Zambia says sustainable trade, infrastructure development, gender equality and empowerment, peace, health, and education are among key prerequisites to the development of Africa.
Zambia made the remarks at the just-concluded Africa-week joint debate on New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), focusing on the progress in implementation and international support as well as on the decade to roll back malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Assistant Director (International Organisations), Mr. Eliphas Chinyonga said Zambia welcomed the programme for infrastructure development in Africa that NEPAD developed, focusing on transformative regional projects.
“Out of the priority Regional Infrastructure projects identified, Zambia is likely to benefit directly from those that are located or pass through the borders,” Mr Chinyonga noted.
Mr Cinyonga said the project includes Serenje–Nakonde Road with the total length of 614.71km; Lusaka-Lilongwe ICT Terrestrial Fiber Optic; Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya Transmission Line; and Batoka Gorge Hydro Power Project.”
“I am pleased to report that Zambia developed a compendium of climate oriented agriculture technologies in all three of its agro ecological regions. This was facilitated through the support from the NEPAD Climate Change Fund for mainstreaming Climate Smart Agriculture into the National Agriculture Investment Plan,” Mr. Chinyonga told the UN General Assembly meeting.
He said Zambia is committed to promoting human capital development.
Mr. Chinyonga said Zambia will continue to improve the teaching of science and mathematics, which are critical to attaining improvements in technology and innovation for enhanced industrialisation and job creation.
Mr. Chinyonga also noted that Zambia was focusing on reducing malaria related deaths countrywide and hoped to achieve a malaria-free Zambia by 2020.
Mr. Chinyonga said, so far, malaria prevalence and deaths have steadily decreased, culminating in an impressive 55 percent reduction in all cases of child mortality.
On gender equality and women empowerment, Mr. Chinyonga informed the global body that Zambia enacted the Gender Equity and Equality Act No. 22 of 2015, which has fully domesticated major international and regional instruments including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
However, Mr. Chinyonga expressed Zambia’s concern that the process of integrating NEPAD into the African Union structures and processes has been slow, despite the African Union Commission and the NEPAD Agency working towards concluding the matter.
“It is our view that international support to facilitate the inclusion of realistic timelines for concluding the matter would be useful,” said Mr. Chinyonga.
Malabishi! What has Zambia done within its borders in terms of development? Same way we treat religion in Zambia.
The Batoka Gorge project is driven by Zimbabwe who have nowhere else to look for more power. Kafue Gorge Lower has been the best power project for Zambia to implement since the 1970s. Instead we are too busy following Mugabe’s wishes.
He should have mentioned governance. With good governance we would not have dictators in Africa, or even incompetent leaders who specialize in police brutality and lack vision. We would not have ministers who are not accountable to the people they serve but chose to overstay in office with no remorse.
What the heck, UN is a talk shop you can preach what you do not practice.
Dununa Livesi!
All the reasons mentioned are baseless what Africa need now are people who will sacrifice their LIVES for their CHILDREN and fight for AFRICA ‘s ECONOMIC FREEDOM. The old Class of Kaunda, Nyerere, Mandela, Mugabe, Samora, Nkuruma etc gave us political freedom which has since been taken away but now We need freedom fighters who will usher us into a new era of total freedom (THE POWER TO GOVERN OURSELVES, MAKE DECISIONS AND HAVE A SAY OVER OUR WEALTH).
Comment:Peace makers may our sovereign God blessing you.Developing is our priority
ndelolesha fye
lets see hw dis wil go
Please could you tell me which Country in is fully developed and totally independent………. None all our Governments are remote controlled governments, some one some where pulls the strings……OOOOH AFRICA arise from you slumber…….. Education is the brain-washing tool the west has used to control us as opposed to chaining the black people with horses to assume control of them and ensure that they see a white man as a god, which is happening as I speak…….OOOOH AFRICA arise from you slumber…….. As long as we Africans turn our attention to us and value ourselves development will continue to be a ferry tale sung to every generation to come ……… How we easily give away land as if we are giving away soup to a child…… I encourage all who candidly read this comment to…
I meant which Country in Africa is fully………
I meant OOOOH AFRICA arise from your slumber……
These PF ministers do not know what they are talking about. They have run the economy into the ground and they have no credibility in what this guy is talking about! It would be best for him to just sit in Lusaka making more children without a future due to their poor governance record!
Comment:n’de unfwako fye
Truth well said this is seriously Africas problem yet the same UPND supporters think HH can fix it I would like to see which economy he will fix. The only thing he will do is enrich himself again by striking deals that will benefit him like he did with the privatisation saga and that is why he is ready to fight tooth and nail for the presidency the people backing him are telling him not to give up we need to wake up and see through such people. A bold leader is one who takes bold decisions for his people and not one who is paid money for the countries assets to be stolen or one who is ready to start a revolution for his own political ambitions.