TIMES OF ZAMBIA, Saturday, February 23, 2019 7 PP.O.O BBOXOX 30394,30394, LusakaLusaka Email:Email: DISCLAIMER THIS column is madeƩ erspossible by the with general the [email protected]@gmail.com oorr ddroprop yyourour opined arƟ cles and le ciƟ zenry. Much as TimesƩ empts Printpak to balance (Z) lletteretter iinn ppersonerson aatt aanyny ooff oourur TTimesimes Limited reasonably a the content, the views expressed are Ʃ ributed to the individualƟ on writers of the solely a fl ect the posi PPrintpakrintpak ooffices.ffices. and do not re company or its stakeholders. - EDITOR EDITOR, IT is indisputable that copper mining has dominated Zambia’s economy going back to the colonial days of the Federation of Rhodesia, Nyasaland. Bravo Kapijimpanga For the irst 50 years of colonialism, mining was the main economic activity. encouraged the growing of non-traditional produce for The lowers included carnations, roses, statice, lilies, Probably, after the re-launch of the Zambian national Today, after more than horticulture and organic export markets overseas. hypericum and alstromeria. airline this year. 50 years of independence, agricultural products. As a result, the country witnessed the birth of the Horticultural products included chillies, mushrooms, Mubanga Luchembe, mining is still king. Unfortunately, Zambia Export Grower’s Association (ZEGA) which was aubergines, baby corn and fresh peas. LUSAKA I was, therefore, so smallholder farmers in formed in 1984 as a non-proit making association to Mangoes, pineapples, avocados and passion fruit led happy to read the article horticulture have been promote the interests of all growers wishing to export the fresh fruits list. about Zambia’s High hindered by limited access fresh horticulture produce. A series of management blunders at ZEGA coupled Commissioner to India to export markets, inance, Thanks must go to Zambia’s High Commissioner to with the liquidation of Zambia Airways in 1994, poor Judith Kapijimpanga who farm inputs, equipment and India for highlighting this horticulture issue which has policies and lack of commitment by the successive MMD was quoted as having said lack of modern technology. been overtaken by the FISP-dependent and rain-fed governments saw this once-thriving sector shrink. that Zambia was bench- Fast rewind to the smallholder farmers. Agriculture analysts say that the decline of horticultural marking from India on early 1980s, the hitherto Members of ZEGA formed an increasingly important production had seriously undermined foreign exchange how to grow the country’s Zambian Government link in the country’s economy because they were reserves and this, in turn, had a huge impact on the permitted to retain 50 per cent of their foreign earnings economy as it was then one of the key contributors to in foreign currency at commercial bank accounts by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Bank of Zambia as an incentive for the export of non- The same woes that had affected fresh fruits, lowers UPND MPs walk-out traditional produce even though the country was at the and vegetable growing spilled over and brought down time experiencing severe shortages of foreign currency. the once-thriving tea sector in Kawambwa, affecting stunts a shame Fresh fruits, lowers and vegetables were airlifted daily thousands of out-grower farmers. EDITOR, by the now-defunct Zambia Airways to their international That begs the question: when will horticulture become I AM not amused by the shenanigans currently markets. Zambia’s future backbone of the agribusiness? taking place in Zambia. I am referring to the struggle • KAPIJIMPANGA for holier-than-thou supremacy which is taking place between the opposition UPND in Parliament and the ruling Patriotic Front executive. UoA mulls skills push for economic success This struggle will end up hurting ordinary Zambians in UPND-represented constituencies who are the real employers of these opposition politicians. By DAVIS MULENGA The new measures by the Lusaka-based long distance At the moment, the UPND lawmakers have continued IT is necessary to swiftly develop new and relevant skills tertiary learning institution were set against a backdrop that will allow African nations to successfully drive sustained of shortages of human resources, especially in science, with their protest of walking out of Parliament each productivity-led growth and job creation, says University of time Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister technology, engineering, and mathematics as well as Africa (UoA) Chancellor Ruth Mubanga. agriculture and health disciplines in Zambia and the rest of Ronald Chitotela rises to respond to questions on Outlining a slew of new measures she described as “bold”, grounds that he is facing corruption charges in court. the African continent. Dr Mubanga says the key to economic success in Zambia According to the World Bank, the current pattern of skills The opposition MPs on Tuesday afternoon walked and the rest of the African continent lies in the capacity to production in Africa does not match labor market demand out of the house seven times as Mr Chitotela had seven harness skills and their full utilisation to create unique and or development needs. The recent trend in African higher questions to respond to on the order paper related to enlarge existing comparative advantages. education is the low percentage of graduates in areas of his ministry as per the standing orders of Parliament. “It is necessary to quickly develop new and relevant skills engineering, agriculture, health and science. I am not advocating the violation of the standing that can be readily deployed to push the expansion of our It also notes that while graduates of many African higher orders of Parliament because they are the supreme economies to an unprecedented scale, and create the much educational institutions go unemployed, substantial shortages rules of the National Assembly. needed jobs. of skilled labor persist. The challenge is to increase both the However, those opposition UPND MPs should “Therefore, the measures we have taken give priority quantity and the quality of graduates through investments know that nationwide housing and infrastructure to strengthening our capacity to effectively mobilise and in laboratories and human resources for these disciplines, development does not belong to President Edgar assimilate skills that will give us the necessary and enlarged improve the link with employers to raise relevance and foster Lungu, who is the appointing authority and his comparative advantage for economic success,” she says. strong international collaboration to raise quality. ministers, but to the people of Zambia. “These are far reaching measures that go to the core of If these UPND politicians do not want to face the addressing increased accessibility, affordability and quality wrath of the people come 2021, they should look for of higher education to effectively fulill the need for skills other ways of teaching the executive a lesson over relevant to support sustained productivity-led growth,” Dr Mubanga says. Ronald Chitotela’s corruption charges without messing She says the measures included creation of the board of around with people’s lives in terms of housing and directors to oversee business growth and governance. In infrastructure development. addition, they aimed to strengthen the council and senate It is such a shame that the UPND Chief Whip structures of the university. Situmbeko Musokotwane vowed that the opposition Dr Mubanga also announced the departure of the incumbent MPs would not stop walking out as long as Ronald Vice Chancellor, Christine Mushibwe. She said the university Chitotela remained Housing and Infrastructure had appointed her in the interim to ill the vacant position Development Minister. left by Christine Mushibwe. Meanwhile, Speaker of the National Assembly “The outgoing vice chancellor Dr Christine Mushibwe Patrick Matibini reserved ruling on the continued who had played a sterling role in growing the fortunes of the walk out by the opposition MPs – a daunting prospect university, and we owe her a huge debt of gratitude,” she says. • MUBANGA to contemplate. Victor Nyasulu, a Lusaka-based business management This was after nominated MP Edify Hamukale raised consultant was named board chairperson. Other board of Congo (DRC) and Swaziland. It offers 22 Bachelors, eight a point of order asking if the UPND MPs were in order members were Roland Rohrs, Tom van der Zee and Dr Masters and a Doctoral degree. Mubanga. Citing the growth path, citing, Nyasulu says the newly to walk out of the House, when some of their fellow introduced measures would be fundamental in addressing opposition MPs were similarly facing nefarious and Recently, ADvTECH, South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company which is Africa’s leading provider of the various challenges of higher education, putting UoA in venal charges. tertiary private education, acquired a 51 per cent stake in UoA, a strong position to ramp up the growth it had registered in Mind you, I haven’t mentioned anything to do with a development that bolstered the university’s expansion plans. the last decade. double standards characterised by the opposition Currently, the university, established in 2006 and accredited “An ideal outcome is UoA should positively be linked to UPND MPs’ continued walk-out stunts. by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), had a student base solving major social economic, environmental challenges in Concerned Zambian, of more than 2000 students across the African continent, Zambia and the rest of Africa in more tangible ways of bringing LUSAKA our motto of empowerment through education to life,” he said. • NYASULU including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, the Democratic Republic ‘Lusaka Hustle’ bounces back! By SAM PHIRI The good thing is that many people will surely be looking LAST week, this platform carried a clear headline ‘Lusaka forward to watching it of cause for various reasons, others Hustle Off Air’ in line with MultiChoice’s decision to suspend for liking it but the majority for curiosity’s sake.