consumer unity trust urges gov't to make trade a drive

The Consumer Unity Trust Society International Zambia Has Urged The Government To Make Trade The Development Drive.

Cuts International Zambia Coordinator Simon Ng’ona Says Zambia Has Potential To Develop Meaningfully Through Trade.
Mr. Ng’ona Observes That What The Country Needs To Initiate Is Promotion Of A Balanced Relationship Between Trade Liberalization And Sustainable Development That Protects The Poor, Especially Those Who Easily Suffocate From External Shocks, As Well As Ensuring Adequate Policy Space.
And Mr. Ng’ona Has Further Observed That, Zambia Has Mainly Concentrated On Continuous Trade Liberalization Without Ensuring That The Country’s Trading Capacity Also Improves, A Situation Which The Organisation Says Could Be Catastrophic.
He Notes That Zambia Has Been Cosmetic In Exploring Its Trade Potential Saying What The Country Needs To Understand Is  That The Major Economic Challenges And Constraints In Trade Of Both Goods And Services Are Largely Manifested In The Supply Side Constraints And Less In The Demand Side And On Market Constraints, In Particular In Regards To Goods Trade.
Mr. Ng’ona Says The Constraints Mainly Comprise Productive Resources, Entrepreneurial Capacities And Production Linkages Which Together Determine The Capacity Of A Country To Produce Goods And Services Adding That This Is Where Zambia Needs To Be Concentrating More.
Meanwhile, Cuts Has Also Observed That The Effectiveness Of Zambia’s Industrial And Commercial Trade Policy Might Only Yield Cosmetic Results, Citing Lack Of Awareness Of The Policy By Intended Beneficiaries Who Have A Huge Bearing In Shaping Zambia’s Trading Capacity. 
Mr. Ng’ona Says The Current Trade Policy Is Mainly In The Domain Of The Ministry Of Trade And Possibly Other Ministries And It Has Not Been Exposed To The Public Domain Especially Those It Targets Which Is The Private Sector And Consumers.