Zambia in Game Management scholarship offers
…..our wildlife can contribute to GDP growth
Budapest, October 2, 2018
Zambia’s Honorary Consul in Hungary Gyula Simko has offered 10 scholarships to Zambian students to pursue studies in Game Management services in order to create jobs and reduce poverty.
Mr. Simko, an influential businessman, says the scholarships could empower young Zambians with skills necessary to manage wildlife, which is one of Zambia’s best gifts of nature as President Edgar Lungu’s administration diversifies the economy.
“Wildlife has the potential to contribute greatly to national development hence the need to understand how to manage it”, Mr. Simko said.
The 58-year-old businessman was speaking Monday evening during dinner aboard the famed Spoon stationary ship restaurant on the landmark Danube River, which he and his wife Francisca hosted for Zambia’s Ambassador to Germany and Hungary H.E Anthony Mukwita and his wife Elaine.
The Zambian envoy is in Budapest, the Hungarian capital to present credentials to the Head of State H.E Janos Ader, as Hungary is one of the six countries he is accredited to on a non-residential basis. Mr. Mukwita is based in Berlin, the German capital.
Mr. Simko, who has professionally hunted in Zambia on several occasions, told the Zambian envoy that investment in knowledge related to game management is one key to making the sector a ‘money spinner.’
“Managed properly, wildlife can provide jobs, raise revenue for the country and sustain livelihoods”, said Mr. Simko.
Commenting on the offer, Mr. Simko’s business partner and prominent Hungarian Lawyer, Dr. Zolan Vincze said, “hunters are actually conservationists or environmental and animal protectors because they understand what benefits game has in store for a country if it is properly managed”.
Ambassador Mukwita expressed gratitude and undertook to take the necessary administrative measures to operationalize the scholarships through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lusaka.
“President Edgar Lungu has prioritized the tourism industry in its entirety because of the multiple benefits it has to offer the country”, ambassador Mukwita said, adding, “Your initiative resonates very well with the President’s aspirations. He has demonstrated the understanding that Zambia’s wildlife is God’s gift to the country if managed well and sustainably. It has its own economic benefits”.
Mr. Simko and Dr. Vincze identified peace and stability as major reasons for investing in Zambia. The two business partners plan further major investment projects in Zambia in the near future due to the great environment the country offers under the Lungu administration..