Government says it recognizes the critical role of local authorities as an engine of delivering services, infrastructure and development to communities.
Central Province Minister, Sydney Mushanga says this is why government has remained committed to promoting decentralization, democracy and good governance through local authorities and strengthening their financial capacities.
Mr. Mushanga stated that government will also strengthen the capacity of councils with respect to management and efficiency, resource mobilization and strategic planning for efficient service delivery.
The Provincial Minister was speaking yesterday in Kapiri Mposhi district during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a shopping plaza and hotel by Kapiri Mposhi Town Council.
He pledged government’s full support to the local authority for it to create realistic valuation rolls, charging of fair levies and licenses in order for it raise its revenue for service delivery.
Mr. Mushanga also told the council management that government was in the process of devising an appropriate formula for sharing national taxes collected within the jurisdiction of local authorities in order to strengthen their revenue base.
He therefore called on councilors to put behind their partisan politics and focus on their civic responsibilities of ensuring that services are provided to residents in their respective wards.
“This approach will enable you to provide efficient and effective services to your residents who have been receiving poor levels of services. Communities should also be allowed to have an input into decision making in the delivery of services in their communities,” he said.
He noted that the construction of the shopping plaza, which has been awarded to a Chinese firm, ZINCOR Investment Limited, will change the face of Kapiri -Mposhi town.
Mr. Mushanga also called on the construction company to employ local people during and after the construction phases in line with the Seventh National Development Plan of creating jobs for local people.
The construction of the shopping plaza and hotel is expected to take eight months.
Speaking earlier, Acting Kapiri Mposhi District Council Chairperson, John Mutambo, unveiled Zambia’s FIFA referee, Jan Sikazwe as Tourism Ambassador for Kapiri Mposhi.
And speaking in an interview with ZANIS, Mr. Sikazwe described his appointment as Tourism Ambassador for his home town as an honour.
Great! Way to go!
Kapiri needs an industry and not a mall. Where will the money to be spent on the mall be coming from?
We need FACTORIES NOT stup1d MALLS.
Malls create jobs for South Africans & Chinese factory workers.
Zambian malls is full of broke pipo loitering “doing window-shopping”, penniless teens taking selfies.
Ma labishi. Built markets for the street vendors to move in and sell Zambian products then the wealth of the country will circulate within.
Does this leadership understand citizen empowerment? Malls are conduits for siphoning our merge resources to foreign Shopping Mall owners and retail goods manufactures who are outside the country.
This is all we are good at building shoping malls to sell foreign goods…when was the last time you heard that a factory was being built or in the case of Kapiri that the Glass Factory has received new investors and will be up and running.
Kapiri Who?
Finally kapiri mponshi can have a few decent structures.
But again this would make more sense logistics ict firm opened in kapiri mponshi to employ 3000.
More bussiness and jobs for South African and Chinese manufacturing and more dollars leaving the country…..that is all PF do …..open shopping malls…..when are they ever going to open a manufacturing plant ?
@ Spaka Like lilo, can you put up a manufacturing industry yourself?
who them..??? What of you if you are enterprising yourself.?
This is good news, just hope it won’t be another eyesore coming our way like Levy Mall
Where are these poor people going to get the money from to go shopping? Sorry, I forgot , ubomba mwibala formula.
It is a country of shopping Malls.
Simple logic and its in plain black & white.That mall will be more like a momument
What is the cost and who is funding the project
i like it that it is a council mall and hotel; but standards need to be maintained; dont bring in goods from South Africa and China; give a section for marketeers in the mall; industries needed than shopping mall;
As far as PF is concerned, the people have money to spend despite the high levels of unemployment. It is really laughable that this regime is mall oriented and they seem to miss the whole point. They have failed to create employment and real industry except these malls filled with imports. Can we please be a little bit innovative and create some industries that maybe of value to a local man. Encourage your investors to invest other sectors not everything in malls.
People need production NOT mall….Kapri needs a storage industry because it is the central in any direction…build a proper road to Mongu from Kapri not a stupid mall!
ALL those mudzungu farmers around will now relax cos their Whiskeys, cigarettes, bread’n butters etc., from their kith’n kin in Jorbeg will be within reach. No need to grow veggies, Mangoes and other fruits because Shoprite, the famous “Pay & Pick” will be there to supply everything
I remember vividly in the early independence years when the late fire brand; Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe was minister of Agriculture. He once stood up in Parliament and proposed that; Kapiri Mposhi (Akapili Mbonshi in Lala meaning; small Hill in the Western direction) should become the centre of all agricultural product exports. He also proposed that an international type Airport be built right there for exports of all Zambia’s farm products to the outside world.
He also proposed that we start new MAIZE – BELT (meaning – running parallel with COPPER – BELT) by growing MAIZE from Kapiri all the way to Tunduma in Tanganyika then. Imagine if we grew maize along the TAZARA corridor, Zambia could have been the bread basket centre of Central Africa. Sadly the entire MALAWIAN clique – the likes of…
…the likes of bene Kaunda, the Kamangas and Nyirendas etc., in Parliament chipped in – shutting Kapwepwe down saying; Copper will sustain Zambia’s economy. Well, where are we today after poisoning Kapwepwe? The rest is history…
enough said by insightful brothers and sisters.
ba shinyenge, I wish we could get a few bold souls with long term goals. not these guys who can’t look past their mpunos. may be it could start with you and I, with all of us who’ve rightly expressed their sentiments,
maybe we need to stop looking to lsk (politicians) for solutions, instead look within ourselves and start something small as it may be, but a positive that will be emulated and the multiplier effect will catch on like world fire in the lukanga swamps mu lusuba lukalamba
I start my not religious pilgrimage mu lusuba lukamba/chinshikubili (October/nov), but a pilgrimage nonetheless with a small match stick to start that fire in my backyard pa mushi, I hope it’ll catch on to a few more villages
Zambia needs manufacturing industries not these malls with crap from South Africa and China. Useless Lungu and PF are clueless.
Kapiri Mposhi needs a trading centre. Goods from Dar-es salaam should be allowed to come straight to Kapiri so people don’t have to travel to Nakonde anymore. Kapiri is more central than any other town in Zambia- businesswise
Remember ZCCM IH is planning to reopen the Kapiri Glass Factory. Maybe that’s a sign of things to come. Problems with malls is that they push out small businesses.