Priority area "Water supply and sanitation"
Zambia is home to over 70 different ethnic communities, which generally live together in peace. Compared with other countries in the region, it is regarded as politically largely stable. Yet, increasingly, there are governance deficiencies.
President Edgar Lungu's government is moving to curb freedom of assembly, freedom of opinion and freedom of the press and obstructing the opposition and civil society organisations.
Zambia faces massive obstacles to its development. These include widespread poverty, high rates of malnutrition, pronounced socially inequality, rapid population growth and extremely high levels of public debt. Zambia comes in fifth on the Global Hunger Index (ranking 115 out of 119 countries).
The most recent transfers of power have been peaceful and, by and large, Zambia has a functioning state. Yet the current government is limiting the space for civil society, the media, opposition parties and human rights advocates.
After many years of strong growth, annual economic growth in Zambia has fallen since 2015 to around three to four per cent. Foreign borrowing going into the billions and excessively expensive public investment projects have been major factors in the state accumulating massive public debt, amounting to over 60 per cent of gross domestic product.
Even during the period of economic growth that lasted until 2014, the lives of Zambia's poor improved very little. More than half the population lives on less than 1.90 US dollars a day; the situation is particularly severe in rural areas.
Zambia's biological diversity is unique and is in urgent need of protection. Although the legal framework for environmental protection measures is in place, efforts to implement such measures still fail all too often due to a lack of political will and environmental awareness and because the relevant institutions are underfunded and lack capacity.
After gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1964, Zambia was governed for many years by president and "founding father" Kenneth Kaunda. In 1990, in a peaceful transition of power, Kaunda was replaced by the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), marking the end of the one-party system. The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) won elections held in autumn 2011. Following the death in office of President Michael Sata, a presidential by-election was held in January 2015. Edgar Lungu of the PF was elected President and was reconfirmed in office in August 2016, winning election by a narrow margin.
The most recent transfers of power have been peaceful and, by and large, Zambia has a functioning state. Yet the current government is limiting the space for civil society, the media, opposition parties and human rights advocates. State authorities are abusing freedom of opinion and of the press, freedom of association and of assembly, citing the Public Order Act, a law that dates back to colonial times. In the summer of 2017, the leader of the opposition, Hakainde Hichilema (United Party for National Development, UPND), was imprisoned for four months and was only released following intervention by the Commonwealth. Plans were subsequently made for a National Dialogue between government and opposition, facilitated by the churches; this was launched in October 2018. Youth party members from both the opposition and governing parties are, however, continuing to intimidate their opponents with shows of violence.
Widespread corruption is shaking the public's faith in the state. In 2017, the non-governmental organisation Transparency International ranked Zambia 96th out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index.
In its Vision 2030 (PDF 752 KB), the Zambian government has defined its goal as to make Zambia a "prosperous middle-income country" by 2030. It is working towards this long-term goal on the basis of five-year plans. The seventh of those plans is currently in place, covering the period 2017 to 2021. In it, the government sets out the following goals: to reduce poverty and vulnerability, to diversify and make economic growth inclusive and to create a conducive governance environment. The 2019 budget, however, places the emphasis elsewhere.
After many years of strong growth, annual economic growth in Zambia has fallen since 2015 to around three to four per cent. Foreign borrowing going into the billions and excessively expensive public investment projects have been major factors in the state accumulating massive public debt, amounting to over 60 per cent of gross domestic product. Indeed, by autumn 2017, the IMF was already warning that Zambia was at high risk of debt stress. A total of 20 per cent of the budget is being used for loan repayments.
Zambia is rich in mineral resources. It is the world's eighth largest producer of copper and sixth largest producer of cobalt. The mining sector accounts for almost half of all Zambia's exports (2015 figures). Because it is so dependent on exporting copper and cobalt, however, Zambia's economy is very vulnerable to fluctuations in prices on the international commodities market. There is likely to be a considerable increase in demand for cobalt for the construction of electric cars. This could be an opportunity for Zambia.
The agricultural sector in particular offers great potential for development. Up until now, it has accounted for only seven per cent of gross domestic product, despite employing more than half the population. Large numbers of people in Zambia depend on small-scale farming and use no farming machinery. Experts believe that Zambia could produce significantly more food and export to other countries in the region.
Zambia is increasingly using hydropower and solar power as sources of energy. The country is home to about 40 per cent of southern Africa's water resources; 85 per cent of electricity is generated using hydropower. Only 23 per cent of people have access to electricity and in rural regions the rate is as low as 4.4 per cent. One answer to the problem could be off-grid solutions.
Other major growth areas are tourism and construction. However, the risk here is that major infrastructure projects, especially road projects, will have to be financed through loans. This will only serve to increase public debt.
Even during the period of economic growth that lasted until 2014, the lives of Zambia's poor improved very little. More than half the population lives on less than 1.90 US dollars a day; the situation is particularly severe in rural areas. Some 45 per cent of the population is classified as undernourished. Prevalence of child stunting stands at 40 per cent (source: 2018 Global Hunger Index) and child mortality at 6.3 per cent.
There are few other countries with such pronounced income disparities as Zambia, which has a Gini co-efficient of 57. What is more, any development progress achieved is cancelled out by the country's rapid population growth (three per cent in 2017).
Zambia's economy is still overly dependent on copper, a sector that offers employment to comparatively few people. Structural reforms are needed in order to improve the business environment and expand the agricultural sector. Public authorities, especially at local level, lack the necessary skilled personnel and funds. On the latest United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), Zambia is ranked 144th out of 189 countries.
The wide prevalence of HIV in Zambia is a huge issue; more than one in ten adults between the ages of 15 and 49 are infected. The epidemic cut average life expectancy to just 41 years in the late 1990s. The availability of antiretroviral therapy has since brought it back up to 62 years. Young people, however, are still at particular risk, as they are often not sufficiently well-informed about HIV and AIDS.
Women's social and legal position is still strongly dictated by tradition, in rural areas and also elsewhere. Although gender equality is enshrined in the constitution and is being demanded by an increasingly active women's rights lobby, social change is slow in coming. Many girls leave school early because they are pregnant. Domestic and sexual violence against women is widespread and the government is undertaking insufficient efforts to combat violence and the oppression of women.
Zambia is being increasingly confronted with the impact of climate change and is active in international fora to promote climate action. Precipitation patterns have become increasingly irregular, leading to more and more droughts and flooding.
The dramatic level of largely uncontrolled commercial logging in Zambian forests is alarming. Large sections of the population are also contributing to deforestation, as wood and charcoal are the sole source of energy for most. Zambia now has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The spoil heaps from copper mining and the inappropriate management of toxic mining by-products are additional sources of environmental pollution, affecting rivers and groundwater in particular.
Zambia's large elephant population is under serious threat from poaching. The rhinoceros population has been wiped out once already and efforts to reintroduce the species in the country have only begun in recent years. The government's announcement in the summer of 2018 that it would permit hunting of hippopotamuses attracted international criticism.
The Federal Republic of Germany and Zambia have maintained friendly relations since the country became independent in 1964. Germany is one of Zambia's larger international cooperation partners. At government negotiations in November 2018, the German government committed new funding of 62.98 million euros to Zambia for development cooperation (2016: 97.5 million euros). Of this amount, 40 million euros was allocated to Financial cooperation and 22.98 million euros to Technical Cooperation.
Under the special BMZ initiative "Tackling the root causes of displacement, reintegrating refugees", a further 10 million euros is being provided for water supply and sanitation in communities hosting Congolese refugees. Zambia is also a priority country of the special initiative "One World – No Hunger". In 2018, funds of up to 20.1 million euros were made available for the development of the agricultural sector and for food security.
The aim is to strengthen reform-minded forces within both state and civil society, to promote transparency and accountability and to increase domestic resource mobilisation. Efforts to promote decentralisation focus on strengthening democratic structures at grassroot level.
The priority is to protect the country's water resources, which are under increasing threat from climate change. The aim is to preserve Zambia's great agricultural potential and its capacity to generate electricity using hydropower. The increased use of renewable energies (solar power and hydropower) is also being promoted.
One major focus is on improving access to water and sanitation for poor target groups. As a pilot country in the special initiative "One World – No Hunger", Zambia's small farmers are being helped to gain access to agricultural tools and machinery, and the nutrition of women and children is being improved. Young people are also being educated about HIV/AIDS.
In the summer of 2018, indications emerged that official development funds from two programmes supported by international donors had been misused. The donors concerned subsequently suspended payments to these programmes until the case had been fully investigated. The UK also suspended all direct payments into Zambian accounts.
The BMZ had already stopped making direct payments into the Zambian budget under its bilateral development cooperation in 2016. Since then, bilateral commitments for new cooperation activities have only been made for specific and closely monitored projects.
Good governance is vital in facilitating economic development and poverty reduction. Germany is supporting Zambia in developing good financial governance, improving political participation and moving forward the process of decentralisation.
Support focuses on strengthening transparency and accountability so as to ensure that public funds are used properly and efficiently. Zambia's budget planning, implementation and auditing is often not sufficiently transparent, systematic or structured. Public revenue is too low, corruption is rife and procedures are generally not sufficiently transparent. German experts are supporting the relevant Zambian ministries and the tax authorities in bringing greater transparency and efficiency to budget planning and implementation, increasing tax revenues, reforming public contracting so as to make corruption more difficult, and driving forward the process of fiscal decentralisation.
As part of its activities in the field of public participation, Germany is helping to empower civil society to effectively demand in particular more transparency and accountability. It is also helping public institutions to ensure that the state functions in a way that gives the Zambian general public and civil society fair opportunities to participate. The Zambian government is being advised, for instance, on the reform of legislation on civil society organisations and efforts are being made to ensure that the civil society organisations themselves have a say in the process.
Together with the EU, efforts are being made to improve the access of poorer people, in particular, to justice and legal assistance. As a result, the number of people receiving aid from the state legal aid board in the provinces targeted rose from 514 in 2014 to 2,843 in 2017. When remandees receive this kind of support, for example, it often results in shorter detention times.
The Zambian government has set itself the goal of transferring more tasks to local authority level and increasingly delivering government services at local level. This move could greatly increase opportunities for political participation and poverty reduction. Germany is supporting Zambia's efforts to implement this policy of decentralisation. At national level, the responsible coordinating body within cabinet and also the responsible ministries are being advised. In addition, selected local authorities are receiving support directly on issues like budget planning, financial management, spatial planning and service orientation. Support is also being provided for the expansion of municipal infrastructure (bus stations, markets) and the modernisation of an administrative college where municipal officials are trained.
A number of districts in Southern Province that are being hit particularly hard by climate change are being helped to make adaptation plans and establish a climate-resistant infrastructure. This should ensure that basic public services can be delivered even under extreme weather conditions.
Zambia has enormous water resources. And yet, very many people have no access to safe drinking water. Access to proper sanitation in particular is inadequate, especially in rural regions and the growing suburbs, where poverty is highly prevalent. This causes diarrhoeal diseases, which further weaken an often malnourished population. That is why one focus of cooperation is on improving sanitation coverage in poor urban areas and in rural areas.
In view of climate change, another major focus is managing Zambia's water resources more sustainably. People need water, but it is also needed to generate energy, for agriculture, for mining, and for industrial and manufacturing purposes. In order to conserve valuable water resources for the country and the region in the face of climate change, good planning and cooperation between all stakeholders is needed. The necessary processes are receiving considerable support through German development cooperation.
Germany has adopted a regional programme to address climate change; in southern Africa it is primarily supporting the use of renewable energies. One part of this is the Get Fit programme, which helps the Zambian state to find private investors for the expansion of solar power and small-scale hydropower. The German government is also supporting the refurbishment and expansion of Chishimba Falls hydropower station, which is in the particularly poor north of the country.
Zambia is one of the pilot countries in the BMZ special initiative "One World – No Hunger". A Green Innovation Centre has been established, where small farmers are helped to boost their income by organising and increasing production in a sustainable way with minimum impact on soils.
They also receive support for the processing of their products, with the focus on the value chains for dairy products and legumes. Many small farmers in Zambia still work the land using hoes. Two agricultural financing projects have been set up to enable them to lease or obtain loans for seed and agricultural machinery and also to learn more about managing their farms. Another particularly important focus in Zambia is tackling malnutrition.
One project helps local authority bodies in two districts in Eastern Province to independently plan and coordinate the many steps required for guaranteeing food security. The people there, particularly young mothers, are also advised on how to maintain a balanced diet and on good hygiene.
Germany's activities in this field are limited but effective; the main aim is to protect young people from contracting HIV and from unwanted pregnancies and, in particular, to strengthen girls' rights. Interactive "join-in circuits" are offered at schools, which use quizzes, games and discussions to impart basic knowledge about HIV to all pupils.
Zambia has taken in some 75,000 refugees from other African countries, mainly the Democratic Republic of the Congo (August 2018 figures). Germany is helping Zambia to meet the refugees' basic needs. It is, for example, helping to fund a UNICEF programme to improve drinking water and sanitation in host communities.