Free education, a gateway to innovation —Political analyst

A Zambian governance and political analyst says the provision of free education in Zambia is a gateway to innovation just as China developed its economy through provision of education to its citizens.

Mark Simuwe said at the conclusion of a youth festival in China recently that free education was the innovation that China started and had worked well for them.

Simuwe said it was inspiring to see how China had emerged among developing countries as a giant in economic emancipation and was now even lending money to African countries including big economies.

“It is inspiring to see how China has emerged among developing countries as a giant in economic emancipation. The Chinese worked hard realizing that nobody was going to develop China for them,” he said in an interview.

He said he was confident that in the next 10 years Zambia would be incomparable in terms of education.

Simuwe said the idea to revamp the farm block by the government through the release of one million Kwacha was in itself a clear demonstration of what China was also doing currently.

“What we cannot see is that this is exactly what HH is trying to do by providing skills trading under Constituency Development Fund (CDF) so that citizens can produce more. Then surplus food is exported to attract individual returns and government revenue. This is what China has done,” he said.

Simuwe said where the resources could not be allowed, China through the Ministry of Commerce could initiate talks to have partnerships between Zambians and Chinese for large scale agriculture.

He said it is also gratifying that President Hichilema had also engaged in skills training under CDF in areas such as agriculture, aquaculture, metal fabrication and carpentry which is exactly what China did.

He however noted that many Zambians and some of the opposition political parties were intolerant to see what the new dawn administration was trying to do to help the citizens with decent standard of living.

He said that the technological advancements achieved by China in the transport sector which included the establishment of the world’s fastest bullet train is a milestone which African countries must emulate.

Contributed by Dorothy Chisi

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