A Civil Society organisation hails the declaration of Chipata as a city

CIVIL Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) Advocacy and Communication
Programme Coordinator Maxson Nkhoma has hailed the declaration of
Chipata as a city.
Mr Nkhoma said  that the council and provincial
administration need to work hard to ensure that all amenities required to
be in a city were now made available.
He explained that Chipata needs to have a public university, improved
road infrastructure and improved service delivery such as water
supply.
“This is the only way the administration and service delivery will
be improved to the standards befitting a city,”he said.
He said the city council would need people who were creative enough to
attract serious investment especially in the agricultural sector.
And Kazonga Enterprise Limited Director Evans Ngoma said the
pronouncement made by  President Edgar Lungu to declare Chipata as a
city was exciting.
Mr Ngoma said that since Chipata was a city , there was need to revamp
Luangwa Bicycle Industry and the construction of cooking oil plant
since Eastern province was a major grower of soya beans, groundnuts,
sunflower, and cotton.
He said there was also need for the construction of a textile industry
since cotton was grown in the province.
“And construction of a cigarette making factory should be done and it
can translate into over 4,000 permanent jobs. For this dream to be
met, Government should come up with a deliberate policy to
attract investment in the province such measures could include
declaring the city a duty free zone to speed up developmental
activities,”he said.
He said the railway industry with the awarding of the contract to
China Civil was another milestone which was expected to boost the
growth of the province.
Finally after a 10 years wait, President Lungu whilst in Chipata on
Friday declared Chipata as city.
The campaign for Chipata to become a city was started by late Town
Clerk Bernard Siwakwi.