By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has said the quarterly briefings that are being held with ministers and their technocrats will enhance dialogue between his office and various Government departments.
President Lungu’s Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda said the President was happy that the quarterly briefings would encourage dialogue between him, his ministers and technocrats in various ministries.
Mr Chanda said Mr Lungu was satisfied that the ministers had embraced his vision of the quarterly briefings as could be seen from the high level of preparedness by the briefing teams.

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He said this yesterday after President Lungu met with the Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo, the ministry’s permanent secretaries and heads of the Police, Correctional Services, Immigration, National Registration and Passports and the Registrar of Society.
Mr Lungu also held another briefing with Higher Education Minister Nkandu Luo and officials in the ministry.
On Tuesday, Mr Lungu held a briefing with Local Government and Housing Minister Vincent Mwale and his team.
“The President has raised his concerns and he is satisfied that in between these briefings and the next quarterly briefings, those concerns would be addressed,” Mr Chanda said.
The President will continue meeting with the ministers, but to add to that, he will be having firsthand interactions with the heads of department and their ministers on a quarterly basis.
Officers from Cabinet Office were also part of the meetings to ensure that the presidential directives and assurances were checked by the Executive before they were taken to Parliament.
Earlier, Mr Kampyongo said he briefed the President on the progress made in the actualisation of dual citizenship, which is now enshrined in the Constitution.
The minister said by the end of the first quarter, the process would start after the President constituted the Citizenship Board.
Mr Kampyongo said he informed Mr Lungu on the various accommodation and institution infrastructure developments under the ministry’s departments, as well as the challenges officers continued to face such as a shortage of transport in their daily work.
He said the quarterly briefings were unprecedented as that was the first time that they would be done with the ministers and the technocrats.
Professor Luo said she informed the President about the changes in the curriculum in the higher education sector.
Prof Luo said Mr Lungu expressed concern over the lack of skills training, and the ministry outlined their strategies to improve in that area.
The ministerial briefings have taken a break as the President has travelled to North-Western Province for other national duties. The meetings will resume on Tuesday next week.
Soon after his inauguration, President Lungu said he would be having quarterly briefings with his ministers to monitor progress and challenges in the various ministries.