Thu, 08 Dec 2016 10:41:22 +0000
By Andrea Mukoma
SOUTHERN Province Minister Edify Hamukale has announced that all Government offices and all public places in the province were currently displaying President Edgar Lungu’s presidential portrait. Dr. Hamukale said that it was imperative that people in the province recognizes the head of state as dully elected President of Zambia and that this is the way to go. He disclosed this during a media briefing at his office in Choma on Monday. “I wish to thank the police and other law enforcement agencies for the job well done. We have to recognise him as dully elected President of Zambia and this is the way to go,” he said. Dr. Hamukale has further assured small scale farmers in the Province under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) that they will receive their seeds next week. He said the province had so far received 93 per cent of the allocated Compound ‘D’ fertilizer and 36 per cent of Urea Fertilizer but all districts would receive the seeds next week. “We are acting quickly on this matter of seeds and fertilizer so that farmers can plant their crops on time,” he said. And Dr Hamukale has instructed all district cholera preparedness committees in the province to be on higher alert. “The rain season is here and there are a lot of Mangoes and Masuku and several others pathogen careers which can put our communities at risk. “I am calling on communities to observe the highest level of hygiene from household level, markets and society level to ensure were prudent in the way we dispose our liquid and solid waste materials to avoid water borne diseases,” he said. Dr Hamukale said water borne diseases could be avoided and it was cheaper to mitigate the crisis. “I am calling on all residents to utilise the waste bags that are provided or use waste bags or dispose where they can be collected by councils. Cholera is a killer disease and we don’t want to lose lives,” he said. Meanwhile, the provincial minister bemoaned the behaviour of some departments both Government and parastatals where they were carrying over funds meant for development projects. He said the Provincial Administration won’t allow any department in 2017 to carry over funds and fail to implement various projects. “Funds are carried forward or called back by Ministry of Finance and yet we have so many need areas. “I just want to warn all controlling and implementing officers to ensure we stick to project schedules and timelines. If they have a problem, contact the PS or myself to ensure work is not delayed. This is a very important message which I needed to issue now before 2017 budget is implemented,” Dr Hamukale said.
