Zambia marks 52nd independence anniversary

Zambia commemorated on Monday its 52nd anniversary of independence.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who was guest of honor at the ceremony, said the only way Africa will survive in the current global environment was for the promotion of the spirit of pan Africanism.

He said many of the problems affecting Africa were due to a failure of identity, security and prosperity, adding that many people have mishandled the issue of identity to the detriment of the continent.

"This has caused a lot of suffering and stagnation in Africa. Identity is very important and when we talk about identity we should not forget about prosperity," he said.

Africa, he said, needs to increase production in order to tackle various challenges facing the continent such as youth unemployment and hunger and called for the promotion of value addition to raw materials.

According to him, it was unacceptable that Africa was still exporting raw materials, adding that it was time investors were told to start adding value to raw materials within the continent in order to create job opportunities.

The ceremony started with the two leaders leading other dignitaries in laying wreath at the Freedom Statue in honor of people who died while fighting for the country's independence.

The two leaders later moved to State House where they were joined by other dignitaries in celebrating the event.

On his part, Zambian President Edgar Lungu thanked his Ugandan counterpart for accepting to grace the celebrations, saying it was a symbol of growing bilateral ties between the two countries.

He said the two countries will work to further deepen the ties through the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC).

The theme for this year's independence is "Consolidating Our Independence and National Unity for a Smart Zambia." Endit