Speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka last evening, Labour Minister, who is also acting chief government spokesperson, Fackson Shamenda says the jobs were created directly and indirectly through effectively implementation of policies, projects, programmes and activities.
Mr. Shamenda notes that the 2013 national budget has for the first time put job creation at the centre of the country’s agenda by explicitly targeting the creation of two hundred thousand jobs in 2013.
He say the jobs created were created in different sectors among them the tourism sector which accounted for a large percentage, the services sector, the construction sector, the education sector and the finance and banking sector.
He adds that the tourism sector is one of the sectors that has been targeted for job creation in the country adding that it is gratifying and encouraging to see high figures coming from the tourism sector.
Mr. Shamenda says the figures will drastically shoot up after the united nation world tourism organisation which Zambia is co hosting with Zimbabwe later
this month.
He states that government has invested heavily in ensuring that the country hosts a successful UNWTO conference because of the positive spiral effect and the high potential that the sector has in terms of contribution to job creation.
He further points out that his ministry has been taking stock of the jobs that are being created in the country under the patriotic front government in order to monitor progress towards attainment of the long term macroeconomic objective of creating one million jobs in the country by 2015 in line with the campaign promise made to the people of Zambia.