United States Ambassador Daniel Foote says his government will soon send a Treasury Management Advisor to the Ministry of Finance on a technical exchange basis.

And Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe says the government is keeping a close-eye on the operational performance of State-Owned-Enterprises.

According to a statement issued by Ministry of Finance Head of Public Relations Chileshe Kandeta yesterday, Foote has reiterated the commitment of the American Government to continue working with Zambia.

“United States Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote has reiterated the commitment of the American Government to continue working with Zambia, emphasizing that, ‘we are available to facilitate engagement with the authorities and the US private sector for the mutual benefit of our bilateral cooperation.’ Ambassador Foote took the opportunity to announce that the US Government would be sending a Treasury Management Adviser to the Ministry of Finance on a technical exchange basis. The US Representative was speaking in Lusaka when he paid a courtesy call on Mwanakatwe. Foote paid tribute to Zambia for maintaining a strong partnership with the USA. He cited the quality and impact of programmes in various sectors such as energy, health, and water development that being jointly implemented by the two governments as fundamental signs of the strength of the relationship. The US representative further said Zambia’s natural endowments were unique and that there was need to boost the competitiveness of tourism industry, ‘in order to tap into people’s disposable incomes, create jobs and earn substantial foreign exchange, especially from developed markets such as the USA.’” Kandeta stated.

And Mwanakatwe said government was keeping a close-eye on the operational performance of State-Owned-Enterprises.

“Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe says the Government is keeping a close-eye on the operational performance of State-Owned-Enterprises. She said transnational measures are gradually being implemented to ensure that the number of state owned enterprises that are paying dividends to the treasury increases once they return to operational efficiency and profitability. And responding to Foote’s request for a brief on economic affairs, Mwanakatwe reaffirmed the Zambian Governments commitment to continuation on the path of economic stabilisation and growth. She also said engagement with the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral and bilateral cooperating partners would be reinforced. Among the other issues discussed during the bilateral meeting was the upcoming visit of Mwanakatwe to the United States of America for the 2018 Spring Meetings of the IMF and The World Bank, debt management, the Millennium Challenge Account Compact [water and sanitation], and wildlife conservation and tourism,” stated Kandeta.