And Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Michael Katambo said 50 percent of the loan will target 12,000 women and youth fish farming entrepreneurs countrywide.
Mr Katambo said in an interview yesterday that the move follows President Lungu’s directive for the ministry to ensure that women and the youth in the fishing trade are empowered with resources to sustain themselves and their businesses.
“We have acquired a US$50 million loan of which 50 percent of this money will target women and the youth in various provinces. We cannot be importing fish when we have the potential to grow the industry,” he said.
Mr Katambo said the investment in the aquaculture industry is part of Government’s agenda to diversify the economy to avoid dependence on copper.
He said Zambia has a deficit of 85,000 metric tonnes of fish, hence the need to ensure that fish entrepreneurs are adequately supported for them to contribute to national development.
Zambia has vast natural water bodies that can be used to grow the fishing industry.
He said President Lungu has also directed the ministry to ensure that Zambia becomes a major exporter of fish in the next two years.
Mr Katambo said currently, Zambia is unable to sell fish on the international market due to low productivity levels.
He, however, said Government is working towards increasing productivity through many initiatives.
Mr Katambo said the ministry will soon launch the aquaculture development project to mark the start of the empowerment programme.
He encouraged members of the public, especially the youth and women, to take advantage of the opportunity to improve their livelihood and contribute to national development.
Mr Katambo said young people are custodians of Zambia’s future, hence the need for them to be responsible and prepare to take part in various sectors.
We must stop borrowing for such small amounts – that can be raised if we took back what HH stole from the Zambian people. We may need to add chief Mkuni as well
Do you have proof to substantiate your allegations, imbecile?
Lungu managed to get $2.3 million into his personal account in 10 months in office ! How can you stop borrowing with such theft ? Mind you that was what he decleared.
Lungu now must be worth $60 million while 300 Zambian die a day in UTH.
Where can I borrow just $150,000, I tell you I can multiply it within Zambia.
50% for women and youth, and where will 50% go?
There will be 50 fish ponds from that loan, $1million per pond.
The other 50% will be for drinking Jameson and the change will go in our pockets…
Very disappointing line of thought here! Acting likes someone paid do detract attention from real issues ndimwe bantu bamozi na bamozi
Why % of that is going to Chagwa’s fish farm? That’s why the man got rich in a few months.
More like what the PF is stealing right now?? Why are you not targeting that @ Munone. You want to paint your PF white and yet they are still stealing from this country unabated. You do realize that if u work out some rudimentary Maths each recipient will be entitled to ZMW 19,000.00 which will absolutely go nowhere in achieving any goals. If you get the stolen Money the young Man (Kaizers brother) bought Lungus Hat for ZMW 189,000 you could fund about 10 recipients…. now imagine where the rest of the PF stolen Money is hidden… thieves if all this time You have failed to even call HH for some preliminary questioning over the so called stolen ZCCM money don’t u think u proponents of this story are just swaying our attention from your thefts????
So sad that no one thinks of using local resources to improve given sectors. $50m a lot of , just few cents will tricle down to the above mentioned groups.You cannot impower someone into this mode of business when , individuals really have no itchy, leave alone a dream of seeing fish survive. Avpid these loans and get local resources to change the sectors.
visionless Chagwa and pf regime.everything is borrowing and very soon the banks will also stop helping Zambia…
Every day now PF are borrowing…..we are tired of hearing about borrowing.
It has come to the extent that every forigner they meet they want to borrow l
I started fish farming 5 years ago.
Have been trying to get a loan to finish the project but failed.
This money they have got will be stolen/missing and won’t go to fish farming.
That is the sad reality.
Unless you have a PF minister as realative you will get nothing…..you will find that those who get this money are the same PF caders that had road contracts……from looting eurobonds now they will become fish farmers
Farm-bred fish have been found to have high concentrations of antibiotics and pesticides to combat sea lice. The pesticides used to treat these fish can cause cancer to humans. Farm-bred fish also have lower levels of healthy nutrients.
The whole govt getting a $50million loan …this will simply go to cadres another loan added that we will pay
Another unintelligible post from the intellectually challenged munone who can only spew slander and vitriol against those who try to exercise their democratic right have an opinion. Munone your bitter bigotry will consume you one day. Just because a person doesnt follow your buased point of view it doesnt mean they are upnd.
Pipo also wonder and care wher zambia is headed without being aligned to a political party. Am sure you are the love child of Terrible and the Phd Princess Mushota.
Its really disappointing to see these PF people borrowing and stealing while we are watching.Where are we heading to in Zambia?
@ mulenga, if they are borrowing and stealing, why are you watching them and not stopping them from stealing???!!!!!!!!
OH! MY COUNTRY ZAMBIA
No wonder even soccer commentators have the audacity to utter nonsense about our nation because of the picture portrayed by those incumbent…
Borrowing in itself is not bad but what you do with the money you borrow matters because nothing much has been made out of what has been borrowed so far…
We are supposed to borrow so we become self sustainable.
My GOD help us because open our eyes to the reality herein.
Even the roads that were being fixed a few years ago have started wearing out and yet we have not yet seen the full potential of the money that went in the construction of those roads.
The international community Zambia will continue to appear as an impoverished nation ravaged with HIV even when we have abundant human and natural resource…
OH! MY COUNTRY ZAMBIA CONTINUED!
To the international community Zambia will continue to appear as an impoverished nation ravaged with HIV even when we have abundant human and natural resource…
We can only begin to run away from these abhorring sentiments when we show the world that we are no longer babies and able to grow ourselves…
munone you are pathetic….. be productive in your thoughts. Your thinking revolves on your love for ECL and hate for HH. These men are mere mortals. ECL doesn’t even buy you a bag of meal mealie.
In life, my young man, have progressive ideas on developing yourself. Study hard and compete at a higher level… The world is cruel and you must be prepared to meet the challenge. Pursue your goals, be educated and act civil toward all men… Never be petty but have a little laugh here and there but don’t demean others…
To MUNONE….. read this of the Nigeria girl of 18 years while you are full of hate of HH as if your hate shall enhance you level of education or improve your life.
18-year-old Nigeria native Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu is not your typical teen. Chidi-Ogbolu just graduated summa cum laude from Howard University with a degree in chemical engineering — making her the youngest person to graduate from Howard this year, and one of the youngest in Howard’s history. But that’s not all for Chidi-Ogbolu. She’s now preparing to start a Ph.D. program at the University of California-Davis after the summer ends. She’ll be studying biomedical engineering with a focus on creating and discovering new medicines. “I’ve always been interested in the medical field,” she told USA TODAY College. “But I want to…
We have borrowed $50 million yet we are current,y over 3 months behind in our obligations to IMF we currently owe IMF $44 million in statutory deposits. Just google zambia obligations to imf.
Pipo must eventually realise that all that we borrow has to be repaid. What programs do we have in place or proposed to repay borrowings
It seems borrowing is the only word the govt knows when it wants to do anything. This means these are impromptu decisions which have not been planned over a period of time. The President said this and you go and borrow in the name of the president and not according to the projections of the venture. This creates corruption and this is where PF is losing it. Such projects have a very high rate of failure. It is time the system was put in place to check govt borrowing.
Are these colossal sums of money really borrowed for the intended purpose or the main purpose is for personal benefit?