New Hope for Mushimbili: CDF Builds Staff House and Health Post

While many citizens in Lusaka sit in their offices believing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is a failed initiative, rural communities are celebrating the development it is delivering.

For years, the people of Mushimbili Ward in Kapiri Mposhi Constituency woke up before dawn to begin a difficult six-kilometre walk to the nearest clinic—a journey especially harsh for expectant mothers, the elderly, and the sick.

Today, that struggle has finally ended.

Rural nurse Gift Kameya has become the first medical officer in the ward’s history to live within the community he serves, after moving into a newly built modern home funded through the CDF. The house stands next to the newly completed Fikola Rural Health Post, bringing healthcare closer to nearly 5,000 residents who have endured years without a local facility.

Kameya, 32, joined the health service in 2018 and previously worked at Kapiri Urban Clinic, Kabwale Health Facility, and Kapiri District Hospital before being posted to Fikola in October. His arrival, together with the new house, marks a significant shift for an area long overlooked within one of the constituency’s largest zones.

The staff house—constructed to modern standards and set to be equipped with solar power and running water—is part of a K1.2 million investment that includes the health post itself.

For villagers in Mushimbili Ward, the new CDF-funded house next to their Fikola Health Post has sparked excitement throughout the community.

“This changes everything,” said Kapiri Mposhi Town Council Secretary Collins Ndilema. “For the first time, we have a nurse living within the ward. If someone needs help, he’s just a minute away. CDF has really helped us, especially in the rural parts of Kapiri.”

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Gift Sialubalo, who toured the site, said the project shows what the expanded CDF can achieve when properly applied in remote communities.

“You can’t even ask President Hichilema, ‘What have you done?’” Sialubalo said. “He has given us CDF. Those who thought it wouldn’t work were wrong—the President has raised the standard. In 2026, people won’t be asking what government has done; it will be us asking, ‘What have you done?’ because the money for development has been provided.”

Sialubalo added that development under the UPND is a shared responsibility.

“The government brings the money, and together with the voters, we deliver the results,” he said.