The Economic Association of Zambia says it is not prudent for Zambia to declare the food situation as a national disaster considering that it is not the entire country experiencing shortage of food.
Association president Dr. Lubinda Habaazoka explains to Money FM in an interview that declaring the situation as a disaster has implications that can negatively affect inflow of foreign direct investment into Zambia.
Dr. Habaazoka adds without a comprehensive national assessment on the food security across the country, it will would be deceiving to the international community to indicate that Zambia is in dire need of food when it is only selected districts that did not receive adequate rainfall that are food insecure.
“No investor can bring in money into a country that is experiencing hunger, so it will be jeopardizing our investment potential by declaring the current food insecurity in some areas as a national disaster” he explained.