Wednesday, August 02, 2017

LUAPULA EXPO SHOWS ZAMBIA RIPE FOR MORE INVESTMENT, SAYS ROGAN
By STEVEN ZANDE
Times of Zambia

UNITED Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country representative Janet Rogan has said the successfully held Luapula Expo and Investment Conference shows that Zambia is ripe for more foreign investment.

Ms Rogan said the event demonstrated that Zambians were determined and united in an effort to generate development while the expo had exposed the country’s vast unexplored potential in tourism, agriculture and mining when investment opportunities in other countries had dwindled.

“Zambia is peaceful, with a motivated workforce and huge natural resource deposits, making the country a great place for investment,” she said.

Ms Rogan said in an interview in Mansa during the expo that additional investments in unexploited sectors like tourism and mining in areas like Luapula Province would contribute to strengthened countrywide economic activity.

She said economic development in individual provinces was important to national job creation efforts among the people, stating that this would further result in improved living standards in the country.

Finance Minister Felix Mutati on Friday in Mansa announced that the expo had attracted US$1 billion in investment pledges in various sectors.

Ms Rogan praised the Luapula provincial administration for working closely with the area traditional leaders and ordinary people in making the expo a success.

She said such unity of purpose should be encouraged and replicated in other parts of the country as this would help curb poverty and inequality.

Ms Rogan said there was a need for concerted efforts among the Government, traditional leaders and relevant stakeholders to help Zambia realise its national development aspirations.

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