Path: utzoo!ncc!alberta!myrias!sjl
From: sjl@myrias.UUCP (Stuart Lomas)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Clark's speech to CIC; frontline states
Message-ID: <577@myrias.UUCP>
Date: 22 Mar 88 21:39:13 GMT
References: <560@auvax.UUCP> <2367@unicus.UUCP> <573@myrias.UUCP> <2410@unicus.UUCP>
Organization: Myrias Research, Edmonton
Lines: 40

In article <2410@unicus.UUCP>, craig@Unicus.COM (Craig D. Hubley) replies to
almost everything in my previous posting on Zambia and Zimbabwe. I'd like to
deal with just a few issues here:

>Amnesty International used to have some very bad things to say about 
>both countries, I'm not sure what they say at the moment.

Zimbabwe was in the middle of a civil war 8 years ago, so bad news about
them at that time is not surprising. I would be interested in what Amnesty
International has said about Zambia, and what they are currently saying
about both countries. Anyone?

>>  						... Zambia, which has
>>  discouraged its white population, barely functions at all.
>  ~~~~~~~~~~~~
>What form does this discouragement take ?  It must be severe, to stop
>white people from making money. :-)  Probably another legislated racism.

The "discouragement" mostly takes the form of the state nationalizing almost
any large profitable business, and trying to run the business itself. Several
examples of this were related to me. It seems that the newly-nationalized
businesses very quickly become unprofitable. Other businesses are left with
their owners, but become strangled by government red tape. It appears
generally true that the Zambian government has little understanding of
business economics.

However, not even the white businessmen I talked to believed that any of this
had anything to do with racism. I happens that white people in Zambia are more
likely to own large businesses that blacks (as opposed to the Asians, who all
seem to run small shops :-)). The government does not appear to look at
the race of a business's owners when deciding whether to nationalize it.

Another discouragement for many whites occurred in the 60's, when the Zambian
government offered citizenship to all of its residents (remember, this was a
brand-new country) on the condition that all other citizenship be renounced.
Many of the whites in Zambia who hold British passports were unwilling to give
up those passports to become Zambian citizens.

Stuart Lomas
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