Government is to rehabilitate roads leading to shrines and the main arena of the Umutomboko traditional ceremony to help encourage more people attend this year’s ceremony.
Luapula Province Minister, Bornface Kawimbe, disclosed that government, through the provincial administration, has set aside funds from the Tourism Development Fund in this year’s budget, to facilitate the road rehabilitation works ahead of this year’s ceremony slated for July 25.
President Rupiah Banda, is expected to be among several people to attend the ceremony.
The roads to be worked on are those leading to the two shrines along the Ng’ona River where Mwatakazembe, the traditional ruler of the Lunda people, performs rituals and pays homage to Chiefdom gods during the annual traditional ceremony.
Dr Kawimbe disclosed the plan when he inspected the road network and main arena for the Umutomboko ceremony in Mwansabombwe yesterday.
The minister said the umutomboko ceremony is a major tourist attraction in the province, hence government would render necessary support in efforts of marketing the vast tourism endowment of the province.
He said government through the Buildings Department would reconstruct the main arena by putting up a permanent structure.
The minister also said the department would also put up VIP toilets and a borehole to improve hygiene standards during for ceremony.
Dr. Kawimbe said the Rural Roads Unit, RRU, would soon move on site to work on the roads adding that the scope of works would include grading and gravelling of the roads.
“Government has realized that it cannot promote tourism in Luapula without highlighting the most important package which is the Umutomboko Traditional Ceremony.. so we are just doing the right thing that this year’s ceremony is supported as such so that we open up other attractions,” Dr. Kawimbe said.
He emphasised the need to intensify efforts of promoting the tourism industry in the province as it has the potential to help reduce poverty in the area.
Dr. Kawimbe said the province is endowed with an array of tourist attractions, which still remain unexploited due to lack of both domestic and foreign investment.
The minister also said plans are underway to improve access to all tourist sites.
“We realize that provision of access roads to these sites is important before we embark on advertising them to tourists and investors… our splendid tourist attractions are inaccessible by road even by air… so the approach is we need to provide access and then market,” Dr. Kawimbe said.
Luapula Province hosts seven waterfalls and is home to a rare black Letchwe species and the shoe bill stock bird which are only endemic to the Bangweulu plains.
ZANIS
And this is when you realise this? Gosh! it is your responsibility don’t do it just because of the ‘ceremony’ coming soon. Good gesture.
Why not put up proper toilets than the so-called VIP. May be they are a different version and not the ones scattered around rural areas. Whether they will not sink into pits is another issue because quality pa Zed bapongoshi.
For a change, why can’t they just do the job and talk about it once it’s done?
Dr. Kawimbe can even proudly talk about putting up better roads leading to shrines were the chief goes once a year just for a ceremony, when the Lundas are fundraising for the ceremony, why don’t they work on such raods leading to the shrines and arena if they wanted the ceremony to be well attended. Ba Kawimbe try and work on roads for the peasant farmers so that they can bring their in – puts to the market for them to survive and make it easier for relatives to visit their relatives in remote areas if raods are accessible as ba Minister not what you are telling as us if you were the chief organizer for this ceremony.Please allow the organizing committee to work on their ceremony to be well attended and look colourful that includes working on roads leading to the shrines.
We will wait see whether the rehabs are going to be worth the value set aside for the activity. And why not put up proper toilets than the so-called VIP? May be they are a different version and not normally the ones scattered around rural areas which are a health hazard. Or is it that they want to come back next year to do rehabilitations again? Whether the sort of VIP toilet will not sink into pits as a result of the heavy rainfall in that part of Zambia is another issue pantu quality pa Zed bapongoshi.
Good move…
Govt. is a tangled up mess period!
Govt must work on the road from Mansa to Kazembe and not those small roads that the Minister is taking about.
POOR PLANNING……
Thanks minister. We need your kind of ones in Zambian leadership. Development oriented.