Eastern Province Minister, Lameck Mangani, says Preparations for the Kulamba Ceremony of the Chewa people in Katete district have reached an advanced stage.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Katete today after inspecting the arena for
the ceremony, Mr. Mangani said major logistics for the ceremony, such as renovation
of the site and mobilization of funds among others, were underway.
He said government will soon grade the road leading to the palace from the Great
East road and has also already contracted Sable Construction Company to work on the
main arena.
He said other sponsors, such as Celtel Zambia Limited, have already come on board to
contribute to the refurbishment of the arena.
He said the ceremony will be used to generate funds for the district and the province as a whole through the visitors who will be spending resources during their stay for the ceremony.
Mr. Mangani however bemoaned the poor standard of lodges in the district, especially
the district council owned Mphangwe Motel.
He said there was need to improve the standards of the lodges in order to attract
visitors during the ceremony because the hospitality industry was competitive.
The Provincial Minister urged the council to direct business people in the district
to paint their structures in order to facelift the town before the ceremony.
And Ministry of information and broadcasting deputy minister David Phiri who is also
Member of Parliament for Mukaika Constituency where the ceremony is held, said
government will ensure that this year’s ceremony be the most successful one.
Mr. Phiri who also inspected the ceremony site, said government will provide the
needed funds to ensure that the ceremony is successful as more people are expect to
attend this year’s annual event.
The Kulamba ceremony is held every year in August and cerebrated by the Chewa people of Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi from Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique and presidents from the three countries are expected to attend this year’s ceremony.
Ku mwambo! Kuja tiphunzira chichewa. Sad to be missing out this yet again. Mako ni mako usamuone kucepa mwendo. Long live Gawa Undi!
The government should promote this important and beloved ceremony even overseas so that the country can benefit from the foreing currency which the tourists will bring during the ceremony. Let LPM, thru the Zambia National Tourist Board and other majot stakeholders market this even to the outside world. Mwambo ni mwambo, whether you like it or not. No bringing cheap politics to this event.
mwambo ni mwambo,kumkaika,long live kulamba ceremony.
tkpagz comment4 ,