From PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE  in New York –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has held private talks with Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma focusing mainly on gender and governance issues.

. Sharma

Mr Sharma and his delegation also discussed with President Lungu the kind of partnership that Commonwealth countries can foster with Zambia.
The talks were held at New York Palace Hotel where Gender Minister Nkandu Luo was also in attendance.
Mr Sharma informed the President that his office was interested in issues of women, youths and governance.
Mr Sharma said the Commonwealth had engaged political parties in Zambia on election issues, especially that the country was headed for general elections next year.
Mr Lungu advised that the suitable time to engage various political party leaders was during the election year.
He informed Mr Sharma that the Electoral Commission of Zambia which was seen as a referee was at the centre of trying to stop political parties from doing wrong things but there was no harm for the Commonwealth to play its part.
The President said Zambia was in a hurry to receive the necessary support from cooperating partners to ensure this benefited the country.
Mr Lungu said it was important that the country harnessed every support that could be reached to enhance gender equality.
He said that Zambia had come to the reality that there was need for 100 per cent participation of the rural populous in issues of social development, failure to which poverty levels would continue to remain high.