Maravi

Sata reassures on decent jobs

Sata reassures on decent jobs
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Wed 27 June 2012, 13:25 CAT

PRESIDENT Michael Sata has reassured that his government is focused on creating decent long-term jobs for Zambians as opposed to casual employment.

And President Sata says Zambian councils should learn from advanced countries like Brazil in terms of planning their cities, saying he was impressed with that country's planning and development when he attended the Rio+20 Summit last week.

In an interview at South Africa's Oliver Tambo International Airport en route to Lusaka from Brazil, President Sata said the government was planning on affording Zambians decent jobs.

"If there is employment, we don't want casual employment. We want to provide employment where when somebody has been provided employment, you forget about it. And when you provide employment for one person, he will create some more employment," said President Sata, according to a statement released by first secretary for press at the Zambian High Commission in South Africa Patson Chilemba.

"For example if you have people working, then people in the market will also be employed because they will have people with money who are going to buy the goods."

President Sata said the more jobs the government created, the more the expenditure would increase in the national budget to provide social services to the people.

He said Zambia should utilise its comparative advantage to normalise the trade imbalance with countries like South Africa.

President Sata said South Africa exported more to Zambia because that country understood what was relevant for the Zambian market through planning.

He said if South Africa imported meat from Argentina, they could also buy meat products from Zambia, especially that the two countries were only two hours away by air transportation.

"You need proper meat commissions to ensure that our animals are disease free. And it is not for us to say so, it is for South Africa to prove that our beef is disease free," President Sata said. "Those are the simplest exports you are talking about, because if we can prove to the South Africans that we can provide them with disease-free meat that is one of the biggest exports because consumption of meat is almost every day."

President Sata implored councils to take a leaf from countries like Brazil on how best to plan and develop their cities and municipalities.

"I didn't see a single space…we need to send some people there to go and see for themselves," said President Sata.

President Sata was in the company of first lady Dr Christine Kaseba, Narep president Elias Chipimo, FDD president Edith Nawakwi, Zambia's High Commissioner to South Africa Muyeba Chikonde and other mission staff.

President Sata was in Brazil where he led a Zambian delegation to the just-ended United Nations' Rio+20 Summit.

Labels: BRAZIL, CASUALISATION, MICHAEL SATA

posted by MrK @ 3:56 PM