Solwezi Municipal council has allocated four hectares of land to Herriot Properties of South for the construction of a shopping mall at a cost of US$25 million.

This comes after 23 councillors sitting on Monday approved the application to allow Herriot properties to undertake the multimillion-dollar project at the old showground.

Town Clerk Ronald Daka confirmed the approval of the proposal to allocate land to Herriot Properties.

Mr. Daka said the council is now in the process of to writing the investor to come and take possession of the land and start construction works of the mega infrastructure to be called Solwezi City Mall.

He said the shopping mall is one of the modern infrastructure projects that the council wants to promote to change the outlook of the mining town.

And Mr. Daka has disclosed that a major housing estate project which is supposed to be undertaken by National Pensions Scheme Authority (NAPSA) in Solwezi has hit a hitch.

This follows a delay by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to approve a new Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for Solwezi.

The Town Clerk said NAPSA has an agreement with Sevanda Management Services to construct hundreds of houses in Solwezi.

He said the housing project is intended to ease the shortage of housing the new mining town is grappling with following an increase in population as a result of mining activities.

However, he said the NAPSA-Sevanda project has hit a snag because the IDP which is to guide the council on land usage is yet to be approved by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.

He said the absence of the IDP is also holding back the total urban renewal of the old Solwezi town which is experiencing a spurt of unplanned construction of settlements and business infrastructure.

The Town Clerk is especially worried over unplanned developments in the Lumwana-Manyama area, a mining settlement which now has over 8,000 households.

He said the 8,000 households in Manyama do not have sanitary facilities and other services such as roads and clinics because these cannot be taken to the area until the IDP is approved.

He appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to quickly approve the IDP, as it is an important blue print that will guide the council on land use and how it will service new development areas.

“Look at Solwezi, you cannot tell which is an industrial area or high, medium or low cost residential areas because the development plan has not been clearly distinguished. The approval of the IDP is meant to guide the authority on the development of the town,” Mr Daka said.

Meanwhile, Solwezi Municipal council has set aside K5.5 billion for repairing township roads that had become impassable and a danger to road users due to potholes.

According to the Town Clerk Ronald Daka, the council is working on a total of 47 kilometres of township roads.

He said so far 30 kilometres of road works that included re-gravelling and compacting have already been completed at a total cost of K3 billion.

He said an addition of 17 kilometres is now being worked on and the council is expected to spend K2.5 billion.

ZANIS

Government will spend K700 billion to connect four districts to the national grid in the North-western province.

Mines, Energy and Water Development Deputy Minister, Richard Musukwa, said in parliament today that government is scouting for the funds and the project will commence when the money is made available.

Mr Musukwa, who is also PF Wasakile Member of Parliament, said Chavuma, Kabompo, Mufumbwe and Zambezi districts that are earmarked for upgrading from thermal to the national grid.

Mr Musukwa said Zesco would spend K1.8 billion on fuel and labour and save K20 billion on an annual basis.

The Deputy Minister was responding to a question by MMD Kabompo East MP, Danny Chingimbu, who wanted to find out when government will connect Chavuma, Kabompo, Mufumbwe and Zambezi district to the national grid; what the estimated cost of the project is; how much money per month is spent on the operation of the thermal generation of power in each district and how much money will be saved, per month, once the four districts are connected to the national grid.

And responding to supplementary questions from members of the house, Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister, Yamfwa Mukanga, reiterated Government’s commitment to electrifying rural districts currently being supplied by thermal generation.

Mr Mukanga disclosed that the Rural Electrification Authority in May this year signed different agreements with the German Government in a bid to improve electricity in the country.

Mr Mukanga, who is also PF Kantanshi MP, added that Government is looking at other options of increasing electricity by 1.5 mega watts from some named water falls North-western Province is endowed with.

The minister named Chavuma Jimbe, Kalene, and Kasajiku which will benefit from the project.

ZANIS

The European Union (EU) Head of Delegation, Gilles Hervio, has expressed happiness with the completion of the EU-funded Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS) expansion project that gobbled a total of K56 billion.

Speaking after touring the project at ZCAS in Lusaka today, Ambassador Hervio said accountancy plays a pivotal role in the economic development of countries world over.

Ambassador Hervio said it was for this reason that his organisation was supporting many countries in building accountancy studies and capacity in order to produce good and competent accountancy professionals for both the public and private sectors.

He said the EU will maintain its support to learning institutions in the teaching of accountancy and to other institutions like parliament in an effort to enhance the understanding of finance.

Ambassador Hervio further thanked ZCAS management for using the funds provided by the EU for the expansion project prudently, saying the centre now has the capacity to expand further its infrastructure on its own.

Speaking earlier, ZCAS Executive Director Alvert Ng’andu stated that the expansion project has helped to increase the capacity of the institution by nearly 50 per cent.

Dr Ng’andu said this will enable many young people in the country to acquire internationally recognised qualifications at an affordable cost without having to travel to distant places.

He said the centre currently has about 3, 000 students every semester taking up various courses at the institution.

The expansion project, which was completed in December last year, saw the construction of learning facilities that include three hostel blocks and an administrative block that accommodates lecture halls and theatres, computer laboratories, an electronic resource centre and executive seminar halls.

ZANIS