Edith Nawakwi Quotes

If you just sit and work hard, you will be here for just five years, but if you misuse this time you will regret for 75 years.

This is like going in a market and buying salaula. They actually went shopping for salaula crude. No one should hound wink the Zambian people and say that the crude oil is faulty, faulty is the word you use on something which is not properly made so for anyone to use the word faulty is actually a confirmation that we bought salaula crude. Faulty products are usually auctioned as seconds.

We are not in the race because I am a woman. I feel that among the candidates standing in Zambia, I think we possess the opportunity to do much better than my colleagues. I think for a long time in Zambia, the voters are saying that it’s an opportune time for a female candidate.

This smacks of the deepest scam were our people have put money in their pockets and left the country to be injured. In another country the Minister of Energy and all involved would have been fired by now that is why am saying that this should be led on the door step of the Minister of Defence (the President). He is aware of what has happened, they are shrouding it in ‘we are investigating’ what is there to investigate? All of us have the reports and we all know what is happening at indeni.

He has no heart. If he has it doesn’t feel the people’s pain. The only heart he has is ‘how much will be in my pocket.

Women make up a huge percentage of the informal sector, particularly in agriculture, which is the world’s largest employer, so their concerns have to be taken into account.

We have a problem with a girl child, you are at an age which very is dangerous. Some of you have graduated into adult hood and a number of you especially my children in grade 8, you are now experiencing adolescence. You need support from your elder sisters. This the age where you can lose yourself. I have seen some girls at the age of 13 become mothers.

We have to explore alternative sources of energy like solar and others to enhance access to energy. Alternative sources are much cheaper than electricity.

Maths is the easiest subject, Science is the easiest subject, if you can fry an egg then you can get 100 percent in maths. There is this myth that maths and science subjects are difficult and therefore should be for boys. No! Any one can be good in these subjects; all you need is to prepare, read and these subjects will be easy for you.

I have a lot to take away from this conference. The experiences are very fulfilling. I am particularly happy that Africa was more united at this conference, and some of the continent’s issues have been taken on board in the outcome document. Rio+20 is about making the world better in the next 20 years, and I believe that is possible.

The second problem is that they will not get enough products even if you were to refine the remaining 115000 metric tons which is not yet processed. We are bound to have shortages and more price hikes of diesel and patrol because they will be taking out more heavy fuel oil than products. They will have huge stocks of heavy fuel oil. Maybe be out of 115000 metric tons even 50,000 metric tonnes will be heavy fuel oil were are they going to store it because most users have migrated from heavy fuel oil to electric fired boilers.

Nothing and no one will stop me now. I believe that Zambia will only be saved by a woman and that Zambia is ready for a woman president. As soon as the men heard I was contesting, they all panicked. I will work and deliver like I delivered when I was minister of finance. The current leadership belongs to the liberation struggle era. We need leadership for the 21st century!

I was minister of finance at a time when Zambia was at its lowest. I remember there was a day when I was required to effect payment for half a million dollars and the government did not have any money. We had to borrow from one of our commercial banks. We were trying to liberalise the economy but we had no income in the country. I was privileged to be one of those who managed to push through the structural adjustment programme.

Zambian women have the same rights as men, and running for political office is not an exception. When I took over as minister of finance people had all sorts of negative questions because I was a woman... I was minister of finance during one of the most difficult phases in the history of our country, but I managed to contain the situation.

We need to step out of our political cocoons and see what others are doing. If I didn’t come here, I would not have known which way the world is going in terms of sustainable development.