Top news items in major Zambia media outlets

The following are news highlights in Zambia's major media outlets on Wednesday.

-- Zambia has signed a 40-million-Euro loan agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) for power generation projects.

It is part of the 68.5-million-Euro loans and grants to be co-finance by German Development Bank and the European Union (EU).

Minister of Finance Felix Mutati said the country was on the move in terms of power generation and has so far attracted a lot of investment appetite among investors in the energy sector. (Zambia Daily Mail)

-- Thieves have broken into a main hospital in the provincial town of northwestern Zambia and stolen drugs meant for people with HIV/AIDS, the police have said.

The drugs have in the recent past been on high demand and apart from their medicinal value, they are allegedly being used as a catalyst in the brewing of spirits, including whisky. (Times of Zambia)

-- The Zambian government has not yet formally written to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to request for a program and the Fund will therefore not take any action, an IMF official has said.

The IMF and the government have held talks on a possible financing program, with further talks expected in February next year. (Daily Nation)

-- Zambian President Edgar Lungu has come under attack over his comments that the country does not need to build more power plants as it could import electricity from countries in the region such as South Africa.

Charles Milupi, an electrical engineer and leader of the opposition Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD), said Zambia had the potential to become a major exporter of clean energy and that it needs to exploit its potential instead of thinking of importing power. (The Mast) Endit