Union leaders urge for active participation in HIPC/PRSP monitoring

The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has urged Government to re-instate the civil society Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) monitoring teams and establish a legal framework to facilitate their operations.
ZCTU and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions-African Office had announced that in resolutions passed at a joint workshop on the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and PRSP. the two unions recommended that there was need to intensify capacity building programmes in the budget analysis, budget tracking and poverty monitoring. They also recommended that there should be institutional capacity building for the ZCTU and its affiliates.
The workshop recommended that the ZCTU should participate and have representation on NEPAD fora including the Government's NEPAD committee. "The success in the performance of PRSP measures must be measured by the contribution to employment creation rather than concentration of Gross Domestic Product alone," read part of the resolutions. The two unions urged Government to eradicate all manifestations of corruption, abuse of power and bad governance as a way of ensuring success of the PRSP and NEPAD vision. (The Times of Zambia, Ndola)