No Zambian will starve, assures State

GOVERNMENT has assured development partners that it is taking measures to address economic challenges and ensure that no Zambian starves to death due to prolonged dry spells experienced in some parts of the country.

Opening a High-Level Policy Dialogue with development partners in Lusaka yesterday, Minister of National Planning, Alexander Chiteme said Government, like other stakeholders, was concerned with the macro- economic challenges that the nation was facing.

He said there had been too much information from unofficial sources in the media that was undermining confidence in the economy.

“With the prolonged dry spells experienced in the Southern and Western parts of the country during the last rain season, we expect some households in the affected areas to be food insecure, Mr. Chiteme said.

“Nevertheless, Government has taken the position that no Zambian should starve as a result of this precarious situation. Therefore, government intends to take measures to address all cases of food insecurity once verified by the responsible agencies.” He said

The Minister said the High-Level Policy Dialogue demonstrates Government’s willingness to listen to the views of development partners and other stakeholders.

“I pledge Government’s open- mindedness and transparency in the way it will conduct this dialogue. We will build on this initiative to establish a regular and permanent platform on which we will engage with our cooperating partners at this high level,” Mr Chiteme said

And Minister of Finance, Margaret Mwanakatwe assured the development partners about the measures the Government was putting in place to sustain the economy.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Michael Katambo said Government was managing the food security situation despite the problems of climate change affecting food production in some parts of the country.