•PRESIDENT Michael Sata receives an affidavit of oath from newly appointed Tourism and Arts Minister Jean Kapata during the swearing in ceremony at State House in Lusaka yesterday. Picture by CLEVER ZULU

By CHARITY MOONGA-
PRESIDENT Michael Sata has maintained that there is no constitutional crisis in Zambia.
Mr Sata has since advised newly appointed Tourism and Arts Minister Jean Kapata and Zambia’s High Commissioner designate to Nigeria Captain Selemani Banda Phangula, to ignore the on-going Constitution debate in the country and concentrate on working hard.
Mr Sata said there had been a lot of talk about the Constitution but said Zambia had a functional Constitution in place and that was why the country was operating well.
“When you were taking oath you said you will uphold and protect the Constitution…that means we have a Constitution in place. There has been some noise about the Constitution so when you go to work, mind your own business and work hard,” he said.
He said the two appointees should instead concentrate on working hard.
“We have a functional Constitution that’s why we are here. Let them yap about the Constitution, you mind your own business,” Mr Sata said.
And speaking after being sworn in, Ms Kapata, who thanked President Sata for the confidence he had shown in appointing her, said she would work at promoting tourism growth in the country.
“As a country we have not really done our best in marketing our tourism hence the reason we want to go flat out to advertise Zambia through our missions abroad and make our tourism potential visible throughout the world,” she said.
She said she would give priority to growing the tourism potential to assist create employment.
Ms Kapata said Tourism was a driving force of any economy and had the capacity to earn Zambia the much needed foreign earnings.
She said she would continue working hard and engage the private sector for the benefit of the country.
And Captain Phangula thanked President Sata for the appointment and reaffirmed his determination to enhance Zambia and Nigeria’s bilateral relations.
“We will take advantage of our two countries’ comparative advantage for our mutual benefit,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mufumbwe Member of Parliament Steven Masumba said there was no tribalism in the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and that the tribal balance in the Cabinet was evident from the appointment of Ms Kapata.
Speaking in an interview with Journalists at State house where he went to witness the swearing in ceremony of Ms Kapata, Mr Masumba said the chiefs and people of North-Western Province are grateful to President Sata for appointing Ms Kapata.
He further announced that he recently travelled to India where he organised five scholarships for five students in Mufumbwe Constituency.