KEY POINTS FROM THE PRESS BRIEFING HELD BY THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA HON CORNELIUS MWEETWA
The Minister of Information and Media and Chief Government Spokesperson Hon. Cornelius Mweetwa this afternoon held his weekly engagement with the media and discussed a number of issues of national importance.
Below are the highlights:
✅ The Chief Government Spokesperson acknowledged and expressed gratitude for the various forms of support the government is receiving from both domestic and foreign partners in the fight against cholera.
✅ Government commends the frontline workers who have given up their lives to confront the Cholera pandemic.
✅ The decline in the Cholera cases and the rising number of those who are being discharged is a sign that government is winning the fight against Cholera.
✅ The President has given a directive to Cabinet to come up with measures that will address the challenges of Cholera once and for all and to that effect, the committee of Ministers under the guidance and leadership of the Vice President Mutale W.K Nalumango met to consider short, medium and long-term solutions in the fight against Cholera in Zambia.
✅ The President of the Republic of Zambia, who is a champion against cholera, has stated that Zambia needs to set an example for others to follow and, as a result, there is need to develop long-term strategies to fight the disease.
✅ The committee of Ministers will advise the country on the next steps to take after the best and most appropriate suggestions have been made, so that the current cholera outbreak is the last of its kind.
✅ The Minister expressed gratitude and congratulations to the many people who supported the UPND Government by casting votes of confidence in the Mayembe and Kampamba ward elections in Shawang’andu and Mpika districts respectively.
✅ This is a sign the sign that voters are appreciating government’s programmes that include free education, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), payments to retirees, peace reigning in the country among others.
✅ Mr. Mweetwa also commended Shiwang’andu Member of Parliament Stephen Kampyongo for demonstrating great leadership in the by-elections associated with Shiwang’andu where he visited and joined the UPND campaign meeting.
✅ Government is delighted to have recruited more than 7000 teachers last year which is unprecedented.
✅ President Hakainde Hichilema is fixing it while the opposition watch in disbelief and denial.
✅ The Agro input distribution program was completed perfectly the previous year; all the districts received the correct amounts of fertiliser and seed. However, government is aware that there are issues with the way the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) was handled.
✅ Government has observed a rush for seed and fertilizer this year; data from seed distribution and sales companies indicate that seed companies have sold an unprecedented number of metric tonnes of seed, demonstrating that citizens and farmers have embraced the President’s encouragement for those who can, to pursue farming.
✅ Government would like to refute assertions by some sectors of society that it is importing and distributing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) maize through the Zambia National Service (ZNS).
✅ The claims are demonstrably untrue and unjustified. The Zambian government is putting out the challenge to anyone disseminating misleading information to show proof of any genetically modified maize or mealie meal on the Zambian market.
✅ Contrary to the assertions, the maize being imported from South Africa is not for Zambia but for onward transmission into the Democratic Republic of Zambia (DRC) market.
✅ Government has come up with this initiative to saturate mealie meal in the demand zone in order to reduce smuggling of the pure white grade 1 non-GMO mealie meal.