President Rupiah Banda has told the United Nations (UN) General Assembly that Zambia’s strides towards attaining most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 have slowed down because of the global economic downturn which the whole world experienced in the recent past.

President Banda said a wave of other effects such as climate change, has also frustrated Zambia’s and other countries’ efforts to improve the living standards of their citizens.

Delivering his speech to the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York last night, Mr. Banda called for innovative approaches and responses among UN member states to help ease the challenges facing poor countries.

“In my country, Zambia, and other African countries, the economic growth registered from 2000 to 2007 is now declining as a result of the global economic and financial crisis,” he said.

He told the over one hundred heads of state and government gathered at the UN that before the global economic downturn, Zambia’s economic growth suggested that the country was on course to meeting all MDGs except for the one on sustaining the environment.

He said because of the global economic crisis, coupled with the effects of climate change, Zambia was now facing serious financial constraints such as lower commodity prices, weak external and domestic demand for products and rising unemployment.

The President pointed out that there was therefore need for the country’s international cooperating and development partners to support her to quickly heave out of the effects of the global financial crisis.

“We appreciate that our cooperating partners have also been affected by the global economic crisis. Nonetheless, we urge them to fulfill their pledge of raising the contribution to 0.17 per cent of gross national income (GNI),” he said.

Mr. Banda said if the global development agenda was to help susceptible economies like Zambia to meet the MDGs in the next six years, the cooperating partners must fulfill their pledges.

The MDGs are contained in the millennium declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN millennium summit in September 2000.

The MDGs are meant to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, Promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a Global Partnership for Development.

He however said Zambia was devising ways of withstanding the effects of the economic crisis if it recurs.

“My government has therefore developed a diversification plan to shift the economy from dependency on copper. This is being done through policy interventions in the agriculture, tourism and manufacturing sectors, coupled with programmes aimed at improving the business environment in Zambia,” he said.

Zambia was hard hit by the global economic crisis when prices of copper, which accounts for about 70 per cent of her exports, plummeted from US$8,985 per metric tonne in August 2008 to US$2,902 per tonne by December 2008.

“For these efforts to succeed, however, there must be expeditious conclusion of world trade organizations, DOHA round of negotiations,” he said.

He suggested that the international financial governance systems be reformed to avoid future global financial crises, adding that the changes should respond to concerns and needs of all nations regardless of status.

President Banda further proposed an increase in the voice and power of developing nations in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

“The reform process should aim to improve predictability of aid flows and emphasise reforms which promote faster aid delivery and less conditionalities,” he stressed.

On the United Nations as a principal organ for coordinating international cooperation and socio-economic development, peace, security, human rights, and the rule of law, Mr. Banda said the UN must be reformed for it to be more effective and efficient.

He added that the reform of the UN will not be complete without meaningful reforms to the Security Council, which he said should be made more representative, democratic and accountable to all member states.

President Banda noted that the decisions of the UN risk not being respected by some member states if it remained in the current status.

He reiterated African countries’ call for the continent to have two permanent seats with veto powers and two additional non-permanent seats included in the Security Council.

Africa constitutes the second largest bloc of the UN membership.

“This will address the historical injustice against Africa, while responding to the need to democratize the security,” he said.

With regard to nuclear weapons, President Banda urged the United Nations to push for general and complete disarmament that would include biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological weapons.

Mr. Banda said this must be done soon, stressing that “the demand of the time is that we compete for peace not war, for development, not armaments”.

And President Banda said there was now an improvement in the political stability of the in the Great Lakes Region (GLR) than it had been in the past 15 years.

Speaking as Chairman of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region, Mr. Banda reported to the UN General Assembly that improved relations between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and their joint efforts to address the problem of negative forces in Eastern DRC has opened opportunities for achieving sustainable peace and stability in the region.

He however said peace and security in the region was still threatened by the continued presence of some illegal armed groups such as the FDLR/Ex-FAR interahamwe, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Allied Democratic Forces.

“The international community needs to exert more and sustainable pressure on the leadership of those negative forces living within and outside the region so that they are brought to justice,” he said.

On climate change, President Banda restated that concerted efforts, a common agreement and human ingenuity were important to tackle the threats posed by climate change.

“The resolution of our problems of climate change, economic and financial crisis, peace and security and human rights and democracy, depends on human ingenuity.

He said all countries depend on each to beat the effects of climate change, which was one of the major topics at this year’s UN General Assembly.

Common solutions are therefore required through a strong United Nations,” he said.

The theme for this year’s UN General Assembly is “Effective responses to global crises, strengthening multilaterism and dialogue among civilisations for international peace, security and development”.

The General Assembly, which was established in 1945 under the UN Charter, is a chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN and is a unique forum for multilateral discussions of full spectrum of international issues.

ZANIS

President Rupiah Banda’s delegation scooped CNN’s first prize of How Not to Enter the United Nations Building. The video link was sent to us by a blogger with an ID “Political Analyst”. Many thanks for Sharing.

THE family of the late president Levy Mwanawasa has urged opposition Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata to desist from using the late president’s name to gain political mileage.

The late Mwanawasa’s sister Evelyn said in an interview yesterday that it was wrong for Mr Sata to turn Dr Mwanawasa’s name into championing his political cause.

Evelyn, who was commenting on Mr Sata’s claims that Dr Mwanawasa had given him information when the two met to reconcile at State House on May 14, 2008, said the family was upset with Mr Sata’s continued use of Dr Mwanawasa’s name each time he wanted to champion his political cause.

But Mr Sata said there was nothing wrong with mentioning Dr Mwanawasa and he would not stop referring to him because the reconciliation meeting between the two did not involve family members.

“What Mr Sata is doing is unfair. Does he want to imply that Dr Mwanawasa did not stick to his oath of secrecy as president? Does Mr Sata want to tell the nation that the late president could tell him all the things he has been talking about within that short time they met at State House? Let him leave Dr Mwanawasa to rest in peace,” she said.

Mr Sata however, said he was mentioning Dr Mwanawasa because they were only the two of them when they met to reconcile.

“We were only the two of us during the reconciliation. Neither my family nor Dr Mwanawasa’s family were there,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has said Dr Chiluba was merely exercising his freedom of association by choosing to align with Mr Banda.

ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba said politicians or any other organisations should not hate or harbour ill feelings against Dr Chiluba just because he had chosen to have a relationship with President Banda.

“I know that some people may be bitter with Dr Chiluba because he had chosen to have a good relationship with Mr Banda and this is why some of them are even insulting him, but there is no need for them to be bitter and insult the former president because he is merely exercising his freedom of association by choosing to have a good relationship with President Banda,” Mr Hikaumba said.

[Times of Zambia]

The MMD in Luanshya has urged the electorates in the Kasama by-elections to be wary of leaders who are bent on tribalism as they cast they vote on 15th October.

Luanshya MMD district secretary Kennedy Kaonga said he was disappointed by the remarks made by the PF/ UPND kasama candidate Goeffrrey Mwamba that the electorate should not vote for MMD’s Burton Mugala because he was not Bemba.

Kaonga said mr Mwamba should realize that Kasama town is a cosmopolitian constituency with some many tribes adding that it wiil not be only bembas will vote in the bye-elections.

He said being a cosmopolitan constituency anyone was eligible to contest the seat despite his tribe .

Kaonga said that when Mwamba stood in Lusaka a lot of Tumbukas from Muyombe voted for him and wondered why Kasama should be a special case.

He observed that such leaders of Mwamba ‘s caliber should not be entertained because of their divisive characteristics which was not good for nation.

He urged the electorate to vote for someone who reside with them as opposed to someone who is hailing from Lusaka with the view of hijacking the electoral process.

ZANIS