ENGAGE LIVINGSTONE MP OVER RUNDOWN MARAMBA COMMUNITY HALL

Dear Editor,

THE concerned and active resident of Livingstone, Oliver Mwenya has lamented the poor state of Maramba Community Hall (Daily Nation, May 16, 2022). The place is now the hide-out of the local chapter of the youth junkies.

The poor state of the community hall is not exceptional but the norm throughout the urban cities along the line rail from Livingstone to Chililabombwe.

It is the classic outcome of the neo-liberal economic pro grammes of the last 31 years in which community life is not valued. If it is valued then it is done so through the value of exchange.

Community halls constructed by the humanist and socialist leaning UNIP are now run down. Where they still exist, they are either sub-rented by councillors and serve as drinking plac es or as congregation of worship.

In their prime time, community halls were the centre of adult education and skills development in crafts such as food production, tailorng and design, etc. They also served as centre of arts particularly theatre for development.

They were simply intellectual centres though they also had too much UNIP propaganda content.

With the CDF cash now available, there now is chance for modernisation if community halls that are not occupied like the Maramba Community Hall in Livingstone. Livingstone constituency has a youthful and forward looking member of member who is also Minister of Tourism, Rhodline Sikumba.

Mr Mwenya should kick start discussions with the MP and not wait for the Livingstone City Council to drive the moderni sation process.