Zambia

Zambia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China on Monday to establish the southern African nation’s first cholera vaccine manufacturing plant. The project’s first phase will cost $37 million, with about three million doses expected to be produced through a joint venture between Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Jijia International Medical Technology Corporation. Speaking during the signing ceremony for the agreement at State House in the capital Lusaka, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said the development was a key step in the country’s quest to eradicate the disease, which took away productivity as a result of affecting citizens. “We are also sending a signal that Zambia, Africa and the globe are able to work together. Zambia must be looked at as a center, as a location to manufacture for a bigger market. And if you look at the population of Africa, it is growing very rapidly,” Hichilema was quoted as saying on state television. Hichilema said he expected the project to be commercially viable, adding there was no room for bureaucracy in its implementation, as it was lifesaving. He added that ahead of the manufacturing, China would donate about three million doses of the cholera vaccine. Cholera is perennial in the southern African nation, especially during the rainy season, and while curable, it also claims lives.

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema said Friday his government has in place a response plan, with the provision of humanitarian assistance, for Zambians hard-hit by drought from erratic rains in the previous season. In a State of the Nation Address at the opening of the fourth session of the 13th National Assembly in Lusaka, Hichilema said the government was implementing recovery and resilience interventions to mitigate the effects of climate change, after drought wiped out more than 1 million hectares of crops, affecting nearly 10 million people and 6.6 million in need of direct relief in 84 of the country’s 116 districts. Having declared that the El Nino phenomenon introduced a national disaster and emergency in February, Hichilema applauded Zambians for their resilience and patience as well as local and international partners for humanitarian support. Hichilema said his administration was committed to upholding the rule of law, respecting human rights and the Constitution, as well as the core of good governance. His administration was determined to eradicate all forms of corruption, remaining committed to a zero-tolerance policy against the vice, he said. Hichilema said all cases of corruption were being thoroughly investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law, with assorted properties worth more than 100 million Zambian Kwachas ($3.8 million) and cash amounting to $30.8 million and 56.6 million Kwachas forfeited to the state. He said through a foreign policy anchored on the pillars of peace, security and economic diplomacy; Zambia effectively presided over the Southern African Development Community Organ on Politics, Defence (SADC) and Security, fulfilling the bloc’s mandate of promoting regional peace, security and stability: ultimately creating more economic opportunities. This was in addition to successfully leading SADC electoral observer missions to Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Madagascar, Congo DR, Lesotho and South Africa. Hichilema also highlighted growth prospects in agriculture, mining, tourism, energy, manufacturing and technology, among other sectors.

It has been reported that nine people died in a quarry collapse in Zambia. Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga stated that the collapse occurred at an informal quarry in Chongwe, about 50 kilometers east of the capital Lusaka. Hamoonga confirmed that nine people were killed in the collapse, with one person injured and rescued. An investigation into the incident has been launched. In December 2023, a collapse at an open copper mine in northern Zambia resulted in the deaths of approximately 30 miners.