11 October 2008
ACTING president, Rupiah Banda, has directed Cmmunications and Transport Minister, Dora Siliya, to immediately release funds to expand Mansa airport.
Mr Banda said in order to develop the tourism sector in the province, there was need to expand the airport to allow increased air traffic.
He said Luapula Province had some of the most beautiful waterfalls in Zambia such as Ntumbachushi, Lumangwe and Kabwelume waterfalls which were only second to Victoria falls.
Mr Banda was speaking in Samfya at Lubwe Mission where he officiated at the Kwanga traditional ceremony of the Ng'umbo people.
"I take this opportunity to commend the destination Luapula tour. I call upon investors to invest in tourism and agriculture here," he said.
Mr Banda said such investment would generate employment and significantly help reduce the poverty levels among the people in the area.
The acting president also directed the Energy ministry to urgently find investors to invest in the huge hydro-power generation potential in Luapula Province.
He said the ministry should urgently look into the matter and ensure that they found credible investors by next year.
Mr Banda further said the Government in partnership with the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) would drill 200 boreholes in the province and that this underlined the Government's commitment to providing clean and safe drinking water.
He said on its own, the Government had from January this year drilled 84 boreholes and rehabilitated 20 others around the province.
He said the Ng'umbo chiefdom of Samfya district had a lot of potential for agriculture, fishing and tourism and that the Government was mindful of the need for good road network.
Mr Banda said it was for this reason that the Government was rehabilitating roads in the province, among them, the Kashikishi-Luchinda road at the cost of K29.8 billion.
He said the Government was aware that Luena Farm block in Kawambwa had the potential to grow sugar cane after Nakambala Sugar in Mazabuka and would ensure that it was fully developed.
In order to facilitate agriculture development in the province, the Government had partnered with the FinnIsh government to implement the programe for Luapula agriculture and rural development.
He said the K50 billion programe was for fisheries development, agri business development, agriculture sub sector development and the provision of supportive policy, regulatory and institutional development.
He commended Senior Chief Mwewa and other traditional rulers for organising the ceremony, held to commemorate the Ng'umbo's victorious crossing of the Congo river from Kola in the Democratic Republic of Congo( DRC) to the present settlement in Samfya.
And Kwanga traditional ceremony chairman, Luka Katebe, said the ceremony was no partisan and was based on improving people's lives and promoting Zambian heritage.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
