Africa-Press – Zambia. The government has said that the benefits from the removal of fuel subsidies will soon start to accrue to many critical social sectors such as education once savings from subsidies begin to be channeled there.
Education Minister Douglas Siakalima has said that the removal of subsidies is meant to enhance service delivery in sectors such as education that have been receiving inadequate funding in the past.
Mr. Siakalima said that it is the intention of the government to increase funding to the social sector but this can only be done when the country has marshaled enough domestic resources.
He has also called for patience from Zambians saying the government is determined to turn around economic fortunes and will ensure that it does so. The minister said this when he paid a courtesy call on Central province Deputy Permanent Secretary Godfrey Chitambala in Kabwe.
Mr. Siakalima also called on the provincial administration to sensitize people on the long-term benefits of some the measures which the government has embarked on.
Mr. Chitambala assured Mr. Siakalima that the provincial administration has already embarked on a public sensitization campaign of the government’s development programs.
And Mr. Siakalima has reiterated that 30, 000 new teachers will be in the classrooms next year in order to address the teacher deficit. Mr. Siakalima said that despite doubts from a section of society, the government remains committed to recruiting the new teachers.
He disclosed that currently there is a deficit of 45, 000 teachers, a situation his ministry is committed to addressing. Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Central Province Minister, Credo Manjuwa, Mr. Siakalima said education is the seed for the growth of the nation.
And Mr. Siakalima has called on Zambians to emulate the head of state in his endeavours to unite the country. Parliamentary presiding officers led by new Speaker Hon. Nelly Muti, First Deputy, Attractor Malungo Chisangano and Second Deputy Speaker, Moses Frank Moyo pose for a picture with President Hakainde Hichilema and Vice President, Mutale Nalumango at State House.
Meanwhile, the First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Malungu Chisangano has said that there is need for Parliamentarians to advocate and support a comprehensive framework for domestic resource mobilization.
Ms. Chisangano said that MPs remain relevant in ensuring robust legislation to safeguard public resources. Ms. Chisangano was speaking when she opened a workshop for Members of Parliament on the Budget Tool Kit organised by the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research -ZIPAR- in Lusaka today.
Ms. Chisangano commended ZIPAR for the initiative to develop a tool kit for MPs. She said the initiative will capacitate the MPs and enhance the oversight role of parliament in budget scrutiny and interpretation of the budget analysis.
Meanwhile, ZIPAR Executive Director Herrick Mpuku said the workshop is aimed at enhancing knowledge and practicalities of the national budget formulation and management using a specialized designed tool kit.
And UNDP Resident Representative Lionel Laurens said evidence has shown that public expenditure allocations to health, education, social protection, and other crucial social sectors help countries ensure that human development is at the center of their budgeting process. He said this in a speech read on his behalf by representative Domingos Mazivila.
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
