To privatise or not?: The case of Zambia

As part of World Bank and International Monetary Fund-inspired Structural Adjustment Programmes, many countries in Africa have started or are in the process of reforming their parastatal sector and state-owned enterprises, usually through privatisation. This paper provides a glimpse into Africa's privatisation experience by examining aspects of Zambia's privatisation programme. To appreciate the position of those who call for the privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Africa, it is important to look at where those SOEs have come from, and why they exist in the first place. To descriptionbe Zambia's case, a brief background descriptionption of Zambia's industrial sector is provided, and the country's nationalisation programme is discussed. Much of the paper is devoted to a discussion of the general arguments for and against privatising state owned enterprises, a subject that is high on the Bretton Woods conditionality menu. The second half of the paper is a case study of Zambian experiences.