Envoys urged to have confidence in the economy

“Zambia is so beautiful, friendly and so relaxed. People find Zambia attractive and we should be proud of that and sell it,” he said.
Opening a 10-day heads of missions conference in Livingstone yesterday, Dr Scott was also concerned about false information arising from social media on general human rights issues and abuse of the Public Order Act.
The vice-president described the misinformation as disingenuous.
“Social media is worse than village gossip; we are all Satanists and adulterous. I have been mentioned many times and I don’t think once that the allegations were accurate,” Dr Scott said.
“I don’t think there is any special access to confidential information that any of these people have that I don’t have.”
He said in terms of human rights protection in Zambia, the Patriotic Front (PF) government has an excellent record and wondered where the fuss is coming from.
“I get frequent inquiries on human rights issues, but we have serious problems in this country like child marriage that is destroying lives of young girls,” Dr Scott said.
He also said Government has no intention of changing clauses in the constitution but rather find solutions.
On the exchange rate, Dr Scott said the Kwacha was simply responding to heavy pressure arising from capital projects; provision of social welfare for people and against the falling copper prices.
He said globally, things have changed, adding that there is realignment in world economic priorities.
Dr Scott said the dollar is appreciating while China is not looking prospectively bright.
He said the local currency at one point was at par with the British pound but has slipped a lot from the time of the UNIP administration due to internal and external factors.
Speaking at the same function, Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba urged the diplomats to foster and maintain good relationships with other countries to promote Zambia’s national interests.
Mr Kalaba said Government has confidence in the ability of diplomats to implement Zambia’s foreign policy and contribute to the country’s development.
He said diplomats have an obligation to resolve global challenges such as unstable political situation, conflicts, humanitarian emergencies, poverty and climate change working with other countries.
Earlier, Ministry of Foreign Affairs permanent secretary George Zulu said managing missions abroad is a costly but necessary undertaking by any government and called for prudent utilisation of financial resources for the nation to realise the intended benefit from interactions with the international community.
And Southern Province Minister Daniel Munkombwe urged diplomats to be the chief marketers of the country’s rich tourism attractions.
In a vote of thanks, Mr Chikonde said being diplomats is not an entitlement but a privilege to prove relevant to the country and the President by rededicating themselves to bringing positive energy to make Zambia better.
Meanwhile, Dr Scott has left for Malawi to congratulate that country’s newly-elected President, Peter Mutharika.

Zambia Daily Mail