Maravi

Kabompo clergyman calls for action against rural poverty

Kabompo clergyman calls for action against rural poverty
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Mon 02 Jan. 2012, 13:55 CAT

PRESIDENT Michael Sata's government must begin to fulfil its campaign promise of ending rural poverty in 2012, says Fr Chepela Mulenga.

In an interview, Fr Mulenga of Mount Camel Parish in Kabompo said eradicating poverty, lessening the disease burden by improving healthcare systems and improving the quality of education should be the new struggle of President Sata's administration.

Fr Mulenga said the government should not lose track and forget about the untold misery it experienced with the majority poor the time the PF was in opposition.

He said it was gratifying that after 90 days of being in office, the government had prioritised the fight against corruption, a vice that had deprived many poor people of their rights to basic needs provided for by the government.

"2011 was a year of significant change and it will be looked at as such. The hope of many people is that change would come with positive economic and social change in the country. The era of inept kind of governance is gone. Those holding government power and all of us must work hard for the betterment of our country," Fr Mulenga said.

He said many people in rural districts like Kabompo in North Western Province wanted to see development through equal distribution of wealth.

Fr Mulenga said the desire of many people in rural areas was for the PF government to clean up the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) so that farmers in rural areas could sell their farming produce without delays and frustrations.

"One cannot understand why farmers, especially in rural areas like Kabompo, struggle to get their money from FRA. We fail to understand why it should take farmers weeks for their maize to be weighed at FRA depot. These are some of the things that impede development, and we want the PF government to sort out these problems for our people," Fr Mulenga said.

Labels: FRA, MICHAEL SATA

posted by MrK @ 5:10 PM