Tomato processing plant plans hailed
By CHAMBO NG’UNI
GOVERNMENT says the proposed establishment of a tomato processing plant in Central Province will create market for farmers and the much-needed jobs.
Central Province permanent secretary Denny Lumbama has welcomed the move by Freshpikt and a United States-based firm, PS International to establish a tomato processing plant in the area.
Mr Lumbama said it is the desire of the Government to see investment in processing of various agricultural produce because the province is an agriculture hub adding that farmers in areas like Mkushi and Chibombo grow abundant tomatoes.
He said the establishment of US$42 million processing plant will add value to the crop thereby creating jobs and market for farmers in the area.
Mr Lumbama said this in an interview in Kabwe recently.
He said tomatoes are mainly sold for consumption and there is a lot of wastage because of the absence of processing plants.
“This is a very good development for Central Province to have a processing plant of tomatoes especially that Central Province is an agriculture province,” he said.
Freshpikt is this month expected to finalise a US$ 42 million joint venture partnership deal with PS International that will enable the firm to process tomatoes on a large scale.
The two firms are expected to establish a tomato processing plant in Central Province early next year. The firm is expected to start processing of tomato puree, paste and concentrate.
A team of senior directors from PS International are scheduled in the country this month to finalise the Memorandum of Understanding to pave way for the project.
This follows Freshpikt and PS International signing of a letter of intent to process tomatoes starting this year up to 2016. The deal was signed during the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum which was held in Lusaka in June this year.
Labels: AGOA, AGRICULTURE, DENNY LUMBAMA
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COMMENT - With this little local consultation, 'investors' should not be surprised when their projects are nationalized. 'People should not wait for the government' - because the government is too busy lining it's own pockets. But their day of reckoning will come.
Indian investor plans Africa’s largest manganese plant in Serenje
By Mutale Kapekele
Wed 06 Apr. 2011, 04:00 CAT
An Indian investor is setting up Africa’s largest manganese processing plant in Serenje district, says Central Province permanent secretary Denny Lumbama. In an interview in Kabwe, Lumbama disclosed that ground works had already started for the construction of the plant which will process manganese from Congo, Zambia and other countries in the region.
Africa has for a long time mined manganese, which is exported raw and this is the first time that the metal will be processed. Lumbama also said the 150,000 hectare Nansanga farming bloc was ready for occupation and that social services such as water and electricity were already in place.
The Zambia Development Agency has accepted bids for the main developer of the farming bloc and is yet to announce the successful bidder.
Lumbama said interviews for plots had already commenced and that only four people will be allowed to compete for each plot to avoid previous experiences of as much as thirty people fighting for each piece of land.
He said so far, the province had received applications from investors in Hungary, India, Australia and Zambia, as well as some farmers from Mkushi.
He said the airstrip in Serenje was now operational and that it will make it easier for investors to access the Nansanga farming bloc.
Lumbama also called for a change of mindset on the part of Zambians for them to benefit from economic activities.
He said people should not always rely on the government to do things for them but must initiate projects that will benefit them economically.
“People should not say what will the government do for me but say ‘what should I do for myself and my country?’ It has to take an individual to be an entrepreneur,” said Lumbama. “If we get it right, we can move a great deal as a country.”
Labels: DENNY LUMBAMA, EASTERN PROVINCE, MANGANESE
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K600bn UNZA, CBU debt is choking govt, says Siliya
By Justin Katilungu in Kabwe
Sat 24 Apr. 2010, 03:40 CAT
THE K600 billion debt that the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University owe is choking the government, education minister Dora Siliya has observed.
Addressing students and management of Mulungushi University on Wednesday, Siliya said the
government needed to find money to liquidate the debt owed by the two public universities.
“We need to seek money to offset this K600 billion debt or else my ministry will continue to be choked,” Siliya said.
She said the government was pushing for public private partnerships to enable the private sector invest in the education sector because it had become costly for the government to run the two public universities.
Siliya noted that the government treasured public private sector partnerships, as they were a cornerstone to fostering national development.
“We have created an enabling environment where the private sector is flourishing and our economy is growing. When the private sector continues to grow steadily, it means that there will be more financial support to government projects too,” Siliya said.
And Central Province permanent secretary Denny Lumbama told Siliya when she called on provincial minister Ackimson Banda that the government was doing extremely well in the education sector in Kabwe and other towns in the province.
Lumbama said the development of infrastructure in the education sector in Kabwe was going on very well.
“We have several high schools being erected in the province through the Ministry of Education but as provincial administration, we are also supplementing to this noble cause. We are happy with the expansion of Mulungushi University and Nkrumah College University,” said Lumbama.
Labels: CBU, DEBT, DENNY LUMBAMA, DORA SILIYA, PPPs, UNZA
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PS urges protection of poultry industry
By Justin Katilungu in Kabwe
Wed 04 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT
ZAMBIA'S poultry industry should be protected and nurtured as it has the great potential of uplifting the living standards of the people especially those in rural areas, Central Province permanent secretary Denny Lumbama has said.
Lumbama said that the poultry industry in Zambia had in the recent years seen a tremendous growth, which was now under threat from among others the deadly Avian Influenza (AI).
He said this when he officially opened a workshop to train AI rapid response teams from Northern and Luapula provinces.
The government and the United States Aid for International Development (USAID) are funding the workshop, and other provinces covered under the programme are Central, Copperbelt, Lusaka and Southern.
"It is estimated that the poultry industry alone accounts for 1.54 to 2.24 per cent of Zambia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which translates to 40 per cent of the livestock sectors' contribution to the GDP," said Lumbama.
Poultry production in Zambia is estimated at around 30 million broilers per year; four million commercial layers for eggs and 14 million birds in the traditional sector.
"You can see the potential this industry has in terms of contributing to the national economy and as such we therefore need to protect and nurture it as it is under threat from AI," he said.
Lumbama said that the economic impact of AI was devastating as affected local, international trade, allied industries such as the animal feed industry, employment, food security, tourism and above all human life.
On behalf of the USAID, regional office pandemic influenza advisor Crunckleton Kimberly based in South Africa hailed the will the Zambian government had shown towards preparing for the any possible outbreak of AI.
"Just two months ago we successfully held in Chisamba a simulation exercise on AI which was very impressive and Zambia was more than ready to be on display in the SADC region," said Kimberly.
She said that there was need for collaboration among all stakeholders in preparing for any possible outbreak of AI.
Labels: DENNY LUMBAMA, PERMANENT SECRETARIES, POULTRY
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Role of chiefs in development is cardinal, observes Lumbama
Written by Justin Katilungu in Kabwe
Saturday, October 03, 2009 5:36:42 PM
CENTRAL Province Permanent Secretary Denny Lumbama has challenged chiefs in the province to elect dedicated, selfless and hardworking representatives to the House of Chiefs.
Opening the special provincial chief council meeting in Kabwe on Wednesday to elect three chiefs to represent others in the House, Lumbama said that the role of traditional leaders in spearheading development was cardinal for Zambia.
He said that among the many functions of the representatives to the House would be to initiate and discuss matters that relate to customary law and consider any matter referred to it by the President.
"From this list of functions, it is clear that persons that you will elect to the House should be those who must be committed, hardworking and selfless to the improvement of the status of the people of this province," he said.
The current crop of chiefs to the House was elected three years ago.
Lumbama said that the House in his view could not be the right place for individuals who aimed at advancing their self-interests through membership.
"Let me re-emphasise by appealing that the elements of commitment, hard work, dedication and selflessness should be paramount in identifying people to represent this province," he stressed.
Lumbama said that in Zambia, the government attached great importance to the House of Chiefs.
He said chiefs were cardinal in helping in the improvement of quality leadership and guidance, which were norms that people needed in their lives.
"You and government can influence change in the people's attitudes towards self improvement, consequently chiefs are not only part of our tradition but they are also part of the nation's kit for bringing about necessary social economic change," he said.
Lumbama observed that a number of chiefs had done well while a clique of their colleagues still needed to improve.
Lumbama assured the traditional leaders that the government would continue to undertake programmes aimed at improving their welfare.
He said interventions such as increased chiefs' subsidies were already being made and that most of them now owned vehicles with their palaces lit through solar panels.
And separately, Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union (CSAWU) Kabwe branch chairperson Richard Salivaji junior has urged the government not to use the change of the national budget cycle as a scapegoat for not resuming salary negotiations.
Salivaji said in a statement issued in Kabwe yesterday that the government already foresaw the budget cycle arrangement especially that it even presented a Bill to Parliament over the matter.
"Government cannot wait for the last minute to begin the negotiation process as this is against the spirit of transparency and fair play. We ask the government to call for these negotiations at the shortest possible time," Salivaji said.
He said that upon calling the stakeholders to the negotiations, the government team must attach seriousness to the deliberations considering the time left before the budget presentation.
"We cannot go on heaping the blame on the change of the budget cycle as this was foreseen at the presentation of the bill to Parliament. It is our desire that these negotiations will bear fruitful results for both parties," said Salivaji.
He said the concerns expressed by Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Leonard Hikaumba on government's failure to call for salary negotiations and other conditions of service were timely and justified.
Labels: CHIEFS, DENNY LUMBAMA, HOUSE OF CHIEFS
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High rate of deforestation worries C/Province extension officer
Written by Justin Katilungu in Kabwe
Sunday, September 06, 2009 7:02:32 PM
ACTING Central Province principal extension officer Moses Mwabunga is saddened with the high rate of deforestation the province continues to experience.
During a workshop on forestry policy review in Kabwe yesterday, Mwabunga said that Central Province should take the lead in making meaningful contribution to the review of the forestry policy to curb the high rate of deforestation.
Mwabunga urged participants to the workshop to provide strong points to formulate a sound forestry policy that would curb deforestation.
Earlier, when he officiated at the workshop, Central Province Permanent Secretary Denny Lumbama said the reviewing of the Forestry Policy of 1998 was cardinal in addressing environmental challenges such as climate change and global warming.
He said that since the Forestry policy was formulated in 1998, a number of challenges and issues had emerged.
"Prominent among these is the issue of climate change and global warming and the role of forests in mitigating impacts from this phenomenon. There is also the business side of the climate change and mitigation known as carbon trading which is not emphasised in the policy but presents great opportunity for the forestry sector," said Lumbama.
Labels: CENTRAL PROVINCE, DENNY LUMBAMA, FORESTRY, MOSES MWABUNGA
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