First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa has implored both local and foreign investors in Kasama to embrace Corporate Social Responsibility so as to foster economic development in the district.
Mrs. Mwanawasa said corporate social responsibility is a vehicle through which
communities can benefit from companies operating in their respective areas.
Mrs. Mwanawasa said government is encouraging Private Public Partnership (PPP) in
promoting economic development in all sectors of the economy.
The First Lady was speaking in Kasama last night during the Maureen Mwanawasa
Community Initiative (MMCI) Fundraising Dinner Dance organized by the MMCI Northern Province committee.
The event was aimed at raising money for the Early Child Care and Development (ECCD) Centre to be established in the district.
Mrs. Mwanawasa who is the chairperson for the initiative said her organization has
managed to offer various support in its intervention programmes through partnership
with various stakeholders.
She cited the Outreach Programme for Families being undertaken in Lusaka , HIV/AIDS programmes and Scholarship programmes as some of the programmes benefiting the less privileged in society.
The MMCI has seven intervention programmes in Education through ECCD and
scholarship, health, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, environment, social response to
emergencies and women empowerment.
She said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has since embarked on a
research on the Kapiri Mposhi ECCD programme in order to assess the performance of
children in schools that go through ECCD.
And Northern Province Minister Lameck Chibombamililo commended MMCI for
supplementing government efforts through assistance to various communities in all
parts of the country.
He has however bemoaned the high levels of HIV/AIDS which he said was claiming lives
in the productive sectors of the economy.
He said the pandemic is a worrying problem in the province as has effects both the
government and communities.
Meanwhile Mr. Chibombamililo is optimistic that the province despite being the third
poorest in the country will become prosperous due to the agriculture sector that is
performing better.
He disclosed that the province is currently the largest producer of coffee and has
also started producing sugar.
RELcNz