President Michael Sata has left for a three day state visit to Botswana.
The President left on Monday morning at 08:35 hours aboard the presidential challenger.
He was seen off by Finance minister who is now acting president Alexander Chikwanda, vice president Guy Scott, Home Affairs minister Kennedy Sakeni and secretary to the cabinet Evans Chibiliti.
This will be the President’s first State visit since he assumed office last year in September. During the visit, President Sata will hold talks with his counterpart, Lieutenant General Seretse Ian Khama.
The two will discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern and also sign the sponsor agreement for the development of Kazungula Bridge on the Zambezi River.
The President is also expected to officially open the Mogoditshane Senior Secondary School tomorrow.
The President has so far made three international assignments since assuming office.
He travelled to Uganda for the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in December last year before attending the Africa National Congress (ANC) centenary in South Africa in January this year.
Mr Sata also attended the African Union (AU) heads of State summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January.
Foreign Affairs Minister Given Lubinda said in Gaborone yesterday that the State visit was significant because it showed the warm relations that exist between the two countries.
The minister said Botswana and Zambia had continued to enjoy long-standing relations and close historical ties. Mr Lubinda observed that the ties had continued to flourish since the establishment of diplomatic relation in 1966.
The two countries, he said, share a number of joint projects in different sectors such as education, tourism and agriculture.
Meanwhile, the minister said there was need for Zambians living in Botswana to be responsible and perform their role of being ambassadors.
Mr Lubinda said while it was important for Zambians living in Botswana to sell their labour on the international market, they should remember to invest in Zambia.
Fly like a bird.
Kabiyeni fye do not feel shy!
address Dual citizenship too!!!!
Is he back on red carpet?
Bayamba ! ! !
Bafilwa ukushipikisha.Dont feel shy FilachitikaThis President used to talk a lot now we will be seen these travel.
ok he has gone to open a senior secondary school as well. yet in zambia he was busy condemning rb for commissioning schools in zambia. this is amazing.
Awe tandalenipo shikulu. Broaden your horizons!
ok let ukwa travel well. we need him back to sort out the many problems Zambians are facing. sata aka ukwa needs some fresh air and also to see how other countries are performing.
“Tsamaya sentle Tautona! ”
Meaning “Travel well Mr President!”
So u Zambian??i once heard a Zambian song with a tswana lyrics,do you speak a bit of tswana up there or you part of the Bakololo tribe?
Botwsana the pride of africa, Successful as you can imagine, Sata is going to ask zambians to come back. He flip flops on that subject. Lubinda his aid too is a flip flopper!! Let me tell you, Zambians in Diaspora are significant to the development of the nation. Even a Grade one can understand that!!
Shame on me,i respect Zambia more thn my country Botswana!!
Dont flip flop what Lubinda has pronounced already,you will embarrase us
Why not make dummy doty scoty agric minister to save face,then Chikanda can be VP and find someone else to takeup finance?
Yaba! Opening a high school and not a university or college, that show how low our president is regarded.
but u putting on an SA flag,u the one disregarding ur wonderful country!!
He is making his first official State Visit and top on the agenda if the Kazungula Bridge in Banttutan, you people!!! Openning the school is a courtesy extended by the Botswana Government, you wanted him to refuse????
Both ukwa and the dumy vice fimo fimo dnt look fit bt sick. Get well soon
Zabwino mulibe. The President has made only three trips in six months compared them with other presidents. That is not bad. When he is not traveling you say he is aerophobic because he is sick now he just traveled one trip after three months you start complaining. TRAVEL WELL MR PRESIDENT GOOD LUCK
Iwe guys how far has our president gone with the propose about due citizenship. I guess these there should not forget also about this and only keep on talking on unnecessary things. Leaving important issues behind.
Pease God. We are looking forward to that wonderful day when you will take………………
OLD BILLY!! whats this space, he will say contrary to what lubinda is saying. Shows a lack of leadership. They are very inconsistent in their comments. I dont think the government has a clewar policy on attracting those in Diaapora whether to invest, come back or get involved in the development of the nation. There are definately a number of big brains I know abroad and also local, that if the minds got together, they can come up with something concrete. Sata is in different mindsets most of the time!!
Ukwa has no agenda. How can the whole lot of President waste Tax payer money for opening a school? If it was RB, aononga ndalama za boma. A busy President cant do this in three day when Lubinda has been in Botswana three days before his arrival. Wasting our money. No development issues.
Travelled to RSA to see GBM’s wife too.
Please Zambians,lets keep our fingers closed and pray so that we will not get embarrased in Botswana.Faulty Towers/Ukwa business left behind and to resume thereafter.
Yes, let’s keep our fingers crossed!
I hope this clueless old man can learn one or two things about good governance from the leadership in Botswana. This man is such an embarrassment. I hope Zambians have learned a lesson. All you smart Zambians need to start voting instead of allowing kaponyas to elect leaders for you.
I dont why people have alot of negative perception about Mr. Sata. We recieved this morning and he had meeting with our president here. His speech was eloquent and during the discussions he said alot of good things. He has requested the Botswana president to recieve Zambian Ministers to come and bench mark . Botswana recently built four senior secondary schools around the country. I know that two were electrified by a company owned by a former nortec student who is based in Botswana.
“Foreign Affairs Minister Given Lubinda said in Gaborone yesterday that the State visit was significant because it showed the warm relations that exist between the two countries”. Well now my Given, by the same token RB’s many travels signified the warm relations that RB forged between Zambia and many countries for the benefit of Zambians. I tell you brethren, by the third year in office, President Sata will have travelled more than RB.
Oh, sorry I forgot that Mr Sata is not the accomplished diplomat and democrat that RB is, and may not receive as many invitations. But we are watching, the man will do all the things that he condemned out of ignorance or spite. To paraphrase a Chinese proverb, a journey of many thousand kilometres begins with a trip to Botswana.
ukamba weka
state visits are normal. what is abnormal is globe trotting . Go ahead Mr President, Zambia is not an island. Botsawna is a good choice, try and speed up the kazungula bridge construction.
Except that Botswana has one problem…. tswanas are so bad that they will never grant citizenship to Zambians who have lived there and contributed to levels of national development in that country. Tswanas have been a huge stumbling block to the solution on Kazungula crossing becoz I recall very well when one of their past presidents told the SADCC members that Bostwana has no economic interests in Zambia and so it didn’t see the benefits of having a bridge across the Zambezi river.
why grant a citizenship to Botswana while u got a wonderful country like Zambia,stick and do good to ur pple,right now im a student under the University f Botswana and i got 2 Zambians lectures who taught me at year 1 and 3,Dr Lungu(Mathematics) and Dr Tembo(Surveying) but they dont want a Bots citizenship!!be bright!!!
# 30, the main stumbling block was Robert Mugabe and not the botswana govt
Jeff was mislead,Botswana never wanted to cut ties with Zambia!!!
Ukwa!!!!…LoL….very very funny name and suits the serpent.
#30 get your facts right. Papa Bob is the one who was a stubmling block. Now that he is no longer in the picture, some progress has been made. Further, there are a lot of Zambian’s in Botswana who have naturalised even though the process is quite stringent.
#30 you have your own issues, maybe you are one of those poachers who escaped when found poaching in Botswana. The bridge was supposed to span the three countries, namely Zam, Zim & Bot. Bob pulled out and planners had to go back to the drawing board. We have alot of Zambians who naturalised here in Botswana. Its no easy to do so if you have been here as a border jumper and your credentials dont support you to contribute to the well being of our country. Zambians are taken as a highly motivated people. Those in Engineering and accounting seem to have been born with such skills, off course we get bad ones say one out of 100. Zambian teachers taught us for decades here. Nurses took care of us for years. By the way, how we wished your president came with one of the chipolopolo boys here.
#30, FYI there are many Zambian professionals; doctors, engineers, teachers,etc who are now Botswana citizens. If Zambia puts her house in order other countries will be interested in doing business with the country. But if the country will be run like a tea-cart then everyone around the globe will ignore it.
its a good move, am sure he will be advised by the BOTSWANA president, how to meet the promises and how to tell the truth to the voters
We will have a bridge! Did you read this or you are blind?
I admire the Batswana president. He has fond memories of Zambia and its citizenry. He welcomed our president very well and has never forgotten what Zambian have done for his country – the likes of football coaches and all…..he is a soccer player I am sure and one disciplined soldier. Many presidents should emulate him.
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President Sata’s meeting with zambians living in Botswana was a disaster as predicted. Lubinda spoke first encouraging zambians living in Botswana not to forget home and keep on investing home, but the president came and lambasted zambians for leaving home and come to work in Botswana. Instead of thanking Botswana for helping reduce unemployment figures in zambia, he said he is exploiting zambians. What s mess!!
Let Mr Guy Scot act as president. We voted him as a parliamentarian so he qualifies as to act.
I think the mood depends upon the proesn. I am a traveler myself and I really enjoy traveling. It’s because I get to travel around the world while earning. I guess this opportunity is not available to everyone so while it’s there, enjoy it!