CUTS IN Media
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CUTS IN MEDIA |
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Trade Round Talkers Should Consider What Divides The Rich And The Poor 16th June 2003, Financial
Times From Mr. Pradeep S. Mehta. Sir, The Group of Eight summit at Evian has proved to be a disappointment for the whole world as far as the World Trade Organisation's Doha agenda is concerned. Every possible deadline set in the Doha round has failed, while the big leaders (certainly not statesmen) could not say anything to push it forward, beyond muttering homilies ("Leaders paper over cracks on WTO talks", June 3). The cost of the meeting was a scandalous $400m, which, as someone commented, could have been better used to reduce poverty in the world. When trade ministers meet in Cancún, Mexico, in September it would be as well to remember a meeting, the North/ South summit that took place there in 1981. Then Ronald Reagan, the US president, and several other heads of government, including Indira Gandhi, India's prime minister, met to agree to launch a new trade round, which ended up as the Uruguay round. One wonders what ministers will do when the September 2003 meeting takes place. Perhaps they will meet, drink and eat and ask negotiators to proceed on newer deadlines, which will continue to be trapped in a mercantilist mindset of negotiators. One thing perhaps they may seriously want to do is to ponder what divides the world as far as the WTO is concerned. There is a clear schism between the rich and the poor on the issues that are up for negotiation. First, to fulfil the development pledge of the Doha round, the poor want better market access, access to cheap medicines, reduced agricultural subsidies in the west, provision of golfing handicaps and a more user-friendly trading regime. On the other hand the rich want lower tariffs, multilateral lock-in on investment rules, government procurement, trade facilitation and a competition policy. They are not even prepared to look sincerely at the poor's demands. If one looks at the details of these two sets of diverse demands, the objectives do not pull in the same direction. Thus, there was a sensible agenda that the G8 leaders could have discussed. Alas, they missed the whole point. This will need to be revisited when trade ministers meet at Cancún but that may be asking for the moon.
Minister Wants Homemade Set Top Boxes 04th June 2003, Business
Standard De was present at a panel discussion on ‘Cable TV Fiasco: The way out’ organised by the Consumer Unity & Trust Society that represented players from the service provider segment, cable operators and consumer activists. “The government should have provided enough time for implementation of Conditional Access System (CAS) so that the encryption and decryption technology through set top boxes could be adopted in the country blocking outflow of precious foreign exchange,” the minister added. “The central government seems to be hurrying up matters, but an extended deadline could have eased up matters providing enough time to all concerned parties to for them to clear up confusions,” De explained. The minister also said that the government should also put in place an authority which could address all problems related to cable channel viewing.
Cable Access To Be Conditioned By Cost 03rd June 2003, The Statesman The Conditional Access System (CAS) regime will usher in a situation where those with the means will be able to see the channels they want to, while others will have to do without, said state consumer affairs minister Mr Naren De. He was speaking at a discussion entitled Cable TV Fiasco: The Way Out, which brought together representatives of local cable operators, consumer forums and Multi System Operators (MSOs) to throw light on the confusion raging over the implementation of the Conditional Access System. The minister also questioned whether it was prudent on the part of the central government to import the Set Top Box (STB) at a much higher cost when they could have been manufactured locally. This would have encouraged domestic manufacturers as well as generated jobs. The discussion was organised by the Consumer Unity Trust and Society (CUTS), a consumer interest body. Apart from the minister, present at the occasion were Mr Mrinal Chatterjee, representative of cable operators, Mr Sudip Ghosh, director of city MSO Manthan, Ms Mala Banerjee of the Federation of Consumer Associations and Mr Pradeep Mehta of CUTS. While
the general agreement was that there is no real confusion regarding CAS,
save that generated by vested business interests, and that some of the
aspects of the proposed system were far from perfect, no particular
solution could not be agreed upon. viewer.
Conditional Access System (CAS) Case 03rd June 2003, The Telegraph The state government feels that conditional access system (CAS) should only be rolled out when set-top boxes can be manufactured indigenously. Minister for consumer affairs and fair business practices Naren De said on Monday: “Bulk import of a product, demand for which is bound to soar soon, doesn’t make sense.” The minister was addressing a panel discussion on CAS and its implications to the consumers, organised by Consumer Unity & Trust Society, an NGO. Federation of Consumer Associations of West Bengal chief Mala Banerjee felt consumers shouldn’t be “intimidated” by the set-top box. “Besides, the government has facilitated a free-to-air bouquet of a minimum of 30 channels,” she said.
Pradeep
Mehta Of CUTS On WTO Body 24th May 2003, The Financial Express The Consumer
Unity & Trust Society secretary general Pradeep S Mehta has been
appointed as a member of the informal NGO advisory body by the WTO
director-general Suppachai Panitchpakdi. Twelve members from around the
globe constitute this body, a CUTS statement said. The first meeting of
the advisory body is to be held in Geneva on June 15. One of the key
functions of the advisory body is to add structure to the dialogue between
the WTO and its stakeholders.
Comment Received: "Please
accept our hearty congratulations on your elavation and appointment as
member of the informal NGO Advisory Body of WTO by its Director General,
Shri Supachai Panitchpakdi. All of us were extremely happy to hear the
news. We all celebrated the occasion in a grand style. We are extremely
happy to know that, atlast WTO has come forward to recognise the
meritorious contributions/services rendered by you through your
organisation to the world body. In effect it amounts to a world
recognition to Indian Consumer Movement. We are sure, our friends from
African and Asian countries will welcome this with great happiness. We
wish that GOI also will appreciate this appointment. We the members of
Kerala Consumer Service Society at Cochin hereby extend to you all our
support in leading WTO to a great success."
Textile
Industry Can Profit From Scrapping Of ATC Despite Chinese Imports 19th
May 2003, The Financial Express Brussels, May 18: The elimination of quotas on 1 January 2005 will have a dramatic impact on world trade in textiles and clothing, according to both importers and exporters here. However, while countries like China and India are confident that they will be its leading beneficiaries, many smaller developing countries fear an uncertain future, with the expiry of the 1994 Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) in 17 months’ time. Bangladesh in particular has been pressing the 15-nation European Union (EU) to use its generalised system of preferences (GSP) to “protect” its share of the EU market for garments. The country’s commerce minister Amir Chowdhury, was not alone in expressing his concerns at the conference organised by the EU’s chief trade negotiator Pascal Lamy, on May 5 and 6. Mr Lamy felt obliged, in fact, to reassure the representatives of the least developed and other equally vulnerable developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, by pointing to the need for “a political response” to the threat they faced. This could be in the shape of GSP benefits specially targeted at least developed countries like Bangladesh, he said. But how do those practitioners of the dismal science, the professional economists, view the prospects for countries like India after 1 January 2005? Now it so happens that a handful of economists and members of Mr Lamy’s staff did meet here, a day or so after Mr Lamy’s conference closed, to exchange views on the post-2005 scenario. The meeting was convened by the Jaipur-based Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), and hosted by the European Institute for Asian Studies. It brought together some of the authors of the five economic studies which had been carried out by Indian and European economists in a CUTS-sponsored project, the EU-India Network on Trade and Development This article is limited to the presentation by Dr Dean Spinanger, of the Institute for World Economics, in Kiel, Germany, of the paper he and Dr Samar Verma, of Oxfam GB in New Delhi, are working on. (Dr Verma was not present.) The title of the draft paper says it all in a sense. It is: “The coming death of the ATC and China’s WTO accession: Will push come to shove for Indian textile and clothing exports?” In other words, should India be concerned at the undoubted impact of China’s accession on world trade in general? And, if so, what steps should it take to improve its competitive position? Dr Spinanger used Sweden as an example of what can happen when quotas are eliminated. In 1991 the Swedish government decided to eliminate all non-tariff barriers on its imports of textiles and clothing. The result was an immediate surge in imports from East Asia, primarily China. But the surge was as quickly halted when Sweden joined the EU in 1995. At the same time Sweden, like other EU countries, began to import more from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries. The situation is somewhat different today in that overall demand in the EU and other industrialised countries has fallen because of the continued downturn in economic growth. The EU recorded zero GDP growth during the first quarter of this year, as compared to the last quarter of 2002, when it recorded growth of 0.1%. Other changes include the large number of bilateral trade agreements, notably those between the US and various countries in Asia. The results of the computable economic model used by the two economists to assess the effects of the ATC liberalisation process and China’s accession to the WTO are clear. As regards textile exports, China is expected to record a sizeable increase in its exports. India, however, is expected to experience a decrease. The expected outcome is very different in the case of clothing, with India showing an increase of 217%, as compared to an increase of 168% in China’s case. But India has always been viewed as having a substantial export potential in numerous areas, provided its domestic policies do not come in the way. India can profit from the elimination of quotas, despite strong competition from China, provided it can “get its show on the road” - in other words, increase its competitiveness (it ranked 42nd out of 49 countries in 2002) by reducing costs. Thus because of poor domestic transport infrastructure, Indian exporters face considerably higher costs than their Asian competitors. Other non-specific product input costs result from an inefficient energy infrastructure and an inadequate financial structure. Product specific costs include the poor quality of the fabric supplied to the garment sector. This is because only 5% of the fabric is produced in organised mills. The sector also suffers from poor productivity, because of its extremely fragmented structure. As a result of this fragmentation, India’s textile and clothing industries have one of the longest and most complex supply chains in the world. Since the problems are not new, solutions can be found. But this must be done quickly, if India is to strengthen its competitive edge in time. The five papers deal with textiles and
clothing, competition policy, foreign direct investment, anti-dumping and
movement of nationals. They are aimed at Indian and European trade
officials, who will be attending the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun,
Mexico, in September. The only Indian economist present at the Brussels
meeting was the head of CUTS, Pradeep Mehta.
Consumers
see CAScading effect 18th
May 2003, The Economic Times CONSUMERS
who would ultimately win or lose in the conditional access system regime
for television broadcast services, are finally speaking out. Two
organisations - Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) and
Consumer Unity Trust Society (CUTS) – have spoken out against CAS. While
the former has urged consumer groups across the four metros to join hands
and file a public interest litigation, the latter is engaged in drafting
its own "comprehensive" Bill on the basis of good practices in
other countries, and which would address issues like service standards,
performance quality and price caps for pay channels. As
the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2002 does not give
the Centre authority to fix the price of pay channels, CUTS general
secretary, Pradeep S. Mehta says, "This is extremely ridiculous as
price capping is resorted to everywhere in the world including India,
where natural monopolies operate. In India we have the Electricity
Regulatory Commission to fix tariffs. State governments fix fares for
taxis, buses and auto rickshaws." Bundling
of channels, unaffordable a la carte pricing, telecast of unpopular FTA
channels (to wring out carriage fee form FTA channels with demand), poor
quality signals, blackouts, lack of servicing or performance guarantee of
STBs are some of the "shenanigans the industry would resort to, to
defeat the purpose of the legislation" fears the NGO. Mumbai-based
CGSI chairman Anand Patwardhan says, "CAS is definitely not in the
consumer interest and consumers must unite to fight this thoughtless and
apathetic draftsmanship which is anti-consumer." The consumer is being penalised for under declarations by cable operators.
Contaminated
Chinese Honey Hits Indian Mart 12th
May 2003, The Financial Express After SARS, now beware of Chinese honey!! Next time you take your daily dose of
honey, watch out if it is imported from China for there is a fair chance
of your body immune system being affected by it. According to consumer interest bodies,
Chinese honey, banned in several countries, is making inroads in Indian
market to the detriment of the health of common man. Chinese honey, establishing its presence in
India and even being re-exported, is contaminated with chloramphenicol,
which might render a person resistant to antibiotics used in the treatment
of typhoid and paratyphoid, Director Consumer Unity & Trust Society
Rajan R Gandhi said in New Delhi.
‘Restrict
Cancun Agenda To Five Issues’ 10th
May 2003, The Financial Express Geneva, May 9: The Cancun
agenda should be restricted to not more than five issues to avoid failure
of the ministerial meeting scheduled in September, World Trade
Organisation (WTO) deputy director general Roderick Abbott has warned.
Speaking to FE at a review seminar ‘Investment For Development’ in
Geneva, Mr Abbott said although there were about a dozen unresolved issues
in the ongoing negotiations, taking them all up at Cancun would lead to
over-loading of the agenda. “If the agenda is over-loaded, we would be
back to where we started from.” According to Mr Abbott, the issues which should be given priority at the ministerial include the pending agreement of Trips & Public Health, implementation issues and the Singapore issues. Among the Singapore issues, investment should get the maximum focus followed by trade facilitation. Addressing the seminar organised by the Consumer Unity & Trust Society, Department for International Development and UNCTAD, Mr Abbott said the Doha declaration on investment was being interpreted differently by the developed and developing countries. While the developed countries believed that a decision on launching negotiations had been taken, most developing countries thought otherwise. Listing out the gains from a multilateral agreement on investments, Mr Abbott said this would lead to a reduced risk perception in developing countries and hence make the investment climate more attractive. The DDG pointed out that investment agreements were already taking place bilaterally and plurilaterally. “Developing countries have to decide whether they prefer bilaterals or a multilateral agreement with the mechanism of dispute settlement as a safeguard,” he said. Mr Abbott added that bilaterals often marginalised developing countries and hurt their interests and therefore there was a strong reason for going the multilateral way. Giving the other side of the picture, Mr Abbott said those against a multilateral agreement on investment feel that bilaterals were better as they involved only post-establishment commitments and not pre-investment commitments. The Chinese experience of getting a surge of foreign investment despite keeping out of the WTO till recently is also a good example which shows that investments can be attracted even without multilateral agreements. Mr Abbott said that if a multilateral agreement on investment is culled out, it should take the interests of both sides into account and has to respect local legislations. The DDG added that while a multilateral agreement on investment was desirable, nobody could force developing country members to negotiate or impose an agreement on them.
Channels
Can Be ‘Pay’ And Free Simultaneously! 08th
May 2003, The Financial Express New Delhi: Although the government had earlier turned down the broadcasters’ proposal for a phased introduction of the conditional access system (CAS), the same is being allowed now, with a variation. In what looks like a rollback of CAS, the government has decided to allow channels to opt for variable pricing. Confirming the move, a senior official in the information and broadcasting ministry said: “The Act (which allows CAS) does not restrict broadcasters from offering dual feeds (both free-to-air and pay) within a city and across cities.” Also, the pay channels can be priced as per the market requirements, he added. So, a channel could be priced A in a certain locality, and B in another. And, the same channel could be offered as free-to-air in one locality, and as pay in another. Even as some pay broadcasters said that offering dual feeds under CAS would be illegal, the government has taken quite a different view. A Star official, however, said broadcasters had made a proposal for phased introduction of CAS sometime back. While the demand was for introduction of CAS in one city before going on to another, now the government is indirectly letting broadcasters go for CAS in phases within a city. But, this concept would work only when there’s a deadline given to a channel for attaining uniformity in being either pay or free-to air within a city, a channel official said. “Otherwise, what kind of CAS is this?” he asked. The government, however, is not giving any timeframe by when a channel should be uniformly pay or free-to-air. While denying that this move was a rollback of conditional access system, an I&B official said a second notification on CAS would ask pay channels to declare their rates, including the variable ones, among other things. While dual feeds have been in existence for years in the pre-CAS era, consumer discrimination issues could arise because of variable pricing post-July 14, pointed out industry sources. Consumer fora preferred to take a wait and watch attitude, but expressed concern over the discriminatory pricing issue. Centre for Advocacy & Research executive director Akhila Sivadas, who was part of the first taskforce on CAS, interpreted the government move to allow variable pricing as “pragmatic adjustments”, as nobody’s ready to introduce CAS yet. But she added that consumers are definitely going to protest against such a move. “The government has just put in place an obligatory framework,” she said. However, if variable pricing is offered, viewers will stand up and ask questions, she added. Another consumer forum which is active on CAS, Consumer Unity & Trust Society, examined the issue from a legal standpoint. Researcher Anjali Bansal said: “In principle, variable pricing is not illegal.” Channels could be priced differently across cities, as per the local demands, she said. It would be wrong to price the same channel differently within a city, she added. Meanwhile, Star admitted on Wednesday that its news channel is being offered in dual mode already. This is to ensure maximum reach of the channel, Star India COO Sameer Nair said. He assured that over a period of time Star News will be available only as a pay channel.
08th
May 2003, The Economic Times Honey, you're poison! That's if you're Chinese. Next time you take your daily dose of honey, watch out if it is imported from China for there is a fair chance of your body immune system being infected by it. According to consumer interest bodies, Chinese honey, banned in several countries, is making inroads in Indian market to the detriment of the health of common man. Chinese honey is contaminated with chloramphenciol which might render a person resistant to antibiotics used in the treatment of typhoid and paratyphoid, director Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) Rajan R Gandhi said in New Delhi. He said chloramphenciol, an antibiotic, was banned worldwide in 1970s as it can cause life threatening aplastic anaemia in humans. Selvi Roy of CUTS said a few Indian companies are blending the cheaper contaminated honey imported from China and exporting it under their name with a 'Produce of India' label.
Contaminated
Chinese Honey Hits Indian Markets 07th May 2003, PTI After SARS, now beware of Chinese honey!! Next time you take your daily dose of
honey, watch out if it is imported from China for there is a fair chance
of your body immune system being affected by it. According to consumer interest bodies,
Chinese honey, banned in several countries, is making inroads in Indian
market to the detriment of the health of common man. Chinese honey, establishing its presence in
India and even being re-exported, is contaminated with chloramphenicol,
which might render a person resistant to antibiotics used in the treatment
of typhoid and paratyphoid, director Consumer Unity and Trust Society
Rajan R Gandhi said in New Delhi. He said chloramphenicol, an antibiotic, was
extensively used to cure these diseases until it was banned worldwide in
1970s as it can cause life threatening aplastic anaemia in humans. Since Chinese honey contains
chloramphenicol, it has been banned in several countries including the US,
Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and other European Union countries, he
added. Non-government organisations feel having
lost its market in the West there has been a slide in the price of Chinese
honey, a fact that some traders have used to their advantage. This has
happened at a time when price of Indian honey has increased three-fold. Selvi Roy of CUTS said a few Indian
companies are circumventing this price rise by successfully blending the
contaminated honey imported from China and exporting it under their name
with a 'Produce of India' label. An official of the Centre for International
Trade and Agriculture said government should check import of such honey by
using existing laws. According to CUTS, the fact that
contaminated honey was being exported with the 'Produce of India' label
jeopardised the interests and stature of the Indian industry.
"This amounts to falsification and
cheating of consumers in India and across the globe," Roy said. Good image of Indian honey in particular
and agro-based products in general is being tarnished, another consumer
activist added. CITA pointed out that every agro-based
consignment entering the country should get a sanitary certificate
endorsing it fit and safe for human consumption. It said, however, this requirement is
clearly not being taken seriously or acted upon by the trade division of
the agriculture ministry. The provision for undertaking such checks
and charging for the same is provided for under the Indian Livestock
Importation Act, it added.
07th May 2003, Business
Standard Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) has blamed the ministry of agriculture for allowing imports of contaminated Chinese honey into India saying that it was lax regarding testing. "Every agro-based consignment entering the country should get a sanitary certificate endorsing it fit and safe for human consumption. This requirement is not being taken seriously or acted upon by the trade division of the agriculture ministry, " Rajan R Gandhi, director, CUTS, said. Checks and charging for them was provided under Indian Livestock Importation Act.
EC Urges India To Understand Its Stand On Doha 30th April 2003, Financial Express New Delhi: The European Commission insists that negotiations on the four Singapore issues should commence after the conclusion of the fifth World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Cancun (Mexico) being held from September 10-14. But India holds that discussions on these can be started only if there is an “explicit consensus” among the members as mandated by the Doha declaration, says Stefano Gatto, European Union’s (EU) counsellor for trade and economic affairs. The issues are trade and investment, trade and competition policy, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement. Speaking at a meeting on EU-India network on trade and development in Delhi on Wednesday, Mr. Stefano Gatto however conceded that the deadlines on some of the issues set by the Doha mandate had been missed and pleaded that developing countries, including India, must understand the EU’s position on the Doha agenda. The network was launched in Brussels in 2000. On textiles, he referred to a recent statement of the EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy that all the remaining quotas under the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing would be phased out as scheduled by December 31, 2004.u though some developing countries were not fully ready to face the free market regime arising after this date. In regard to services, he clarified that the EU was not in favour of full liberalisation of the sector. “We are not ready for it nor are we asking others to do it”, he stated. Under Mode IV of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), namely, movement of natural persons, the Commission in its offer made on Tuesday had expanded the scope of services to include professionals such as laywers, engineers, architects, scientists and self-employed and maintained that it matched with New Delhi’s request, Mr. Stefano Gatto stated. He agreed that the EU could not make its offer by the March 31 deadline fixed earlier. Pointing out that anti-dumping was an important issues for the EU, Mr. Stefano Gatto felt it should not be used as a protectionist measure by the member-countries. Speaking on the occasion, L Alan Winters of the University of Sussex, noted that one of the major issues between developed and developing countries related to mobility of labour, but none of the countries had utilised the GATS agreement for liberalisation of health services because of immigration policies. Mr. Winters said the UK had liberalised its immigration rules in 2000 and increased the work permits for foreign doctors by 54 per cent adding that those issued to Indian doctors was 19 per cent, second only to the US with 20 per cent. Further, about 20,000 doctors
graduated in India every year, of which 4,000 to 5,000 moved out of the
country while those registered in the country stood at 5,50,000, he
stated. 23rd April 03, Times of Zambia The Consumer Unity and
Trust Society, Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC) says Zambia lacks a
clearly defined investment policy with elaborate social and economic
objectives. According to CUTS research
findings from its ‘Investment Policy, Performance and Perception in
Zambia’, what existed as an investment policy was a set of fiscal
measures for new investors. The draft country report
paper says an investment policy should have a clear focus on technology
development and transfer, human resource development and the creation of
jobs. The reports further says
investment incentives for new investors in the existing policy was silent
on development clauses yet these should have been tied to employment
creation or measures related to sound production. The report underscores the
inadequacy of the current investment policy, which should be formulated to
ensure it addressed pertinent issues in investment. The report says it was worth finding out how far the investment policies in Zambia had helped increase the inflow of Foreign Direct investment (FDI) and how these policies had in the past helped to attract FDI to priority areas of the economy.
23rd April 03, Times of Zambia Stakeholders who attended a
national consultation on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy and
practice in Zambia have called for the early drafting of a national
investment policy for Zambia. The adoption of a national
investment policy would be the immediate priority for Zambia to overcome
the existing difficulties in attracting sufficient investment said Mr.
Richard Chavula of the Zambia Investment Centre. He was presenting a paper
on the role of coordination among sector regulators in promoting FDI to
Zambia. Though there are several sectors regulatory bodies that deal with
investment decision in Zambia, they lack any workable coordination
arrangements, which cause a lot of delay in the decision making process,
he lamented. Can
CAS clear cable confusion? 22nd
April 2003, The
Statesman Kolkata:
Even before its launch, Conditional Access System (CAS) continues to
create enough controversies to assure a permanent place in newspaper
headlines.
20th
April 2003, Times News Network
Zambia needs strong trade policies- COMESA 17th April 2003, Zambia Daily
Mail The common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa (COMESA) says Zambia needs to strengthen her trade policy
platform in the grouping for it to attract major Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI). COMESA regional Investment Agency
Unit official, Watipaso Mkandawire, said in Lusaka yesterday at the
national consultation on FDI policy and practice in Zambia organised by
Consumer Unity and Trust Society, Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC). Mr Mkandawire observed that the
country needed an export lead policy to strengthen trade process and
institutions that support commerce in the nation. “In promoting trade policy Zambia
should look at strengthening its platform for the regional market,” he
said. He cited Swarp Spinning Mills of
Ndola as one of computers that was forced to export due to the small
market of yarn in the country. He pointed out that Zambia was
still a high recipient of FDI in the region despite the decline of foreign
investment for the past years. And speaking at the same
function, CUTS-ARC research associate, Eric Kalimukwa said government does
not have a clearly defined investment policy. He said the sad development makes
it impossible to see economic objectives of what qualities as an
investment policy. He said what seems to exit as a
policy was a set up of fiscal measure for new FDI investment. He said an investment policy
would have a clear focus on technology development and transfer of human
resources training and job-creation. “Politicians often make
statements on the need for foreign investors to improve job creation, but
nothing has been done to show how this can be achieved,” he said. But Zambia Investment Centre
projects manager Richard Chavula said Government had enacted a law and established department and statutory bodies of sector regulators all aimed at improving the FDI regime in Zambia. He said the setting up of
government agencies was meant to enhance the investment climate and make
it more conducive and responsive to the attraction of FDI as well as to
ensure that the national social, economic and political interest were
safeguarded.
Unclear laws affecting foreign investments 17th April 2003, Times of Zambia THE Zambia Investment Centre
(ZIC) says there is need to harmonise operations of conflicting investment
regulations to enhance the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). ZIC project development manager
Richard Chavula said in Lusaka yesterday that there were conflicting areas
in pieces of legislation under which various regulatory sectors in Zambia
operated and these were impacting negatively on the FDI regime. Speaking at the Consumer Unit
Trust Society (CUTS) workshop on ‘foreign direct investment policy and
practices in Zambia’ at Taj Pamodzi Hotel, Mr Chavula said the conflicting
area presented themselves as negative factors that adversely affected
FDI. He said because of these factors,
investment implementation was rendered burden some and the country as a
whole became less attractive to FDI. A part from conflicting pieces of
legislation, other negative factors to FDI include duration of processing
permits and lack of appreciation of each other’s pieces of legislation by
all sector regulators. Mr Chavula said sector regulators
could work together to improve the FDI regime by putting in place measures
that would identify conflicting of the Acts under which they
operated. The sector regulators could then
harmonise, streamline and synchronise all aspects of investment procedural
requirements. And CUTS associate researcher
Eric Kalimukwa said Zambian investment process was uncoordinated. Mr Kalimukwa said the country did
not have a clearly defined investment policy and what existed as a policy
was just a set of fiscal measures for new investors. He said the Zambian investment
policy was inadequate and required transformation as in its current state,
it was not clear as to whether the policy was sufficient enough to attract
FDI. Mr Kalimukwa observed that it had
been difficult to discern what levels of FDI had come to Zambia especially
that information obtained from the ZIC showed more of investment pledges
and commitments. But Mr Chavula said there was
room for improvement as evidenced from the various statutory bodies of
sector regulators set up by Government and enacting of laws all aimed at
improving the FDI regime in Zambia. “The setting up of these
institutions is meant to enhance the investment climate and make it more
conductive and responsive to the attraction of FDI as well as ensuring
that national social, economic and political interests are safeguarded,”
Mr Chavula said. The workshop was called to brainstorm on sharing insights on how best to contribute to the debate on FDI and improve the overall development in Zambia.
Size of markets vital in attracting foreign investment14th April 2003, Times
of Zambia The size of local markets is on
of the most important ingredients for a country to interact foreign direct
investment (FDI). This is according to a 1984-2003
publication of foreign direct investment in developing countries produced
by the CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economic and Environment based
in India. When competing for FDI, policy
markers have to be aware that various measures intended to include FDI
were necessary, but far from sufficient to do the trick. Reforms such as privatization
tended to be more effective in stimulating FDI inflows, but need to be
complemented by reform in other areas like competition policy, in order to
ensure that FDI inflows were beneficial. “Still other determinations of
FDI, which were sufficient in the past, may prove to be less relevant in
future. But the size of local markets appears to be the most important
case in point.” the publication says. The good news however is that FDI
is anything but a zero-sum game in which one particular country could
attract FDI only at the expense of another. Additionally, FDI was likely to
take place when new investment opportunities emerge in countries opening
up FDI and all developing countries have a chance to become attractive to
foreign investors. Globalisation could be expected
to include a shift from marker-seeking FDI to efficiency- seeking FDI
while international competitiveness of local production by foreign
investors, would then, turn out to be a decisive factor shaping the
distribution of future FDI. This involved major Challengers
for policy makers in developing countries. In general terms, the task is to
create immobile domestic assets that provide a competitive edge and
attract internationally mobile factors of production. Attraction of FDIs also depends on conductive economic fundamentals as fiscal and financial incentives offered to foreign investors may do more harm then good, especially if these incentives discriminate against small investors and local firms.
14th April Hindustan Times MARKET ECONOMY, consumerism and
declining sensitivity has resulted in the failure of media to highlight
the problems of rural areas. These views were expressed by
Information and Public Relations director Amar Singh Rathore on
Sunday. Rathore was speaking at a seminar
on 'Role of Media in Rural Development' organised by the Consumer Unity
and Trust Society (CUTS) on the occasion of 21st year of publication the
organisation's publication Gram Gadar. Speaking on the occasion, Rathore said the history of media is as old as the establishment therefore the role of media in progress cannot be overlooked. Only the newspapers can spread information about the rural areas and can create an understanding about the rural progress, he said. He however, added that the media had not able to do much as they are not free to give impartial news.
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