In an interview with Cable News Network (CNN) Inside Africa anchor Isha Sesay yesterday, Mr Strauss-Kahn said Zambia was a shining example on the continent because the country had performed well before the decline of copper prices.
Responding to Ms Sesay, who wanted to know which success stories in Africa he could cite, Mr Strauss-Kahn singled out Zambia as one such example.
He said Zambia had been doing well but just as it was making it, her copper-dominated industry suffered a serious knock in face of the falling prices.
The interview assessed the impact of the global economic crisis on Africa, which was done on the eve of the IMF co-sponsored major conference with Tanzania on the global economic meltdown.
Finance ministers, academicians and the private sector from Africa attended the conference last weekend.
And Zambia's ambassador to Japan, Godfrey Simasiku has appreciated the recognition of the country's achievements by the IMF chief.
He has urged Zambians to work even harder to help the country address the effects of the global economic crisis.
In view of this development, I wish to urge my fellow Zambians to work together and find a way to weather the storm and emerge as a stronger and united country, Mr Simasiku said in a statement yesterday.
He said Zambia's political stability and economic potential was now drawing a lot of interest from some Japanese investors.
The Zambian envoy said affected Zambian firms and other employers should work at agreeing on strategic plans to prevent job losses, as was the case in Japan.
In Japan, as a strategy to mitigate the economic meltdown, some companies and employees have agreed on what is termed work sharing' through which employees work shorter weeks or get a mutually agreed wage reduction from management to all workers, he said.
He said other employees in Japan were being allowed to take extra jobs in view of the record fall in exports, the mainstay of that country's economy.
Times of Zambia
Post published in: Economy