By NAKUBIANA MUMBUNA –

LOCAL Government and Housing Permanent Secretary Howard Sikwela has called on local authorities countrywide to ensure that they remit pension contributions to the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund (LASF).
Local authorities in Zambia owe LASF colossal sums of money despite the Government’s support to the councils to enable them pay personnel emoluments.
Mr Sikwela said at the official opening of LASF and Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) workshop in Lusaka on Friday last week that councils should remit the funds.
“The PF Government has been sending the institutional grants to support all the councils to pay personnel emoluments to ease their debt burden. These grants include a component of LASF pension contributions and other statutory obligations,” Mr Sikwela said.
“But it is disheartening to note that some councils are not remitting to LASF despite Government support. This is simply misapplication of funds which this Government will not condone.”
Mr Sikwela warned that misapplication of funds meant for LASF would attract heavy penalties.
He called on the principal officers, directors of finance and treasurers in councils to treat the issue of LASF contributions with the urgency that it deserved.
Mr Sikwela said the ministry would not allow one of its entities to suffer for the intransigency of another.

Chipata City Council shelves plot allocation resolution

By JULIUS PHIRI –

THE Chipata Municipal Council has deferred the resolution by the Provincial Development Coordinating Committee (PDCC) and the Provincial Water and Sanitation Committee to allocate plots in uninhabitable areas.
The PDCC and the Provincial Water and Sanitation Committee recommended against allocating the plots on the Lunkhwakwa stream due to high risk of flooding in the area.
However, the local authority has gone ahead and allocated 30 plots without conducting impact assessment.
Acting Chipata Town Clerk Kaonga Namenda admitted that 30 plots were allocated by the local authority without ascertaining the suitability of the land.
“Yes, the council is the one that allocated 30 plots but we have since put a stop to the same until the impact assessment is conducted,” he said.
Last Saturday a person died after being swept away by water during a heavy downpour.
But the council said the heavy floods that killed the person had nothing to do with the alleged poor planning by the local authority.
Apart from the recommendations from the PDCC, the MMD-controlled local authority was also advised by Provincial Minister Malozo Sichone and Permanent Secretary Chileshe Mulenga not to allocate plots in the area.
Chipata has been expanding at a rapid rate but there is fear that proper is not being taken into consideration..

Poverty reduction project pledges youth training support

By SARAH TEMBO –

THE National Project for Poverty Reduction (NPPR) has pledged to continue supplementing Government’s efforts of empowering youths through training in different courses.
NPPR Board chairperson Ngosa Simbyakula said so far the organisation had managed to train 500 young people in power electrical, food production and computer studies, among others.
Dr Simbyakula said last week during the launch of NPPR database website and restaurant that the battle of fighting high unemployment levels should not be left to the Government alone because it was a matter that affected everyone.
He said the database was established in order to create a platform that would link the trained youth to their employers.
Dr Simbyakula said when people logged on to the website they would be able to see the names of students who successfully completed a certain course, phone numbers and the district in which they were found.
He said this could help reduce the burden of youths searching for employment upon completion of their course and it would be easier for employers to find skilled labour.
“I urge all employers to make use of our database because all the students listed there are well-trained and highly skilled in their filed,” Dr Simbyakula said.
Dr Simbyakula said that the opening of the restaurant would help to raise money for training other youths using the proceeds from the sales.

NWSC reopens Mwambashi water plant

By MWANGALA LISELI –

NKANA Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) says it has reopened the Mwambashi Water Treatment Plant in Garnerton Township in Kitwe which was closed due to pollution from the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
The water source was closed late last year causing water shortages in Chingola and other parts of the Copperbelt following spillage of suspended solids and sulphate from the KCM’s tailings dam.
NWSC public relations manager Mwangala Chiwala said the company had completed the laying of pipes from Chati stream.
Mr Chiwala said in an interview on Friday that the works were done in conjunction with KCM as directed by the Local Government and Housing Ministry.
He said the company, which was now tapping water from Chati stream which is about 500 metres from Mwambashi water source, had conducted all the necessary tests.
“We have completed the laying from Chati stream where we are now getting water and the works are now complete,” Mr Chiwala said. “We have done all the tests and monitored the quality, now the people of Chingola are receiving clean water.”
Mr Chiwala said the move had improved on water supply to an average of 22 hours the whole district.
He said NWSC was still consistently monitoring the supply to residents as it was still working on the tailings.
Mr Chiwala said the water utility company had stopped getting its water from the Kafue River and was now getting it from Chati stream.