Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo has hailed the warm bilateral relations that exist between Zambia and China.

Mr Lusambo who is visiting China held bilateral discussions with his counterpart Mr. Yin Li, the Governor of Sichuan Province of China to discuss further cooperation between the two provinces.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 17th Western China International Fair being held in Chengdu city of China from 20th to 24th September 2018.

The Lusaka Province Minister is in Chengdu City of China at the invitation of the Sichuan Provincial Government.

Sichuan Province of China and Lusaka Province of Zambia entered into sister province partnership in 2017 under the twinning programme of Zambian and Chinese Provinces being spearheaded by the Zambian Government through its Mission in Beijing and the Chinese Friendship Association with Foreign countries.

During the bilateral discussions, Mr. Lusambo conveyed His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s gratitude to President Xi Jinping and his Government and the leadership of Sichuan Province for extending an invitation to the Zambian delegation from Lusaka Province to attend the 17th Western China International Fair.

He reiterated that Zambia values the relations that exist between the two countries anchored on a rich historical background, friendship and mutual respect.

He assured his host that the Zambian people appreciate China’s unwavering support spanning over 50 years and encompassing cooperation in various fields such as infrastructure development, health and education support, etc.

The Lusaka Province Minister further paid special tribute to the founding fathers of China and Zambia Chairman Mao Zedong and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda for their inspirational and visionary leadership that firmly set the foundation for the existing bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Minister for Lusaka Province commended the Chinese Government for promoting the “Belt and Road” initiative which is a strong demonstration of Chinese inclusiveness in the global economy.

He further observed that over the years, China has grown to be the largest single investor in Zambia.

Mr. Lusambo highlighted various investment opportunities for possible consideration by the Sichuan business community and invited the Governor of Sichuan Province to visit Lusaka Province with his business delegation to appreciate the prospects for further economic cooperation and investment in the various districts of Lusaka Province.

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The Minister is leading a delegation of provincial and district officials from Lusaka Province to participate in the 17th Western China International Fair being held in Chengdu city the capital of Sichuan Province of China from 20th to 24th September 2018.

Established in 2000, the Western China International Fair (WCIF) is an important investment promotion, trade cooperation and diplomatic service platform for the Western regions of China.

A total of 90 countries and regions including Zambia, have sent delegations to participate in this year’s 17th Western China International Fair (WCIF) that opened in the city of Chengdu on Thursday 20th September 2018.

The Fair has drawn more than 60,000 domestic and overseas business and government delegations.

In his remarks, Mr. Yin Li, the Governor of Sichuan Province noted that his province has engaged with Zambia since 1972 when about 8,000 people from Sichuan Province took part in the construction of the Tazara Railway line.

The Governor also acknowledged the visit by Vice President of Zambia Mrs. Inonge Wina and former Lusaka Province Minister Mr. Japhen Mwakalombe in 2017 that commenced the sister province relationship between the two provinces.

He noted that the visit by Mr. Lusambo would further cement this relationship.

Mr. Yin Li further accepted the invitation to visit Zambia soon and observed that Sichuan and Lusaka have a lot of potential to expand cooperation in trade and investment.

He noted that currently, companies from Sichuan Province are already undertaking some projects in Lusaka such as in the on-going expansion of Lusaka International Airport.

The Governor assured his counterpart that he would encourage companies from Sichuan to invest in Lusaka Province particularly in ICT, manufacturing, tourism and other sectors.

He further pledged to consolidate technology exchanges between the two provinces.

Sichuan Province is the sixth largest province in China in terms of economic output and boasts an annual GDP of RMB 3.7 Trillion (about $500 billion).

Speaking in an earlier engagement this morning, Mr. Lusambo noted that the Government of Zambia pays attention to prudent management of public resources as this is critical for every developing country to prosper.

The Minister acknowledged the critical need for efficient public procurement processes particularly in developing countries that have relatively greater resource constraints for provision of public goods and services.

The Lusaka Province Minister was speaking as a special Guest at the 3rd Western China Public Procurement Conference which is one of the sub forums of the 17th Western China International Fair being held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province China.

This is according to a statement issued by First Secretary for Tourism and Culture at the Zambia Embassy in Beijing.

President Edgar Lungu has said that he will remain steadfast and continue to deliver to the people of Zambia despite the prevailing allegations of corruption and withholding of donor aid to the country.

President Lungu said that he will not be distracted by some critics trying to gain political mileage over the move by the United Kingdom to withhold financial aid to the social cash transfer scheme and education sector.

President Lungu was speaking to journalist at the ZAF Lusaka City Airport shortly before departure for the Copperbelt for a two-day working visit.

President Lungu says government is putting up measures to address the depreciation of the Kwacha against other major currencies. which he attributed to the current economic turbulences in the country.

Meanwhile, President Edgar Lungu has said that the firing of Minister of Community Development Emerine Kabanshi was not out of malice because wanted people to account for their actions and will NOT pay attention to detractors who only want him to fail.

President Lungu also said that he will not relent in partnering with China as long as it helps to bring development to the people of Zambia.

President Lungu said some people have a sole agenda of distracting him so that he fails to deliver what he promised the Zambian people adding that they want to point at his failures in 2021.

President Lungu said that it is sad that Zambians only come to appreciate their leaders when they are gone., adding that he has learnt his lesson from his predecessors who were only appreciated after they had left office.

The Head of State said this on arrival at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International airport in Ndola this morning.

President Lungu is on the Copperbelt to launch the 449 Million Dollar, Kafulafuta Water Supply System Project.

The Project is aimed at improving water supply in Ndola, Luanshya, Mpongwe and Masaiti Districts, with 6 hundred and 78 thousand beneficiaries, once complete.

And Copperbelt Minister Japhen Mwakalombe said government has transformed the Copperbelt. Mr. Mwakalombe said gone are the days when women on the Copperbelt woke up at 04 hours to queue up for water.

Mr Mwakalombe said that the commissioning of Kafulafuta dam is a milestone for the people of the Copperbelt because it will provide access to clean and safe drinking water.

Meanwhile, PF Copperbelt Provincial Chairman Steven Kainga said that the party supports the leadership of President Lungu and will embrace government’s partnerships with China.

President Edgar Lungu has left for the Copperbelt Province for a two day working visit.
The President left aboard a Zambia Air Force (ZAF), plane at about 09:15 hours at City Airport.

He is accompanied by Presidential Affairs Minister, Freedom Sikazwe and his special Assistant for Press and Public relations Amos Chanda.

On hand to see off the President, was Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa, Senior Government and Patriotic Front (PF), party officials.

According to a programme made available to ZANIS, the Head of State is expected to conduct a ground breaking tour of the Kafulafuta Water System Project in Ndola.

Meanwhile, The Head of State has said that the Anti-Corruption Commission, Drug Enforcement Commission and other State Agencies should be left to conduct their job.

He urged all stakeholders to allow the investigative wings to conduct their jobs without outside interference.

And Assistant for Press Amos Chanda has disclosed that contrary to other media which is claiming that State House has sold part of the land near state house, the land in question does not belong to state house.

Mr. Chanda said the malicious insinuations about state house selling land to an investor and building a skyscraper is totally false and very irresponsible.

He disclosed that the former Community Development and Social Services Minister, Emerine Kabanshi has written to the president that she is not in any way connected to malicious social media reports that have been attributed to her, in fact she has not spoken to anyone.

Mr. Chanda said the former Minister thanked the president for according her the opportunity to serve in his government and she remains a committed party member.

London based Africa Confidential has defended the stories it has been running on Zambia which has exposed grand corruption in key government departments.

The publication which has existed since 1960 has in the recent past published a series of articles on the state of Zambia’s public finances and President Lungu’s perceived failure to address corruption.

Some sections of the Zambian society have since labeled Africa Confidential as unprofessional and an agent of western propaganda.

Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya charged that Africa Confidential was involving itself in a malicious campaign against President Lungu’s administration.

But the Deputy Editor of Africa Confidential, Andrew Weir, told the Guardian that the publication practices Journalism of the highest standards.

“We stand by our sources of information and our level of reporting,” Mr Weir said.

Mr Weir has charged that the Zambian government has “been borrowing like crazy.

And Mr Weir said on Focus on Africa programme on the BBC on Tuesday evening that the Zambian government initially “misrepresented things that we were saying.”

“But we’ve been covering this growing debt crisis and problems about public expenditure – what they are spending the money on – for some time now,” Mr. Weir noted.

Asked why Africa Confidential started an investigation bordering on Zambia’s debt, Weir responded that: “This isn’t like a great investigation like spotlight movie, something like that.”

“Our correspondents started finding out stuff about what was going on in terms of the loans that have been made by China and Chinese corporations and by private ones as well that seem to be well beyond Zambia’s means to repay and we’ve been doing that for a few months now,” he said.

He then gave an example of an unnecessary commercial loan that Zambia had contracted.

“Yes, for example, the recently contracted debt, they contracted…for a twin-engine military transport aircraft for a 100 million Euros and that apparently, to our best information, is a commercial loan. So, why are they spending money on things like that? The [Kenneth Kaunda] international airport which has been in need of a bit of a facelift has been undergoing…and we find nothing wrong with that. But the information that we are getting is that it is being massively overpriced,” Mr. Weir explained.
On the cutting of aid to Zambia by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID,) Weir said: “The DFID thing is slightly different.”

And Mr Weir has charged that the Zambian government has “been borrowing like crazy.”

“On one hand they (the Zambian government) have been borrowing like crazy for things that some people say are a waste of money. But on the other hand, there’s money that come from aid budget, that come from taxpayers from Britain and Europe and United Nations agencies towards social security payments, towards education and towards health. Now, that’s the money that there have been reports which said the money is being diverted [and] which have been investigated by the Zambian government itself,” said Mr. Weir.