Parliament heard today that the construction of the Freedom Park Shopping Mall in Kitwe district on the Copperbelt province stalled because of alleged misunderstandings between the project owner and the financiers.
Local Government and Housing Deputy Minister Danny Chingimbu told parliament that the owners are Platinum Gold Equity who initially pumped in US$15 million in 2009 towards the project.
Mr. Chingimbu said government has since engaged the Kitwe City Council to find another strategic partner to carry on and complete project.
He disclosed that the new partners will be announced soon after consultations are concluded.
The Deputy Minister was responding to a question raised by Kwacha Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament Boniface Mutale who wanted to find out why the construction of the Freedom Park Shopping Mall in Kitwe has stalled.
Mr. Mutale also wanted to know who the owners of the mall were, what the estimated cost of the project was and what the way forward for the project was.
The whole lot of parliament being concerned with a Shopping mall. I would rather they debate on why Sme business find it hard to get capital and how they can mitigate this problem so that they can be employers to the un employment. At the end of the term, they walk away with kilometers of kwachas at gratuity. LORD HELP US. cry of an SME entrepreneur.
One of the disagreements has to do with an insider at one of the financiers grumbling over his cut in facilitating the deal.
This is the caliber of leaders today; its no surprise the whole president is seen commissioning a private shopping mall!
who (were) are the financiers and why would KCC find another strategic partner?
What the hell!!! And these MPs are getting allowances to discussing malls? what a waste of resources.
Why is parliament discussing the construction of malls..??? I think our leaders need to be serious, this country is in so much problems that need to be discussed and shopping mall are non of the serious problems.
This Mall is no longer relevant. While it lay abandoned, the Copperhill and Mukuba Malls were completed and occupied. A third shopping centre is coming up where Nkana Hotel used to be. Kitwe residents have nothing to complain about when it comes to malls.
Responsible governments speak about supermarkets in the West because they do make significant contributions to the job market as well as to the national purse.
Someone had to ask this question and give us answers. It is for those who don’t live in Kitwe to trash this particular matter. However, we citizens of Kitwe needed to know what was going on with this particular development.
Yes we need to know what is happening to the abandoned mall but as at now that mall is not required and it will be difficult for the developer to recoup their investment with the beautiful and bigger mumu a mall nearby.
Look closely and you find more stealing by GRZ
Like many of you, I too smell a rat here.
Kitwe residents deserve even more malls. Look at the congestion in the town centre!!
What the government should seriously resolve are the prices at the malls which are driven up by the unconscionable (morally unacceptable) rentals which will render the necessary malls white elephants ????.
Boniface Mutale and relevant Ministers should tackle this now.
To decongest Kitwe town centre chinook one market has to be relocated to the outskirts. Period.
Chisokone market
Kitwe residents deserve even more malls. Look at the congestion in the town centre!!
What the government should seriously resolve are the prices at the malls which are driven up by the unconscionable (morally unacceptable) rentals which will render the necessary malls white elephants ????.
Boniface Mutale and relevant Ministers should tackle this now.
Pa zambia too much drama….bambuli balituuma Sando
The entire Kwacha Constituency MP bringing up such an irrelevant issue.. That is a private sector/market concern. Do these guys have a job description on what their public duties are? Sorry Ba Kitwe your choice will not deliver for yet another two years..
Let’s also not forget the role Ali Simwinga played in the award of the space to the developer. The whole process was tinged with corruption and I think in the end a wrong developer was chosen and hence we are where we are, no mall while other people enjoyed their loot from corruption.
It’a interesting how fellas here suddenly become very “educated” and start to loudly condemn the MP for raising the matter. Private sector is made of up businesses such as these, they provide among others ; infrastructure, jobs, taxes, taxis, security guards, shopkeepers, space for your merchandise from Dubai/Dar/Nakonde/South, etc etc. So what is wrong asking about it? You must be street vendors at Nakadoli market
Its normal that ministers would debate on the status of this mall, they need to know when their girlfriends can start shoppping…rubbish ministers
I wonder if Parley is discussing that these malls are largely inhabited by South African companies that externalize their profits every day. We only get to buy their overpriced stuff and have a few mid-level jobs out it.
We need Zambian business people who can invest, risk, build and churn the profits of these businesses within our borders. Government cannot do this. We seem to aspire to work abroad and then send relatives a bit of money via Western Union.
Business people in Nigeria and Kenya help develop and build those nations and they are rising out of poverty. Let’s go Zambia, let’s go!