First Republican President, Kenneth Kaunda, says Africa should take advantage of its abundant natural resources in order to diversify its economies and attract more foreign direct investment.[quote]

Dr. Kaunda said this in Johannesburg at the weekend when he received the lifetime achievement award from the African Heritage Society in recognition for his contribution to the liberation struggles in Southern Africa.

He told a 500 plus invited guests at the Sandton International Convention Centre that Africa should have achieved a lot in the fight against poverty after so many years of independence.

Dr. Kaunda said African countries have remained underdeveloped due to a number of factors some of which are due to the manner in which it is conducting its trade with the rest of the world.

He said Africa’s trade with other countries is lopsided as it is to a large extent only exporting raw materials.

Dr. Kaunda said Africa needs to develop its manufacturing sector to enable it attain sustainable comparative advantage and compete highly with the rest of the world.

He also cited agriculture as one of the neglected areas in Africa which could help in making many countries be self sufficient.

He said a well run agriculture sector could help establish many agricultural based industries and ensure food security for its people.

Dr. Kaunda, further, said the tourism sector was another sector which contributes enormously to the Gross Domestic Products, GDP, of many African countries.

He, however, said this sector has largely been neglected and the situation had been exacerbated by the current financial crisis which has affected international travelers.

Dr.Kaunda said the education and vocational training were critical to the continent’s development adding that the continent can only be competitive by having a qualified human resource.

“We cannot remain competitive in this world if we do not have an educated populace and a well trained manpower to run factories, mines, hospitals and schools. We can only compete by developing our human resource to provide necessary skills in order to enhance our productivity,” he said.

ZANIS

need for Zambia to initiate means of re-opening the various industries that were closed as a result of the privatization programme so as to increase revenue generation for government through tax.

Speaking in an interview in Ndola over the weekend, Charles Ngesa said it has now become clear that the privatization process did not help the Zambian economy, hence the need for government to institute measures of re-opening these industries to enhance job-creation and strengthening the nation’s economy.[quote]

Mr Ngesa said the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund misled the Zambian government when the two institutions propagated the privatization process until government implemented it.

He observed that the closure of industries, especially in Ndola, reduced the income generation avenues for government, leaving it to depend mainly on the public service workers and the mining industry.

Mr Ngesa further observed that even the companies that are operating under the ownership of foreign investors are not ploughing enough profits in the local economy, especially in the mining industry, and are benefiting foreign investors and their countries more than Zambia and its people.

He also observed that the mass loss of employment in the country as a result of privatization raised the poverty levels in the country.

Mr Ngesa urged government to be bold and use necessary legal processes through the International Court of Justice to reverse the economic damage that has been brought about by the privatization process.

The privatization process has led to the closure of many companies on the Copperbelt, leaving thousands jobless, especially in Ndola, which was a major industrial town.

Some of the notable companies that were closed include Dunlope Zambia Limited, Lever Brothers, Johnson and Johnson limited, Colgate Palm Olive and Swarp Spinning Limited among several others.

And Mr Ngesa observed that the MMD is capable of beating all existing political parties in the country including the PF and the UPND alliance in the 2011 general elections.

He, however, observed that the on-going squabbles in the party over the presidential candidate may disrupt its focus if the problem is not solved wisely.

He observed that the party was still strong and formidable country wide to beat all political parties.

Mr Ngesa disclosed his intentions to challenge president Rupiah Banda at the forth coming MMD convention to be held before the 2011 general elections.

He urged the MMD National Executive Committee (NEC) to allow president Banda to be challenged at the convention to enhance prevalence of democracy, the principal on which the party was formed.

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Members of Parliament attending the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) will not support plans to impeach President Rupiah Banda because he has not violated the Constitution, spokesperson, Peter Machungwa has said.

Dr Machungwa said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that there was no Article in the Republican Constitution that the president had violated and the 18 PF MPs attending the NCC, therefore, found the calls to move the impeachment motion to be misguided.

“You only impeach the president if he has abrogated the Constitution and nobody has given any evidence showing that the president has violated the Constitution. In short, this thing is a non-starter,” Dr Machungwa said.

He said Article 37 of the Constitution stipulates the conditions under which an impeachment motion could be instituted against a president if the office holder had violated the Constitution.

He said an impeachment motion should be instituted through a notice given to the Speaker in writing and signed by at least one-third of Parliament, representing 53 MPs and that is not achievable under the current composition of the House.

The MMD has 81 MPs, PF 40, and UPND 22, while the United Liberal Party has three and UNIP one member.

Dr Machungwa said after its introduction and exhaustive debate, the impeachment motion could only be passed with the support of two-thirds of Parliament, representing 106 MPs.

In the event that such a motion was passed, a tribunal would then be appointed by the Chief Justice.

But even after its findings, the actual impeachment would need the support of three-quarters of the MPs.

Dr Machungwa, who is Luapula MP, said even other PF MPs not in his camp were against the motion to impeach President Banda because of the realisation that he had not violated the Constitution.

“Even assuming that there was no split in the PF, I know that some members will still not support the motion because they know that it is a non-starter,” Dr Machungwa said.

He said that MPs and opposition leaders pressing for the impeachment motion should produce evidence that President Banda has violated the Constitution, which he swore to uphold.

[Times of Zambia]

PRESIDENT Banda says Zambia will benefit from King Mswati’s vast experience and connections to international investors.

Mr Banda said in Solwezi that King Mswati III of Swaziland has been on the throne for a long time and would use his connections to lure international investors to invest in Zambia’s tourism and agriculture sectors.

Speaking after a conducted tour of Kansanshi Mine yesterday, President Banda said King Mswati would use his clout to convince big investors who have developed the tourism and sugar industry in his Kingdom to come to Zambia.

“Swaziland is more advanced in the tourism and sugar industry and we are hoping that we can use his clout to attract major investors in the country,” President Banda said.

“His Majesty has been on the throne for a long time and he has a lot of connections with major investors in the world. I am very sure that we will benefit from this as well,” President Banda said.

Mr Banda said King Mswati’s visit was stimulating and was sure that Zambia would benefit from it.
King Mswati said the main purpose of his visit was to look at investment opportunities in the country.

“We are here to look at investment opportunities and we are happy that the people of this province have been very generous to offer me land which we can come and look at. His Excellency (Mr Banda) supports that idea,” he said.

King Mswati said he will go back to Swaziland to decide on what kind of investment he will put up in the province.
He said there was need to encourage trade between the two countries.

The King said he hoped his investment in Zambia would spur further investment in both countries by the private sector.

King Mswati said he was impressed with the mining activities and the safety measures Kansanshi Mine has put in place.

“I am impressed to see the mine and the level of safety measures that management is concerned with the safety of the people,” King Mswati said.

He said mining at Kansanshi will improve the standards of living of the local people and the economy of the country.

He said he was also happy that the Kansanshi Mine management was taking care of disabled people in the community.

King Mswati said, however, that there was a lot that the mine could still do to improve the community.
The King said he was happy that the mine was not only employing men, but women too.

“We only assumed that these kinds of machines can only be run by men but the company has proved that anything is possible whether it’s a man or a woman,” he said.

King Mswati and President Banda’s entourage was shown a huge dump truck driven by a woman offloading copper ore at the crusher.

The two leaders also had a closed door meeting with the mine management.

Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Local Government and Housing Benny Tetamashimba and Presidential Affairs Minister Ronald Mukuma accompanied the two leaders.

Swaziland Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation minister Lutfo Dlamini and Prince Ncanawa of Swaziland were also in the entourage.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…And as they went, they were cured and made clean”
(Luke 17:14, AMP)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

One time in the Scripture, there were ten lepers who saw Jesus coming through the city. They hollered out, “Jesus! Have mercy on us and make us whole!” Jesus could have healed them right then, but instead, He asked them to do something to express their faith. He said, “Go show yourself to the Priest, and you will be made whole.”

It’s interesting that those lepers were not supposed to be around other people. They had to live in colonies by themselves because they were very contagious and considered unclean. I’m sure they debated among themselves, “Do you really think we should go? I don’t look any better. My skin is not clear. It’s just going to be a waste of my time.” But they dared to put action behind their faith. They decided, “Jesus said if we go, we will be well. Let’s go. Let’s take a step of faith.” The Scripture says, “As they went, they were made whole.”

Friend, what is God telling you to do in your heart today? Take a step of faith. Put action behind what you are believing for. God is faithful. As you step out and show that your faith is in Him, it will open the door for His miracle-working power to flow in every area of your life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

“Heavenly Father, I choose to trust in You. I choose to be obedient to You. Even when it doesn’t make sense to my natural mind, I am going to continue to walk by faith. I love You and bless You today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Joel Osteen ministries