KANCHIBIYA MP CALS FOR SPEEDY CLEARANCE OF SUBMITTED PROJECTS AT PROVINCIAL LEVEL AS HE COMMENDS GOVERNMENT FOR INCREASED CDF ALLOCATION.
..Says if delivered on time, the increment in CDF will be a game changer for rural constituencies…
Kanchibiya, Friday, 30th September, 2022.(Smart Eagles)
Kanchibiya Constituency Member of Parliament Honourable Sunday Chilufya Chanda has commended Government for significantly increasing the CDF from the current K25.7million to K28.3million under the 2023 national budget.
The Kanchibiya lawmaker has also bemoaned the inertia at Provincial level for Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects submitted for clearance after procurement processes at Council level.
“The intention to increase the allocation is right and we must now pull together, beyond political spectrum, to remove obstacles to speedy implementation of approved projects.” He said.
“We are ready to spend the entire K25.7million and the delay should not come from the technocrats. I’ll give you an example of Kanchibiya where it’s taken us two weeks for the Muchinga Province to clear our projects for Attorney General’s attention. This sort of inertia is totally unacceptable and must be uprooted as a matter of urgency. Of course the other bottlenecks are what the Minister of Finance addressed himself to in the speech. These too must be cured to enhance effective and efficient implementation of projects”, he added.
And Hon Chanda has commended government for increasing allocation to the CDF from K25.7 million to K28.3 million advising that in broadening scope and amending the act, caution must be taken to avoid creating superstructures of CDF Committees.
“So we must avoid the temptation of curing one problem by creating more complex bureaucratic problems. The focus must be on strengthening systems. Otherwise we must be magnanimous enough to commend government on this increment, which if delivered on time, is a game changer for rural constituencies like Kanchibiya”, he stated.
He said his tool of analysis is informed by the real challenges faced by the people in his constituency such as lack of access to clean water and sanitation, primary healthcare, inadequate classrooms and lack of desks, need to activate the local economy supported by increased production and improving the value chain around agriculture, making and maintaining feeder roads and constructing crossing points, improving on electricity access and constructing communication towers, among others.
He advises that in designing development models at local level, Constituencies must be guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), Eighth National Development Plan, Vision 2030, and other government policies.
Hon Chanda has since urged more government interventions to prioritise rural development and creation of sustainable local economies for areas as a sure way of creating better livelihoods for all Zambians.
“Kanchibiya’s comparative advantage is farming and with hardwork and discipline, with increased CDF and bottlenecks cured, we can transform the landscape of our area including unlocking the local agricultural industrial potential like never before”, he said.
The Kanchibiya Lawmaker is in the Constituency to meet with the residents and inspect projects and one such project is the K650,000 rice production empowerment Programme under CDF 2022 in Munikashi, Mbati, Lulingila and Chambeshi Wards among other wards of Kanchibiya Constituency.
Hon Chanda has underscored the importance of Kanchibiya working hard to become a breadbasket in the region supported by cultivation and production of quality products such as Sugarbeans, rice, groundnuts, Soyabeans, dried vegetables, dried spices, organic honey, fish farming, beef, among others.