By ANTHONY MULOWA  –

in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ZAMBIA will greatly benefit from the US$12 billion that the African Development Bank (AfDB) has apportioned to the energy sector in Africa, Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda has said.
This came to light when President Edgar Lungu met AfDB president, Akinwumi Adesina on the sidelines of the just ended 26th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa on Saturday.
Mr Chanda told journalists after the closed door meeting that $12 billion had been set aside for investment in the energy sector in Africa over a five-year period.
“During the bilateral meeting, the AfDB announced that they are putting huge investments in the energy sector, agriculture and women empowerment, but particularly in the energy sector.
“The bank has a $12 billion initiative for the next five years that is at continental level and a significant amount of that money will come to Zambia because the AfDB president says there is huge potential for hydro, solar and thermal power”, he said.
Mr Chanda said Dr Adesina would be in Zambia next month to discuss with Government the way forward.
He said Dr Adesina would be in Zambia ahead of the AfDB annual meeting in Lusaka from May 23-27, this year.
Mr Chanda said Dr Adesina was in support of the reforms in the energy sector and encouraged President Lungu to proceed and ensure the country had cost reflective electricity tariffs.
“The AfDB president takes note that this is a difficult thing to do, but once that is done, there is a lot of money, which will come in the energy sector. What is inhibiting that is the lack of cost-reflective tariffs,” he said.
Mr Chanda said President Lungu assured Dr Adesina that the process to get to the cost-reflective electricity tariffs would move progressively.
Mr Chanda also disclosed that the AfDB had presented a huge cassava initiative, which could help reduce the cost of food imports for Zambia.
He said Nigeria had reduced food imports from $8 billion to $2 billion as a result of the cassava project, which promoted the blending of cassava with maize meal and wheat.
“The bank is willing to invest a lot of money in the cassava project that will result in a lot of outgrower schemes in cassava,” he said.
Mr Chanda said the AfDB was also excited that Zambia had set up a women’s bank and that the bank had $300 million from which Zambia could benefit.
“The bank is excited that the Zambian women’s bank has been set up, they have announced that a significant amount of $300 million will be made available to the women’s bank under the women empowerment programme,” he said.
The President also met a group of Turkish investors who are willing to invest in the agriculture, real estate and energy sectors.
Mr Chanda said the group called Tuskon also wanted to build two five-star hotels in Lusaka and Livingstone.
Meanwhile, Zambia will field Lucy Mung’omba for the position of executive secretary for the Great Lakes region.
Mr Chanda said the meeting to elect a new executive secretary would take place in Angola this month.
Mr Chanda said the President was hopeful that Zambia’s candidature would go through and that engagements had been made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to lobby for support.