Chief Mumena of the Kaonde speaking people in Kalumbila district has commended parents for playing an important role in reducing child marriages and early pregnancies in the chiefdom.
Chief Mumena said parents have greatly reduced giving children in marriages and that the children were themselves refraining from the vice.
Speaking in a phone interview in Solwezi yesterday, the royal highness said there is need to continue campaigning against this vice as it affects the girl child.
“A girl child has a hope, a future and needs to be safe guarded by encouraging them and changing their mindset,” he said.
Chief Mumena said children are usually deceived by peers and have nothing much to do hence indulging in illicit behavior.
“On the contrary, parents have reduced giving their children into marriages but the children themselves are encouraging each other to elope”, he said.
Chief Mumena commended Kansanshi mine for working with the community to run programmes that help children understand the importance dubbed ‘books before girls or boys’.
He appealed to all stakeholders to come on board to continue campaigning and to come up with activities that can make children busy and productive so as to keep them away from marriage and early pregnancy.
This should also be attributed more to the change in the geo economic situation in the area due to mining activities leading to reduction in poverty levels than to mere rhetoric interventions