•FORUM for Democracy and Development Chienge Member of Parliament-elect, Given Katuta with her supporters. (Inset) Her husband Lawrence Mwelwa joins the celebrations. Pictures by Eugene Mukuyungwa/ZANIS

By EUGENE MUKUYUNGWA –
THE just-ended 2016 general elections scored two things for the electorate in Chienge Constituency of Luapula Province.
First, the election resulted in Given Katuta from the opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) being elected as the first ever female area Member of Parliament (MP) for Chienge.
Ms Katuta also became the only opposition candidate in the area to have won in the election that saw the Patriotic Front (PF) defeat its opponents at presidential level, council chairperson level, as well as scooping all the 13 wards at Local Government level.
The FDD candidate was declared winner on Saturday, August 13, 2016 at 04:30 hours by Chienge District returning officer, Albert Chungu after she amassed 8,319 votes.
Mr Chungu announced that in second position was the Patriotic Front (PF) candidate Abel Musonda who polled 7,676 while United Party for National Development (UPND) candidate Allan Chansa got 1,785.
Bottom-placed were independent candidates Latham Kafwanka and Albert Kalyango who polled 898 and 815 votes, respectively.
But the question that is today persistent in the minds of most Chienge residents is: “who is this Given Katuta?”
ZANIS caught up with Ms Katuta so that she could shade more light on the question and to allow her explain what her quest is as the new MP for Chienge District.
Ms Katuta revealed that she was born on March 6, 1969. The 47-year old parliamentarian said she is married to Dr Lawrence Mwelwa, who is the vice-chancellor at Chreso University. The couple has nine children and two grandchildren.
On the academic front, the Chienge MP shares her successful educational background saying she did both her junior and senior secondary school education at Lubuto Secondary school in Ndola on the Copperbelt.
Later, Ms Katuta obtained an institute of purchasing and supply qualification at NIEC School of Management.
Ms Katuta also obtained a qualification in advanced sales and marketing and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in entrepreneurship.
The Chienge MP-elect stated during the interview that her driving force to participate in the 2016 elections was her passion for the people of Chienge District, whom she described as “lagging behind in terms of civilisation”.
“As a mother, and a person whose father hails from Chienge, it pains me to see how the area has continued to lag behind in development despite its great potential,” Ms Katuta said.
She said sympathy for the people in the area forced her to seek the votes of the electorate despite knowing well that the process was going to be tough, especially that she was the only female candidate in an election that featured four male candidates.
“Despite this challenge, I believe my decent education background coupled with the support I received from my family members and the electorate at large, made me win,” she narrated with a beaming smile.
She explained that she embarked on ground work for the 2016 elections in 2012.
This, she said, enabled her to carry out extensive research in order to appreciate the suffering of the people of Chienge, adding that it also gave her an opportunity to develop contacts with the people in the area.
Ms Katuta pointed out that top on her agenda as area MP is to lobby for the tarring of Kashikishi-Lunchinda road, which she said is key for the development of Chienge.
According to Ms Katuta, despite Chienge being declared a district 20 years ago, the Kashikishi-Lunchinda road has not been worked on, making the cost of living in the area high.
“As you may be aware, for any district to record proper socio-economic development there is need to provide infrastructure such as roads to transport goods and services, as well as people,” she said.
She said another issue on her to-do list is to ensure that piped water is supplied to the people, adding that it was shameful that despite being host to the massive Lake Mweru, the entire Chienge population draws water from boreholes and wells.
The parliamentarian said it was unacceptable that despite the area having a hospital, it has not been spared by the water shortages as workers and care-givers for patients have to fetch water from a borehole, which is a few meters away from the health institution.
Ms Katuta said there was a danger that the facility may become a hub for the spread of contagious diseases if the situation is not looked into.
She explained that Chienge is in a salt belt, which means most residents consume salty water.
The parliamentarian further stated that she would ensure that the issue of lack of staff at the health institution was addressed.
She also added that the lack of an X-Ray machine and a mortuary at Chienge District Hospital remains one of her greatest concerns.
Ms Katuta argued that it was disheartening to observe how mourners are forced to bury their beloved ones on the same day of their death.
She said sometimes, the mourners are forced to transport corpses about 120 kilometres to St Paul’s Mission Hospital mortuary in the neighboring Nchelenge District because of lack of a mortuary in Chienge.
“Another area l feel very strongly about is the education of the people in the area, because without an educated populace, it becomes difficult for them to participate in developing their area,” she said.
She said this was important in the wake of the decentralisation exercise that was currently ongoing in Zambia.
Ms Katuta said as part of her initiative to have a well-informed Chienge populace, she would ensure that a radio station was also opened in the area.
Chienge has one constituency, 13 wards, 52 polling stations and 56,559 registered voters.
The other only elected female politician is PF Chitutu Ward councillor, Rebecca Kalumba.
Her critics say Ms Katuta has a tall order against her opponents if the recently observed political situation of towing the party line is anything to go by.
Most of the people curiously wait to see how the FDD MP will stand her own ground in a constituency where the council chairperson and all the 13 elected councillors are from the ruling PF.—ZANIS