Manyinga: From A Roadside Lay By To An Administrative Town

Michael Sata

By Paul Shalala in Manyinga

Manyinga has been a village for decades.

It is actually a bus stop or lay by on the main road between Mufumbwe and Kabompo Districts in the North Western Province.

Buses that ply the Mufumbwe-Kabompo road used to stop at Manyinga to pick or drop passengers.

For truck drivers, Manyinga was their lay by where they used to stop and get a nap before proceeding on their days-long journeys. 

But this roadside community is slowly turning into a town and may possibly be a city in the coming decades.

Since late Zambian President Michael Sata declared it a district in November 2012, Manyinga has seen some change.

It is now an administrative center for this agricultural community.

At its declaration in 2012, Manyinga had no infrastructure befitting a district.

Now government has started constructing various structures to host its various departments.

Over five local and international contractors have been engaged to build the Manyinga District Administration, Civic Center, Police Station and Agriculture offices among others.

Simuliya Trading Limited was given a contract to build the office block for the district administration.

So far, the Chinese-owned company has finished the first slab and is hopeful of completing the whole project by October this year.

Hu Sung is the supervisor at the site and he has concerns about local materials being used to build the structures.

"We will complete in October but this sand we are using is cracking too much. It is delaying our progress," said Hu.

Chingola-based Toshiber Limited is building the Civic Center and two staff houses at the cost of K6.9 million.

35 residents of Manyinga are lucky to have been employed to build their own civic center.

At the construction site

"We commenced works in February this year and so far so good. We hope to complete within the 14 months period we were given in the contract," said Felix Simukoko, Operations Director at Toshiber Limited.

With Manyinga's history of being a farming area, Kashimushi Construction has been contracted to build 16 offices for the Department of Agriculture and works have  have now reached window level.

Government has further engaged Hero Construction Company to build the first ever Police Station in the district and works are at slab level.

Senior Chief Sikufele allocated a huge track of land to allow government build its various departments for better administration of the new district.

Masumba Launches North West Talent Identification Programme

By Paul Shalala in Mufumbwe

Stephen Masumba showing off his sports skills

Former Sports Deputy Minister Stephen Masumba has launched a provincial talent identification programme in the North Western Province to help youths get selected for national team football tournaments.

Masumba, who is also Mufumbwe Member of Parliament, says the talent identification programme will involve all districts in the province and sports experts will be invited to pick potential national team players.

Speaking when he addressed over 10 football teams at Mufumbwe Council Chamber, Masumba said this year he will host the Julius Masumba Football Tournament which will act as an avenue for the talent identification exercise.

"I have decided to host the Julius Masumba Foorball Tournament in July this year to honor my father. We will have activities at our house in Kizela then we go and have a football march between Kasempa and Mufumbwe Districts," he said.

 

He said in the coming years, the tournament will involve all districts in the province and football experts will be engaged to pick talented footballers to be engaged at national level.

Hunger Looming As Elephants Destroy Crops In Mufumbwe

By Paul Shalala in Mufumbwe

A group of over 100 elephants from the Kafue National Park has invaded the southern part of Mufumbwe District in the North Western Province, destroying maize fields and sending terror among the 500 residents.

An Elephant in a maize field

The elephants, which invaded Shungulu, Lalafuta and Kalengwa areas, have completely destroyed this year's maize crop, raising fears of starvation in the area.

Mufumbwe District Commissioner Emma Mankishi, who has rushed to the affected areas to asses the extent of the damage, has decribed the situation as a disaster.

Mrs Mankishi has since written to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to immediately send relief maize to Mufumbwe to help feed the affected people.

Meanwhile, President Edgar lungu has authorised the Zambia Airforce to send a helicopter to Mufumbwe District to help the District Disaster Management Team visit the affected areas and respond to the crisis.

Mufumbwe Member of Parliament Stephen Masumba says the helicopter is expected to be in the district at the weekend.

Stephen Masumba

Mr Masumba, says the helicopter will also help the authorities in assessing the damage caused to washed away bridges in the southern part of his constituency.

 Meanwhile, The Kalende Prison Farm in Mufumbwe has this year produced an estimated 600 bags of 50 KG bags of maize.

So far, only two hectares from the 11 hectares have been harvested and the ban is almost full.

Maize produced at this Zambia Prison Service run farm not only feeds prisoners in Mufumbwe but also those who are incarcerated in Kabompo, Solwezi and Zambezi districts.