In this video, President Edgar Lungu says Zambia is safe for business and only saboteurs have something to worry about.

Speaking when he commissioned the construction of a $548 million ZCCM-IH Cement Plant in Masaiti today, the Head of State insisted that he would not tolerate lawlessness.

“I am confident that once this is up and running, it will steer among other benefits; growth in the construction industry, value addition and sustainable job opportunities. This is the Zambia that we want to see, we want jobs and prosperity, not endless politicking which now seems to be deteriorating into lawlessness. That I am afraid I will not tolerate. I swore to protect life and property, this I must say is my primary responsibility as President of the Republic of Zambia and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. We shall not allow lawless individuals to take us backwards, no!” President Lungu exclaimed.

“Zambia is safe for business, Zambia is safe for citizens. The measures that I have taken will only impact against saboteurs and only those can worry. Law abiding citizens who are not involved in the destruction of property should have nothing to fear in the increased power I have given the security services to curb the rising cases of arson and power lines sabotage.”

President Lungu also said contrary to critics, investors still had a lot of confidence in Zambia.

“When investors decide to put down more than half a billion dollars in a single project like this one, that is not where you say Zambia does not have investor confidence. You should be patient first before you start saying things anyhow…this cement plant will further lead to poverty reduction through job opportunities for the local people,” he said.

President Lungu further said he always avoided getting upset because that would put the country on fire.

“Sometimes I get very upset but my job is that I shouldn’t get upset, I should keep smiling because if I get upset, if Zambia gets upset, we can put our country on fire so just listen to them, those who are talking, just listen to them and show them, bear with them. If they are lucky and say something meaningful, pick it and work with it. In short what I am saying is that nga bale bwata bwata, nga fili ifyamano, kunfwa,” President Lungu said.

He said the project would employ about 1,000 people at construction stage.

“I know some sections of society will say why set up a cement plant when there are bigger players in the market already. Indeed, Zambia has in the past seen a number of new entrants on this sector which was previously monopolized by very few players. But now, we have about five players on the market creating thereby the desired competition which has stabilized cement prices in the last few years. Therefore, increased investment in Zambia’s cement industry is key to competition in the market thereby making cement more and more affordable in the market,” said President Lungu.

“This project will take approximately three years to be completed and it is expected to create approximately 1000 jobs at construction stage. It will have a capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes of cement.”

The cement plant is a joint venture between ZCCM-IH and Sinoconst of China.

The plant will also have two 20 Mega Watts Coal fired Thermal Power Plants which will sell excess power to Zesco.

President Edgar Lungu also commissioned a $14 million Copper Cable Plant today.

Take a look (President Lungu speaks at 20″):