President Hakainde Hichilema is on Saturday October 7^th  2023, expected to attend the inauguration of the upgraded Nacala Port in Nampula Province, in the Republic of Mozambique

Host President Filipe Nyusi and Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera will also attend the inauguration ceremony.

As the deepest port in southern Africa, the Port of Nacala has the capacity to handle 30 million tons of coal per year and the potential to become a transport corridor for Zambia, Malawi and South Africa.

Since 2014, the port of Nacala has undergone repair works of port berths, installation of new equipment to modernize fuel operations, construction of a new railway terminal, upgrading the liquid bulk terminal and upgrading container operations with rubber-tired gantry cranes.

All these upgrades are aimed at improving operations at the port.

And speaking in an interview in Nacala district, Zambian High Commissioner to Mozambique Mary Chirwa disclosed that  while in Mozambique President Hakainde Hichilema, President Filipe Nyusi and President Lazarus Chakwera are expected to sign the tripartite institutional agreement on the Nacala Development Corridor agreement, while Ministers responsible for transport in the three countries will sign agreements in the areas of road and rail.

Ms. Chirwa stated that these agreements will result in enhanced cross-border coordination in the planning and development of physical infrastructure, lower operating costs and reducing travel times by transporters which will ultimately improve and stimulate regional connectivity and integration through the implementation of harmonized trade facilitation instruments, transport policies, laws, regulation and standards for efficient cross-border transport, easing the movements of goods and services, boost private sector investments, create jobs and foster economic growth in the three countries.

The Zambian envoy further stressed that the agreements will also result in unlocking the business potential along the corridor through effective participation of small and medium enterprises in economic value chains

The Nacala Development corridor is a Multi-Model Transport and logistics infrastructure network traversing 1, 710 Kilometers within and through the republics of Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique.

In Zambia, the corridor passes through Nyimba, Petauke, Katete, sinda, Chadiza, Chipata, Mambwe, Lundazi and Chama in the Eastern Part of Zambia and Luangwa, Rufunsa, Chongwe and Lusaka in Lusaka province as well as Chama district in Muchinga Province

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Nelly Mutti, has been honored with the prestigious Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year 2023 award. This recognition was bestowed upon her during the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held in Accra, Ghana.

Ms. Mutti’s outstanding achievements and dedication to her parliamentary duties were acknowledged by the selection committee, which conducted a thorough adjudication process involving eight nominations from across the Commonwealth. Her unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law, promoting transparency in parliamentary processes, and ensuring citizens’ access to parliamentary information and proceedings were commended by the committee.

In her acceptance speech, Speaker Nelly Mutti graciously dedicated the award to all female parliamentarians in the Commonwealth. She highlighted the collective efforts of women in the field of politics and their ongoing endeavors to achieve gender parity in parliaments worldwide.

This recognition not only reflects Ms. Mutti’s individual accomplishments but also serves as a testament to the significant strides made by Zambia in parliamentary governance and the promotion of gender equality.

The government’s implementation of the free education policy has resulted in over 2.3 million children returning to school, ensuring greater access to education without discrimination, according to Education Minister Douglas Syakalima. The policy has been instrumental in providing educational opportunities for children across the country.

Speaking during this year’s World Teachers Day commemoration, Minister Syakalima highlighted the government’s commitment to enhancing the welfare of teachers and improving their living standards. Acknowledging the pivotal role teachers play in the education system, he emphasized the need for educators to continue advancing themselves professionally.

Daphne Chimuka, Chairperson of the Teaching Service Commission, revealed that the pupil-teacher ratio has been impacted by the implementation of the free education policy. To address this issue, she stressed the importance of the government’s continued recruitment of teachers as a means of improving the teacher-pupil ratio.

UNESCO Representative Remmy Mukonka also weighed in on the global teacher shortage issue, affirming its significance and the need for action on a global scale. Addressing the teacher shortage is a collective challenge that requires attention and solutions at both national and international levels.

The government’s commitment to improving education access and supporting its teaching workforce has been a cornerstone of its education policy. As the country continues to focus on education development, it remains poised to address challenges and ensure that every child receives a quality education.

President Hakainde Hichilema has called on African leaders to invest in digital transformation.

The head of state said African countries should not just invest in digital transformation but also accelerate the digitalization agenda.

Mr Hichilema observed that investing and accelerating digital transformation has potential to propel economic development not only to the African continent but beyond.

He noted that if African leaders can acknowledge the importance and the value that digital transformation has to an economy, it will allow people to work longer hours thereby improving economic growth.

President Hichilema said this when he officially opened the 2023 Digital Government Africa Summit in Lusaka which is being held under the theme: Transforming governments for the digital age.

Mr Hichilema, however, disputed statements that embracing digitalization will bring about job losses.

He acknowledged that some jobs will be affected but that this will spur economic growth where people will be working from 08 hours to 24 hours as opposed to the old way of working hours from 08: 00hours  to 17: 00hours.

“ Dear delegates, I have a number of examples that I can give on how Zambia has transformed by using technology. We have one Open Border Post here in Zambia which had difficulties in clearing some trucks. I must mention that after installing and embracing new technology there, we clear more trucks than we expected. President Hichilema stated.

Mr Hichilema said embracing technology will help reduce inefficiencies that come with digital challenges.

President Hichilema also urged African leaders to also find ways and means of embracing technology especially on road blocks unlike doing it manually where police officers physically inspect vehicles.

He said physical checkups of the vehicles on road blocks delays traffic thereby slows productivity hence the need for technology to be developed for road blocks.

And Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Executive Chairperson, Tony Blair has urged African leaders to be innovative, focused and determined if a digital transformed Africa is to be achieved.

Mr Blair who is also United Kingdom former prime minister said Africa should also draw and come up with a workable implementation plan for the digital agenda.

He said a strong digital infrastructure and identity is paramount in the effective implementation of digitalization.

Mr Blair urged African leaders to take advantage of the youths and involve them to help offer different innovation ideas in line with digital transformation.

“Africa has vibrant youths who are innovative. Please give them a chance and utilize them. Am telling you they will offer and share ideas that will help develop a digitally advanced Africa,” Mr Blair stated.

Speaking at the same event, Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati announced that Zambia has effective October 5 gone live on Starlink, a license that will offer improved internet services in the country.

Mr Mutati said Starlink will help close the digital gap that exists between the urban and the rural areas in the country.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu said from the time the summit commenced yesterday, many agreements were derived pertaining to digital governance.

Mr Mwiimbu said the delegates agreed that collaboration and partnerships with different private sectors should be embraced if Africa is to be digitally transformed.

He said delegates also agreed that digital literacy programs should also be implemented for the citizens to be well informed of the importance of technology especially for those in the rural areas.

And Smart Zambia National Coordinator Percy Chinyama said over 40 countries have been represented at the summit.

Mr Chinyama said going forward delegates discussed that more bilateral and multilateral meetings in line with digital transformation should be held in order to foster digital transformation in Africa.