The Rhoma Foreign Relations Institute states that the future of Zambia’s international relations lies in a professional foreign service and notes that the only thing that keeps the country lagging behind in terms of foreign relations is the actualisation of the Foreign Service Bill.
Institute Executive Director Lengwe Bwalya says the bill has procrastinated for some time now mainly due to lack of political will and strong advocacy among stakeholders since it was drafted in 2015.
The Institute has since appealed to government, the parliamentary committee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation among other stakeholders to seriously consider enacting the Foreign Service Bill into law.
Mr. Lengwe states that this will go a long way in maximising Zambia’s gains in its participation in the international system, noting that the country remains among the few nations in the region and the world at large whose foreign service appointments are still largely inclined to political patronage, a case since independence, and without any Foreign Service Act to provide Foreign Affairs guidelines.
