Don’t tamper with NRDC – CTPD

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 07:40:40 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has said the Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) should not be tampered with as it is key to Zambia’s agricultural transformation.

CTPD executive director, Isaac Mwaipopo, said NRDC was a strategic institution for Zambia in transforming agriculture which was outlined in the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP).

“As Zambia embarks on a path to economic transformation that is anchored on an ambitious drive to have an all-inclusive growth as reflected in the recently launched 7NDP whose theme is Accelerating Development Efforts towards Vision 2030 without Leaving Anyone Behind, It is hard to imagine how Zambia will be able to meet the set goals in the two national documents highlighted above without placing the agricultural sector in its rightful place.

And strategic institutions like NRDC will help the government actualise its vision of a prosperous Zambia beyond the vision 2030. Do not commercialise NRDC,” he said.

Mr. Mwaipopo said NRDC had played a vital role in contributing to the improvement of the Zambia’s agricultural sector through human resource development as well as research and development.

“NRDC is a very strategic institution for our country. We firmly believe that the college can still do so much more with the right support (institutional, infrastructural and financial),

“The current problems being faced by NRDC are man-made and can only be fixed by a well thought out strategy devoid of ill business motives from private sector players,” he said.

There are currently a growing conversation around the proposed relocation of NRDC to Chief Shakumbila’s Chiefdom in Mumbwa District following what has been termed as an unsolicited proposal by AVIC International to build a brand new university and commercialise the college.