Department of Resettlement Director, Manford Mulonga, says civil servants could improve the food security in the country if allocated plots in resettlement schemes.
Mr. Mulonga said so far, farmers in most resettlement schemes have improved the food security in villages and the country at large.
He urged civil servants in the country to consider settling while still working as a way of mitigating the poverty levels in the country.
Mr. Mulonga was speaking in Kalumwange resettlement scheme in Kaoma district when he inspected three farms with nine provincial resettlement Principles in a one day tower yesterday.
He challenged his nine Provincial Resettlement Principles in the country to lead by example by getting settled before retirement.
Kalumwange Resettlement Scheme advisor, Mubita Wamulume, has bemoaned the poor road network in the area.
Mr. Wamulume told ZANIS in an interview in Kalumwange that the scheme has about 1208 farmers with the capacity of producing 50-1,000 bags of maize each.
He complained that the poor road network has a negative impact on the farming system in the area as it is very difficult to travel to and from buying fertilisers as well as market their products.
Mr. Wamulume also said that due to the bad road network from Kaoma to the scheme, private buyers are since buying products from farmers at their own cheap price.
He further said that farmers do not benefit from their products because business men and women who buy their product control their prices as they own scales.
About 1200 farmers are settled and allocated in Kalumwange Resettlement Scheme in Kaoma District of Western Province.
The resettlement scheme have both small and large scale farmers who are producing maize, beans, tobacco, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, cotton among others.
ENDS/TM/PK/ZANIS/KAOMA
Interesting suggestions. It would also be good to know the total number of civil servants and their earnings, to be able to understand your resettlement plan, Mr. Mutonga.
Why not encourage the unemployed, as a priority, who out number the working class more than 20:1 to farm ? If civil servants spend most of their time in the fields, who will do GRZ work ?
If civil servants spend more time chasing fertiliser and tending to their farms, what time will they spend on national issues?
BA LT ARE YOU CIVIL SERVANTS?OR ARE YOU ACCOMPLICES IN WHAT I WAS SAYING IN MY THREAD WHICH YOU HAVE SPIKED? WHICH IS NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.CIVIL SERVANTS ARE THE MOST CORRUPT CHAPS WE HAVE IN OUR ZAMBIA TODAY.THE CIVIL SERVANT IN KAUNDA’S GOVT AND THOSE OF TODAY ARE DIFFERENT.CIVIL SERVANTS OF TODAY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE BUILDIN IN CHALALA,MAPEPI AREA AND ST BONAVENTURE AREAS.SO WHAT THIS MALUNGA MAN IS SAYING IS JUST ACADEMIC.GIVE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO GIVE TO THE CIVIL SERVANTS TO THE PEASANT FARMERS. A JOB IN THE ZAMBIAN CIVIL SERVICE IS A GETWAY TO RICHES.THAT’S WHY I SAID THEIR ROLE MODELS IS FTJ,KASHIWA BULAYA,GEORJIAGO,SAMUEL MUSONDA AND THE TANDEM MAY THAT’S WHAT SENT…
YEAH, I MEANT TO SAY THEIR ROLE MODELS “ARE” AND NOT “IS” SINCE THEY ARE IN PLURAL. INFACT I WANTED TO ONLY MENTION KA FTJ AS THEIR ONLY ROLE MODEL.
Good idea as these have the technical skills to go into farming. In addition they can use GRZ facilities (vehicles and fuel) every weekend to flock to their farms. i hope it will not encourage stealing of government time and other resources.