Kaunda to receive business award

JOHANNESBURG – Zambia’s founding leader Kenneth Kaunda is this month to be given a prestigious business award for his contribution to private sector growth in the region, a southern African business group said on Monday.

“Kaunda is being honoured for his valued and outstanding contribution in the creation of a suitable environment for economic growth, private sector development and investor confidence in the SADC region and the rest of the continent”, the Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCCI) said in the statement. SADC stands for the Southern African Development Community, which groups 14 southern African nations.The award is to be conferred on Kaunda, who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991, during the ASCCI annual conference in Johannesburg on August 18-20, at which South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected to deliver a speech.Kaunda, 83, will become the second African head of state, former or current, to receive the prestigious award from the business association after ex-South African President Nelson Mandela last year.The ASCCI facilitates trade and investment in the region by working closely with relevant business organisations, governments and agencies, Sipho Mseleku, the chief executive of ASCCI said.More than 1 000 delegates as well as ASCCI affiliates in Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland and Zambia are expected to attend the meeting.Nampa-AFPSADC stands for the Southern African Development Community, which groups 14 southern African nations.The award is to be conferred on Kaunda, who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991, during the ASCCI annual conference in Johannesburg on August 18-20, at which South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected to deliver a speech.Kaunda, 83, will become the second African head of state, former or current, to receive the prestigious award from the business association after ex-South African President Nelson Mandela last year.The ASCCI facilitates trade and investment in the region by working closely with relevant business organisations, governments and agencies, Sipho Mseleku, the chief executive of ASCCI said.More than 1 000 delegates as well as ASCCI affiliates in Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland and Zambia are expected to attend the meeting.Nampa-AFP