Ignore critics to forge ahead, Togo tells Lungu

Wed, 10 May 2017 10:50:42 +0000

By OSCAR MALIPENGA

IGNORE critics of progress and concentrate on building the nation into an industrial hub so as to increase trade and integration within Africa, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe has told President Edgar Lungu.

And President Gnassingbe has said West Africa has huge deposits of iron ore which Kafue Steel can put to use.

He said this yesterday shortly after touring Kafue Steel, a company owned by Universal Mining and Chemical Industries (UMCIL), a subsidiary of Trade Kings Limited.

Mr. Gnassingbe said Zambia was a beacon of hope to the rest of Africa and that despite industrialization not being easy, it could be achieved.

“Zambia is showing us that nothing will be easy for Africa especially in the heat of competition from countries like China but Zambia is also showing us that nothing is impossible,” President Gnassingbe said.

Mr. Gnassingbe said President Lungu’s vision for industrialization was a seed that would benefit future generations by making Zambia a prosperous nation that would compete favourably in the continent.

President Gnassingbe says the path of industrialization that President Lungu had taken was however not an easy one but worthwhile as it was the only alternative to job and wealth
creation.

“I am proud that Zambia has opted for a difficult path of
industrialization but an important avenue for a prosperous Zambia and Africa. I pay homage to my brother Edgar Lungu for his visionary leadership,” President Gnassingbe said.

He said the creation of employment remained the number one issue for many African countries and there was therefore need to look beyond the traditional sectors that created jobs.

“Agriculture employs a lot of people in Africa but it cannot cater for everyone and cannot sustain most countries’ Gross Domestic Product. It is thus important to look to other avenues like the steel industry for job creation,” he said.

And Minister of Commerce and Industry Margaret Mwanakatwe, who led Mr Gnassingbe on the tour of the steel plant, said Kafue town had been envisaged to become a hub of excellence in research and development of engineering, both in Zambia and beyond.

Mrs Mwanakatwe said that Government had taken a deliberate approach of encouraging industrialization as a way of job creation.

“This Government is determined to change the face of Zambia by taking industrialization as a key driver of development and such investments are what we are encouraging,” she said.

And UMCIL executive technical director Julius Kaoma explained that the company is a home-grown investment with 1,000 employees.

Dr Kaoma said 75 percent of the company’s products are sold locally but it also exports to eight countries including Burundi, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania and there are prospects of getting into the Angolan and Namibian markets.