PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has demonstrated parental care and concern for the people of the Copperbelt by promptly setting up deliberate pillars of support in the wake of job losses.
Soon after visiting the province, and having interacted with people from all walks of life, news to close some mines broke through and seemed to have disturbed the miners, Mr Lungu was equal to the challenge.
When the mine owners announced closure of some mines and retrenching thousands of miners, President Lungu had an ace up his sleeves.
During a Press conference at State House last week, the Head of State announced the creation of more than 10,000 jobs specifically for people on the Copperbelt.
His antidote is that the Government intends to start three major capital projects to cost US$1.3 billion, which is about K16 billion that will create 10,000 jobs next year.
The three projects are the $397 million Ndola International Airport project to create 3,000 jobs and construction of 400-kilometer C-400 Copperbelt township roads to cost $492 million and would create 4,000 jobs.
There is also the construction of a water reticulation system for Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company for Ndola, Luanshya and Masaiti worth $400 million, which would also create 3,000 jobs.
The airport project is said to have a complete Greenfield project that will be constructed in Chichele Forest, surrounded by Ndola, Kitwe, Mufulira and Luanshya.
Jobs would be guaranteed at this project, which is an ultra-modern facility to include hotels, shopping malls and other world-class modern facilities befitting a modern international airport.
With people of the Copperbelt at heart,
President Lungu was categorical directing the Copperbelt provincial administration to ensure that priority in the recruitment was given to Copperbelt-based residents.
President Lungu’s empathy for Copperbelt residents did not only end in words alone, but he went to negotiate for a debt write-off by some commercial banks for retrenched miners.
What can be a better deal than that? Some miners who had acquired loans and risked going home empty-handed had a surprise debt relief.
In that deal, some banks withheld miners’ benefits to recover their debts, yet President Lungu went ahead to negotiate for the complete debt write-off.
As such, miners would walk out with full packages to enable them begin life outside mining with start-up capital.
We further commend President Lungu’s intervention for the miners’ exit plan, which will ensure that miners immediately get into farming this farming season or create business skills via Future Search.
Copperbelt, and Ndola in particular, is also expected to host one of the biggest tyre retreading companies in Africa.
This is the construction of a $50 million Supper Doll Zambia Limited to be situated near the former Dunlop plant in Ndola.
Supper Doll will be the first of such a company in Zambia and Africa to retread mine vehicle tyres of about five metres in dimension and weighing about 40 tonnes.
At that plant about 35 people are currently employed and once production commences, more than 100 will be employed.
Supper Doll is the sole distributor of Michelin products in Zambia.
Michelin, a France-based tyre manufacturing company which is among the largest distributors of automotive products, including renowned tyre brand, Michelin in east, central and Southern African regions.
With all such interventions and initiatives, Copperbelt residents are rest assured that the province will never go to the status of a ghost province.