The Chiawa Royal Establishment Council in Kafue District has bemoaned the slow pace at which development has been taking root in Chiawa chiefdom.
Council Chairperson Boniface Chiawa says the chiefdom for many years has lagged behind in development and other social amenities.
Mr Chiawa told Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary, Robert Kamalata when he paid courtesy call on the council that the chiefdom has continued to travel long distances to Kafue town where residents have to spend a lot of money to access social services such as getting the National Registration Cards.
Mr Chiawa said the scenario has proved to be a challenge for the subjects who have to be subjected to travel on poor roads.
The chairperson pointed out that the area has a number of investors who are not ploughing back to the community.
“Chiawa has more than 50 lodges, not even a coin is ploughed back to this chiefdom” he said.
Mr Chiawa however said the chiefdom has identified land where a sub district centre can be established.
“The establishment has given land to the government and we are just waiting for the government to start the work.
Government working together with the Royal Establishment Council has agreed to establish a sub-district centre that will help spur development in the chiefdom.
And Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary, Robert Kamalata who met the Royal Establishment to actualize the process of establishing a sub-district centre said government is keen to bringing services to the area that will benefit the local community.
Mr Kamalata added that Chiawa chiefdom has been a challenge to decentralize owing to the unplanned settlement.
“It has also been difficult to deliver development to this area because of its location and that is why we want to establish a sub-centre that will house different social amenities,” Mr Kamalata said.
The Permanent Secretary added that the establishment of the sub-centre will ease the challenges the people of Chiawa were facing.
He added that government is aware of the many challenges the community was facing such as the road network and that the process of re-engaging the contractor to resume the works on the road was underway.
And Provincial Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Officer, Bestone Mboozi has commended the Royal Establishment for allocating land for development purposes.
Mr Mboozi said other traditional leaders should emulate the gesture by the Chiawa Chiefdom.
Indeed Chiawa Chiefdom has lagged behind despite the potential for growth. Places like Lukolongo can develop quickly if the roads were done. Those foreign owned lodges in lower Zambezi don’t benefit the locals and yet when developments like mines are proposed they rally locals to fight their battles. I’d rather mines are opened in the area as they’re likely to bring the much needed development unlike the current setup. Obvious Mwaliteta who hails from there has forgotten why the Chieftainess prevailed on MCS to have him adopted. He doesn’t speak for the people now that he’s out of poverty
“Chiawa has more than 50 lodges, not even a coin is ploughed back to this chiefdom” he said.
This is what happens when you dont have any sustainable tourism policies…local people see all these wealthy foreign tourists flying everything paid for in RSA they come to shoot your animals for trophies and fly out meanwhile you can not even catch a rabbit it your own backyard it obviously leads to resentment. In other parts of the country trust would be set up for scholarships for local pupils like they do in Eastern Province where children are sponsored from Grade 8 to Grade 12 everything paid for after that they send them to ZAWA to be trained as Guides if they so wish.
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“Chiawa has more than 50 lodges, not even a coin is ploughed back to this chiefdom” he said.
This is what happens when you dont have any sustainable tourism policies…local people see all these wealthy foreign tourists flying everything paid for in RSA they come to shoot your animals for trophies and fly out meanwhile you can not even catch a rabbit it your own backyard it obviously leads to resentment.
In other parts of the country trust would be set up for scholarships for local pupils like they do in Eastern Province where they are sponsored from Grade 8 to Grade 12 everything paid for after that they send them to ZAWA to be trained as Guides if they so wish.
@ Ayatollah
“foreign owned lodges in lower Zambezi don’t benefit the locals”
How is that possible?
1.They pay 4% turnover tax or 30% corp tax to the govt.
2.They collect 16% VAT and excise duty and pay to the govt.
The problem is that the taxes collected dont benefit the locals .
Most of the tax money goes to repaying the huge foreign and local debt the PF left behind.
LETS BE FACTUAL
Independent – You go and tell that to the locals they will look at you like you crazy…they want to see tangible benefits its called sustainable tourism…its their resources
Tell your local MP to bring development. Why do you elect them in the first place?
I have been to Zambia’s rural areas in all provinces. Some have people living unconnected to the national power grid 60 years after independence! Some have completely no roads to the community. Some dont even have piped water, no toilets and no clinics. Yet we have always had someone in State House. Doing what?