Government ties education to poverty alleviation

Increasing access to education is key to poverty alleviation efforts in Zambia Government says it has highlighted education as one of the key sectors that is critical in poverty alleviation efforts. Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Patrick Nkulukusa says education is a cornerstone of making a nation self reliant and an engine of modernity.

Speaking during a signing ceremony of the education joint financing arrangements between government and its cooperating partners in Lusaka today, Mr. Nkulukusa thanked the cooperating partners for continued support despite financial challenges in their countries. He says the joint Financing Arrangement is intended to provide external support to the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education toward funding of the National Implementation Framework from 2011 to 2015. “The signing of this Joint Financing Arrangement today is a clear demonstration of the confidence and belief, which the likeminded Cooperating Partners in the Education Sector have in the government of the Republic of Zambia to deliver quality education for all,” said Mr. Nkulukusa. This will be in excess of 40-million US Dollars annually. Under this arrangement Zambia’s Ministry of Finance and National Planning will manage finances for the Ministry of Education. And speaking on behalf of the Cooperating Partners Irish Embassy Head of Development Patrick MacManus says the donor community is happy with President Michael Sata's consistency with massages on financial management and performance. He has since pledged the cooperating partners' continued support to government in social and economic development. Other cooperating partners who signed are Japanese Embassy and DfID.