Machel urges women to form networks

Founder of `New Faces, New Voices’ Graca Machel, says women should form strong networks to enable them influence change among policy makers.

Addressing the 3rd African Women’s Economic Empowerment Summit in Lusaka yesterday, Ms Machel noted that there were fragmented women’s organisations championing women issues which has resulted in women failing to speak with one voice.
Ms Machel said it was time women worked together because they can positively improve the quality of life in society when they have access to the right knowledge and support.
And Ms Machel said financial institutions need to scale up assistance to women so that they can make better contribution to development.
And Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda said that the marginalisation of women in any economy results in unsustainable development and failed social justice.
Mr Chikwanda said this yesterday during the official opening of the 3rd African Women’s Economic Empowerment Summit under the theme “African Women, Realising Africa’s Economic Potential” at Lusaka’s Mulungushi Conference Centre.
“There is need for us to empower our women by ensuring that we achieve more equality, more opportunities, more sustainable access to finance and resources and more gender balanced policies. Women are the drivers of economies at household level,” the Minister said.
Mr Chikwanda also observed that the theme of the conference, which closes today, is indicative of the cardinal step that the continent and the global community have taken towards realising the pivotal role women play in Africa’s emancipation agenda.
The international conference which is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Gender and Child Development started on Thursday.
Mr Chikwanda also commended Ms Machel for being courageous and demonstrating what women can achieve even when men doubted their ability.
He said “Ms Machel took the courage to walk into the biggest Pan African bank, the African Development, which accorded her attention on behalf of African women. We give her honour today for being an ardent pioneer for African women”.
Earlier Minister of Gender and Child Development Inonge Wina emphasized the need for women to be financially sound for them to move from being small and medium entrepreneurs to having big businesses.
Ms Wina is confident that women have the capacity to move the African economy forward if financial capital is made available to them.
And African Development Bank president Donald Kaberuka said the African continent needs a financial industry that is not financially greedy if women are to contribute to development.

Lack of financial framework affects women’s progress’

ZANACO chief executive officer Bruce Dick says lack of a policy framework in financial institutions has contributed to failure to advance women formal financial inclusion.

Mr Dick said the lack of a policy framework on women financial inclusion is forcing financial institutions to operate from the policy of equal access between men and women.
He also said lack of collateral is a challenge among women which has continued to prevent many from accessing finances.
Mr Dick was speaking during the plenary session at the African Women Economic Summit (AWES) which closed yesterday.
“As a bank we have ensured we train women on financial literacy for them to have that financial, education and business acumen,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Bank of Zambia deputy governor Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula said there is need to have interventions to ensure women financial inclusions.
Dr Mabula said financial institutions need to formulate policy on collateral as it has continued disadvantaging many women.
“From the participatory analysis we did, we discovered that women borrow for a greater need than men,” she said.
And National Bank of Rwanda vice governor Monique Nsanzagwana said advancing women financial inclusion requires political will.
Ms Nsanzagwana said that women financial inclusion has improved in her country due to a number of strategies her Government has put in place.
“We came up with strategies such as mobile banking, financial training, and a gender monitoring policy which have yielded greater results,” she said.

Help women get loans - Wina

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA
MINISTER of Gender and Child Development Inonge Wina has called on Bank of Zambia (BoZ) governor Michael Gondwe to impress upon financial institutions to make loans accessible to women for economic empowerment.

And International Labour Organisation (ILO) regional director for Africa Aeneas Chuma is concerned that lack of collateral is still the biggest reason why financial institutions do not lend to women entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the first ever National Women Economic Empowerment Summit Jubilee Expo in Lusaka yesterday, Ms Wina said financial institutions should create an enabling environment and formulate policies that will make loans accessible to women entrepreneurs.
The jubilee expo, which has attracted over 400 participants from across the country, is being held under the theme: Women as change agents for national development and prosperity.
“Empowering women with finances makes them assertive and brings about value addition to every trade they operate in,” Ms Wina said.
She also directed Lusaka City Council (LCC) to provide trading space to businesswomen.
“Currently, we are working with the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs to ensure that women acquire land, especially those in the rural areas,” Ms Wina said.
And Mr Chuma is confident that increasing women farmers’ productivity can substantially raise food production and reduce food insecurity.
“This is the main reason why ILO and other partners have mounted the cassava value chain exhibition here today.
“We are showing how a simple plant grown in most parts of Zambia can contribute to the economic empowerment of women through value chain addition,” he said.
And Dr Gondwe pledged to implement a number of activities to accelerate the realisation of women’s full economic potential by increasing opportunities to access critical financial investment.
Dr Gondwe said the central bank and key line ministries will reach out to decision-makers in the financial sector to open up opportunities for women which are critical to inclusive development.
Meanwhile, UN resident coordinator in Zambia Janet Rogan challenged Government to conduct a survey on the difference that grants have made in the lives of women entrepreneurs.
“For a very long time now, women have been given hand-outs in form of small grants but the question is how much difference have the small grants programmes made overall,” she said.

Chama records improved maternal health

DEPUTY Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya is happy that Chama has recorded a reduction in maternal deaths due to first-class antenatal services being provided by Government at Chama District Hospital.

“I must commend the staff here for the great work they are doing and I am particularly happy because they are also following the 3Cs model of care, cleanliness and competence,” Dr Chilufya said.
He said this when he toured Chama District Hospital on Monday.
Dr Chilufya, however, said the maternity ward at Chama District Hospital should be expanded to accommodate more mothers.
Chama District Hospital medical officer Anthony Kamanzi said the construction of a maternity wing has helped to reduce maternal deaths in the area.
“We used to record 20 maternal deaths in a year but now we record less than 10 and most of those happen because some come in late,” Dr Kamanzi said.
And Patriotic Front (PF) Chama district Women’s League chairperson Esther Ng’uni appealed to Government to allocate funds to improve the maternity ward at Chama District Hospital to cater for the increasing population.
“We adopted this ward, which we clean every month, and not only do we clean but also lobby our members of Parliament who buy bathing basins for new babies,” she said.
And the construction of new Chama District Hospital at a cost of K20 million is almost complete.
Dr Chilufya said Chama District Hospital is expected to be completed before September and it will be a Golden Jubilee independence anniversary gift to the residents.
“The catchment population of Chama district is 135,000 and the building of the new hospital will decongest old Chama District Hospital,” Dr Chilufya said.

Kampyongo wants revision of Termination of Preganancy Act

SHIWANG’ANDU member of Parliament Stephen Kampyongo (left) and his Bweengwa counterpart Highvie Hamududu listen to Chileshe Mwansa, a volunteer at Youth Friendly Corner at Chelstone Clinic elaborating on unsafe abortions among youths. This was during a youth-policy maker dialogue held in Lusaka recently - Picture by SITEMBILE SIWAWA.


By SITEMBILE SIWAWA and DOREEN NAWA
HOME Affairs deputy minister Stephen Kampyongo has called for the revision of the Termination of Pregnancy Act No. 26 of 1972.
Mr Kampyongo who is also Shiwang’andu member of Parliament (MP) and a member of the Zambia All Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (ZAPPD) said the Act is a challenge in rural areas including his constituency.

“In rural areas where clinics are far away and may not even have three medical practitioners, this is an impossible requirement to comply with. This has serious implications for access to safe abortion, especially if the untrained personnel have negative attitudes towards abortion,” Mr Kampyongo said.
The deputy minister said in rural areas, most health centres have serious staff and equipment shortages and are unable to provide a basic package of primary healthcare services or provide 24 hours coverage.
Mr Kampyongo was speaking during the Youth-Policy Maker Dialogue meeting organised by IPAS Zambia recently.
The TOP Act requires that three medical practitioners must authorise an abortion and that one of the medical practitioners must be a specialist in the branch of medicine in the event that the pregnant patient may need to be examined in mental or physical health.
Earlier ZAPPD chairperson Highvie Hamududu, called for the introduction of contraceptives among the adolescents to prevent unintended pregnancies.
Mr Hamududu said denying adolescents contraceptives has an adverse impact on national development.
“We cannot hide the reality about adolescents getting involved in sexual activities and the best we can do now is to introduce preventive measures. Time is now so that we prevent future disaster where girls do not complete school because of early pregnancies,” Mr Hamududu.
Mr Hamududu who is also Bweengwa MP said a strong foundation of any nation is dependant of its youthful population.
And Mazabuka Central MP Gary Nkombo said youths have been left with fewer options to prevent pregnancies which has resulted in many of them seeking unconventional methods of aborting.
Mr Nkombo said there was need to come up with long lasting preventive measures to avoid unsafe abortions among adolescents.
ZAPPD consists of parliamentarians aimed at providing a forum for discussion by MPs and interested organisations on population, development and reproductive health rights and issues.