USAKA, July 30, 2011, – Republican President, Rupiah Banda has warned that his Government shoddy road works by contractors whose desire is only to enrich themselves at the expense of Zambians.
The President has said Zambians demand value for their taxes and it is, therefore, important that roads and other infrastructure are built to the highest standards. He said the state of transport infrastructure and, roads in particular, is a major concern to farmers and the business community.
President Banda made these remarks today when officially opening the 85th Zambia Agricultural and Commercial show in Lusaka.
“I expect the contractors and those charged with the responsibility of supervising the construction of roads to ensure that they are built to the highest standards. Zambians demand value for their taxes, and as government, we will not tolerate those who compromise quality standards in order to benefit themselves,” President Banda said.
The President said it was pleasing that the agricultural sector had continued to perform well and congratulated farmers for producing another maize bumper harvest this agricultural season. The bumper harvest was confirmation that the Government’s agricultural policies were working and bearing fruit.
“I wish to, however, state that the full potential for agriculture is yet to be realized. I, therefore, urge our farmers to adopt appropriate technologies and improved farming practices in order to increase production and productivity of both food and cash crops,” the President said.
The Head of State assured that his Government will continue providing the necessary support needed to further transform the farming sector into a rewarding commercial activity.
This will include improved marketing of agricultural produce and enhancement of research and extension services. The Government will also continue to encourage value addition and promote processing of farm produce into finished products.
President Banda said this year's theme “Shaping tomorrow’s World” reflected his Government’s vision of building tomorrow’s Zambia because the decisions today will affect the development and survival of future generations.
“For that reason, it is important to understand that for us to build our economy and to sustain its growth, we need to lay a firm foundation. My Government is, therefore, implementing measures and programmes aimed at increasing access by all our citizens, both in rural and urban areas to economic and productive resources,” the President said.
President Banda expressed happiness that Government efforts and policies aimed at improving the economy have yielded positive results. The Zambian economy has for the last three years been growing at an average of 6.6 percent per year and the country was recently classified by the World Bank to a lower middle income country from a low income country.
Zambia was also recently ranked by the World Bank among the top 10 reformers in the world.
“This is the right path to becoming a wealthy country and it should inspire all of us to work even harder for the future generations. All this indicates that Government has been implementing the right economic policies,” the President said.
President Banda assured Zambians that his Government will continue efforts to diversify the Zambian economy further from copper through sectors such as agriculture, tourism and other mining activities such as nickel, gold and oil.
This is according to a statement from state house press and public relations unit.
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