Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba Wrote
Zambia to Host the African Union 4th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting
Zambia will host both the 41st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union and the 4th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM) of the AU and the Regional Economic Communities (RECS) to be held in Lusaka, Zambia, from the 14th to 17th July 2022.
Prior to this, Zambia was expected to host the full Heads of State Summit(55 Heads of States) but in 2020, the Summit held in the middle of year was repurposed to become a mid-year coordination Summit that attracts only about 14 Heads of State.
But since Zambia will host the Executive Council(Foreign Affairs Ministers) which will attract all the 55 member states,this may suffice.
To prepare and host the Summit, Zambia sought financial and technical assistance to build a new Conference Centre to compliment the existing facilities at Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
China 🇨🇳 came to the aid of Zambia and now the country has a $66million ultra-modern conferencing facility and the inside designs and facilities bears similar design to the Nelson Mandela Conference Hall at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa. China also built the multi-million African Union Commission facilities.
When the new annex Conference facility, appropriately named Kenneth Kaunda International Conference Centre, was officially opened on Tuesday, many felt their should have been a greater recognition, in those making speeches, of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his government for this marvel of a building.
The funny excuses on social-media was that this was a grant from China and the recognition of China was enough…
But it can’t be. To get a loan, grant or technical assistance from another country requires that such a country and its leadership enjoy unwavering bilateral support with you, to benefit from such a huge grant.
So naimwe go and get a grant kanshi and build something if it is that easy.
Ushitasha mwana wandoshi.
Thank you to the People’s Republic of China, and thank you to President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
