By MARTIN MUSUNKA –

SOLWEZI Municipal Council has finally handed over Mbole Community School built using resources from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in Senior Chief Musele’s chiefdom in Kalumbila District to enhance education service delivery to children.
The council transferred the 1×2 classroom block and a bore hole to the Solwezi District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) on Friday, as their contribution to easing congestion at the nearby Kisasa Primary School which has been over-enrolled due to mining activities in the area.
Speaking during the hand-over ceremony in Mbole community, Solwezi Municipal Council district planning officer, Adrida Banda said as agents for the management of the CDF, the full council meeting approved the construction of the school in the area because of the obvious need for education for the local people.
She said as council, they were not in a position to operationalise the classroom block and decided to hand it over the structure to the DEBS to facilitate all aspects pertaining to the provision of education to children.
“The Mbole community school was built by Solwezi Municipal Council through the CDF as we are responsible for the administration of the Fund. Out of all the applications that were received, the full council meeting decided to approve the construction of this structure specifically to decongest Kisasa Primary School and cater for the local people,” Ms Banda said.
At the same function attended by area councillor Olix Kakwata, Kalumbila Minerals Limited, through Trident Foundation, announced that they would construct three double VIP ablution blocks at a cost of K115,000 and provide furniture worth K30,000.
Trident Foundation community relations coordinator, Alex Mapapayi said during the launch of the construction of ablution amenities that the mining considered the Mbole community as cardinal and would always reach out to them and provide for them through the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
He said it was not easy to start a school from scratch, and that was why the mining company was making a contribution by providing 50 desks and building ablution facilities.
Mr Mapapayi said Kalumbila Minerals Limited would always be encouraged to participate in various community activities if the local people were also keen to be part of the programmes that would be used to empower them.
And DEBS representative, Allan Matavu now that the structure had been handed over, his office would recommend for the engagement of teachers and appealed to the local people to guard the new classroom block jealously.- Story courtesy of SUMA SYSTEMS