New Dawn government’s commitment to continue with the expansionary approach to private sector participation-HH

President Hakainde Hichilema has reiterated the New Dawn government’s commitment to continue with the expansionary approach to private sector participation in the economic transformation agenda for job creation and poverty reduction.

President Hichilema is urging the private sector to fully engage and utilize the newly established public private dialogue forum for development to rapidly resolve barriers to private sector business development and growth.

He said the Government has tasked the public institutions, among them regulatory bodies, to constructively ease business registration and licensing requirements to aid private sector participation in the economy.

Speaking at the official opening of the 94th Agriculture and Commercial show, Mr. Hichilema noted that the show presents the perfect opportunity for businesses and other stakeholders including regulators and authorities to trade, network, and share knowledge and ideas on economic transformation.

“May we take this opportunity to indicate that the presence of a large number of international guests, investors, researchers, foreign exhibitors and other countries participating in this show, reaffirms our government’s commitment to opening up our country for business. Zambia is indeed open for business. We also thank all the sponsors and the show society for putting together this magnificent show. May we also pay tribute to our farmers, who in the face of turmoil spurred by a combination of climate change, global geopolitical tensions which have affected both the cost and flow of production inputs, and a Covid 19 pandemic that has continued to disrupt production endeavors on a scale never seen before, still ensured that Zambia and our citizens remained relatively food secure,” President Hichilema said.

“The show, therefore, presents the perfect opportunity for businesses and other stakeholders including regulators and authorities to trade, network, and share knowledge and ideas on how we can transform the economy, increase agricultural production for job creation, household and national wealth creation, as well as fight poverty amongst our people. In this regard, the government established the ministry of technology and science to reposition and spearhead the use of technology and innovation as a means to drive the digital transformation agenda for growth and development, with a target to increase internet penetration to 80 percent by 2026, from 52.9 percent in 2020,” he said.

The Head of State continued:”For instance, in the agricultural sector, we are seeing the increasing use of digital platforms in pest and disease surveillance, diagnosis and early warning, trade facilitation, and the delivery of extension messages to farmers through e-extension (ict).technology is also being used in the development of improved crop varieties and breeding stock, mechanisation, and climate smart agricultural practices, resulting in a significant increase in yields for farmers, and an improvement in the livelihoods of our people. In delivering inclusive and sustainable socio – economic growth and development, it is imperative that we pursue inclusivity in the use and application of technology and innovation, as we robustly work to address the needs of women, the youth, persons with disabilities and underserviced areas in rural areas to promote inclusive and sustainable growth.”

President Hichilema further emphasized the role that the remodeled CDF can play in boosting local agriculture production and food security.

“As we conclude, we wish to reiterate the government’s commitment to continue with our expansionary approach to private sector participation in our economic transformation agenda for job creation and poverty reduction. We urge the private sector to fully engage and utilize the newly established public private dialogue forum for development to rapidly resolve barriers to private sector business development and growth. We have, further, tasked our public institutions, among them regulatory bodies, to constructively ease business registration and licensing requirements to aid private sector participation in the economy. May we also perhaps take the liberty to emphasize the role that the remodeled CDF has and can play in boosting local agriculture production and food security, by leveraging partnerships with well established farming businesses. Note that some constituencies such as Zambezi west have invested in agricultural equipment,” President Hichilema concluded.