SPEECH DELIVERED BY HONOURABLE FRANK TAYALI, M.P., MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND LOGSTICS, AT THE OCCASION OF WELCOMING AND REVEALING THE FIRST AIRCRAFT OF THE NEW ZAMBIA AIRWAYS
Dec 01, 2021
THE PERMANENT SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS,
THE BOARD, MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF ZAMBIA AIRWAYS (2014) LTD,
THE BOARD, MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF NATIONAL AIRPORTS CORPORATION,
SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE,
MEDIA PERSONNEL PHYSICALLY AND VIRTUALLY HERE,
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS… LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO OFFICIATE THE WELCOMING AND REVEALING CEREMONY OF THE FIRST AIRCRAFT THAT ZAMBIA AIRWAYS WILL USE TO CONNECT PEOPLE AND GOODS AS THE NEW WINGS OF AFRICA.
ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT IS OBVIOUSLY CRITICAL RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS WHY I’M SO PLEASED TO BE PART OF THIS HISTORICAL MILESTONE IN ZAMBIA’S AVIATION SECTOR.
TO TALK ABOUT OUR PLANS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY TO LISTEN AND CONSIDER ANY NEW IDEAS THAT COULD HELP US HELP YOU.
AS YOU ARE ALL AWARE, GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE WORLD ARE VERY KEEN ON USING PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (PPPS) TO DELIVER INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC SERVICES, IN ORDER TO FIND MORE WAYS TO MEET THE HUGE DEMAND FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICE FINANCING.
THEREFORE, UNDER THE NEW DAWN ADMINISTRATION, WHERE PPPS ARE ENCOURAGED, TO IMPROVE THE WELL-BEING OF ZAMBIANS, MY MINISTRY WELCOMES THE RELAUNCH OF ZAMBIA AIRWAYS THROUGH THE MERGER BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA, THROUGH THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (IDC) AND THE ETHOPIAN AIRLINES GROUP (ET).
IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT AS STRATEGIC EQUITY PARTNERS ON THE NATIONAL AIRLINE PROJECT OF ZAMBIA, IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE NEW ZAMBIA AIRWAYS WILL OPERATE 12 AIRCRAFTS AND CARRY OVER 1.9 MILLION PASSENGERS BY 2028. THEREFORE, WHAT WE ARE WITNESSING HERE TODAY IS PROOF OF THE COMMITMENT TOWARDS TO MAKING THE ZAMBIAN ECONOMY WORK EFFICIENTLY AND COMPETITIVELY TO SUSTAINABLY LIFT THE LIVING STANDARDS OF THE PEOPLE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IN ORDER TO ACCELERATE THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY BY ADVANCING VALUE-ADDITION, INDUSTRIALISATION AND THE INTEGRATION INTO GLOBAL MARKETS, THERE IS A NEED FOR A WELL-DEVELOPED, VARIED AND COMPETITIVE TRANSPORT SYSTEM THAT WILL FORM THE BACKBONE OF THE ECONOMY.
WHEN ZAMBIA AIRWAYS TAKES TO THE SKIES ON 1 DECEMBER, 2021, WE WILL SEE A SPARK OF NATIONAL PRIDE AND STRENGTHENED DOMESTIC AND REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY, WITH THE VIEW OF CONNECTING PRODUCERS WITH MARKETS, SUPPORTING PARTICIPATION IN REGIONAL AND GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS, LOWERING THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS, ENHANCING COMPETITIVENESS, AND IMPROVING PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY.
WE ACCEPT BEING A GOVERNMENT OF A LAND-LOCKED COUNTRY, BUT WE WON’T ACCEPT BEING ‘SKY-LOCKED’, THEREFORE, OUR FULL-SUPPORT IS GUARANTEED TO ZAMBIA AIRWAYS BY ASSURED INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE AVIATION SUB-SECTOR POLICIES AND STRATEGIES, WHICH MODERNISE, INTEGRATE AND COMMERCIALISE THE AIRPORTS AND MAXIMISE THE RETURN INVESTMENT FROM THESE ESTABLISHMENTS.
FURTHERMORE, THIS INVESTMENT REPRESENTS THE GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO DEEPENING AND STRENGTHENING ZAMBIA’S VALUE-CHAIN DEVELOPMENT AGENDA. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AIRLINE WILL SPUR GROWTH IN THE TOURISM SECTOR AND WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT MULTIPLIER EFFECT ON JOB CREATION THROUGH THE DIFFERENT BUSINESSES IN THE AVIATION SUPPLY CHAIN SUCH AS HOTELS, RESTAURANTS, TRAVEL AGENCIES, PUBLISHERS, AND OTHERS.
ADDITIONALLY, ZAMBIA AIRWAYS SIGNIFIES IMPROVED ACCESSIBILITY TO TOURIST ATTRACTIONS FOR TOURISTS AND PROVISION OF INCENTIVES FOR DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN AIRLINES TO ENSURE FULL UTILISATION OF THE AIRPORT FACILITIES AND TRANSFORMATION OF ZAMBIA INTO A REGIONAL TOURIST AND TRANSIT HUB.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THAT THE TOURISM SECTOR CAN SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION AND JOB CREATION, MY MINISTRY LOOKS FORWARD TO THE GROWTH OF ZAMBIA’S NATIONAL AIRLINE THAT WILL ENABLE OUR VAST NATURAL BEAUTY, WILDLIFE AND ATTRACTIONS TO BE VISIBLE FROM THE SKY ON THE NEW WINGS OF AFRICA.
LET ME REITERATE GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO GETTING THINGS DONE RIGHT AND THIS IS WHY WE HAVE CHOSEN TO BE PART OF THE WELCOMING AND UNVEILING OF A ZAMBIA AIRWAYS CARRIER.
IN CLOSING, MY MINISTRY WISHES TO CONGRATULATE THE BOARD, MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF THE NEW ZAMBIA AIRWAYS ON THIS HIGHLY COMMENDABLE ACHIEVEMENT. I ALSO IMPLORE AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE ON THIS OPPORTUNITY OF REDEFINING THE ZAMBIA AIRWAYS LEGACY BY MAKING IT WORK FOR NATIONAL PRIDE AND POSTERITY.
MAKING IT WORK FOR ZAMBIA’S AVIATION SECTOR. MAKING IT WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS MODEL, BECAUSE I KNOW IT DEPENDS ON IT. OUR ECONOMY MOST CERTAINLY DEPENDS ON IT. AND OUR COUNTRY DEPENDS ON IT.
THANK YOU!