President Rupiah Banda has arrived in Rome, Italy to attend the World summit on Food Security which officially opens tomorrow.
The plane carrying President Banda touched down at Ciampino airport in Rome at 12:45 hours after a one and half hour flight from the Libyan capital Tripoli where he arrived yesterday.
Zambia’s ambassador to Italy Lucy Mungoma and other senior government officials were on hand to receive the President on arrival.
The head of state was later driven to Westin Excelstor hotel where he will stay while in Rome.
The world summit on food security, the third at head of state and government level, since 1996, has been convened by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, of the United Nations, to secure a broad consensus on the total eradication of hunger from the world by 2025.
The summit has been called against a backdrop of increasing global food insecurity worsened by the global economic crisis with food prices remaining stubbornly high beyond the reach of most people.
The FAO says it is unacceptable that over one billion people worldwide, mostly in developing countries, do not have enough food to meet their daily nutritional needs.
Director General Jacques Diouf says the UN organisation further estimates that the number of hungry mouths worldwide could increase by 100 million as a result of the global economic and financial crisis.
He says significant additional investment in agriculture averaging 209 billion US dollars per year, is required in primary agriculture and downstream services such as storage and marketing in to eliminate poverty and achieve food security in developing countries.
For Zambia, President Banda and his delegation bring to the summit an encouraging overall national food security situation in which the 2009 maize yield stands at 1.89 million tonnes, 31 percent above the 2008 harvest.
Statistics also show that wheat production increased by 5 percent over the 2008 output.
The good harvest is attributed to the good agricultural policies government has put in place such as the farmer input support programme which has made inputs not only affordable, but also accessible and available to farmers throughout the country.
According to the provisional programme, the official opening of the summit is set for about 10:00 hours Zambian time.
This will be followed by the election of the Chairperson and vice chairperson respectively.
ZANIS
Zonda uzalema wena…
People where do I get how many air miles this man has done since becoming “president”?
yangu tatamayo……ba president bele kumataba? He should have sent Chituwo and Chilala thats so.
RB lacks some most important leadership skills such as planning, analytical, supervision, evaluation and monitoring, above all delegation. He has poorly centered every government task on himself.Why failing to delegating some of things trips and summits to his cabinet ministers? he has so far surpassed Robert Mugabe’s presidential trips. can you imagine?
imwe how would u behave if you had never bin on a plane also? let him catchup on lost times..
The US presidential jet boeing 747 200 commonly called air force one, is older than the Zambian presidential challenger jet commonly called kaingo, but believe me ladies and gentlemen on this blog when i tell you that the kaingo will soon have more mileage than air force one by the time RB leaves office. I wonder why this man even has a cabinet when he does all the work that his representatives are supposed to do. Correct me if am wrong, but i dont think George Kunda or any minister has made any trip to represent the president from the time he came into office.
Marco Polo; Christopher Columbus; Vasco Da Gama; Around the world in 80 days! The Great Trek; The amazing race and the winner is …………………………………………………………….! Your guess is as good as mine.
Comedy of Errors Inc. ( ?). is a registered trademark!
During his food security summit he better not introduce GM foods to Zambia. That will destroy Zambia’s soil.
Italian girls look sugar Daddy is in town hahahhahahahahahahahahah
LOOKOUT I WANTED TO SAY
WHat good policies is this man talking about? The farmer input support programme did not come with him. Just say we had a good rain season, dont give credit where it is not due. No new policy in the agricultural sector has been implemented since the new administration ascended to power
I wonder what his(RB’s) “speech” will be about…
Should RB not be staying in Zambia and working instead or running around the world for summits.
Surely, he can send a deputy or someone else
Was only recieved by Zambian ambassador to Italy, Lucy Mungomba. But why not the Italian Presido or any Senior Minister??
It should not therefore come as a suprise that Banda is now in Italy and was only recently in Swaziland because leaders of both these countries are addicted to fimi fimo!
How did this Ms. Lucy M. Mungoma land this post and just where the hell is she from? With Banda’s frequent and unexplained trips to Rome, one wonders what is going on and whether her appointment to such a sensitive post is a strategic gymic by Kansundila to plunder our country. I also hear when Dora and Kanitu’s son were in Rome to sell ZAMTEL they stayed at this woman’s house.
Each President has his song. KK used to sing Tioloke Zambezi, so let RB sing Tioloke Mediterranean ndi mtima umo
imwe bantu is this guy in Italy or i am reading a wrong article. No 1 Nine Chale you are spot on. Why didnt he send a junior person
OK Fine, but when is he passing through Zambia? I dont think this guy likes State House thats why he is always away.
Ba kaamba go back where u came from. U sure aren’t interested in spending time in Zed.
Try Mongolia next time. Very few Zambians have been there!
What it means to be between a rock and a hard place:
1. You are Head of State and you attend a ‘Heads of States’ summit, but people want your ministers to attend instead.
2. You privatise industries but people want government to interfere in day-to-day running and management of the same. Under government controlled ZCCM expats were paid 10 times more than locals!
3. Your country has an excellent farming season, the credit is given to good rains and not your policies. But Zimbabwe, under same climate is starving!
4. An independent judiciary passes unpopular judgments, the executive is blamed for interference.
Sebuloni Kamutanda
Your comments are not worthy of you. But I would like to enlighten you and all other bloggers here. HE Lucy Mungoma was appointed ambassador by LPM. So were all the other staff at the Zambian embassy in Rome, who include one of RB’s sons. This particular son, is not new to Zambian politics, having served under Chiluba in Canada when his father was still in UNIP, and later with Dean Mungomba in ZADECO. The Zambian consulate at Rome is also accredited to UN agencies FAO, Int Fund for Agric. Development (IFAD) and World Food Prog. (WFP) as well as Portugal, Albania, Cyprus and Romania. If we are serious about food security, there is no other place the President should be than in Rome. ALL food roads lead to Rome! Stop being petty!
The Mobile President Award of the year 2009 goes to…the president of Zambia HE Rupiah Banda for having circled the world twice in 12months!Man the bally can travel.Next he’s going to the Caribbean Islands,Trinidad & Tobago.check the skies coz the challenger will be flying those ends soon.
I bet Australia will be the next destination before he considers Siberia or Alaska while the country continues on auto pilot!