Zambian leader says failure to add value to raw materials causing country to remain poor

LUSAKA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Friday that failure to add value to local products has resulted in the country remaining poor over the years.

Lungu said the country will only manage to move out of being a poor country once it started adding value to its abundant natural resources.

"The more we add value to our raw materials the more we become wealthier, the more our people will prosper," he said in Chilanga district, situated 25 kilometers south of the capital Lusaka when he commissioned a tile manufacturing plant by a Chinese firm, Marcopolo Tiles Company Limited, a subsidiary of Wonderful Group of Companies.

In his address, which was streamed live on his Facebook page, the Zambian leader said his government has resolved to accelerate industrialization through value addition to local products and that it will support companies that were making the goal a reality.

According to him, despite the country being endowed with abundant natural resources, there was little value addition being done to the products, a situation that was making the country export more raw materials.

The Zambian leader further commended the Chinese firm for investing 35 million U.S. dollars in the first-ever tile manufacturing plant in the country, adding that the move will save the country foreign exchange as most of the tiles used in the construction were being imported.

The investment has resulted in the creation of over 500 jobs, he added.

Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Margaret Mwanakatwe said the investment was a testimony of the warm relations which have existed between Zambia and China.

The Zambian minister added that the two countries have remained intertwined over the years and should continue working together to promote bilateral ties. Enditem