By FRANK CHING’AMBU —
LUFWANYAMA District on the Copperbelt has recorded remarkable development in the past few years.
The expedition to transform Lufwanyama into a modern district began in 1997 when it was declared a district by then Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) administration although little was done in the area of infrastructure development.
As per tradition, public workers were deployed to the new district to oversee Government operations; however, it was not easy for them to carry out national duties as they encountered numerous challenges ranging from lack of accommodation, poor road network and poor communication network coverage among other challenges.
Civil servants and public workers in the district had it hard to find decent accommodation in the area such that they resorted to commuting to and from the neighbouring district, Kalulushi.
Inadequate office space also made it difficult for Government workers to execute their duties smoothly, worse still; those commuting could not reach in the area in time due to the bad state of the road.
The poor road network never just made it hard for civil servants working in the district but traders and other individuals from nearby districts such as Ndola, Kitwe and Chingola who were shunning the area due to the poor state of the road connecting Lufwanyama to other towns of Copperbelt and North Western provinces.
The area remained under developed because of the poor state of Kalengwa Road which normally took motorists more than three hours instead of the normal 45 to 60 minutes thus threatening Greenfield investment in the area.
However, the upgrading of the Kalengwa Road at the cost of K123 million to bituminous standard opened doors to investment in the rural district which a lot of people never wished to visit due to the poor state of the road.
The coming of the Patriotic Front (PF) in power in 2011 whose aim was to develop Zambia through the expansionary policy, heightened the development agenda for Lufwanyama District.
From 2011 to date, Lufwanyama District has seen massive developmental projects aimed at changing its outlook.
Among the projects that have and are taking place in the district is the construction of the district hospital at the cost of K15,056, 390, the police station, boarding schools, dams, housing units, and administration offices among others.
In the health sector the district has seen the construction of the first ever district hospital, clinics and health centres which include the nine health posts that are part of the 650 health posts that Government is constructing countrywide.
Commissioning of the hospital in May 2014 was a huge milestone for the Government towards the attainment of access to quality health services close to the people of Lufwanyama who previously had to cover long distances ferrying their sick relatives to Kitwe Central Hospital which is about 80 Kilometres from the district.
This negatively impacted on the people as they had to cover this long distance at a great cost bearing in mind that most of them were poor with serious health complications and conditions.
The hospital has undoubtedly contributed to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on quality healthcare.
In a speech read on his behalf by Health Deputy Minister, Chitalu Chilufya during the commissioning of the multimillion district hospital, Health Minister, Joseph Kasonde said the hospital would help in reducing mortality in the area and the neighbouring districts.
Dr Kasonde said government was committed to re-organise the health sector in Lufwanyama and other rural areas in the country in ensuring that significant improvement of health service delivery in clean and caring environment was provided.
He added that out of the 650 health posts under construction across the country, nine were apportioned to Lufwanyama district as a way of improving health services in the emerging district.
“The construction of this hospital in Lufwanyama will consequently lead to the reduction of mortality and contribute towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals on health. It is gratifying therefore, to note that with the opening of this hospital, the distance and time covered by our people to access health services in other districts shall significantly reduce,” Dr Kasonde said.
Acting Lufwanyama District Commissioner, Aswell Lubungo notes thatthe massive developmental projects being undertaken in the district are a testimony to government’s desire to change the outlook of Lufwanyama.
Mr Lubungo said the developments currently going on in the district have changed the outlook of Lufwanyama for the better. He added that the unprecedented projects have not only contributed to changing the face of Lufwanyama but have also brought jobs close to the people in the area who in the past used to migrate to developed cities and towns hunting for jobs.
The District Commissioner further said the putting up of modern boarding and day schools in the area has significantly contributed to the improvement of education standards in the district and has improved the face of Lufwanyama.
He added that the long distances which pupils used to cover in their quest to access the education services from other districts is now history as this essential necessity has been brought closer to them.
“Lufwanyama has witnessed huge developmental projects recently; I will be not exaggerating if I said no sector has been omitted on the developmental agenda going on in the district. We have seen modernised schools, hospitals, post office, housing units, the administration block, Zesco offices, Council offices, dams, just to mention a few.
“Narrowing it down to the education sector, our pupils can now boast of having one of the best schools in the country. We now have better and well-furnished schools such as the ‘Lufwanyama boarding’ which has greatly contributed to the education standards in the district,” he said.
Mr Lubungo said the administration block currently under construction will accommodate civil servants from all government departments including the District commissioner thereby reducing on the transport costs government workers spend to and from Kalulushi where they are accommodated due to lack of apartments in the area.
To facilitate these developmental projects in the infrastructure and agricultural sectors, government has moved in by ensuring that adequate water supply is enhanced through the construction of dams.
In 2013, the state embarked on the construction of a K4 million ‘Kankunko’ dam which saw its completion in the late 2014. Since its completion, the dam has not only increased water for domestic consumption but has potential to improve the economic status of the district if fully utilised.
Through irrigation and fish farming the people of Lufwanyama will have income at their disposal and this will help them in meeting their needs thus, improving their livelihood.
As though the waters from ‘Kankunko” dam were not enough, government through the Water Affairs Department has seen it fit to give the district the second dam whose construction is to commence at the end of the 2015/2016 rainy season.
In an interview with ZANIS, Copperbelt Province Acting Water Affairs Officer, Moses Gondwe revealed that due to the fast rate at which the district is growing, government has decided to construct another dam to the people of Lufwanyama.
“Government through the World Bank has decided to construct another dam in Lufwanyama district along Katembula stream in Chieftainess Shimukunami’s area at the cost of K10 million. The 1.6million cubic metre dam has been necessitated by the rise in the construction projects currently being undertaken in the area. The constructor is expected to be on site immediately after the rainy season,” Mr Gondwe said.
The developments have cheered many in the district including Her Royal Highness, Chieftainess Shimukunami, in whose chiefdom most of these projects are taking place.
The traditional leader who could not hide her joy, has praised Government for having put Lufwanyama among other districts on its development agenda adding that her chiefdom has witnessed big projects since 2011.
The traditional leader said, from the time the Patriotic Front (PF) government assumed office in 2011, Lufwanyama has seen unprecedented developmental projects which she said have greatly contributed to employment creation for the people in the area, youths especially.
The traditional leader said she was very happy to see how determined government is, to changing the outlook of the area into a modern district.
She observed that the construction of the post office, administration block, the district hospital, police station, roads, dams, schools, civil servants’ houses among others, was an indication that government was in a hurry to transform the district.
“I am very thankful to Government for putting our district on its development agenda; this means a lot to the people of Lufwanyama. Let me make mention that from the time this party (PF) ascended to the throne, Lufwanyama has witnessed development in all sectors.
We have seen a rise in the number of infrastructure in Lufwanyama, this is very encouraging and I am appealing to Government to continue developing rural areas as it is one of the ways of upping the economic status of this country,” She said.
The chieftainess stated that the projects are of great importance and will positively impact on the economic status of the district through job creation and attraction of other supporting industries that come as a result of such development.
The traditional leader disclosed this when Deputy Minister for Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, John Kufuna inspected the progress of her new palace at Shimukunami Chiefdom.
She is, however, appealing to Government to employ the local people on unskilled jobs such as office cleaning, security personnel and other jobs of that nature.
And one of the residents, Lombe Katongo said Government deserves nothing but credit for spearheading development in the district which he described as a once ‘no go area’ because of poor road infrastructure which hampered investor confidence.
Mr. Lombe also thanked Chieftainess Shimukunami for allocating land for most of the developmental projects happening in the district adding that Lufwayama was among the fastest growing rural districts.
Unquestionably, it is clear from these projects that government is eager to transform Lufwanyama into a modern district. -ZANIS