 429 note 2 Kayope, V.W.C., Daily Parliamentary Debates (Lusaka), 13 03 1978, col. 2926.Google Scholar See Report of the Committee on Parostatal Bodies for the Fifth Session of the Third National Assembly, appointed on the 31st January 1978 (Lusaka, 1978).Google Scholar

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page 431 note 1 Sources: President Kenneth Kaunda, address to the National Council of U.N.I.P., 8 October 1979; Daily Mail (Lusaka), 10 10 1979;Google Scholar and INDECO Report, 1977–1978 (Lusaka, 1978).Google Scholar

page 431 note 2 But Z.I.M.C.O. had a good year, making a pre-tax profit of K283 million in 1979–80, and the mines actually contributed to revenue. The hazards of depending on the mines were brought out by the variation in price per tonne from £1,374 in February 1980 to £803 only 5 months later.

page 433 note 1 The parastatals also serve as a pace-setter for salaries and perquisites in the civil service. In November 1980 the Committee of Inquiry into Public Service Salaries recommended increases that ranged upwards as high as 80 per cent – the lowest paid gained K288 per annum to reach K984, while at the top the Secretary to the Cabinet received an extra K7,700 to reach K18,200; Times of Zambia, 23 November 1980. Among the more striking allowances proposed were K300 per month for a person residing in a house over K35,000, or 4½ times the full salary of an ordinary worker. A number of senior officials received free transport, fuel, and a driver, as well as an entertainment grant, thereby bringing them into line with the emoluments proposed for Z.I.M.C.O., while those travelling abroad to North America or Europe could get a per diem of up to K120.

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page 435 note 2 Zambia Daily Mail, 19 December 1978.

page 435 note 3 James Mapoma, address to the Economics Club, Lusaka, 8 January 1980.

page 436 note 1 Zambia Daily Mail, 19 December 1978.

page 436 note 2 The Director-General indicated in a personal interview, 15 January 1980, that he was opposed to expanding the Z.I.M.C.O. executive staff much beyond its 1979 levels.

page 437 note 1 Mapoma, op. cit.

page 437 note 2 Personal interview, Lusaka.

page 437 note 3 Daily Parliamentary Debates, 30 March 1979.

page 438 note 1 Mapoma, op. cit.

page 438 note 2 In fact, in 1980 the price of the cheaper ‘roller meal’ rose more than the normally expensive ‘breakfast meal’, inexplicably favouring the better-off consumer.

page 439 note 1 Martin, Anthony, Minding Their Own Business: Zambia's struggle against western control (Harmondsworth, 1975 revised edn), p. 217.Google Scholar

page 441 note 1 Amin, Samir, Unequal Development (New York, 1976), p. 251Google Scholar, my emphasis.

page 441 note 2 Elliott, Charles, ‘Growth Development or Independence,’ in H., and Simonis, U. (eds.), Socioeconomic Development in Rural Economies (Munich, 1971), p. 69.Google Scholar

page 441 note 3 Ibid. p. 76.

page 443 note 1 Office of the President, National Commission for Development Planning Zambia. Third National Development Plan, 1979–1983 (Lusaka, 1979).Google Scholar

page 444 note 1 International Labour Office/Jobs and Skills Programme for Africa, Basic Needs in an Economy Under Pressure (Geneva, 1980).Google Scholar

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page 445 note 1 Mutukwa, K. S., ‘Political Control of Parastatal Organisations in Zambia’, in Zango (Lusaka), 1, 09 1976, p. 39.Google Scholar