Maravi

Rupiah helps Turks acquire Lusaka land

Rupiah helps Turks acquire Lusaka land
By Patson Chilemba
Tue 24 May 2011, 04:01 CAT

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has intimated how he helped Turkish owned Horizon School acquire land in Lusaka’s Kabulonga area for the construction of their yet to be built girls’ school.

Officially opening Horizon Primary and High School, which is owned by The Turks, President Banda said he felt honoured to officially open the school.

“When I hear some good development is taking place in the country, sometimes during my free time on the weekends I get into a car, we don’t show that it’s the President, no policemen, except my ADC and my driver.

So I came here, I visited this school while it was under construction. Somebody told me where it was, he said ‘next to Chibelo School’,” said President Banda yesterday. “When I got up there I saw the flag, I saw the Turkish flag; I said nipamene pala, that’s the place.

So your Excellency Turkish Ambassador to Zambia Ahmed Adda it’s true that the flag of Turkey flew in this country primarily because of this school and that now we shall see it at the Embassy since you have now come.”

President Banda said he was happy that the Zambia-Turkey relations could start on such note.

He said the government attached importance to education.

“When I visited this school, privately, one evening there was just the manager, the gentleman who was building the school, and some workers said to me ‘we want this piece of land between Horizon and Kabulonga Basic schools next to us so that we can build a girls school, secondary school’,” President Banda said.

“I told them ‘even without consulting the Minister of Education Dora Siliya I know she will agree. I know the deputy will agree that this should also be given to this trust to build a girls secondary school’. And indeed when they met with her she confirmed immediately. So we are waiting for this school so that our children, our girl children have also a decent school where they can learn.”

President Banda said he had been to Turkey twice and was very impressed with that country’s standard of education.

He said that was the reason why he requested Turkish partners to work with Zambia in the pursuit of quality education.

He said through education the country could fight poverty and ignorance as well as bringing about behavioural change, which was critical in the fight against youth delinquency.

President Banda commended private educational institutions that had excelled in the provision and promotion of quality education.

He urged the Ministry of Education to pay serious attention to private-run schools that were low on quality, efficiency, purpose and focus.

“When parents pay considerable sums of money, they should reap significant harvests of good character formation in their children. For some schools, poor character among children is still a challenge,” President Banda said.

And Horizon School PTA chairman Leslie Mbula said the school would have a particular emphasis on mathematics, Information and Technology and science education.

He said Zambia was short of teachers in the three subjects.

Mbula requested President Banda to request Turkey to send more teachers to teach the three subjects.

He said the subjects were key to the development of any nation, especially in this age.

Mbula said Zambia was the 36th country in Africa to have Horizon school.
He said the school was funded by Turkish business people who had the desire to help the underprivileged children, saying Zambian businessmen should do likewise.

Turkish Ambassador to Zambia Adda said the school would contribute high quality education to Zambia.

Labels: CORRUPTION, LAND RIGHTS, RUPIAH BANDA, TURKEY

posted by MrK @ 5:26 PM