Government says the full implementation of the Rural Electrification master plan will commence next year and will require US$50 million.

Energy Minister Kenneth Konga said government is currently working with all stakeholders in the energy including cooperating partners to ensure the project is financed accordingly.

Mr. Konga said this during the aural question and answer session during parliamentary sittings which resumed today after it was adjourned indefinitely following the death of the late President Mwanawasa.

He said the government will implement the rural electrification master plan from 2008 to 2030 as envisaged and enshrined in the vision 2030 document.

He however said that government is currently experiencing challenges in raising funds for the project.

Mr. Konga added that government will provide most of the funding for the rural electrification project while cooperating partners will provide the shortfall.

And the energy minister has said government is also currently encouraging the use of other forms of energy to prevent deforestation.

Mr. Konga said among the alternative forms of energy being encouraged in rural areas that are distant from the national electricity grid are solar, biomass and wind energy among others in order to mitigate deforestation.

The energy minister has also disclosed that government has also embarked on feasibility studies to establish more hydro electric power stations for power generation.

Meanwhile parliament observed a minute of silence in honour of the late President Mwanawasa who died at Percy Military Hospital in Paris, France where he was evacuated after suffering a stroke in Egypt where he had gone to attend the African Union (AU) Summit.

And speaker of the national assembly Amusa Mwanamwambwa urged the members of parliament to conduct business in the house solemnly in honour of President Mwanawasa.

Meanwhile Representative of Government Business in Parliament George Mpombo read the late Dr. Mwanawasa’s eulogy to the house after the aural and answers question session.

ZANIS/CM/ENDS/MM

Acting President Rupiah Banda has reiterated government’s commitment to continue with the late President Mwanawasa’s vision of national development, planning and economic management.

Mr. Banda said the late President’s administration reintroduced national development planning which has refocused on economic management.

He said this has so far led to the country recording tremendous economic progress.

Mr. Banda was speaking speaking during his national address on the state of the nation Tuesday evening on Zambia national Broadcasting Services radio and television after the death of Dr. Mwanawasa.

This was the first national address by an Acting President in the history of Zambia since attaining independence in 1964.

On the economy, Mr Banda said government would continue with the prudent fiscal and monetary policies for macro economic stability which have made the economy to register growth rates averaging five per cent and six per cent in the last two years.

“Low inflation has also been recorded with single digit levels attained for the first time in 30 years in 2006,” he said.

Mr. Banda added that government would continue to increase exports, which, together with the debt relief, have led to a substantial build up of foreign currency reserves which now stand at US$1.4 billion.

“This position has also contributed to a stable exchange rate thereby enhancing business and economic planning,” he said.

He said Zambia’s economic strides have been appreciated in the international financial circles to an extent that the country was now poised to have a sovereign credit rating for the first time ever.

On agriculture, Mr. Banda said government would continue to maintain adequate strategic food reserves to ensure national food security.

He noted that government has already increased supplementary funding to the fertilizer support programme (FSP) amounting to K 307 billion from the budgeted K 185 billion 2008.

He explained that this would allow for an increase in the number of targeted small scale farmers from 125,000 to 200,000, with an applicable subsidy increased to 75 per cent from 60 per cent.

“This measure is intended to cushion the impact of high fertilizer prices on targeted small scale farmers,” he said.

Mr. Banda further said government would continue development irrigation in the country while farming blocks for commercial agriculture would continue to be opened up.

On the mining sector, Mr. Banda said government would carry on with the same pace of developing the sector because it still remained to be the driver of the Zambian economy.

“I want, in this regard to assure both local and foreign investors that there will be no departure from the current policies and focus in the mining sector,” he said.

He said the mining companies have also reiterated commitment to continue their operations in Zambia.

Meanwhile, Mr. Banda has directed the Ministries of Finance and National Planning and that of Energy and Water Development to sit together and examine the possibilities of reducing the prices of fuel in Zambia.

He said oil prices on the international market were reducing hence the need to consider doing so at national level.

On Commerce and Trade, Mr. Banda said government would continue with all economic programmes that the late Dr. Mwanawasa’s administration had set.

He said tourism and public service management would continue being pursued as before.

“Following the tenet of collective responsibility, we shall continue to pursue all the policies and development programmes initiated by our late President,” he said.

He said Zambia’s development agenda would continue to be guided by the fifth National Development Plan within the context of the vision to become a prosperous middle income country by the year 2030.

“Let us all in unity and fortitude preserve the peace and stability that our country has continued to enjoy since independence. Let us together make our country a prosperous nation,” he said.

ZANIS /KSH /ENDS/MM

ZESCO Limited  has opened the 330 Kilovolt inter-connector between Zambia and Zimbabwe in order to protect the local power system from external disturbances.

ZESCO Senior Manager for Electro technical services Christopher Mubemba told Journalists at a media briefing in Lusaka today that the decision follows an external disturbance on the local system on 6th September resulting in the loss of power supply to Eastern, Northern and Lusaka provinces.

Mr. Mubemba said as a result of the disturbance two machines at Kariba North Bank power station tripped resulting in a loss of 360 mega watts.

He explained that the disturbance also resulted in the loss of transmission lines and distribution loads in Northern, Eastern and some parts of Lusaka and Southern provinces.

He noted that the opening of the inter-connectors entails that Zambia will now be required to carry the full power reserves to avoid national power blackouts.

Mr. Mubemba added that when interconnected ,the country’s  required reserve is half as the remaining half comes from Southern African Power Pool (SAPP)  region .

Mr. Mubemba however disclosed that the opening of the interconnectors also entails that there will be more load shedding in the country as a region as a whole has a power deficit particularly during peak demands.

The 330 KV interconnectors were opened yesterday and ZESCO will continue to monitor the situation so that the interconnectors are closed as soon as the situation improves.

Zambia’s various cooperating partners would soon provide over US$3.4 million for the implementation of her programmes aimed at addressing the various effects of climate change she was facing.

And government has received US$100, 000 from the United Nations Climate Adaptation Fund to carry out special modalities aimed at implementing the country’s National Adaptation Action Plan (NAPA) which was launched last year by the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources.

Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Kaingu confirmed the development to ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today.

Mr. Kaingu said his ministry was happy with the way cooperating partners were assisting least developed countries to address the effects of climate change.

He said climate adaptation fund would enhance Zambia’s efforts in implementing climate change adaptation programmes and fulfill the vision of poverty reduction as indicated in the Firth National Development programme (FNDP).

Mr. Kaingu noted that access to the funds would also add value to the effective implementation of the National Adaptation Action Programme (NAPA) which was meant to address the various effects of climate change.

He further observed that the releasing of the funds to countries that were vulnerable to climate effects to urgently implement measures aimed at addressing the problems.

Mr. Kaingu noted that the adaptation programmes would cover sectors such as agriculture, water, forestry, wildlife and health among other areas that were vulnerable to climate change.

The Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Minister further said his ministry has embarked on a sensitization drive to educate Zambians on the need to preserve the environment in a bid to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Mr. Kaingu has since appealed for more funding from the United Nations through the Climate Adaptation Fund to enable the country respond effectively to the effects of climate change.

ZANIS/TK/KSH/ENDS