By Mubanga Mubanga
Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu said police roadblocks have returned due to security reasons.
And Mwiimbu has announced 53 more countries, making it 167 altogether, whose nationalities will not require visas when travelling to Zambia.
Speaking during the press briefing in Lusaka, Mwiimbu said the traffic police was told to remove roadblocks, something he said they complied with, but of late the roadblocks have come back due to security reasons.
“Those roadblocks have been set up for security reasons, and will be in the process of removing a number of them as we enter festival season,” Mwiimbu said.
But Mwiimbu did not explain the nature of the security reasons he alluded to, which necessitated the frequent roadblocks.
Mwiimbu, however, urged the public not to allow the traffic police officers to harass them for no apparent reasons.
“Just want to mention here, please as we interact with Zambia police service, we must also bear in mind certain rules and regulations that are applicable. If you have not offended any law you should not allow yourself to be harassed by any traffic officer,” Mwiimbu said.
Meanwhile, Mwiimbu revealed that Zambia has scrapped off Visa requirements for 53 countries. He stressed that the move was taken by the Zambian government in order to unlock economic opportunities through tourism trade.
“This latest Visa weaver brings the total number of countries whose nations are exempted from visa requirements to 167. As emphasised in Zambia’s migration policy, well managed migration policy is critical for economic development , and other national requirements,”Mwiimbu said.
Mwiimbu said his Ministry and that of Tourism had done a through stakeholder consultations before arriving at the decision to waive visa requirements
The 53 countries whose Visa requirements have been weavered are Morocco, Panama, Israel, Guyana, Vatican City State, Switzerland, Turkey, Comoros, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Liberia, Madagascar, Albania, Christmas Island, Faroe Islands, French Polynesia, Greenland, Guam, Guatemala, Iceland, Loas, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands Antilles,New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, San Marino, Sandwich Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, South Georgia, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen islands , Ukraine, Virgin islands, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Aruba, Andorra, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bhutan, Brunel Darussalam, Cape Verde, CoCos (keeling) Islands, Faroe Islands.
