Government has set aside K3.2 billion in next year’s budget for the development of Luena farm block in Kawambwa district.
Luapula Province Minister Dr. Boniface Kawimbe told ZANIS in an interview in Mansa today that the development of Luena farm block has taken long to be implemented because ZESCO has no capacity to produce adequate electricity.
The Minister said currently Musonda Hydro power station in Mansa has the capacity to supply five megawatts which does not meet the required supply of eight megawatts to the entire province.
Dr. Kawimbe explained that for Luena farm block to be fully operational it requires about 60magewatts adding that the solution to the shortfall in power supply in Luapula province was to put up a hydro power station at Lumangwe falls in Kawambwa district.
Dr. Kawimbe said that Lumangwe falls has the capacity to produce 200megawatts of electricity if a power hydro station was opened.
He disclosed that Olympic Milling Company had been awarded a contract to open a hydro power station in conjunction with a Chinese firm.
He observed that once a hydro power station is opened, all the developments that have been planned for in the Luena farm block would be operational.
The Minister said the development of the farm block had been budgeted for under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative (MACO).
He said the money would be used to do embankments, bridges, roads and dams.
Dr. Kawimbe said due to ZESCO’s inability to supply enough power for big industries, the mining sector in Luapula province has to export manganese in its raw form as the mining firm cannot open a refining plant.
ZANIS
bakabwalala nywebo!
Guys that farming block is misplaced,people that come from that end cant till the land,they are traders not farmers,maybe try an economic zone not farming no>you have to look at the culture of people when making such decisions
here we go again! more promises without action!fikabwalala ifi!
they’ve set it aside so they can steal it like they did the public health money
#2 Wenzelu
Dont be so sure about that. I come from Luapula myself and my family has a big farm there. As far as I know, Luapula does not import food from other provinces. Last time it happened was during KK, due to drought.
Farm blocks are open to everyone so they may have commercial farmers from anywhere, even foreigners I suppose. Luapula has good soil and rainfall. People around lakes and along rivers are fishers, but so are miners on teh copperbelt. Yet you do have farmers as well just like on CB.
Hopefully some good commercial farmers will set up in Luapula and all over Zambia. We desperately need to diversify our economy. Wherever there’s land, yes even Luapula, we must use it for Zambia’s development.
I would agree with nambala 5 UK-Zed Observer, we can never go wrong with agricultural investment. It sounds OK to me, lt’s see how serious they are.
Dr Kawimbe, go back to your surgery. You have have no ideas of empowering Zambians from raising money through the LSE. You believe in the Chinese doing things for us. Why can’t Olypic Milling get into partinership with the rest of us through the Lusaka Stock Exchange to raise the rest of the money so that Zambians can own the Hydro Electric project??
The Chinese will invest and get their money and bond us into slavery in perpetuity, period. When shall we be truely be independent. RB is talking emptiness in New York, where are we going????
~##7 Mbo Sam, probably you are the one who is ignorant about how to raise money from the Stock exchange. It is not a walk in – walk out thing that any firm can do You need to meet certain criteria eg previous experince, audited acooubts, guarantees, proof that business was profit making. e.tc. And you talk of zambians owning the project, you need to realise that Zambians have very little disposable income so actually the bulk of onvestors on the stock exchange are foreigners., You would doo well to do more research and maybe then you would be able to realise the challenges that go with running an economy like ours. As it is now even the Americans are bending backwards for these chinese because the abundant resources that they ( the chinese have) have.
And if I may address bloggers 1 ,2 ,3 and 4. Try to be less cynical and more progressive. Think of ways that such a project can work and post your ideas. The developed world is not where it is today because of negative thoughts but because of a desire to succeed and the belief that they were always the best even in times of despair.. So please lets work on improving our mother Zambia even in the face of adversity
3.2bn to do roads, dams, bridges and embankments, construction must be cheap in Zambia or no wonder we’ve shoddy works year in and year out. That money is too little for any meaningful development. The government needs to do more. I think this money is just for designs of the same infrastructure, but for construction, I beg to differ and this makes me think the Minister is talking from a point of ignorance or lack of info. Anyway, good start.
Romantic monk, I never noticed that , the 3.2bilion. Yeah thats peanuts in construction. Its like the cost of 1 killometre of a tarred road
Is next year’s budget out? Are we now losing the discipline of waiting for the budget before talking about the allocations.
In the old days, this guy could have been fired for divulging budget data before it is presented to parliament. Jokes in governing the Country. I fear for the future of the motherland.
He is talking bout this years budget Please please
#2 Wenzelu
you have a shallow understanding of geography(not even social studies). Luapula province is not a all water place and not every one lives near the lakes or luapula river. The land in question is so fertile and there are a lot of farmers around that place. People that side grow a lot of crops. Government promised to set up a sugar plantation (since second republic)because a lot of famers actual grow the it that area. Oranges are also in abundance.
The problem is not shallow understanding It is that there are too many negative cynics, who do not take time out to analyse scenarios because of pre conceived notions that nothing in Zambia can be good. I feel it is mix of an inferiority complex and unrealistic expectations
no matter how positive you want to be…you can never teach an old dog new tricks…we need new leadership in zambia period
Comment:what is the procedure of acquiring land in farm blocks? Please advise.