•Mwenye

By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –

SOLICITOR-General Musa Mwenye has said Zambia is seeking to translate economic growth into better living standards for the people.
He said the robust infrastructure development that Zambia had embarked on would lift the living standards of rural communities.
Speaking at the 25th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Mr Mwenye said the living standards of citizens were a human right which the Zambian Government was working towards upholding.
Mr Mwenye said the massive infrastructure development would enable the rural parts of the country to be accessible and avail the natives a possible means to access markets that could uplift them from abject poverty.
He said from Geneva yesterday that this was all being done in the ambit of promoting people’s human rights and enhancing democracy.
He told the president of the Bureau of the Human Rights Council, Baudelaire Ndong Ella that the Zambian economy was currently one of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world.
“Our Government’s challenge has been the translation of these lofty statistics into better living standards for our people whose rights to education, shelter, clean drinking water and food are hampered,” Mr Mwenye said.
He said Zambia encouraged Foreign Direct Investment and continued to be an attractive investment destination.
The solicitor-general said the country had, however, realised that there was an intricate connection between the observance of economic, social and cultural rights, and responsible and ethical investment in the economy by foreign investors.
He said the issues of transfer pricing, tax evasion and environmental degradation were matters that had a direct bearing on the ability of third world countries to observe economic, cultural and social rights.
Mr Mwenye said Zambia had continued to be the epitome of peace and political stability in Africa, and that as the country prepares to commemorate 50 years of independence this year, the citizens had continued to live peacefully despite their tribal, racial and national diversity.
He further said Zambia was one of the few countries in Africa that had had peaceful handovers of political power from one political party to another after general elections.
“This is reinforced by our Constitution which limits the presidential tenure to two terms of five years each,” Mr Mwenye said.
He said the Government was currently engaged in the process of reviewing its Constitution to reflect the aspirations and will of all the people of Zambia.
“Zambia has ratified a large number of human rights conventions but is cognisant of the fact that there are some human rights conventions it has not ratified,” Mr Mwenye said.
He said the Government had continued to strive to ensure that the process of ratification and implementation of international instruments was carried out progressively and in conformity with national development interests.
He, however, said Government faces a number of challenges in ensuring access to justice for all as a large number of citizens were still unable to access justice.
Mr Mwenye said Zambia remains committed to the rights of the children and had intensified efforts to eliminate early marriages.