Patson Phiri
17 May 2011
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has assured that his Government will seek to meet all parameters for the conduct of peaceful and secure presidential and general elections this year and urged foreign tourists not to shy away from visiting the country in fear of hostilities.
Mr Banda said Zambia had a rich history of peace, having held 10 successful presidential and general elections since independence in 1964 despite firm disagreements involving political leaders.
Speaking when he officially opened the 5th conference forInternational Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IITP) at Hotel InterContinental in Lusaka yesterday, President Banda said political leaders faced differences, while voters on the ground remained friendly and peace-loving.
The conference, that closes on Friday, is being attended by more than 300 delegates drawn from various parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, America and Africa under the theme, “Meeting The Challenges of Climate Change to tourism in Africa and the developing world’.
“I cannot pretend that we have not experienced incidents like sporadic riots, but on the whole, history attests that Zambia is absolutely stable.
I, therefore, invite visitors from all-over the world to come and visit our beautiful country. Your safety is guaranteed,” President Banda said.
President Banda said the hosting of the conference by Zambia presented an opportunity to showcase its tourism and investment opportunities.
Urging the delegates to visit some of the tourism spots in the country, Mr Banda said Zambia was host to 19 national parks, 36 game management areas and more than 20 water falls that include the Victoria Falls which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
President Banda, who is patron of the IITP, thanked the delegates for leaving their countries to come to Zambia and share their expertise and experiences to foster peace in the world through tourism.
The president said tourism was crucial for the growth anddiversification of the country’s economy and hailed the United Nations (UN) World Tourism Organisation for partnering with Zambia, IITP and the Asia-Pacific Tourism Association to host the conference.
Noting that Zambia was hosting the conference for the second time after the one that took place in 2005, President Banda said the gesture showed appreciation for Zambia’s contribution towards peace through tourism.
President Banda said like other countries in Africa, Zambia’s tourism was nature-based and depended on suitable climate and was encouraged that the international community had invested so much in searching for solutions to climate change.
The president said tourism only flourished where peace was prevalent and called for more information flow on the impact of climate change against the opportunities available.
President Banda said his Government took climate change issues very seriously and had formulated policies such as the Natural Adaptation Programme of Action, National Policy on Environment and the Climate Change Response Strategy which was yet to be adopted.
The president said strategies available in Zambia on climate change included reducing emissions, deforestation and desertification (REDD), the pilot programme on climate change resilience and the adaptation project in agriculture.
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