By KRUGER SIANKULU –

LUANO which falls under Mkushi South constituency was named a district in 2012 following late President Michael Sata’ s move to take development to all parts of Zambia.
But despite the area attaining district status, Luano remained underdeveloped until after the killing of the Mailoni brothers in 2013.
The brothers had caused terror which led to the loss of at least 12 lives.
The three brothers were believed to have used juju (magic charms) since 2007 in order to perform their evil deeds.
During their reign of terror, people of Luano would not move a mile from their homes and this made them to stop cultivating their fields, collecting firewood, fetching water and doing any form of business in fear of losing their lives.
Their sad story is partly believed to have resulted from the failure by the trio to follow instructions from the witchdoctor who wanted to transform them into great hunters.
Following the death of the lawless trio, the Government embarked on a number of projects.
Former Mkushi South Member of Parliament Davies Chisopa said that following the demise of the Mailoni brothers, Luano is developing at a considerable rate.
Mr Chisopa who is also Central Province minister, said with the coming  of the Patriotic Front (PF) Government in 2011, Luano has begun changing for the better.
“By becoming a district, Luano has attracted the private sector and infrastructure development is slowly coming up.
“In the last 50 years, Luano never had a road going to valley. But today, we have. Luano never had a bridge and as a result we lost several lives of people crossing from Luano to Kapiri Mposhi. But today, we have a bridge,” he said.
Mr Chisopa said since the demise of the murderous Mailoni brothers, the Government has been working on boosting agriculture that had for a long time remained under developed.
“In fact Luano is one of the districts in the country that has benefitted a lot from the Government. As at now, Government has just given Luano District 40 boreholes which are going to provide safe and clean drinking water to the local people,” he said.
Luano District Commissioner Christopher Chibuye said upgrading Luano into a district is the beginning of development which will take various services as close to the people as possible.
He said the people of Luano appreciated Mr Sata for considering to give them a district.
Mr Chibuye explained that Luano is made up of six chiefdoms: Mboloma in the valley which is shared by Chembe and Mboshya; and in the plateau Chief Kanyeshya, Kaundula and Chikupili.
“The place is a combination of Lala-Swaka people who have one ancestor who comes from the royal family of the Nyendwa royal clan.
“There was a time when things were not normal here in Luano, especially in the valley area of Chimika and Chief Chembe,” he said.
Mr Chibuye said that of present, Luano residents are free to move to and from different parts of the valley to conduct business.
“Luano was created a district in 2012 and in 2014 we took up an initiative to live and work in tents so that we could provide the service to the people.
“On May 28, 2015, the area received more officers and on the same day the national flag was raised for the district commissioner’s office,” he said.
The people of Luano, who depended on other districts like Mkushi for service delivery, now have such service es delivered to them right within the district.
“We have seen development taking place here; roads have been graded, a new road is also being made in Chief Mboloma’s area via Chingombe up to Chief Mboshya, that would connect to Rufunsa and join the Great East Road,” he said.
Mr Chibuye said the Zambia National Service (ZNS) officers working on the road were doing a commendable job for the people of Luano as it would be easy to transport goods during the rainy season.
“The ZNS road project has covered 42 kilometres and is expected to cover 85 kilometres from Senior Chief Mboloma to Chingombe,” he said.
Mr Chibuye said Luano District was in the process of constructing two major bridges along the Lusenfwa River with the first connecting to Kapiri-Mposhi and the other one connecting Luano and Rufunsa districts leading to Chief Shikabeta.
Residents in the area have also received the innovations with the utmost excitement and commended the Government for the gesture.
Dason Chisenga, a resident, recalled on how difficult it was in Luano during the time when the Mailoni brothers roamed free.
“We could not move freely, no agriculture activities were done. We were in captivity. But now we are free. So we thank the Government for creating the area as a district,” he said.
Mr Chisenga said the developmental activities in the district, like new roads, boreholes, bridges and other Government infrastructure had made local people excited.
Gabriel Mwami said the district had now started to enjoy a lot of benefits.
“We have seen new health posts and a lot of Government infrastructure are coming up. Besides that, business is booming for the people of Luano,
“You can imagine that before all this, we used to cover a long distance to get to Mkushi and Kabwe for social services,” he said.
Mr Mwami appealed to the Government to expedite the implementation of projects of constructing hospitals and schools in the area so that the people can start enjoying the services within their community.
Indeed, the decision by the Government to create a new district in Luano calls for the cooperate world to work hand in hand with the Government to taking development to the local people.