Former US envoy praises PF

—Former United States of America (USA) Ambassador to Zambia Frank Wisner has praised the Patriotic Front (PF) government for its continued support to improving the education standards in the country.

Ambassador Wisner said the world today was a hungry place which could only be satisfied once fed with information that can be accessed through people’s ability to read widely.

Speaking today when he visited Katete District to check on libraries built and supported by the Room to Read NGO, Amb Wisner who represented his country from 1979 to 1982 said he was happy to see the various advancements in the education sector that Zambia has achieved.

He observed that during the years when he served as United Sates of America Ambassador to Zambia was still faced with many challenges that hampered development.

He noted that today Zambia can boast of enjoying good economic opportunities because of the peace that the country has continued to enjoy.

Amb Wisner said it was said then that the Zambian government at the start of its democratic rule sought to monopolize services a situation which he described as unfortunate and detrimental to development.

He however noted that with the change of governments Zambia today is enjoying a free economy which has seen the country develop further.

Meanwhile , Ambassador Wisner has challenged the government to invest more in education.

He said in order for the economy to grow there was need for government to open its economy to investors and also enter into partnerships that could benefit the public.

Amb Weisner also said that it was time that government ventured more into diversification and move away from copper as the major driver of the economy.

He said the world was now looking for more business opportunities in agriculture as the major economic sector that could feed masses.

He also advised farmers to work on value addition to their products in order to meet the market standards.

Amb Wisner observed that Zambia is endowed with many economic opportunities which if well utilized could develop the country from where it was today to greater heights.