By KENNEDY MUPESENI –
AFTER mining ownership changed hands in the mid 90s, mining towns have not been the same since because most of them, if not all, have failed to cope with the economic challenges which emerged post privatisation.
Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) used to employ a lot of people thereby spurring economic activities even outside copper mining, but the model of the private sector seems to be different, they have to think of deploying latest technology thereby reducing human labour.
Hence, most of the mining areas have suffered irreparable damage especially that the legacy issues such as pollution have not spared the soils, which are infertile and makes any plan to venture in agriculture a pipe dream.
A peep at of Kankoyo Constituency, one of the three Mufulira constituencies, reveals a lot on how pollution and privatisation as well as increased technology use can cause havoc to an area.
The incomes of more than 45,258, as captured by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) 2010 census, have shrunk just looking at most of the trading centres that have either closed or have no activity to signal economic life.
But despite the prolonged economic downturn, Kankoyo Constituency law maker Brian Mushimba is hopeful that the outlook for the constituency is brightening due to robust intervention the Patriotic Front (PF) and himself are initiating.
“We have acknowledged that the area is facing challenges, we are fighting unemployment by coming up with strategies to empower youths in Kankoyo. We are developing a taxi and minus scheme for the groups of youths to start accessing funds to buy buses and taxis which will be a revolving fund,” Mr Mushimba says.
After reflections with his wife, he also realised that due to challenges facing the constituency, most of the parents and guardians have no proper means to sponsor their children for school, thus he also launched the Mushimba Academic Scholarship which has seen 130 vulnerable but intelligent pupils afford to go to grade 10.
Residents should not lose hope as he said the face of Kankoyo would soon change for the better as the Copperbelt 400 commences and various empowerment activities take off.
The Transport and Communication Minister says the scholarship is inclusive of school uniforms and fees to cater for grade 10 to 12 and that plans are underway to identify those at lower grades such as eight and nine to be included on the life changing scholarship.
Mr Mushimba, who addressed three separate meetings at Kankoyo Primary, Chibolya Primary and Butondo Secondary School recently as he rolled out the scholarship programme, assured that the PF would continue to be the party of choice because of its robust developmental agenda.
Another intervention worth noting is plans to formalise illegal mining of Silica, a mineral processing feedstock,in Mufulira to boost the industry’s contribution to the mining town’s economy.
He disclosed that he has acquired two mining licenses from the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development on behalf of two cooperatives in the Constituency to enable them formalise mining activities, a feat which can change the constituency’s economic trajectory.
“I recently pushed for the mining licenses for the residents of Zimba compound who are doing illegal minig of silica which I am going to hand over in the next two weeks.
“They have been exploited because their activities are not legal but now that they will operate as legal entities, their bargaining power will be boosted,” he said.
The poultry empowerment scheme which he is spearheading will also augment empowerment efforts.
He procured 4,000 chicks which will be delivered to 33 poultry cooperatives in the constituency.
“I have bought 4,000 birds which will be given to poultry cooperatives. The idea is not to give handouts but an empowerment which will give economic life to the people who have ideas but lack capital to materialise those ideas,” Mr Mushimba said.
Apart from that, last year he set up a marketeers’ fund to promote the establishment of new and small businesses which has since started revolving.
Beneficiaries of the funds will receive capital advances of K20, 000 each for the three markets with K15, 000 going to widow groups and payable within 12 months which has benefited 300 traders.
On infrastructure development, he said 28 kilometres has been allocated under the Copperbelt 400 road project whose commencement is yet to be confirmed.
While waiting for the Road Development Agency (RDA) to start tarring the roads, he has engaged Mopani Copper Mines on the possibility of supplying waste rock as well as graders to solve the medium term road infrastructure challenges.
“You can see that this was an abandoned constituency, the former MP rarely attended to issues affecting the people, but I am determined to change the outlook of the constituency. I have approached the mine to help with waste rock and graders, we do some short term works on the roads, although I have to check at RDA on the progress on C400,” Mr Mushimba said.