Government has set aside K7.5 billion for the creation of the new tourism zone in Livingstone in Southern province.
Vice President George Kunda disclosed this in Livingstone today saying this is in an effort to diversify the country’s economy in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Mr. Kunda said this shortly after his arrival in Livingstone where he is to officiate at the Africa Mining Congress today.
He noted that the creation of the tourism zone in the tourism capital will help diversify the economy in the country.
He also said once the Zimba-Livingstone road is completely rehabilitated, tourism activities would be enhanced in the city.
Government has since set aside K99 billion in this year’s budget for the same road.
And Mr. Kunda has restated President Rupiah Banda’s call on Zambians to produce more food in order to promote domestic food security and encourage exports of the Zambian produced agricultural products.
He said it was important for Zambia to strengthen its agriculture sector, adding that it is government’s policy to diversify this sector.
He said government was confident that the people of Southern province will rise to the challenge of growing more food.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kunda said civil servants were critical in promoting good governance in the country and has since urged them to continue maintaining discipline in order to help implement government’s developmental agenda.
He urged the civil servants in the province to cut down on unnecessary expenditure and warned that government will not tolerate any wastage of public funds.
He said Zambia has continued with its good governance records which have continued to attract donor and investor confidence.
The Vice President said government, under President Banda’s leadership, will continue fighting corruption, which he said is one way through which Zambia can counter effects of the global financial crisis.
Furthermore, Mr. Kunda has urged the MMD in Southern province to unite and recruit more members to make the party even stronger.
He said there is need to further strengthen the party in the province despite the challenges that the province is dominated by an opposition political party.
He however commended the people of Livingstone for voting for President Banda in the October 30th 2008 election.
He urged them not to be complacent because the party needed to be more organised for the 2011 presidential and parliamentary election.
And speaking earlier, Southern province MMD chairperson, Solomon Muzyamba appealed to government to provide more agriculture extension services in the province.
Mr. Muzyamba said agriculture extension services will help people of Southern province to grow more food and contribute to the nation’s food basket.
He has since assured Mr. Kunda that the party in the province and Livingstone has remained stable.
He is accompanied by the Tourism Minister Catherine Namugala and Commerce deputy Minister, Richard Taima.
The Vice President was welcomed at Livingstone International Airport by Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale, Southern Province Permanent Secretary, Darius Hakayobe and senior MMD party officials.
ZANIS/CM/KSH/ENDS
firsly hope the funds are enough
Good way to go:)>-
Great stuff Govt
This is the way forward!! Perfect!!
Mativi chabe,
Those tourist will be walking? Get the national airline issues fixed mwe vipuba!
Secondly, there shud be transperency
Does Kunda know anything about climate change and the shifting rainfall patterns in Southern Africa. Iwe, Southern province can no longer produce food (maize belt is no more) Rainfall is now in ecological zone 2, which is aroung John Chinena through Kabwe up to Mkushi…this is the agricultural zone at the moment due to annual rainfall (1000-1500mm)
Unless you will help the Tongas do cloud seeding, but thats expensive and very technical. Zed cant manage that technology! :d
hope the money is properly used by those responsible coz sum pipo hav oredy started budgeting on the same money.
GOOD MOVE, BUT IS THE MONEY ENOUGH THOUGH :-???
we always hear about all these stories but nothing happens.
ok
good move ba George Kunda , keep it up
@ # 7.Casey Khisho,
True,
I think the only way to achieve this ‘FOOD SECURITY’ is to have multiple staple foods like the West Africans have,
as in Yam, Cassava, Millet flour/powder/meal etc,
after all maize is not native to this part of the world, it’s been here for less than 200 yrs, it’s native to south america, so why the sudden addiction,
further this maize/corn is an international commodity traded on all the major derivative markets we can’t influence it’s price in way so why the obsession?
13. The Lusakan Gigolo
good point, we rely on ubunga so much ,
Lets introduce other foods and life will be simple.
But this may be tricky for other poor pipo.
How can we develop while we always just talk about development. I think we should go into action. Let the GRZ put the measures first as we will follow later.
Let’s perfect maize production. At this point many Zambians only know nshima from maize, especially urban people. They may struggle adopting other stuff like sorghum, millet, yam etc.
Maize production favours us. We have massive land, mass production is easy when all inputs are available, it is environmentally friendly compared to some which require citemene system. Inputs for maize are easy to obtain at commercial levels.
We just need good palnning, management, finances and a serious commitment from Govt. Subsidies are welcome. Developed countries subsidize their farmers to ensure food security.
@ # 16.UK-Zed Observer …
Am not calling for doing away with maize, but having subsitutes,
Like it or not there are big players on the markets i mentioned, they will do anything to manipulate the prices to suite their needs, it’s simply beyond our control,
why do you think farmers are alawys crying year in year out about the maize price,
it’s unsustainable all these pesticides, fertilisers not to mention labour required it’s also highly dependant on the weather,
and what do you maen chitemene, you can also grow maize through chitemene can’t you? but that doesn’t make the maize bad does it?
@ # 16. UK-Zed Observer….
I give you the UK and Italy as an example, Italians were striking and demonstrating last year due to their spiralling staple food,
WHEAT => pasta & macaroni
now i assume you’re in the UK, did you that happen, yes prices did go up but people multiple alternatives to choose from,
Put simply the UK has very little dishes it can call staple, almost every other foreign dishes are claimed as theirs
By the way still on chitemene, are telling all the west africans cultivate their foods using chitemene?
@ # 16. UK-Zed Observer……
Havae also head about the rice curtail being proposed by the major rice producers like Vietnam,Thailand etc and why…
Familiarise yourself with that then we can debate food security which i would rather refer to as FOOD INDEPENDENCE
Hope that helps
Gigolo – I agree we need to teach our people to eat, grow and process other foods than just maize. The number of ways the West Africans have to prepare yam, cassava and plantains (banana)is so incredible but yet simple & cheap.
Hey Gigolo,Nkosi, Ba Honey and others feel free to exhaust this topic on this forumn
zambiana.proboards86.com/index.cgi
Blessed weekend
I like this Zambian govt. Only Prez and his vice are doing some form of work. Where is the Deputy Minister of Tourism? Have not heard from her for sometime. Is she another Sarah Palin?
what a bunch of incompetent cabinet ministers.