The long-awaited printing of chitenge materials at the Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles in Kabwe District of Central Province has commenced, beginning with a test run that will last a few weeks in preparation for the official commissioning of the plant.

Central Province Permanent Secretary, Milner Mwanakampwe, says the printing at the factory which stopped operations 19 years ago, started yesterday.

Dr Mwanakampwe has told the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Kabwe that the company is producing high-quality fabric capable of competing on the international market.

He adds that the textile firm will also be able to export its products to other countries in the Southern region.

Dr Mwanakampwe has further stated that the government will ensure the material is of good quality and supplied at the right price and at the right time.

Government says it is aware that decent housing is a basic social need for military personnel.

Minister of Defense, Ambrose Lufuma, has told parliament that the government will continue implementing policies and programmes to ensure that men and women in uniform have decent accommodation.

 Mr Lufuma has disclosed that the treasury is working to ensure that his ministry builds decent houses for the defense forces.

He explains that the housing units are embodied in the ministry’s strategic plan.

“I would like to assure the defense forces, the men and women in uniform that the ministry’s strategic plan is underway, we are mobilising resources in order for us to reach the desired objective,” the Minister states.

Mr Lufuma adds that coupled with the available financing options, government is constructing housing units for the Zambia Army personnel in Lusaka’s Buffalo Park Barrack in order to cushion the housing deficit faced by service men and women.

The Minister was responding to a question raised by Patriotic Front (PF) Chinsali Constituency Member of Parliament, Kalalwe Mukosa, who wanted to find out whether the government has any plans to construct houses for the Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force and Zambia National Service officers, including how many military officers were in Chinsali District of Muchinga Province.

Over 30 houses in Chinsali’s Nkula village have been damaged following continuous hailstorms being experienced in the district.

Chinsali Acting District Commissioner, Brenda Silwembe, says most of the houses have partially collapsed while others are at the verge of completely collapsing.

Ms Silwembe told the media in an interview when she assessed the damage caused by heavy rains today, that the level of destruction witnessed poses great danger to human life, stating that the government will soon come to the aid of the victims.

She stated that the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) has already been engaged to ensure that the identified affected households get the much needed help.

“We are glad that we have not received any reports of casualties due to these hailstorms for the past 74 hours,” she added.

Ms Silwembe further noted that most of the affected households are child headed as well as those with old aged residents, stressing that swift measures to assist the victims should be treated with utmost urgency.

The Acting District Commissioner also appealed to the people of Nkula village to ensure that they use strong building materials when constructing their houses in order to avoid such situations in future.

Meanwhile, Nkula Village Headman, Vincent Kangwa, thanked the government for quickly responding to the disaster of damaged households in the area.

Headman Kangwa charged that the quick response to address the challenges that the people of Nkula are facing, signifies the love that the government attaches towards people in village set ups.

“We are grateful to the government for considering helping those families that have been affected and we will be patiently waiting for that help before more heavy rains come upon us,” he added.

Chinsali District in Muchinga Province has in the recent past 5 days been experiencing heavy rains that have since damaged crops, roads and some houses.

The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts says it is positioning the National Heroes Stadium to become a modern, multi-purpose economic and cultural hub for Lusaka.

Ministry’s National Heroes Stadium Director Raphael Mulenga said the ministry is exploring major investment opportunities on the vast land surrounding the facility.

Mr Mulenga said plans are underway to develop a shopping complex, bus station, fuel station and other commercial facilities to make services more accessible for the thousands of people who use the stadium.

He said the ministry will rely on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, stressing that they do not intend to depend solely on government funding on the projects.

Mr Mulenga said the initiative mirrors international trends where stadiums operate as cities within cities, housing food courts, retail spaces, sports galleries and other attractions.

Mr Mulenga added that the ministry will also modernize and redesign the Gabon Disaster Memorial, into a museum-style national heritage and tourism facility.

Mr Mulenga noted that the ongoing works are extensive and will be implemented in phases due to limited resources.

The media reports that Mr Mulenga has since invited private-sector partners to submit proposals, stating that land is available and the ministry is eager to collaborate.

Over 4,500 fields, covering about 2, 500 hectares are affected by fall army worms in Mambwe District, Eastern province.

Mambwe District Agricultural Coordinator (DACO) Henry Mukulumoya said fields belonging to 4,791 households have been infested with fall army worms.

Mr Mukulumoya said that the infestation rate currently stand at 19.8 percent.

He added that 2,564 hectares of land have been affected by the pest.

Mr Mukulumoya says the district had distributed 491 litres of chemical (Cypermethrin) at the germination stage to control the spread of the worms.

He however said the use of chemicals in controlling pests was not sustainable.

Mr Mukulumoya said farmers were encouraged to practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) instead.

“We encourage our farmers to exhaust all sustainable methods which include biological, cultural and mechanical control before resorting to using chemical,” he said.

The DACO explained that the use of chemicals had the potential of destroying biodiversity.

Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti has cautioned Members of Parliament (MPs) against relying on information allegedly obtained from social media, stressing that only factual and verifiable information should be presented in the House.

The Speaker gave the guidance to PF Lunte MP Mutotwe Kafwaya, who alleged that President Hakainde Hichilema had paid students in Ndola to attend his engagement with them.

“Honourable members, according to our standing orders, the information we provide on the floor of the House must be factual and verifiable. Relying on social media or newspapers amounts to speculation and is out of order,” Ms. Mutti stated.

And Minister of Education Douglas Syakalima, who accompanied the President during his working visit to the Copperbelt province, clarified that the students had invited the Head of State through their Students Union.

Mr Syakalima further explained that government has been providing meal allowances to students for over four years, a benefit that was previously removed under the PF administration.

Mr Syakalima added that President Hichilema reinstated the allowances, which now support more than four million learners, thereby improving their nutritional status.

“The students from the Copperbelt province through their students’ Union invited the Head of State,” he stressed.