By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –

PRESIDENT Michael Sata’s administration is eager to develop rural areas, Chief Government spokesperson Mwansa Kapeya has said.

Mr Kapeya has asked the people of Shangombo District in Western Province to rally behind the President because he seeks to develop the rural areas and Zambia as a whole.

Mr Kapeya, who is Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, said Mr Sata should be supported in taking development to the district that was considered as being underdeveloped.

He said this yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on Shangombo District Council Secretary Mitone Sakala.

Mr Kapeya was in the area to launch the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Radio 1 and 2 transmitters to enable the people of Shangombo to have access to radio which they did not have since independence.

He said the people of Shangombo should take the “golden opportunity” to work with Mr Sata in developing their area.

He said Mr Sata wanted to make sure rural areas were developed just like urban areas.

Earlier, Mr Sakala told Mr Kapeya and his entourage that the district was facing a number of challenges including the lack of manpower in the education and health sectors.

He said the district had a poor road network while some Government departments had no transport.

Mr Sakala appealed to the Government to build a secondary school in the district which currently depended on Sioma Secondary School in another district.

He also appealed for Government’s intervention so that mobile service providers could improve internet services in the area.

In response, Mr Kapeya said he was familiar with the challenges in the district but was happy that Government had vibrant representation through the area Member of Parliament Poniso Njeulu and Western Province Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga who were working to address the problems.