Maravi

Mubukwanu urges govt to develop revival plan for Western Province

Mubukwanu urges govt to develop revival plan for Western Province
By Inonge Noyoo
Monday August 27, 2007 [04:00]

MONGU Diocese director of development Nathaniel Mubukwanu has challenged the government to develop a plan aimed at reviving Western Province by reducing poverty and unemployment levels. And Mubukwanu has called on the government to upgrade Lewanika General Hospital. In an interview, Mubukwanu observed that poverty in Western Province was still serious. Mubukwanu challenged the government to develop a marshal plan aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment levels in the area.

“There is no tangible development one can point at in the province despite being repeatedly categorised as the least development province. Poverty is still very serious and its huge potential remains underutilized,” he said.

Mubukwanu said government needed to woo investors to the province so that its fishing, tourism and timber industries are exploited.
He said the province had a lot of potential but had remained dormant for a while because of lack of a plan.

“The locals need to be empowered for them to be able to tap the wealth which has so far remained in the same place,” he said.

Mubukwanu said empowerment of individuals, household or community level will entailed communities excising greater control over their life and resources.
He said control over community’s resources was an important precondition for development.

Mubukwanu said empowerment can only be attained through knowledge and access to material provisions.
Mubukwanu implored the government to come up with a supportive framework aimed at empowering locals.

Recent surveys carried by the Central Statistic Office (CSO) have shown that generally, Western Province was the poorest province in the country with the highest density of poor population (89.2 per cent).

Provincial estimates show that Western Province consistently emerged as the poorest province in all the five surveys carried by CSO.

About 80 per cent of the population in the province is regarded as being poor and at least 70 per cent of those in the poor category are women.

Statistics further show that within Western Province the incidence of extreme poverty is as high as 66 per cent in Kalabo and 97 per cent in Lukulu.

And Mubukwanu said Lewanika General Hospital, Western province’s largest referral hospital, needed a facelift.

“We urge government to even consider building a new one because the current one does not have the capacity to cater for all the people in the province. The infrastructure at the hospital needs serious attention while personnel is inadequate to serve the community in a committed way,” he said.

Mubukwanu said the government needed to make health care a priority in the area.
“Good health care will drive the country to meaningful development but if we are a sick nation, we will spend most of our time in bed. It is important that government realises the importance of health care and how critical it is to development,” he said.

And Mubukwanu said the constitution making process should not be personalised.
Mubukwanu also said the constitution making process should not be personalized but should be a true representative of the people.

Mubukwanu said the constitution should embrace the collective personality of Zambians.

He urged the Oasis Forum to reorganise itself so that they were in a better position to dispense the will of the people.

“The Oasis Forum has the true support of the people because it is genuine. It is representative of the people because most of them do not belong to political parties. I strongly feel politicians cannot champion the process because they will give themselves terms of reference,” Mubukwanu said. “We pray that they realise how important it is to have a good constitution so that we do not do a piecemeal.”

Labels: DEVELOPMENT, WESTERN PROVINCE

posted by MrK @ 7:22 PM