Lungu names Public Private Partnership Council members

President Edgar Lungu has appointed members of the Public Private Partnership Council (PPPC) to be chaired by Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda.

The appointment is in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Public Private Partnership Act No.14 of 2009 which designates the office of the Minister of Finance as Chairperson of the Council.

The President has since directed Mr. Chikwanda to ensure that the Public Private Partnership is operational.

The Head of State has also appointed Works and Supply Minister Yamfwa as Vice-Chairperson.

Others appointed as Members of the Council include Commerce Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe,Energy Minister Dora Siliya, Local Government and Housing Minister Steven Kampyongo, and RDA Chairperson Samuel Mukupa.

Others are former ERB Chief Executive Officer and Energy Expert, Moses Zama, Quality Surveyor and Investment Advisor Fungai Musana, and Structural Engineer Mr. Salvatore Hara.

The President expects the Council to work expeditiously to implement all outstanding PPP projects and not embark on new ones as part of the Government Strategy to reduce expenditure on infrastructure development whilst strengthening private sector participation.

During the Official Opening of the Fifth Session of the Eleventh National Assembly, the President directed that an autonomous body be created to professionally deal with Public Private Partnership matters and that State House, in liaison with Cabinet Office and relevant stakeholders, must spearhead the formation of this body which will eventually be transferred to Cabinet Office.

The President stated that it was not right that well-meaning policies of Public Private Partnerships could be on statute books for years without any tangible project seeing the light of day.

This is contained in a statement issued to QFM News by the President’s special assistant for press and public relations Amos Chanda.