Martinez looking forward to a day Zambia will stop asking for aid
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Thursday May 29, 2008 [04:00]
AMERICAN Ambassador to Zambia Carmen Martinez has said she looks forward to a day when Zambia will stop asking for aid. And Ambassador Martinez said she was saddened that Zambia with all its rich natural resources still exported raw materials. Speaking at the Zambezi Sun yesterday, Ambassador Martinez said the American government had a long-term relationship with Zambia and that they will have spent US$845 million during the first five years of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funded programmes.
"The current total approved budget for the financial year 2008 is over US$269 million," she said. "It is great to work here and it shall be my happiest day for me when we will stop assisting you."
Ambassador Martinez said requests for aid must diminish every year just like people graduate from institutions of learning.
"You have to graduate," she said. Ambassador Martinez said job creation was priority number one on the American government's assistance to Zambia.
"We do not just assist in the HIV/AIDS. We need to create jobs. Job creation is high on the list so that you can support your family, followed by education, so that you increase the tax base," she said.
And Ambassador Martinez said Zambia needed to ensure that it exported finished products as opposed to raw products such as copper ore and gemstones.
"You need to look at ways that Zambia will export finished products not raw materials as you are dependant on copper prices," she said.
Ambassador Martinez said the US also supported tourism development in Livingstone because of the HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the area.
"The town's tourism industry is growing and health is a requirement for a good Zambian workforce. We had to look at places that needed help and Livingstone being a border town was high at risk with cross border traders and truck drivers," she said.
Ambassador Martinez further appealed to traditional leaders to talk more on issues of morals, saying 13 and 14-year-old girls were not supposed to get married.
"I don't want to set my moral values on you but traditional leaders must step up. Then we shall see change," Ambassador Martinez said.
And HIV/AIDS activist, Dr Manasseh Phiri, during a peer educators' forum with Ambassador Martinez appealed to the youths to get involved in talking about the pandemic.
"You have to get involved by speaking not just here but also out there and I know that you can make it, " said Dr Phiri.
Labels: CARMEN MARTINEZ, DONORS, MWANAWASA
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Preventing corruption is less costly, says Martinez
By Agness Changala
Friday May 02, 2008 [04:00]
UNITED States Ambassador Carmen Martinez has said that it would be easier and less costly to prevent corruption than prosecute it. And ACC commissioner Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika said it was dangerous for the media to make heroes out of thieves.
Speaking during the official closure of the 'Walk against Corruption' campaign at Arcades on Thursday, Martinez said there was need to strengthen existing laws that would help curb corruption effectively.
“Such as asset disclosure, asset forfeiture, whistleblower protection, evidence, plea bargaining, procurement and anti-money laundering,” she said.
Martinez said the strengthening of institutions that fought corruption like Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) was another way of fighting corruption effectively.
Lewanika urged the media to condemn the perpetrators of corruption instead of turning them into heroes.
“The media has to be alert even in the absence of the Freedom of Information Bill (FOL). There's no law that stops the exposure of corruption so people can be investigated,” he said.
Wendy Mwachilenga an ACC employee and Richard Mwanza, who took the walk against corruption, covered 358km from Kitwe to Lusaka.
Labels: ACC, AKASHAMBATWA MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA, CARMEN MARTINEZ, CORRUPTION, HYPOCRISY
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Politics is not for politicians alone
By Editor
Wednesday March 26, 2008 [03:00]
THE political management of the affairs of our country is a collective responsibility of all of us as citizens. Of course citizens cannot be required to take part in the political process, and they are free to express their dissatisfaction by not participating. But without the lifeblood of citizen action, democracy and indeed good governance would begin to weaken.
We urge all Zambians to heed the advice of United States Ambassador to Zambia Carmen Martinez and be interested in the politics of their country.
And as Ambassador Martinez correctly observed, politics are not for politicians alone but the voters as well – they are for all citizens. And voting in the election of public officials is the most visible and common form of participation in modern democracies, and also the most fundamental.
We have a responsibility, as citizens, to participate in the politics of our country and ensure that the democratic process is functioning. We need to always educate ourselves about the critical issues confronting our country – if only to vote intelligently for candidates running for high office.
The essence of democratic action is the active, freely chosen participation of citizens in the public life of their community and nation. Without this broad, sustaining participation, democracy will begin to wither and become the preserve of a small, select number of groups and organisations. But with the active engagement of individuals across the spectrum of society, democracies can wither the inevitable economic and political storms that sweep over every society, without sacrificing the freedoms and rights that they are sworn to uphold.
Active involvement in public life is often narrowly defined as the struggle for political office. But citizen participation in a democratic society is much broader than just taking part in election contests. At the neighbourhood level, citizens may serve on a school committees or form community groups as well as run for local office.
At the national level, citizens can add their voices and pens to the continuing debate over public issues or join political parties or other voluntary organisations. Whatever the level of their contribution, a healthy democracy depends upon the continuing, informed public participation of the broad range of its citizens. Moreover, it is said that what a single ant brings to the anthill is very little; but what a great hill is built when each one does their proper share of the work.
But the participation of citizens in the political life of their country should be based on noble sentiments and guided by noble ideas if it is to be of much value. And we urge all our people to make full use of their rights and consider it a citizen responsibility to participate in the politics of their country. We say this because citizenship demands the positive contribution of everyone, old and young, to building our nation’s future. This includes voting, running for office, volunteering in a civil society organisation, fighting corruption, paying taxes, obeying the laws and so on and so forth.
And as citizens we must vote wisely during elections and only vote for people who are known for their honesty, ability, dedication and concern for the welfare of all. What people are seeking is genuine democracy in which leaders are servants of the electorate and not its masters. Good governance only occurs when we have intelligent, honest and humble leaders who see politics as a vocation to serve the people.
No one deserves to be elected unless they love their country more than themselves. We should be aware that politics is an area of great importance for promoting justice, peace, development and community among all. And as such, as KK once observed, politics should not be generally seen as dirty because it deals with people’s lives – the promotion of justice, peace, development and community among all.
We should therefore regard politics as a vocation, a way of building up society for the common good. For these reasons, politics needs people with high credibility who are conscious of their specific and proper role in the political community. And as we have stated before, we need politicians, we need politics because an authority is needed to guide the energies of all of us towards the common good. And we need the government, the instrument by which we cooperate together in order to achieve the common good.
We value the democratic system inasmuch as it ensures the participation of citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate.
In politics our people come together with different interests to work for the common good. All citizens are called to participate actively and responsibly in the affairs of their communities and indeed of their nation. Individual citizens are obliged to make their specific contributions to the common good.
We, the citizens of this country, can make a difference if we get fully involved in national affairs.
We shouldn’t forget that democracy is a process, a way of living and working together. It requires cooperation, compromise and tolerance among all citizens. Making it work is hard, not easy. Freedom means responsibility, not freedom from responsibility.
We all have a shared responsibility for the political management of our country and each one of us should do his or her part in the best way they can. Democracy embodies ideals of freedom and self-expression, but it is also clear-eyed about human nature. It does not demand that citizens be universally virtuous, only that they will be responsible.
Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. Therefore, we should never try to be indifferent about the politics, about the affairs of our country. We should at all times endeavour to be interested in the politics of our country and fully participate in the management of the affairs of our nation.
Labels: CARMEN MARTINEZ, POLITICS
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Take interest in politics, Martinez urges Zambians
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Wednesday March 26, 2008 [03:01]
ZAMBIANS should take an interest in their country's politics, United States Ambassador Carmen Martinez has advised. And Ambassador Martinez said the voter turnout in the ongoing US primary elections is the highest the country has had in decades. Commenting on the ongoing election primaries in her country, Ambassador Martinez said politics were not for politicians alone but the voters as well. Ambassador Martinez said African countries and Zambia in particular could learn from the elections in the United States by being interested in their politics.
"I just hope the Zambian people for the next election in 2011, you will see a lot of activism, campaigning much earlier and a lot of women going out to vote and you have a big blog of vote there and you can really make a difference and also work on getting more women into Parliament," she said.
Ambassador Martinez said the US elections were very tight and the assumption was that senator John McCain would be the Republican candidate.
"That seems to be pretty much forgoing but you never know there still has to be the convention and the race between Senator Obama (Barack) and Senator Clinton (Hillary) is still very tight so I think it's going to be interesting. I think we have another primary coming up and there's the whole issue of what will happen with delegate county and we have always had the super delegates (Super delegates are people who can change their vote, they are not obliged)," she said.
Ambassador Martinez said the conventions this year would be the most interesting since the 1960s.
"We had so much violence going on then but there won't be violence this time. It will be interesting, we haven't had any really interesting conventions since the mid 60s," she said.
Ambassador Martinez said also noted that there were so many young Americans that were interested in the forthcoming elections and that the voter turnout was high.
She said it could be the highest voter turnout in decades especially among young people.
Ambassador Martinez also said Zambia was ready for a female president.
"I think you are, anybody is ready. If you have a candidate, it's a question 'will men accept', is that the question, I don't know, I think they will," said Ambassador Martinez.
The US goes to the polls in November this year.
Labels: CARMEN MARTINEZ, POLITICS
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Martinez urges Zambians to be patient with poverty reduction programme
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sunday February 03, 2008 [03:00]
Zambians should be a little more patient with poverty reduction programmes because it takes a lot of hard work and time to reduce poverty, United States Ambassador to Zambia Carmen Martinez has advised. And the Central Statistical Office (CSO)’s living conditions monitoring survey has indicated that 64 percent of Zambians depend on begging as a means of coping with economic shock.
Meanwhile, Zambia’s economic growth declined by 0.5 per cent in 2007 mainly due to reduction in the output of metal mining, agriculture, manufacturing, electricity, construction and transport sectors.
Commenting on the 2008 national budget and its anticipated impact on poverty reduction, Ambassador Martinez said Zambia seemed to be doing well economically but to reduce poverty among its people, it would take some time hence the people should be patient.
“There has been a lot of debate on the different levels in changes of VAT and PAYE, and various other things but all in all, I think that there are some very good things in this year’s budget,” said Ambassador Martinez in an interview in Lusaka . “Obviously, Zambia seems to be economically getting better but any leader, in government and civil society, acknowledges that you still have too many poor people.”
She expressed optimism that this year’s budget would help reduce the poverty levels in the country.
“Hopefully, this new budget will be more acceptable and address the problem of poverty. It’s a lot of work and people need to be a little more patient,” Ambassador Martinez said. “I know people wouldn’t want to hear that but I am looking back at two years here, and there is so much going on. I know it doesn’t make sense to a man who is trying to feed many children in the compound.”
Ambassador Martinez also said though the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) adjustments appear to be insignificant, it could help reduce poverty and bring about changes in people’s lives.
“You are not going to see change overnight, the adjustment is small but it makes a difference. I know every individual would want a wide margin adjustment but what you would like to do is to have a strong economy and you need a bigger base to collect from,” said Ambassador Martinez. “Many countries make a mistake of raising their rates so high hoping to collect large amounts from a small base but it makes sense to have a large base and collect small amounts from each individual.”
And according to the CSO’s The Monthly newsletter released by CSO acting director Efreda Chulu last Thursday, about 60 per cent of the respondents of the survey indicated that they had to reduce the number of meals.
The CSO further stated that there were more households relying on asking from friends in rural areas at 66 per cent than those in urban areas at 58 per cent.
And the CSO stated that preliminary estimates of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on data up to the third quarter of 2007 indicated that the economy grew by 5.7 per cent in 2007.
“In value terms, the GDP at constant 1994 prices was estimated at K3,542.5 billion compared to K3,351.7 billion in 2006. At the current prices, the 2007 GDP was estimated at K45,482.2 billion compared to K39,223.1 billion in 2006,” the CSO stated. “However, the economic growth for 2007 was lower by 0.5 percentage points than that of 2006 which was at 6.2 per cent. This was mainly due to the decline in the output of the metal mining sector (mining and quarrying) which declined by 1.4 per cent in 2007 compared to a growth of 7.3 per cent in 2006.”
Labels: CARMEN MARTINEZ, PRSP
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Martinez urges banks to provide cheaper finances
By Fridah Zinyama
Thursday December 06, 2007 [03:00]
UNITED States Ambassador to Zambia, Carmen Martinez has urged financial institutions in the country to provide cheaper finances to Zambians if the Citizens Economic Empowerment programme is to be successful. And Economics Association of Zambia president Dr Mwilola Imakando expressed concern as to whether a proper mechanism had been put in place to safeguard the funds that would be allocated for the empowerment programme.
In an interview, Ammbassador Martinez said in Zambia the cost of accessing finances was very high and made it expensive for people to access funds.
“Most financial institutions in Zambia are offering interest rates as high as 17-19 per cent and it makes it very costly for ordinary Zambians who are in serious need of funds to access them,” she said.
Ambassador Martinez said the local financial institutions should step in and help Zambians access funds as this would help reduce dependence on donor partners.
“It should not be just about finding financial assistance from donors but the local banks should play a part in empowering the local people as well,” she said.
Ambassador Martinez said unless people had access to finances it would be very difficult for them to be economically empowered.
And Dr Imakando advised the government to come up with a system to ensure that resources that were allocated for the empowerment programme were safeguarded and a revolving fund established to that effect.
“Whatever amount has been allocated for the empowerment programme, government should just be properly grown and revolved,” he said.
Other stakeholders such as the Development Bank of South Africa have expressed interest in supporting the empowerment Act in Zambia.
DBSA executive manager for Private Sector and International Investment Solomon Asamoah said they would like to support projects that were going to help Zambia attain its empowerment goals.
Zambia will next year start implementing the CEE Act and expectations of its success are high as people are hoping to access the much-needed funds that have been set aside to help citizens with workable business proposals.
Labels: CARMEN MARTINEZ, CEE
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Zambia is not ideal for military base - Martinez
By Edwin Mbulo
Monday September 17, 2007 [04:00]
UNITED States Ambassador Carmen Martinez has said Zambia is not an ideal place to set up a military base. And Ambassador Martinez has urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries to find ways of resolving the political differences in Zimbabwe before they spread to neighbouring countries.
Featuring on Face the Media programme on Livingstone's Zambezi FM Radio on Saturday, Ambassador Martinez emphasised that the USA had no intentions of setting up a military base in Zambia.
Ambassador Martinez said the US had instead approached the Zambian government to set up what she called an Africa Command Office which would be an administrative office for crisis management, be it political or economic.
"It is not ideal to set up a military base in Zambia. We have had discussions with the Zambian government on our intentions to set up an administrative office and not a military base," she said.
Ambassador Martinez said the Africa Command Office was designed to try to assist, monitor programmes and any crisis facing Africa.
"The Africa Command Office will also assist maintain peace on the African continent," she said.
Ambassador Martinez said the USA was already training peacekeepers in Africa to help maintain peace on the continent. Recently, President Levy Mwanawasa said he would not allow the US to set up a military base in Zambia. President said the government would not give the US sanctuary to establish a military base in the country.
Former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda also asked America to keep its military guns away from Africa. And information minister Mike Mulongoti last week said the US government had asked the African Union to help them find a place in Africa for them to set up a military base.
Dr Kaunda said it was disturbing for the US to consider establishing a military base in Africa instead of assisting the continent to empower its people. And Ambassador Martinez expressed fears that problems affecting Zimbabwe were slowly spreading to neighbouring countries.
" Zambia may already be affected with economic problems Zimbabwe is currently facing," said Ambassador Martinez.
Labels: AFRICOM, CARMEN MARTINEZ, MILITARY BASES
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Martinez welcomes London judgment
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Tuesday May 15, 2007 [04:00]
UNITED States Ambassador to Zambia Carmen Martinez has said the judgment against second republican president Frederick Chiluba is the best thing that could ever happen. Commenting on the London High Court judgment that established that Chiluba defrauded the Republic of Zambia of millions of dollars, Ambassador Martinez said it was a great step in the fight against corruption.
She said it was time for justice and that the judgment sent a great signal to Zambians and people all over the world. "Every country in the world has corruption and every time someone has to face the music for stealing and I say it is the best thing that could ever happen," she said.
Ambassador Martinez hoped the criminal trials that Chiluba and others were facing would move forward. "And obviously there is great truth in the charges that have been made as we have seen by the judgment and I think everybody should read the judgment and I applaud the newspapers for printing the judgment. Every Zambian should read that judgment and find out what these elected people did to the people of their country," said Ambassador Martinez.
She said the American Embassy also had Chiluba's judgment on its website. London High Court judge Peter Smith established that Chiluba and others had defrauded Zambia of a total of US $41 million through the BK Facility and the Zamtrop account in London.
Judge Smith ordered Chiluba and others to pay about 85 per cent of the total sum (US $41 million) within 14 days upon service of the judgment. This is a case in which the Attorney General of Zambia took out a civil suit against Chiluba and 19 others who were alleged to have siphoned about US $20 million from the state treasury.
Judge Smith said he was satisfied that Chiluba and former Zambia Security Intelligence Service director general Xavier Chungu were major conspirators and were also in breach of their fiduciary duties.
Those co-accused with Chiluba include Cave Malik and Company, Xavier Francis Chungu, Attan Shansonga, Stella Chibanda, Aaron Chungu, Bimal Thaker, Faustin Kabwe, Francis Kaunda, Boutique Basile, Nebraska Associates Limited, MISSL Associates Limited, Hearnville Estates, Jarban SA, Raphael Soriano Katoto, Belsquare Residence, NV Roland Cracco and Robert Standaert.
However, during a press conference at his Kabulonga residence on Thursday, Chiluba defended himself against the London High Court judgment by accusing President Levy Mwanawasa and British Prime Minister, Tony Blair of corruption and imperialist conspiracy against him.
Dismissing judge Smith's judgment as corrupt and racist, Chiluba accused Blair and the entire British political and judicial system of trying to impose imperialism on Zambia.
Chiluba also accused President Mwanawasa of championing British imperialism in Zambia.
"It is my opinion that both gentlemen Tony Blair and Mwanawasa advanced the popular slogan of corruption to hide their own skeletons in cupboards," charged Chiluba. "They have not provided the necessary leadership they pontificated."
Labels: CARMEN MARTINEZ, CHILUBA
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