Maravi

Zambia's vice-president calls for response to fuel, food prices

Zambia's vice-president calls for response to fuel, food prices
By Noel Sichalwe, Kabanda Chulu and Chibaula Silwamba
Tuesday July 29, 2008 [14:01]

VICE President Rupiah Banda has said there is need to effectively respond to the challenges posed by rising fuel and food prices because they are interrelated. And Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili has said the development process calls for extensive interaction with the people and that Africans should put the communities at the heart of development.

Meanwhile Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has urged developing countries to ensure that partnerships were not narrow and in a parasitic way. Officially opening the 18th Global Southern Africa Smart Partnership International Dialogue on Monday, Vice President Banda said in the face of rising economic growth and increased demand for energy, the region was experiencing power deficits.

He said the challenge was how to find financial resources to exploit available natural resources and how to make it happen quickly.

The world today is faced with major challenges of rising fuel and food prices and experts tell us that these two issues are related because some food items are being diverted towards use for fuel production and the question is how should we respond to these dynamics?" Vice President Banda said. "We recognize that rising food prices are a challenge but we also acknowledge that this development has created opportunities for creative minds and for land rich countries like Zambia it may not be necessary to make a choice between producing crops for either fuel or food because we have enough space to accommodate both."

Vice President Banda urged the Smart Partnership delegates to share ideas on what actions and strategies could be taken to utilize opportunities arising from high fuel and food prices.

He also challenged the delegates to find ways of addressing effects of climate change that has seen an increase in droughts and floods which is resulting in poverty, diseases and food insecurity, among other issues.

And Vice President Banda has said the region was facing challenges of translating economic gains into equitable and improved living standards.

"This challenge is compounded by among other things rising fuel and food prices, energy deficits, environmental degradation, inadequate infrastructure and high poverty levels," said Vice President Banda. "Against this background, it is appropriate that during this dialogue we shall discuss solutions to these issues and Zambia looks forward to learn from other Smart partners how to hasten the attainment of the vision 2030."

And Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili said the Smart Partnership Movement has held about 17 conferences from the time it started in 1995 and that Zambia was the 10th country to host the dialogue.

He said the dialogue has aimed at building strong partnerships for various countries as a way of forming new bonds. He said the new bonds that have existed among African countries could be attributed to the spirit of partnership on cultural and collective reasoning.

"Collective wisdom manifests in the noble spirit of working together and it is this spirit that gave birth to Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and Southern Africa International Dialogue," he said. "This recognizes country development as an over all integral development of the country. This demonstrates the practical role-played in long-term framework of economic development. The development process calls for extensive interaction with the people. As such we should put the communities at the heart of development. We in Africa have come to recognize this."

Prime Minister Mosisili said Lesotho has a Vision 2020 that aims at stabilizing its democracy, strengthening the economy, manage its development well and own well established technologies.

He said Lesotho's vision explored the options of social economic development by 2020 and identify the suitable economic development. Prime Minister Mosisili said the 2020 Vision could only be realized through collective efforts.
"As Smart Partnership, we should think about the imperatives of common vision realizing that countries from Southern Africa must come together to develop the economy," he said.

Prime Minister Mosisili said the conference was aimed at a win-win Smart Partnership with the governments, civil society and other stakeholders.
He urged the delegates at the conference to share their experiences and ideas as a way of learning from each country's achievements and failures.

Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Mohd Najib said the Smart Partnership conference was held against a backdrop of global problems like rising food prices, skyrocketing fuel prices and environmental challenges like global warming.
"We must revisit our priorities and reevaluate our options," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib said the conference should focus on the smart partnership approach to the current global problems.

He said there was need to focus on the eradication of poverty in developing nations, human capital development and technological development. He said there was need to develop human capital that emphasized on knowledgeable and skilled personnel to resolve the current global challenges.

"We should share progress in each country in areas of human capital development, poverty eradication and technological progress," he said. "We can eradicate poverty through human capital development and capacity building."

Deputy Prime Minister Najib said the reduction in domestic petroleum subsidies and food shortages have affected the poor and middle-income group.
He said his government was confident that it would reduce the general poverty to lower levels by 2010.

And Speaking on arrival to attend the conference, President Museveni said the realization national visions goes beyond borders hence the need to network and share experiences.

"It is not only for outsiders but between industries and labour, between government and the private sector. I am sure this is the philosophy of a smart partnership because we don't have to have a win-lose relationship," he said. "We can all win and that is within each country. Now beyond each country, then we try to have the cooperation with others who think the same and we can transfer that philosophy between the North and the South. This win-win approach is the essence of this smart partnership movement. You can have a partnership in a smart way, in a clever way not in a narrow and parasitic way."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources has joined the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services to organize the Africa Freedom Dance Festive in Lusaka.

Zambia Tourism Board (ZTB) public relations officer Doris Kofi yesterday announced that the countries that would participate in todays dance festive are Angola, Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and host Zambia, among others.

She explained that in the past two years the festival was held in partnership between the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services and the French embassy but this year it would be between the former and the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources.

Kofi explained that the dance festival which was usually held in July together with the Africa Freedom Day celebrations had this year been moved to July to concede with the on-going Smart Partnership dialogue.

She said the dancers yesterday held a special performance for the delegates attending the Smart Partnership dialogue.

But today the Africa Freedom dance festival performance will be open to all members of the public and it will be held in the Lusaka Show grounds main arena, said Kofi.

Among the delegates attending the dialogue conference include, former Presidents Joachim Chissano of Mozambique, Sir Ketumile Masire of Botswana, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Najib, South African ANC President Jacob Zuma, Swaziland Prime Minister Absalom Dlamini, Gambian Minister of Trade Abdou Kolley,Sudanese head of National Planning Dr Elsir Mahgoab Ali,Mozambican Trade Minister Fernando Sumbana, Namibian Trade Minister Dr Hage Geingolo and Botswana Minister of Finance Baledi Gaolathe.

Labels: BIOFUELS, ENERGY, FOOD, INFLATION, RUPIAH BANDA, SMART PARTNERHIPS

posted by MrK @ 9:28 PM