President Levy Mwanawasa has announced that Zambia has made considerable progress in its preparations for the 27th Southern African Development Community(SADC) Heads of State and Government Summit to be held in two weeks time.

Mr Mwanawasa has also pledged to liaise and work with his counterparts in the region
as he assumes the SADC Chairmanship during the Summit in order for the people in the
region to benefit.

President Mwanawasa who paid tribute to the active role that Botswana has continued
to play in SADC was speaking at the banquet held in honour of Botswana President
Festus Mogae at Lusaka’s Inter Continental Hotel this evening.

Mr Mogae is in the country to officially open the Agriculture and Commercial Show
tommorrow.

The President assured  his counterpart from Bostwana that Zambia is determined  and
committed to driving  the SADC agenda forward.

Meanwhile Mr Mwanawasa has urged the two governments to fully exploit the economic
potential through the existing framework of the Joint Permanent Commission.

Mr Mwanawasa said this would lead to the eradication of hunger and poverty and bring
marked improvements in the social economic conditions of people.

President Mwanawasa has since invited the Business Community in Botswana to become
Zambia’s partners under the Zambia Development Agency through which multi facility
economic zones will be set up with the aim of streamlining business activities.

Mr Mwanawasa also urged Zambians to exploit their comparative advantage in
agricutlutre given the abundant arable land, water resources and favourable climatic
conditions to produce agriculture goods and trade with Botswana.

He observed that Botswana and Zambia have been trading partners for a long time
adding that it exports more goods to Zambia than the latter does to Botswana.  He
said this state of affairs  poses an opportunity for Zambian business men and women
to increase the country’s volume of exports to Botswana.

Mr Mwanawasa cited the Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show as an occassion which
show cases Zambia’s potential to the outside world in the fields of Agriculture and
Commerce, among others saying that by taking advantage of such opportunities the two
countries can derive economic benefits.

He further hailed Botswana for its economic achievements adding that the country had
been an inspiration to countries in the region and beyond and that Botswana’s
economic successes have resulted in uplifting the standards of living  of its
people.

And President Mwanawasa told  the gathering that included First Republican
President, Dr Kenneth Kaunda that Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe should expedite the
completion of Kazungula Bridge across Zambezi River.

Mr Mwanawasa stressed that infrastructure development was key to the enhancement of
movement of goods among the three countries and hoped that the completion of
Kazungula Bridge will stimulate increased trade among Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe
and in turn impact positively on national development.

Mr Mwanawasa reaffirmed Zambia’s commitment to the Kazungula Project describing the
bridge as a good investment, which for years to come will serve and increase
interaction of the countries.

And visiting Bostwana President, Festus Mogae said Zambia and Botswana enjoy the
most cordial relationship anchored among other things mutual respect and good
neighbourliness.

Mr Mogae said the relations between the two countries have withstood a test of time
and applauded President Mwanawasa and his Government for the manner in which he had
been managing Zambia’s economic policies.

He specifically noted that Mr Mwanawasa’s fight against corruption had won accolades
regionally and internationally adding that Zambia’s continued strides was a great
inspiration.

On the Kazungula project, Mr Mogae expressed delight that he would facilitate its
construction and said once opened, it will stir up vast opportunities for both
Zambia and Botswana.

He added that the project would also contribute greatly to the tourism sectors in
the region.

Among the people that attended the banquet which was punctuated by traditional
dances by the Likumbi Lya Mize traditonal dance troupe and the Army Brass Band was
the Chief Justice Ernest Sakala, Zambia’s Speaker of National Assembly, Amusaa
Mwanamwambwa and Secretary to the Cabinet Joshua Kanganja.  

Others were Cabinet Ministers and their deputies from both countries, Senior
Government officials, diplomats accredited to Zambia and opposition leaders who
included Sikota Wina and Kenny Ngondo.

Mr Mogae who arrived in the country today departs for Botswana tomorrow soon after
opening the Agriculture and Commercial  Show.

Zambia President Levy Mwanawasa held talks on Wednesday with mining union leaders and agreed steps to prevent strikes in the industry after industrial action he said might discourage new investment, officials said.

The country’s mines minister separately announced that the government had drafted a policy that would enable Zambians to buy shares in the vast copper and cobalt mines, the southern African country’s economic lifeblood.

Mwanawasa met Mine Workers Union of Zambia (Muz) leaders at the presidency in a bid to defuse tensions in the copper mines where workers have been demanding higher wages, which some managers of foreign-owned mines have described as “outrageous”.

The demands come as copper mines are making huge profits thanks to a boom in global metals prices.

“We held cordial discussions with the president and presented our views on the recent strikes because sometimes we (unions) are accused of inciting workers to strike. We want to prevent future strikes through dialogue,” Oswell Munyenyembe, secretary of the Muz, told Reuters.

“These (preventive) measures involve all the mines in Zambia,” he said, but declined to give further details.

Munyenyembe said the unions also raised labour problems in mining although Mwanawasa had called the meeting to discuss the recent strike at Kansanshi copper mine, a unit of First Quantum Minerals , where a four-day strike paralysed operations in July.

Mwanawasa’s spokesman, John Musukuma, said Mwanawasa would direct the ministries of mines and labour to look into the labour issues.

“The ministries of mines and minerals development and labour and social security (will) take steps in order to facilitate a process of dialogue between the employees and management in order to avoid a recurrence (of strikes),” Musukuma said in a statement.

Mines minister Kalombo Mwansa told journalists from state media that the government would soon approve a new law to allow Zambians to purchase shares from the copper mines.

Some foreign owned mines such as Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), a unit of First Quantum and Glencore International AG of Switzerland have already indicated they want to list shares on the Lusaka Stock Exchange.

Zambia should reduce annual inflation to five percent in 2007 from 8.2 percent the previous year, aided by higher global metal prices and a domestic food surplus, the central bank said on Tuesday.

Bank of Zambia (BoZ) governor Caleb Fundanga also said the country’s economic indicators were positive ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) review of performance in the third quarter of the year.

Fundanga said inflationary pressures would ease on the back of a build-up in strategic food reserves, exchange rate stability due to increased foreign exchange earnings mainly from copper, as well as lower money supply growth in the first half of the year.

“We should be able to attain the 5.0 percent inflation target because the economic conditions are favourable,” Fundanga told Reuters, warning however that higher world oil prices might add some pressure.

The IMF review will determine whether the global fund endorses a new poverty reduction growth facility (PRGF) when the current $320 million lending programme agreed in June 2004 expires in September.

Zambian officials are optimistic that favourable economic developments in the southern Africa country augur well for a fresh PRGF loan.

Annual inflation quickened to 11.2 percent in July from 11.1 but is expected to progressively slow down in the second half of the year as domestic maize prices decline on improved supply.

Gross domestic product expansion is seen higher at 6.0 percent in 2007 from 5.8 percent the previous year.

In a separate statement, Fundanga said domestic credit declined by 7.7 percent to 5,996 billion Zambian kwacha in the second quarter of 2007, due to a 31.7 percent decline in lending to the central government.

The kwacha currency, which depreciated by 3.0 percent in the first three months of the year, had gained 8.4 percent to 3,904 versus the U.S dollar due to increased supply of foreign exchange on the market during the second quarter, he added.

“The merchandise earnings rose to $1,037.2 million in the second quarter of 2007 from $822.3 million in the first quarter. This was mainly explained by buoyant growth in both metal and non-metal export earnings,” Fundanga said.

The country’s balance of payments surplus had risen to $106.8 million in June from $70.4 million in March, while a $254.9 million trade surplus was recorded, he added.

The Lusaka High Court on Monday cleared Finance Minister Ng’andu Magande of corruption charges levelled against him by two losing candidates in last year’s parliamentary elections.

Magande was facing 62 charges of graft which Priscilla Kamanga of the chief opposition Patriotic Front (PF) party and Cosmos Moono of the United Party for National Development (UPND) brought before the court in Zambia’s most contentious and highly publicised parliamentary petition.

Economic analysts had feared a serious economic management backlash if Magande had lost the case.

He is credited with the fiscal discipline which has seen a turnaround in Zambia’s economic performance, with GDP growth averaging 5 percent in the last five years in Zambia, where mining is the economic lifeblood.

High Court Judge Marvin Mwanamwambwa threw out all 62 allegations that Magande and his election agents bribed voters to win the vote in an opposition stronghold. The court said he was duly elected as a legislator.

“I have found that there was no bribery and corruption as defined by the Electoral Act,” Mwanamwambwa said in his ruling.

He said the few irregularities which had been proven did not warrant the nullification of Magande’s election victory.

“In my view honourable Magande won the election because the opposition (candidates) split the vote among themselves. He did not win because of (allegations of) rampant corruption and bribery,” Mwanamwambwa said.

Magande said Zambia should put the elections behind it and focus on serious challenges.

“We can now forget about the elections and this will help me to focus on making sure we work hard to address the most pressing issues of poverty alleviation and finding improving the economic environment,” he told Reuters after the ruling.

President Levy Mwanawasa has directed Local Government and Housing Minister, Sylvia Masebo, to exempt the church, schools and clinics from paying rates in appreciation of the great contribution the church is making in augmenting government effortf of improving the economic welfare of the people.

President Mwanawasa has further directed, Ms Masebo to favourably consider the
church’s request for rate exemption for specific educational youths skills
institutions and other social institutions because the church was serving people on
behalf of government.

He said without the church’s valuable contribution, government alone would not have
achieved as much as it has done, citing health institutions run by the church among
them; St Francis and Mumbezhi in Solwezi, Chinyingi in Zambezi and Ntambu in
Mwinilunga which, he said are because they are located in places where government
health institutions were not easily accessible.

Mr Mwanawasa commended the church for its efforts in fighting and mitigating the
effects of HIV/AIDS through home based care and the orphans and vulnerable children
programmes that have provided love, care and support.
       
He said without such interventions many children would have dropped out of school,
hence urged the church and government to continue working together for the benefit
of people of Zambia.
       
President Mwanawasa said this in Solwezi today during the consecration and
installation of Reverend Fr. Alick Banda as new Bishop of Solwezi Diocese by
Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, the Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia and Malawi to  succeed
Bishop Noel Charles O’Regan who was transferred to Ndola Diocese in September 2004.
        
Meanwhile, President Mwanawasa said government was worried at the high levels of
illiteracy in North-Western Province and as such it did not hesitate to surrender St
Francis in Solwezi, St Kizito in Mwinilunga, Chiwezi in Kabompo and Chinyingi basic
schools in Zambezi to the church when it requested.
       
He also said while government has taken note of the position of the church in the
constitution making, it was committed to ensure that the people of Zambia are given
a people-driven constitution that will stand the test of time.

He said government’s role was to give advice and direction on the process and its
logistics which he said required proper planning and careful attention to deal in
order to avoid costly mistakes.
      
Mr Mwanawasa further, reiterated government’s commitment to have all districts in
the province connected to the national grid, saying currently government was looking
at the possibility of working together with missionaries at Kaleni so that
Mwinilunga district could benefit from the Zengamina hydro-power station
commissioned two weeks ago at Kaleni in Mwinilunga.
      
Speaking at the same occasion, Zambia Episcopal Conference Chairperson, Arch Bishop
Telesphore Mpundu commended President Mwanawasa for expressing government’s
commitment in Working with the church in building peace and unity in the country.
       
And Archbishop Nicola Girasoli urged newly installed Bishop of Solwezi Diocese,
Alick Banda to promote unity among the clergy and others through reconciliation and
dialogue.

Chief Government Spokesperson, Mike Mulongoti, is happy that  First Republican President, Kenneth Kaunda, has not reacted sharply to the story published in one of the daily tabloids that alleged that President Levy Mwanawasa issued disparaging remarks against him.

Mr Mulongoti said Dr Kaunda’s decision to remain mute over the issue despite the
running public comments on the matter clearly demonstrates that he is true
statesmanship.

He said this in Kitwe yesterday when he addressed journalists after touring the
Zambia News and Information Services Offices (ZANIS).

He said Government was grateful that the Dr Kaunda had not responded to the story as
a true Statesman.

The minister said there was need for some members of the opposition Political
Parties and other stakeholders to allow the former President to concentrate on his
HIV AIDS crusade and not cheap politics.

Mr Mulongoti also regretted that some people that where celebrating at the time Dr
Kaunda was incarcerated in Kabwe some years back were now talking of respecting him
and shedding crocodile tears over his problems.

He added that it was also disappointing to note that people, who were supposed to
accord President Mwanawasa a benefit of doubt when such matters arise, where in the
fore front to create tension between him and the former Head of State.

He challenged all those people that were condemning President Mwanawasa over the
issue to gather courage and withdraw their statements against him now that the truth
had come out.

President Mwanawasa has since expressed dismay with the reports in the media where
he is quoted as having attacked first Republican President saying the Article was
based on hear say.

He indicated that the report by the post was also unethical as the meeting quoted
was a closed door party executive meeting and the Post Journalist wrote the article
based on hear-say because no journalists attended the meeting.