TOURISM and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo has expressed displeasure at some statements that Zambia is not prepared for next year's United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly.

Ms Masebo said Zambia was on course with preparations and it was wrong for some sections of society to insinuate that nothing was being done.

She said the Zambian Government had released K40 billion which would be used by different departments to make the hosting of the UNWTO general assembly a success.

The Minister was speaking at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport upon her arrival in Livingstone on Monday.

Ms Masebo is in Livingstone to attend the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) ministers meeting today.

The event would be attended by five ministers of tourism from Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

She would also inspect activities that had been funded by Government in preparations for the UNWTO general assembly.

"There is a wrong perception that we are not working as hard as our friends on the other side in Zimbabwe," she said.

Ms Masebo said the Zambian Government has since released K40 billion to be used by different Government departments in order to make the event a success.

She said the Vice-President Guy Scott's office was overseeing preparations for the UNWTO general assembly.