HH MEETS AFRICAN DIPLOMATS, ASSURES THEM OF NEW ZAMBIA

Lusaka ~ Sat, 21 Aug 2021

By Brightwell Chabusha

President-Elect Hakainde Hichilema says Africa must begin to develop home grown solutions to challenges being faced by its people before looking elsewhere.

Speaking this afternoon when he met some of the African diplomats accredited to Zambia at his residence in Lusaka, President-elect Hichilema said Africa must first look within the continent for solutions to its problems before seeking help.

“During our meeting, we emphasised that democracy is key for development in Africa and that before looking elsewhere for social, political and economic solutions, we must first look within our continent. And under this score, we stated that there is no need of our people to be shedding blood in order to have their desired leadership and that going forward, Zambia will begin to experience freedoms which will allow diplomats and even citizens to enjoy their rights,” he said in a statement.

“We also stated to the Ambassadors that the African continent is capable of creating jobs, skills and business opportunities before looking to the outside world and that this will be one of our key thematic areas during our tenure of office.On the bilateral and multilateral front, we stated that we will remain open and available because our central focus is economic growth not only for our Country but Africa as a whole.”

He said he is confident that when a clear road map is set, Zambia will begin to witness less imports but more exports in the areas of human resource and other areas.

The Ambassadors and High Commissioners who met President-Elect Hichilema are from Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa, Congo, Namibia, Somalia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Morocco.