QUICKEN ECOSOCC SECRETARIAT PROCESS-VP
By Sharon Kunda-Vice President Inonge Wina has urged the African Union -AU- Commission to hasten the completion of the recruitment process for Economic Social and Cultural Council -ECOSOCC- Secretariat which has moved from Addis Abba, Ethiopia to Lusaka.
Mrs. Wina says a lot of work awaits the new members of the Secretariat in steering the Organ into a more concise and effective mechanism of operation.
The Vice President says it is an honor that Zambia is now host of a key organ of the AU and that Government looks forward to the establishment of the Interim Secretariat by the end of the second quarter of 2019.
Mrs. Wina has pledged Government’s commitment to continue providing a peaceful, stable and enabling environment conducive for the establishment of a critical AU institution.
She said this at the official opening of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the 3rd Permanent General Assembly of ECOSOCC in Lusaka today.
Mrs. Wina expressed confidence that once the Secretariat is fully established in Lusaka, it will result in strong partnerships between Government and all segments of civil society.
And ECOSOCC presiding officer Abozer Almana called on all AU commission member states to champion development in Africa and work in collaboration with Government.
Mr. Almana said the notion that civil society organisations work against government should come to an end.
Meanwhile, a representative of the AU Commission Chairperson Ahmed El-Madani has thanked the Zambian Government for work done in preparing for the setting up of the ECOSOCC Secretariat in Lusaka.
Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Malanji later officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the location of the ECOSOCC Secretariat in Lusaka.