HON. CHILESHE KAPWEPWE, M.P. DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING

HONOURABLE CABINET MINISTERS AND DEPUTY MINISTERS

SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

MR. MIKE GOMA, CHAIRMAN OF THE LOTTERIES BOARD OF ZAMBIA

MY COLLEAGUES MR. G.N. DAMANI AND MR. PRAVIN CHHEDA

DISTINGUISHED INVITED GUESTS

MEMBERS OF THE PRESS

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

It is gratifying that Hon. CHILESHE KAPWEPWE has found the time to be with us here and flag off our maiden venture in Africa. We are grateful to you Mam, for the benevolent gesture.

Millions of years ago, the African continent and India were geographically connected. During the recent years, the old ties are being renewed in various fields of finance, trade and commerce. India also shares the basic political philosophy of “freedom for all”, which is gradually developing in various countries of Africa.

With the Deputy Minister of Finance, blessing our maiden venture, by being present here today, I am sure that we will succeed in a very short time in developing areas of entertainment, pleasure and even profit for the citizens of this glorious country and in this venture we are happy that we are asociated with the Mathani Group of Companies who have already earned a name for their contribution to the development of Zambia. We welcome Dr. Mathani and his colleagues and assure them of our whole hearted co-operation in developing the lottery trade in Zambia. Having set our foot in Zambia, my group of companies is looking forward to spreading their wings wide in the entire continent and I am sure all of you will extend your fullest support to us and we on our part assure all of you that we will do our very best in assisting the development of Zambia and its brother countries in Africa. It goes without saying that we would run these lotteries strictly in accordance with the procedures and provisions prescribed by the Government.

Many of you are aware that Sugal & Damani organization is a multifarious organization engaged in various businesses such as Lottery, Travel Agency, Diamond Jewellery, Real Estate Development etc. The organization is spread out all over the country employing lakhs of people. We are also engaged in serving public cause through a number of Trusts. One of the Trusts namely Empathy Foundation in Mumbai is serving the rural population through the medium of eye camps through which patients are provided spectacles free and are also offered surgery free where necessary; Nearly 150 thousand people have been served through these camps. The Trust is also investing in improving the infrastructure of educational institutions in the State. In addition, one of the Trusts, set up by the Group, is running a few schools at Chennai, offering quality education at modest rates.

A major component of one of our Trusts viz. the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation is the establishment of three Annual Awards namely the Bhagwan Mahaveer Awards for identifying and nurturing individuals and institutions engaged in serving the fellowmen in the fields of propagation of Non-violence, Education & Medicine and Community service. The cash component of these Awards is a sum of Rs. 5 Lakhs (kwacha 50 millions) each; So far, the Foundation has spent more than rupees 16 millions (kwacha 1.6 billion)for these awards.

These and other charitable activities are financed by setting apart a percentage of the organisation’s profit.

Naturally, we will be following the same policy of lending a helping hand to institutions and individuals engaged in serving the public in Zambia as well.

Once again, I extend a hearty welcome to all of you and look forward to years and years of mutual co-operation for the benefit of all the citizens of this glorious country.