Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Stanley Kakubo has appealed to the Japanese government to support Zambia restore her debt sustainability.
ZANIS reports that Mr Kakubo made the appeal when he virtually addressed the ministerial meeting of the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8).
The virtual TICAD meeting was held from March 26 to 27, 2022, under the theme “Achieving sustainable and inclusive growth with reduced economic inequalities.”
Mr Kakubo assured the Japanese government that Zambia has devised measures and remains committed to restoring debt sustainability and achieving economic transformation and diversification.
“Our Government is firmly committed to the implementation of the measures it has put in place for the restoration of our debt sustainability. I am confident that Zambia can count on the support of the Japanese government to this issue of debt” said Mr Kakubo.
The Minister urged TICAD to urgently find ways of helping countries restore economic growth and improve general living conditions following the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic.
“Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a great need to build more resilient economies and reduce inequalities” pointed out Mr Kakubo.
He observed that private sector and public-private partnerships are critical in a post COVID era to help unlock and mobilise resources that can accelerate economic recovery and foster socio-economic development.
Mr Kakubo said the mobilized resources under the private sector and public-private partnerships can be used to support industrialization and generate employment, income and reduce socio-economic inequalities.
The minister acknowledged that Official Development Assistance has been instrumental in providing additional resources from cooperating partners like Japan to support the private sector to increase their productive capacities and open up market access opportunities.
Mr Kakubo further urged African countries to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to deepen regional integration by promoting trade and investment.
“The African Continental Free Trade Area is an appropriate window for deepening regional integration through trade. The promotion of trade and investment is key in enhancing participation in regional and global value chains” said Mr Kakubo.
The minister expressed optimism that African leaders when they meet at the eighth TICAD summit will collaborate to reduce global inequalities and strengthen promotion of international cooperation and solidarity in mitigating climate change.
The Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) will be hosted in Africa by Tunisia later in 2022.
TICAD8 will be the first TICAD to take place since the world experienced the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development is held every three years, and TICAD7, was held in Yokohama in 2019.
How do you give responsibility for your debt management to another country? Is he mad or what?
This is the bush… one must familiarize with oneself.
Minister Kabuko please check your prepared speeches before you utter them and assume responsibility. Secondly get rid of whoever wrote this speech/presentation for you. Rid of those that approved that the speech to reach your desk. You are allowing to be
destroyed/undermined by those that should work with you to serve our country. Leadership is not a likeability contest.
If I was the Japanese government I would DEMAND that the guy responsible for the ridiculous DEBT – Edgar China Lungu – would go to JAIL for 20 years, before I would do anything!
If Kakubo don’t still, then he will be vice president to Nalumango in 2026.
HH says he has to go and take care of his failing business empires.
Vonse nikupempha? This victim mentality needs to stop mu Zambia.
Can we really fail to find local solutions to these challenges? We have foreign investors coming into the country, they are making money, why can’t we do something similar?
Our news daily is something like this:
1. Pulizi, imwe accounting firm ku Flance, we shalu pey you to help as listlacture our dates.
2. Please ‘I am a fool’ tifuna 1.4 billion
3. Please imwe ba Saudi Arabia, change the roan in two a glant.
4. Ba Yapani, priz tifuna thandizo, help us manage our dates.
Poverty mentality…it’s impossible for a nation to develop, when all you want is to be given things for free yet the nation has a lot of minerals…Cow s.hit
This is becoming very embarassing HH7 we put you in govt to sort out this mess left by Lazy Lungu not to beg from everyone…you removed subsidies to pay off the debt now you are asking the Japs to restore debt sustainability …have you failed to do it are you not an Economist?
Other countries ask for scholarships and help in the education sector from the Japs …we are fortunate enough to have encounter Japs at boarding school plus our Ghanan Biology tutor Mr Bonteng was sponsored by JICA.
Tarino you tonga f00I don’t include us in your failures. Don’t ever mention pf or or my president. Your tonga boy is in charge. Take responsibility for your mess. Waymbuwaway
Beggar nations beg from everywhere. Ngati wankala naka cup pa corner you wont say I only want money from Christians, or from men, or from rich people. Zambia is now an expert beggar so even our presidents don’t have shame when their ministers look for handouts everywhere
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So it appears that the classic internet adage really does hold true: don’t feed the trolls. Deny them the pleasure of an angry reaction, and they’ll probably leave you alone.
If not begging then what is it really that you Zambians can do right now or in the near future to settle your $30Billion Debt? Mind you if you wanted to sell Zambia as a whole country today/now you can only get $24 Billion. Whole country gone including you the people in it, so who ll pay the remainder $6 Billion for you? You see? so this is the reason why the only option left in the medium term is to beg, cos you ve no asset that you can sell to settle the Debt – not even selling the whole including the people can the debt be settled.
Perhaps you should be asking Lungu why he had to borrow more than the GDP of your country. And besides you people did nothing to stop Lungu from borrowing-nothing at all, i was watching. But now u want to be see clever and stop the UPND GRZ from begging? why didnt u stop the one borrowing then this other GRZ wouldnt ve been begging