Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts, Elvis Nkandu says the government is targeting to empower about 1,700 young people in Muchinga Province with grants, loaned motorbikes and sports kits.
Mr Nkandu also emphasized that the government continues to put the young people at heart hence empowering them.
The Minister said this when he paid a courtesy call on the District Administration in Mafinga District this afternoon.
Mr Nkandu explained that empowering the young people and being on the ground to appreciate their challenges is motivating to the young people, adding that the reason why his Ministry is currently on the ground is to empower the youths in a bid to cushion their challenges.
“This is what the government is doing on the ground and we need to give feedback to the people who applied for these empowerments by giving them what they applied for,” he said.
He added that youths that will benefit from the grants, loaned motorbikes and sports kits should be from all the 13 wards in Mafinga Constituency.
“It is my prayer that the youths we will empower today are coming from all the 13 wards here in Mafinga Constituency because the government wants all of them to benefit,” he added.
And the Minister has since called on the people of Mafinga District to continue making their submissions towards the constitutional amendments emphasising on the need to delimitate the Constituency.
He said Mafinga Constituency is vast and can only be developed if it is delimited which will allow each area to develop.
“Residents including civil servants can still make their submissions through written and online using the website and an email that has been provided,” he said.
The Minister also expressed happiness that farmers have so far started accessing farming inputs as early as September in readiness for the 2025/2026 farming season.
He says the government will continue supporting farmers and ensuring that inputs are delivered in good time.
“Let me take this opportunity to also inform you that the Government has already started paying the farmers who supplied maize to the Food Reserve Agency as of today November 8, 2025,” he added.
Meanwhile, Muchinga Province Minister, Njavwa Simutowe has called on the people of Mafinga District to always appreciate what the government has done so far.
Mr Simutowe said the youths empowerment programs that are currently taking place in the Province has never happened before adding that the Government aims to empower more young people.
He further called on the District Administration to sensitise residents on the many empowerment programs being implemented by Government.
And speaking in his welcoming remarks, Mafinga District Commissioner, Boyd Kaonga appealed to the Minister to ensure the Isoka-Muyombe road is worked on as it is a death trap especially during the rainy season.
Mr Kaonga explained that residents have continued losing their loved ones on the same road hence the need to take it as a serious matter of urgency.
The DC also emphasized on the need to have a bank in the area as the district does not have any bank.
“We don’t have a bank here and it is a challenge for civil servants who travel to neighboring districts every month for salaries. Farmers also face the same challenges especially those who supply maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA),” he said.
The DC further thanked the Minister for empowering the young people of Mafinga District saying he is confident that the beneficiaries will utilize the empowerment properly.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Arts Elvis Nkandu, in the company of the Provincial Minister, Njavwa Simutowe is in Mafinga District to empower the young people with grants, loaned motorbikes and sports kits.
