By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
THE African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) says there is need for the continent to improve in areas of waste management.
The AAPAM delegation from Kenya led by Ronald Jumbe said waste management was cardinal because the environment in economic zones on the continent was being negatively impacted.
Mr Jumbe said this during a conducted tour of the Lusaka South Multi Facility Economic Zone (LS-MFEZ) in Lusaka on Thursday by 45 public administrators and managers.
He said the LS-MFEZ plan was a good initiative which would bring in foreign exchange for the country as it was not only meant for local but export market as a whole.
Mr Jumbe said the Kenyan delegation was eager to learn how Zambia had implemented the economic zone.
He said Kenya had huge industrial Export Processing Zones (EPZ) that utilise local raw materials, in terms of labour and human resource to manufacture products for both local and export markets in the region.
“Countries in this region need to improve in the area of waste management. This is because the environment in economic zones in most countries around the region is being impacted negatively,” he said.
Mr Jumbe said another experience his team learnt was that local people were involved in the LS-MFEZ process which was a different concept in Kenya.
He urged LS-MFEZ management to continue upholding the involvement of local people.
Zambia, a member of international bodies and signatory to a number of international treaties, hosted the 37th AAPAM Roundtable meeting, where more than 500 delegates assembled in Lusaka to tackle and seek solutions to issues of public administration at continental level.
The annual conference was held at Mulungushi international Centre (MICC), from February 29 to March 4 under the theme, “Transforming Public Administration and Management (PAM) in order to contribute towards the Agenda 2063 within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.”