By Daily Revelation Correspondent
Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba says the only thing one can catch in North-Western Province is the flue from the mines dust that has sickened him, while people wallow along in poverty because leaders have failed to get a fair share from the resource endowment in the province through the mines.
And Kalaba said the people of North-Western Province deserve preferential treatment over employment in the mines, as the many who were being employed were from other provinces.
He said he would allocate 20 percent for North-Western Province for the mineral resource that was mined in the province.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on sub-chief Mutumba Kayamba of Kimiteto area of Solwezi district, Kalaba said the province was supposed to be the new Copperbelt yet it looked malnourished.
He said in the Copperbelt when the mines were coming up people could see development, but the rate of development in North-Western Province can’t be equated to that.
“Right now here in Northern western provinces the only thing you can see or catch is the flue, the one I have got because of the dust that is happening as a result of the mines not the actual investment frim the mines,” he said
He said the province had some of the largest mines in Africa and huge deposits of gold and copper, like at Lumwana, Kalumbila, Kansanshi and yet people have remained impoverished.
He said he wanted to change the narrative not because of elections but because the people there have been escorting others while they remained in poverty.
“How can a province producing so much copper, so much cobalt even gold remain so poor as western province?” He asked.
He said the province remained among the poorest in the country according to government data.
He said copper accounted for 79 percent of Zambia’s exports yet the province was the poorest in the country.
Kalaba said he would want 20 percent of the revenue raised to remain in the province.
He said traditional leaders should be respected by enjoying in the wealth of North-Western Province.
Kalaba said most of the people working in Northern-Western province mines were coming from outside the province but priority must be given to the people in the province.
He said preferential treatment should be given to people of North-Western.
He said it was not as if the government did not know about the copper deposits in the province but because they wanted to harness them for the benefit of the people when the mines were opened.
Kakaba said all the areas where mapped. He said the country was mostly relying on the copper being mined in the North-Western Province as there was nothing much happening in Kitwe, Chingola and Mufulira.
He said mining conglomerates must pay proper corporate social responsibility, like on the Copperbelt where big soccer teams had emerged because of the mines support.
He said the money should be left in North-Western rather than be expropriated outside.
Kalaba said the province was blessed with all the resource wealth and mukula trees but nothing much was being talked about it.
He urged the traditional leadership to urge the people of the province to vote for him.
He said among all the presidential candidates he was the only one who had travelled the whole province while others were going there because of elections
