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the measures that could be considered are the following (Dinh 2013): (1) improve trade logistics by reducing the time required to prepare import-export documents and the waiting time at borders; (2) provide workers and managers with the training, incentives, and equipment necessary to improve productivity and product quality; (3) reform the labor market; (4) facilitate the development of competitive input industries such as spinning and textiles; (5) establish a plug-and-play industrial park; and (6) establish partnerships between the government and the private sector to address the key constraints, including dealing with the problem of secondhand clothes through a WTO petition or the introduction of safeguard legislation. Summary Zambia once had a promising textile sector, but the sector has been greatly weakened by a combination of macroeconomic shocks, severe constraints in trade logistics, low worker skills, high input costs, and market flooding by secondhand clothing. Neither too much government interference with the market (as in the 1970s and 1980s) nor complete reliance on the market (as in the 1990s) helped Zambia grow and diversify. Creating viable employment in light manufacturing requires that the government alleviate the constraints facing industry. To do this effectively, the government must work closely with the private sector. The government greatly reduced its involvement in the economy through the liberalization reforms of the early 1990s, but it never established a true partnership with the private sector. Transforming the dynamic informal sector into a base for economic growth and employment requires that the government become a visible stakeholder in private sector development.
Notes 1. The trainees had no previous garment manufacturing experience, but were required to know English and to have completed the equivalent of a junior college education. The training was intended to develop the group as fully qualified workers and supervisors who would train future Desh employees. 2. Indian labor laws require companies with more than 100 workers to obtain government permission before letting employees go for any cause other than criminal misconduct. The laws also impose strict rules on hiring.