Kitwe ward projects approved
THE Ministry of Local Government has approved the implementation of the Ward Development Fund (WDF) projects in Kitwe.
Last month, Kitwe City Council set aside K2.5 million for wards for the period April to December, this year.
Council Public Relations Officer, Nelly Nkolongo, said that the fund was for developmental projects in all the five constituencies in the city.
She was speaking in an interview with the Daily Nation. “These projects are meant to cover a wide range of services such as garbage collection, road grading, vegetation control, unblocking of the drainages and construction works. “Other services include water reticulation, sinking of boreholes and provisioning of street lighting within the city of Kitwe,” she said.
Ms Nkolongo said that it was to that effect that the chairpersons and secretaries for each of the 28 Ward Development Committees (WDCS) had been invited to flag off the implementation of the projects.
She further hoped that there would be smooth deliberations as well as planning on the matter until completion.
candidates in the just- ended UPND Copperbelt intra- party elections have described the process as below acceptable standards.
They charged that some senior party leaders were putting their personal interests before that of the party
Some of the losing candidates told the Daily Nation in Kitwe in separate interviews that some senior party officials had their preferred candidates and influenced the results in their favour.
The UPND members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were disappointed at the way the elections were conducted, saying such kind of behaviour could destroy the party because even their supporters were not happy
“To start with, in our arrangement, if you are a candidate, you will not vote in the election. The other thing is that we had a situation where if you are standing for a position and you are not liked by the senior members, they will raise a candidate to stand against you.
But newly-elected UPND Copperbelt Information Publicity Secretary, Lawrence Mwanza, said the complaints were not genuine and that it was normal to complain after defeat in an election to get sympathy from supporters.
Mr Mwanza said people should put aside the defeat in the elections and concentrate on building the party ahead of the 2021 elections to ensure victory.
He advised those who lost in the elections not to feel hopeless, but work with the elected leaders in various ways so that they could build the UPND under President Hakainde Hichilema.
“We can learn something from each other. Those who have won can learn something from those who have lost and vice-versa.
We need unity of purpose, let us forge together as one family,’’ Mr Mwanza said.
To start with, in our arrangement, if you are candidate, you will not vote in the election. The other thing is that we had a situation where if you are standing for a position and you are not liked by the senior members, they will raise a candidate to stand against you.