By ANDREW PHIRI –

ZAMBEZI Sawmills in Mulobezi has secured US$20 million from a South African bank to revamp the timber industry in the area.
Zambezi Sawmills director Elvis Malumo said the funds would go towards improving operations and increasing production on the once defunct only industry in the area.
He said this in an interview in Mulobezi.
Mr Malumo said the company had in the past experienced numerous challenges ranging from ownership to resources for the industry to operate effectively.
Mr Malumo said the company had great potential to contribute positively to the country’s economic development and was hopeful that people’s lives in the area would improve.
He said Mulobezi Sawmills had currently a workforce of 120 workers and was hopeful that the company would create about 1,500 jobs by 2017.
Mr Malumo said there was need for the Government to work on the Mulobezi Road which is in a bad state to ease the transportation of timber and other products in the area.
Residents in the area are happy that the timber industry in Mulobezi is being revamped.
Mwangala Muchana, a local business person, said the revamping of Mulobezi Sawmills would boost economic activities.
Mr Muchana said currently, doing business in Mulobezi was slow because the flow of cash in the area was slow due to few economic activities.
“We have a lot of stock in our shops but business is slow because there is little money exchanging hands because there isn’t much economic activity other than the sale of animals and a few agricultural products,” Mr Muchana said.
He appealed to Zambezi Sawmills management to engage more local people once fully operational and further appealed for decent wages for those who would be employed.