Continued donor support shows faith in PF government, says Dr Scott

Continued donor support shows faith in PF government, says Dr Scott
By Lovely Kayombo
Thu 23 Feb. 2012, 12:01 CAT

VICE-President Guy Scott says the continued support by donors shows that they have faith in the Patriotic Front government.

Speaking on Tuesday when the Danish government handed over a water reticulation and purification plant valued at K800 million to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, Vice-President Scott said donors were initially suspicious of the PF government thinking they were going to wreck the country.

"They donors were very suspicious initially especially the times they thought we were going to wreck the country. Now they are giving us fancy 'katundu' (goods) to maintain and operate; it means they are coming to believe that we know what we are doing, that we know how to rule the country and that we can be relied upon," he said.

Vice-President Scott called on the DMMU to utilise the machine efficiently so that it saves lives and wanes out diseases like typhoid.

He directed the DMMU management to give a report within six month of its utilisation and urged them not to station the plant permanently in some towns to treat water.

Vice-President Scott emphasised that the machine was for emergency supply of clean water only.

"We expect lives to be saved, we expect diseases like typhoid to be on the wane when we get this machine. It might have been very useful in Mufurila if we got it earlier, but please let's use it to show that we know what we are doing and that we are responsible and serious so that he (Danish Ambassador Thomas Schjerbeck) can go back to his government and say Zambia is worth caring for..." said Vice-President Scott.

So beware. There will be political pressures from these donor countries to lessen money on the Third World countries if we don't take care of the things we are given; if we look after things properly, they will feel like giving us more."

And Ambassador Schjerbeck said when disaster strikes in different ways, there was need for quick and efficient help to make sure basic things like pure drinking water was made available to people who are suffering.