Eastern Province has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of cooperation in agriculture, tourism and commerce with the Shandong Province of China.

The MOU which twins the two provinces, is expected to enhance Chinese investments in value addition in Eastern Province and the exchange of notes on best practices to grow the two economies for mutual benefits.

Acting Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Royd Tembo signed on behalf of the province while Director General of Shandong Provincial Foreign Affairs, Xue Qinggu signed on behalf of the Shandong Province at a ceremony witnessed by Eastern Province Minister Makebi Zulu and Shandong Vice Governor Ren Airong in Mambwe district yesterday.

Eastern Province Minister Makebi Zulu said the document is expected to see the two regions partnering in social and economic spheres to enhance growth.

Mr Zulu noted that the region has vast economic potential in agriculture and tourism which can be of benefit if it taps into the wealth of the Chinese province, to open up industries in value addition.

And Mr Zulu said the region is Zambia’s largest producer of cotton, tobacco, maize, groundnuts and soya beans, adding that the establishment of processing plants will therefore improve employment levels and grow the economy of the region.

He observed that both Eastern and Shandong Provinces are highly dependent on agriculture, saying Eastern Province can take some lessons on how Shandong which has a GDP of over USD 1 trillion managed to grow its economy.

Mr Zulu stated that the MOU also includes the exchange of notes in education and health.

He also noted that the province is a house to one of the world’s best wildlife sanctuaries in the SADC region and that there is need to take advantage of the Chinese population as it provides a huge market for the tourism sector.

The Provincial Minister however said there is need for more investments in lodges and hotels as the province does not have adequate accommodation to for the many international tourists who may wish to visit at the region.

And Shandong Province vice governor Ren Airong said matchmaking of Shandong and Eastern Province was ideal to meet the demands of investors in Shandong and the potential that lies in Eastern province of Zambia.

Ms Ren said her province has a number of industries that are involved in value addition and that could invest in the country’s agricultural sector.

She noted that Shandong is a powerhouse of education with 145 higher learning facilities and more than 200 vocational schools saying it has professionals who have the capacity to help improve the sectors of education and tourism in Eastern Zambia.

She added that Shandong Province already has a solid foundation with Eastern Province as a Chinese firm was established, and specialised in the processing of cotton in Chipata district.

Ms Ren said China Africa cotton is evidence of the Chinese investment in the region.

Smart Zambia National Coordinator Martin Mtonga says the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the agriculture sector has helped address some challenges faced in the distribution of farming inputs under the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP).

Dr. Mtonga said through the use of ICT, government has sealed the loop-holes that earlier caused problems in the effective implementation of FISP across the country.

He explained that so far over 800, 000 out of the one million targeted farmers have responded positively to the electronic voucher system.

Dr. Mtonga, who is also Deputy Secretary to Cabinet, E-Government Division, revealed that Northern Province is one of the regions in the country responding positively to the FISP programme.

He notes that currently two systems are being implemented in the Province namely, the direct input support system and the card-less redeeming system.

Dr. Mtonga adds that government remains committed to improving service provision through the implementation of ICT in various sectors of the economy such as agriculture.

He was speaking in Kasama today when he addressed government officials with regards to the implementation of E-government systems in Northern Province.

Meanwhile, Dr Mtonga has handed over a brand new motor Nissan Hard-body vehicle on behalf of government, bought at a cost of over K200, 000 to the Northern Province Administration, meant for the implementation of ICT programmes in the province.

He explained that government is aware of the challenges being faced by people in the districts, hence the initiative to procure a vehicle to enhance government operations in the region.

Dr. Mtonga has since urged the Provincial Administration to put the donated vehicle to good use.

And speaking after receiving the new vehicle, Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary Sineva Kambenja thanked the Smart Zambia Institute for rolling out the e-government systems and services to Northern Province.

Higher Education Minister Nkandu Luo says no single university in Zambia has been downgraded to a college status by Oxford University contrary to social media rumors.

In a ministerial statement on the alleged downgrading of university in Zambia to college status, Professor Luo says it is not possible for a single university in the United Kingdom to downgrade all university in Zambia.

She says the requirements for a candidate to obtain a Rhodes scholarship for study at Oxford University did not refer to the downgrading of any university in Zambia.

Professor Luo explains that the requirement by the Rhodes scholarship selection committee for a Zambian scholar to get additional qualifications in the neighboring countries was necessitated by the difference in the grading of qualifications between Zambia and the UK with regard to honours degrees.

She says additional requirements of an additional year to obtain honours qualification outside Zambia does not mean downgrading of Zambian universities, but that this is necessitated by the structure of the Zambian

A 94-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) Observation Electoral Mission (SOEM) has been launched in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, ahead of the 2018 presidential, legislative and provincial elections to be held in the next ten days.

According to the statement released to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Public Relations Unit in Lusaka today, 73 out of the 94 members are field observers supported by a core team of 18 technical staff from the SADC secretariat while three are SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) members.

Head of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission, Ernest Sakala, who represented President Edgar Lungu, says the team will assess the conduct of the elections against a set of central principles stipulated in the revised SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections.

President Lungu is the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

Justice Sakala said the principles are the full participation of the citizens in the political process, freedom of association, assembly and expression, equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media, civic and voter education, acceptance and respect for the official election results by political parties and settlement of electoral disputes as provided for in the law.

He said the mission was preceded by the deployment of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council to DRC in July and November, 2018.

Mr Sakala explained that the advisory council was to inform the ministerial committee of the organ on appropriate action to be taken in support of the electoral process.

He said after interaction with various Congolese stakeholders, a number of concerns were raised such as the introduction and use of the electronic voting machine, the urgent need to remove from the voters’ roll approximately six million voters who were registered without biometrical data and the insufficient voter education intervention as a result of limited financial resources.

Other concerns were the outbreak of Ebola virus in Ituri and Nort Kivu provinces and the presence of armed insurgents in the eastern part of the country, particularly in Beni.

Justice Sakala said the electoral advisory council also acknowledged the United Nations Security Council’s resolution of October 30, 2018, calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities by all armed groups operating in these areas.

He said SADC has since deployed troops to Eastern DRC under the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), which operates under the UN Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Congo, with the specific aim of neutralizing the negative forces.

Justice Sakala has since appealed to all stakeholders to ensure that elections are managed in a peaceful, transparent and credible manner and encouraged all eligible voters to brave the weather and turn out in large numbers.

He said the mission is looking forward to an electoral process that adheres to democratic values and principles.

And SADC Executive Secretary, Stergomena Tax has called upon all Congolese to use the opportunity to remain calm, united and allow the democratic dispensation to take its course.

The observers are drawn from Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The DRC general elections are scheduled to be held on December 23, 2018.