. Wina

By SYLVESTER MWALE in Kapiri Mposhi –
VICE-President Inonge Wina has said all rural areas will be opened up by 2021 through the ongoing massive road construction and rehabilitation across the country.
And Ms Wina has warned village headmen against displacing their subjects by allocating land to people migrating into their villages.
She said the Government had realised that rural areas held the wealth of the country, hence the need to connect them with a proper road network.
She was speaking when she addressed a public rally at Mukonchi Secondary School in Kapiri Mposhi yesterday.
“This is not just mere talk and those that are arguing or opposing should show us where they have worked,” she said amid applause from scores of people who attended the rally.
She noted that connecting rural areas would help to enhance access to markets by farmers and ultimately improve their household economy.
Ms Wina also introduced all Patriotic Front (PF) parliamentary and local government candidates in the district and asked the people to vote for them in the August 11 general elections.
“We have embarked on a development path that will see the opening up of all rural areas by 2021. This is because we have realised that the wealth of this country is in rural areas although people in these areas have remained poor,” she said.
She said more than 100 bridges would be constructed across the country to improve access to markets and other services to boost the economy.
The Vice-President said the Government would focus on agriculture in the next five years as it diversifies the country’s economy.
She warned aspiring members of parliament (MPs) against being lazy when elected after the elections, saying “the ruling party has no time for MPs that are in parliament just to drink tea”.
Ms Wina called for peaceful campaigns to avoid violence during and after the elections.
She charged that the Government would not tolerate the displacement of indigenous people from their land because of a few individuals.
“I urge village headmen to desist from displacing people in villages and give their land to others. We have this problem in Zambia, but Government will not tolerate that,” she said.
She said cooperatives should be formed by selfless people with the aim of benefitting many farmers in rural areas instead of just a few selfish individuals.
The Vice-President also announced that the Government had allocated 930 boreholes to Central and Northern provinces under the sanitation programme.
Earlier, Provincial Minister Davies Chisopa urged the people to vote for the PF to ensure that development continued.
The Vice-President also met chiefs Nkole, Ngabwe, Mukonchi and Mukuwe where she assured them of Government’s continued support to traditional leaders.
Ms Wina later in the day addressed another rally in Kabwe’s Mine Township where she urged the people to vote for the ruling party.