.SATA

By CHARITY MOONGA –
NORTH-WESTERN Province has a comparative advantage in agriculture and mining which Government will exploit for increased investments, President Michael Sata has said.
Mr Sata has reaffirmed Government’s determination to accelerate growth and improve the livelihood of the Zambian people, especially those living in rural areas.
He cited North-Western Province as one area where Government was working out modalities to attain sustainable development.
In his Facebook posting yesterday, Mr Sata said the province had a comparative advantage in agriculture and mining and that in this vein, Government would focus on increased investment in infrastructure development.
“Today I wish to share with you some of our Government’s strategies for attaining sustainable development and improve the livelihoods of our people in North-Western Province.
“As you may be aware, North-Western Province has a comparative advantage in agriculture and mining,” he said.
He said among other areas Government would focus on in the province was the construction and rehabilitation of feeder roads and bridges.
The Government would also rehabilitate and establish agricultural infrastructure and facilitate development of agricultural resettlement schemes, besides promoting the development of farm blocs.
Mr Sata said Government would further rehabilitate and establish tourism support infrastructure and construct and rehabilitate water and sanitation infrastructure.
The Government would also identify potential sites for dam construction in North-Western Province.
It would construct the Chanda Falls mini-hydro power station in Chavuma and promote value addition in the province through the development of a multi-facility economic zone.
“Our Government also intends to develop the Chingola to Jimbe railway line in the North-Western Province which will connect the country to Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.
He said once opened, the Jimbe railway line had the potential to become a viable export route for various commodities because of the immense trade potential from the two countries.