Cabinet Office tells ACET and ZIPAR to do more visible research on economic transformation

The Cabinet Office has challenged two economic policy institutes to take a more visible role in research that supports Zambia's economic transformation. Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Finance and Economic Development Siazongo Siakalenge issued the challenge when a team from the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) and the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) paid a courtesy call on his office. Mr Siakalenge also urged the two institutions to help local universities generate their own research materials and publications. He said the Grow Zambia Agenda, with its specific targets for different sectors, requires a robust research mechanism. Those targets include 10 million tonnes of maize, 3 million tonnes of copper and 5 million tourist arrivals. ACET President and Chief Executive Officer Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi said her institution was set up to support economic transformation with clear targets and goals. She added that transforming an economy is not a linear project but a surgical process that requires the participation of all sectors. ## Background ACET, a pan-African economic policy institute, has already worked with ZIPAR on a Country Economic Transformation Outlook research study on Zambia. ## Why it matters The Grow Zambia Agenda sets national targets for maize, copper and tourism. The Cabinet Office is asking for research that tests whether those targets are being met and shows how. ## What happens next No date or format was given for any new research, and the Cabinet Office has not said what it expects the institutes to publish.