Take empowerement funds seriously

By Pelekelo Liswaniso

THE announcement by the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) that it has allocated K10 billion to each province for disbursement this year is most welcome.
This revelation is a definite pointer to Government’s determination to ensure that the policy on citizens’ economic empowerment succeeds.

Already, the commission has approved 61 applications from nine provinces for September 2009 alone. The beneficiary provinces include Lusaka, Eastern, Western, Southern, Luapula, North-Western, Northern, Central and Copperbelt.

With this development, we urge fellow citizens to take the CEEC initiative seriously and prepare themselves to participate in the global economy as Government increases citizens’ access to investments through the CEEC programme.

Since the programme started last year, it is clear that Government wants to increase Zambia’s access to investment so that citizens, including women and the youth, have an opportunity to fully exploit their entrepreneurial abilities in many ways.

The creation of multi-facility economic zones on the Copperbelt and in Lusaka province is, incidentally, another way of empowering the local people in order to uplift their standards of living through job creation.

It is abundantly clear, therefore, that Government is keen to ensure that Zambians fully participate in the economic affairs, at both the national and international levels.

President Banda has repeatedly assured the nation that his Government on its part will continue implementing prudent macro-economic policies to safeguard gains made so far while ensuring that all economic activities benefit the people. The focus for this year is to grow the economy and diversify into various sectors, including agriculture and tourism.

Fair-minded and objective people will agree that so far, the country’s economic, political and social programmes are on the right track. This is evidenced by the positive economic developments which can be seen across the country.

It is with this background that we wish to encourage those who still habour mixed feelings about the CEEC to shake off their fears and anxieties and visit the nearest office in their area for advice on how to access the finances so that they are empowered to participate in national development.

The projects which the CEEC recently approved were mainly in manufacturing, information and communication technology, transport services, education, trading, tourism, agriculture, mining and construction.

This goes to show that the areas of interest are wide and there is room for the general population to engage in many projects of their choice. We, therefore urge members of the public to apply for funds and join other emerging entrepreneurs and get empowered through the CEEC programme.

As prospects for the global economy begin to brighten again, this is the time for Zambians to take advantage of the CEEC instrument and engage in entrepreneurial activity to help grow the national economy.

The notion that only Government is responsible for the growth of the economy is archaic as it does not tally with reality in today’s world.

Growing the national economy should be everyone’s business, especially now that Government has set up this facility that helps equip citizens with financial resources to start business ventures in any sector.CEE Funds are there for the taking. It’s up to citizens to rise to the challenge.

Livestock, key to growth, poverty reduction

By Pelekelo Liswaniso

AGRICULTURE remains the key to growth and poverty reduction in Zambia as more than 60 per cent of the population derives its livelihood from it.

But it is clear that agricultural development has not received adequate support in the past, hence the deliberate shift by the government to give it the brace it deserves.

Statistics show that in the recent past, Government spending on agriculture has been less that five per cent of the national budget, and less than one per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

This low spending has resulted in the run-down of agricultural infrastructure, poor extension service delivery and has sparked high and repeated incidences of livestock diseases. The effect has been low agricultural productivity and high prevalence of poverty, especially in rural communities.
Livestock production, in particular, which is a common urban and peri-urban income generating activity with potential to reduce poverty among households, has suffered a great deal due to insufficient support.

Outbreaks of the contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in various districts, particularly in Southern and Western provinces, coupled with the foot and mouth disease, have, for example, threatened and significantly reduced the cattle population in these areas.

Reports indicate that the outbreaks are mainly due to uncontrolled cattle movement, coupled with a serious breakdown of animal disease surveillance systems in the country.

Raising cattle, or any other livestock for that matter, is therefore, a risky business in Zambia. A whole range of diseases can easily attack one’s herd with depressing regularity, often killing hundreds, if not thousands, of animals with each outbreak.

In some cases, diseases have wiped out entire herds, leaving the owners, mostly villagers, destitute.

The cost of disease weighs most heavily on the rural poor, who depend on cattle and other animals for their livelihood. Cattle are, in fact, in many areas a traditional store of value, a kind of bank account on hooves.

But despite the ever-looming danger of disease, few farmers vaccinate their animals or, better still, test them for infection. When animals fall sick, they usually die for lack of diagnosis. Medical assistance is rarely available, and when it is, villagers often don’t trust it to work.

Furthermore, there are too few veterinarians in the country, and those available usually work exclusively with large, commercial cattle owners. Most vets have little interest in serving the poor farmers, who are spread out across the countryside. Yet these are the people who need such help more.

President Banda’s statement in Cuba that his administration is in a hurry to fight poverty in rural communities through reducing and eliminating livestock diseases is, therefore, a clear pointer to Government’s resolve to help the poor rural communities.

Mr. Banda was emphatic when he said rural communities in Zambia depend heavily on livestock as a source of income and means of labour for their livelihood, hence the need to fight livestock diseases with renewed vigour.

It is necessary therefore that the existing gaps that have led to a breakdown of animal diseases surveillance systems and poor support to rural farmers are urgently addressed so that the livestock industry can be protected to improve agriculture and reduce poverty in the country.