President Edgar Lungu says the continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) for Africa will create deeper interactions for all countries on the continent.

President Lungu said there is need to embrace this commitment if African countries are to benefit fully.

ZANIS reports that President Lungu noted that the AfCFTA will create the biggest free trade area in the world with a market of more people, and growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

President Lungu said this in Maputo today during the US-Africa business summit being held at the Joaquim Chissano Conference Centre.

President Lungu is among 13 Heads of State that are in that country to find ways of increasing US-Africa trade relations.

He said the AfCFTA has immense opportunities for increasing intra-regional trade, enhancing production, promoting economies of scale, creating jobs, raising incomes and improving the standard of living of the African people.

President Lungu added that the AfCFTA is expected to liberalise trade in goods and services for African countries and extends its coverage to investment, competition policy and intellectual property rights.

The Head of State said that the AfCFTA, once fully operational, will be the largest trading block on the continent, bringing together fifty five (55) African countries with a combined population of more than one billion people.

President Lungu added that the AfCFTA will, therefore, create opportunities for scaling up production for producers, not only in Zambia but in the entire Africa.

He said the AfCFTA is expected to provide a huge market access for the produce, ultimately contributing to job and wealth creation for all Africans.

“There is need to develop a good national strategy and action plan for trade in both goods and services for AfCFTA, which will spell out the modalities and interventions required to catalyse production systems in the country and promote trans- boundary trade opportunities” said President Lungu.

“It is important to note that the AfCFTA agreement is not self-executing as it requires counties to deploy deliberate strategies towards ensuring that the private sector, as key stakeholders in production and trade, is primed to exploit a larger market and product opportunities offered by the AfCFTA, with reduced tariff and non-tariff barriers’”. Added the Head of State.

President Lungu said it is imperative to, among others, address supply-side constraints limiting the productive capacity of industry to stimulate competitiveness and coherence between the National Industry Policy and trade promotion initiative.

He said the effective exploitation of the AfCFTA will require consensus among all stakeholders, who include the private sector, government, academics, and civil society, women and youth organisations.

Meanwhile Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangangwa says time has come for Africa to seize the moment and make an impact.

President Mnangagwa said the continent of Africa has a population of 1.2billion people which means it has its own market for its goods and services.

The University of Zambia Senate has endorsed the conferment of an honorary doctorate on President Edgar Lungu and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emerson Mnangagwa in good governance.

According to highly placed sources at UNZA, this is a mandatory process before a person identified for such honour is accorded one at a later public ceremony.

It is believed that the confinement will be done on June 21st 2019 at UNZA Graduation Square during the graduation ceremony.

Meanwhile, Mazabuka Central UPND member of parliament Gary Nkombo says President Edgar Lungu does not deserve any honorary doctorate in good governance because Zambia has recorded the worst governance record under his administration.

Recently, the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers’ Union (UNZALARU) confirmed that the University of Zambia (UNZA) management planned to honour the Head of State with a doctorate degree in good governance.

UNZALARU condemned the development through its Publicity Secretary Moffat Moyo who explained that the union was concerned that the timing and reasons advanced for conferring President Lungu with a doctorate degree were inadequate to satisfy the widespread indignation, ridicule and scorn the wider public would render.

And in an interview, Mr. Nkombo advised President Lungu to decline the honorary degree, saying if the Head of State had done a complete assessment of his governance style, he would understand that he did not deserve such an honour.

“I think if he deserves any honour, that is fine. But that which they want to confer upon him is clearly not the one because it clear knowledge that Zambia’s governance record is at its lowest stage in the reign of President Lungu and there is no contest to that. The abuse of human rights has been rampant in his style of governance under his nose. The issue of arbitrary arrests of political enemies is in the front stage. The issue after the revelation by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) tells us that our corruption index has risen exponentially and all other issues about the institutions of governance, including the police, have suffered a lot of abuse during this particular period of governance,” Mr. Nkombo said.

“The institutions, such as the Electoral Commission of Zambia, the public perception of that institution has suffered under the same individual. So, we can only question the motive of those who have chosen to do that; whether it’s for genuine reasons or it’s for purposes of aggrandizement or patronage. But it’s also incumbent upon the person who is being conferred to that particular honour to be true to himself. If I were President Lungu, I would decline that based on what I would call a self-assessment tool kit because everyone does assess themselves, and if he has done a complete assessment of his governance style, I am sure that it would only point to one area, that he does not deserve.”

Mr. Nkombo said the fact that unions, such as UNZALARU, were opposed to the idea, should give him more reasons to reject the offer.

“I think this gives even more reason why the President should reflect upon it and do an introspection that in the midst of a controversy where some people think he deserves and others do not think he does, he can behave like we all expect. If you recall Mr Rupiah Banda was conferred with an honorary doctorate, but he either declined it or he doesn’t use it. So, ultimately, it’s President Lungu’s call. But he must also take heed to how those members, like us, who belong to the same society that he governs, feel about him and his governance style and this honour is limited to his governance style and nothing else. So, we think that if he were to be assessed by some of us, he would be recording a failure in terms of good governance,” said Mr. Nkombo.

GBM acquitted over “going for President Lungu throat” case, Magistrate says prosecution failed to prove which Edgar Lungu GBM referred to

Magistrate says that the prosecution failed to prove which Edgar Lungu he referred to..Apparently, there are so many…

Former UPND Vice President Geoffrey Mwamba has been acquitted by the Lusaka Magistrate court in a case he was accused of proposing to cause death or injury to President Edgar Lungu.

Mr. Mwamba who is popularly known as GBM was accused of uttering these words during a gathering held at the UPND’s secretariat on March 2nd 2016.

On the same day, Mr. Mwamba who is now an ordinary member of the Patriotic front was alleged to have proposed violence by saying he wanted to go for President Lungu’s throat.

When the matter came up for ruling on a case to answer, the court ruled that the prosecution team failed to establish a prima facie case against Mr. Mwamba.

Magistrate Thandose Chabala who acquitted Mr. Mwamba also established that the arresting officer did not investigate the matter before arresting and charging Mr. Mwamba with the offence as his arrest was based on what he heard on Hot FM.

She says all the witnesses failed to identify which Edgar Lungu that Mr. Mwamba was referring to in his statement.

After the Court’s verdict Mr. Mwamba applauded the court for handling the case professionally.

President Edgar Lungu is tomorrow Wednesday June 19 ,2019 expected in Maputo, Mozambique for the U.S-Africa Business Summit.

The summit is being convened by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), and is scheduled to take place at the Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre from June 18 – 21, 2019.

ZANIS reports that the business meeting has been considered the essential conference on U.S-Africa business and investment, since its inception in 1997 and will be a 12th recurrence this year.

Over the last 20 years, CCA has hosted more than 40 United States and African Heads of State and over 13,300 participants at its summits.

According to information obtained from the Zambian Embassy in Maputo, the U.S.-Africa business and investment landscape is rapidly evolving, with CCA making this strategic move aimed at providing CCA members, investors, and key U.S.-Africa business stakeholders with the opportunity to stay abreast with the latest developments in business and investment across the continent.

The U.S.-Africa Business Summit serves as a platform for African and U.S. private sector and government representatives to engage on key sectors that include agribusiness, energy, health, infrastructure, trade facilitation, ICT and finance, among others.

Corporate Council on Africa is the leading U.S. business association focused solely on connecting business interests between the United States and Africa.

CCA uniquely represents a broad cross section of member companies from small and medium size businesses to multinationals as well as U.S. and African firms.