Friday, March 29, 2024

First Lady calls women to contribute to economic growth

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First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa has implored Zambian women to rise to the occasion and take up the challenge of participating fully in programmes aimed at empowering women and contributing to the overall growth of the national economy.

Mrs Mwanawasa said women must realise their full potential as agents of development and poverty eradication by asserting themselves and taking their rightful positions in the governance of the country.

The First Lady said this in a speech read on her behalf by wife of the Vice President, Thandiwe Banda, at the Evangelical Church In Zambia Copperbelt Women’s Conference held at the Itimpi Conference Centre in Kitwe today.

The First Lady said for a long time now women have been looking at themselves as assistant human beings and not agents for national development.

Mrs Mwanawasa noted that government has scaled up its efforts to ensure equity between men and woman through the provision of quality education and fair employment opportunities for all.

She hailed the Evangelical Church in Zambia for complimenting government’s efforts towards poverty eradication programmes and education.

“Contrary to assertions by some individuals that the Evangelical Church in Zambia was a sleeping giant, the Church has been a true partner in development to the government in various sectors of the economy” said Mrs Mwanawasa.

She observed that the church has involved itself in the provision of quality health care at Mukinge and Luapa and was also running two secondary schools in North Western Province.

Mrs Mwanawasa appealed to the women to undertake enterprising venture aimed at eradicating Poverty seriously.

And speaking later at the same function Copperbelt Women’s Secretary Billia Shamende
disclosed that the women on the Copperbelt have embarked on a full vegetable and fruit production programme at Itimpi.

Mrs Shamenda said their was abundant land and water resources at Itimpi which the women wanted to tap to go into food production to help eradicate poverty and contribute to the nations food basket.

She said however the women were faced with lack of financial resources to help them achieve their goal.

Mrs Banda later donated K2 million towards the women’s vegetable and fruit production programme.

The First Lady called on the Women to work extra hard and unity in their eadevour to

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