Lusaka – Friday, 20 December 2024 — The Public-Private Dialogue Forum (PPDF) has echoed President Hakainde Hichilema’s call for broader engagement between the public and private sectors following the hosting of the 3rd Private Sector Day (PSD) last Thursday in Lusaka. The landmark event, chaired by the Republican President of Zambia, brought together over 1,000 stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society, and cooperating partners, whose main business was to showcase the progress that the public and private sectors have achieved in implementing reforms in various sectors and as facilitated through the PPDF dialogue meetings.
Speaking to the theme “Embracing Sustainability: Unlocking Economic Opportunities in the Face of Climate Change and Drought.” President Hichilema emphasized the importance of leveraging the PPDF platform to address Zambia’s pressing challenges, including mitigating the adverse effects of climate change, combating energy and food insecurity, and creating opportunities for the Gen Z population through targeted training and skills development. He called for clear sectoral targets and stronger partnerships across energy, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, education, and health to ensure accountability and measurable impact on the livelihoods of the people of Zambia the economy in general.
The PPDF further calls upon the private sector to present its submissions on impediments in their sectors from district to national level so as to strengthen decision making and implementation, adding that the President also urged Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Cooperating Partners to work closely with the PPDF in facilitating dialogue at sub-national levels.
As the PPDF looks to the future, the Forum invites all stakeholders to actively engage by registering their CEOs or Executive Representatives in its database. This initiative aims to foster information sharing, knowledge exchange, and ensure participation to pivotal national engagements while following through implementation and monitoring process to drive Zambia’s economic transformation.
Recognizing the importance of local-level engagement, the PPDF calls upon civil society organizations and private sector players to decentralize dialogue by taking discussions to districts. These grassroots engagements are crucial for inclusive decision-making and addressing challenges directly impacting local communities.
The PPDF is also seeking to collaborate with industries and corporations interested in employing Gen Alpha and Gen Z talent. Identifying such industries will strengthen the PPDF’s capacity to bring together public and private sectors to form a dedicated Technical Working Group to address workforce and innovation needs among this cardinal generation that holds Zambia’s future economy.
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, the PPDF invites more partners to support the convening of PPDF Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings. These TWGs play a critical role in shaping sector-specific policies and fostering cohesive strategies that benefit both the public and private sectors by creating a business enabling environment.
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