By KETRA KALUNGA
THE Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF) has called on the new dawn government not to abandon the Solar Milling Plant project because it’s very important in lifting Zambians’ lives in rural areas out of poverty.
ZCF director-general James Chirwa said the project is important and should be sustained under the UPND leadership because it plays a critical role in alleviating poverty levels among the people in the rural areas.
Mr. Chirwa said in an interview that the project promotes value addition by selling the mealie meal that is milled from the solar plants and at the same time improve the income of people in the rural areas thereby reducing poverty levels.
He said the project is also capable of providing electricity to over 100 houses in the rural areas using one solar milling plant thereby achieving the government’s mandate through the Rural Electrification Authority of taking electricity to rural parts of the country.
Mr. Chirwa said so far about 130 houses have been electrified in Chongwe as a pilot project.
“Our call is for the UPND government to support us, we still believe that this project is a very good project and that it will help alleviate the poverty that people in the rural areas are recording,” he said.
