Chief Mwata Kazembe of the Lunda people in Luapula Province has appealed to government to repossess both the Kawambwa Tea Company and Mununshi Banana Estate.
Chief Mwata Kazembe implored government to consider repossessing the companies or find new investors to manage and run the estates.
The Mwata made the appeal today in Kawambwa when Presidential Special Assistant for Government Policy Implementation and Monitoring (PIM), Ben Kapita paid a courtesy call on him at his palace.
He noted that Kawambwa Tea and Mununshi Banana Estates were still viable projects but had been mismanaged by private investors who were currently managing them.
The chief said the managements at the companies had not paid workers their salaries for over 12 months and that production at the firms had extremely reduced.
The Mwata said that the management at Kawambwa Tea had not also laboured to reinvest in the company and to expand the plantation as it was still picking tea from the 423 hectares initial plantation put up by government before privatization.
Kawambwa Tea Estate is on a 2000 hectare plot most of it which is not utilized.
The traditional leader said both Kawambwa Tea and Mununshi Banana Companies were productive when they were in government’s hands prior to privatization.
He suggested that the two companies be repossessed and run as a consortium by government in order to ensure that the welfare of workers was safeguarded.
He said it is government’s responsibility to ensure that lives of the people in the area are protected.
“I’m not happy about the state of affairs at both Kawambwa Tea and Mununshi Banana Estate, my appeal is government should repossess these companies because our people are not benefiting from the current investors there,” Chief Mwata Kazembe said.
Meanwhile, the Mwata has commended government for creating the position in the President’s Office aimed at monitoring and evaluating government projects and programs in the country.
The late President Mwanawasa created the position of Presidential Special Assistant for government Projects and Programs in charge of monitoring and evaluation of the projects.
Mwata Kazembe said the position would enable reliable and informed feedback to the President on projects and programs that government was implementing.
The traditional leader said this would ultimately ensure that resources allocated to project implementation are used as intended in order to benefit the people.[quote]
And Mr. Kapita has said that government would consider the best alternative to revitalize Kawambwa Tea and Mununshi Banana Schemes to make them profitable again.
Mr. Kapita said government would not sit idle and watch its people suffer despite putting in their best to improve their livelihoods.
“it is not right to have workers go for months without pay, these companies were created at public funds expense and the public should benefit, government will find an alternative to make these companies profitable and stable again,” Mr. Kapita said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kapita said that government would continue funding and implementing programs and projects aimed at improving livelihoods of the people adding that it would not segregate development on political party lines.
Mr. Kapita has since urged government workers who are implementers of these projects to be committed in order to guarantee that government programs and projects benefit the people as intended.
He said government would not condone wastage of its resources on projects that had no positive impact on the ground.
Mr. Kapita is in Luapula Province to inspect government funded projects and programs.
ZANIS
Mwata your message is clear.However this is not the era where the govt should run companies like Munishi and Kawambwa but has the responsiblity to look for good investors.I for one would prefer local investors but in Zed we like pulling each othre down (kalijo to much) and respecting Muzungu even when he doesnt have money(Tooo stereotypical of a white dude)
The whole issue is long overdue. It did not need to wait for the Mwata to comment on the subject. What have been GRZ provincial officials bin doing shame.
They used to call it treason, now it is called privatisation.
KAPALE KAMUNININANFWA,apopena walasa,bashetani balyalusha impanga ngomwakuposa ifisoso.
Kazembe tabelemulishamo, thats why he talking.
All Zed residents, especially citizens R 2 blame 4 this. how do u expect your brand 2 grow if u don’t support it? u hardly drink kawambwa. SA products r household names & u think kawambwa can survive? shame on u.
All countries are promoting their own except very poor Zambia. BaMwata is right, the government will only be sane to do something about the two projects. After all there are no other industries in Luapula since the closure of Mansa Batteries. I blame it all on dull FTJ who just squandered our forex and never brought in fresh development except destroy what the colonialists left Kaunda. At least Levy reconnected the province to the world via the pedical bridge. Hope Banda does something about this.
Chiefs nowadays are just equal to witches. They don’t matter so much, their role now is more of using witchcraft to stay in power that developmental projects. Kenya did away with chiefs, may be Zambia can do the same. Zimbabwe have chiefs but they are as good as political ward chairpersons.
#8 (Mwalwembe), Kenya did away with chiefs? No wander there is so much hated between the big tribes in Kenya. Just look at what happened after their last elections. They killed each other like animals and it was all based on tribal differences that got out of hand. Similar to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, with a much less lose of valuable lives. Let’s not put our chiefs in the same category as witches. They play an important role in bringing about harmony between our tribes (One Zambia One Nation). Chimbuya starts from them and Zambia is very blessed to have a culture of Chimbuya between Bembas and Ngonis, Tongas and Lozis etc. Ba Mwata here is speaking for his subjects in the village where the government is almost nonexistent. He was very right to speak out. One Zambia!
Mwalwembe sounds like a very ill educated, ill informed, person with no trace of his origins and does not see the importance of belonging to tribal groupings, that have helped hold unity especially in very peaceful countries like Zambia. Is Mwalwembe a Zambia name anyway? Sounds Bitrogese (an unknown country)
Zulu 83,
” All Zed residents, especially citizens R 2 blame 4 this. how do u expect your brand 2 grow if u don’t support it? ”
It aren’t the citizens who threw open the borders to imported goods. It is the ideology of privatisation and ‘free markets’. Expecially the ‘free market’ nonsense kills domestic manufacturers and farmers.
If the government doesn’t support Zambian products, why would the citizens?
Sharp Shooter, ” However this is not the era where the govt should run companies like Munishi and Kawambwa but has the responsiblity to look for good investors. ”
Why? Give me one good economic reason why the government should not run these companies as parastatals, but foreigners should? Especially when they expatriate all profits, which means no…
no reinvestment. Foreign companies hire foreign managers, even workers. They pay no minimum wage and can casualize as much as they like.
It would be much better to overhaul how parastatals are run and separate them from the political class, preferrably by spelling out their rights and obligations in the constitution. The same for the civil service.
The era of neoliberal economics is over, and more and more people realize that you cannot benefit supply and at the same time undermine demand (wages and incomes), without causing massive oversupply and an implosion of demand. This is what is unfolding in the world economy today.
Does anyone know of any institutions that would give grants or loans to traditional leadership? I think the chiefs should get into business themselves. I wouldn’t mind helping.
Good thinking MrK. It’s just a pity Zambian politicians don’t read comments placed online as they are busy looking for opportunities to self enrich. Very unfortunate.
Could some please give me the contact details of the person in the government who is handling the tea estate issue? (Email)