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are all affected by AIDS pandemicLocal News Up-Date, January 30, 2010
Storm destroys 18 houses in Ufwenuka
By Nchimunya Vanessa Mweemba
About 18 families in Mwiinga malimvwa and Nang’andu villages are spending nights in the cold after a storm swept through the area Sunday,leaving a trail of destruction.
Ufwenuka ward councilor Tenara Mwanakalanga told Radio Chikuni News that one boy was seriously hurt,while several villagers are nursing minor wounds.
Mr Mwanakalanga said no lives were lost in the storm.
The ward councilor has described the storm as a disaster.
Mr Mwanakalanga said that the storm ,characterised by fast winds hit in the area Sunday evening, causing extensive damage to 18 houses which collapsed.
He says that fast raging waters completely destroyed the maize crop in the field and has warned that the affected families may need food aid for the whole year.
Mr Mwanakalanga is appealing to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to come to the aid of the 18 families.
He says the affected families are in dire need of food and tents.
Farmer says maize monoculture has exacerbated hunger and poverty
By Nchimunya Vanessa Mweemba
A small scale farmer has said that food shortages in Zambia result from high dependence on rain-fed cultivation and the over dependence on maize at the expense of crops that are drought tolerant.
Matthias Luunga said it was sad to note that many small-scale farmers even in drought prone areas are growing maize.
He told Radio Chikuni News that over dependency on the maize crop which can not thrive in adverse weather conditions has further pushed impoverished farmers in utter destitution.
Mr Luunga who is also Fumbo ward councilor in Gwembe District says that the key to fighting hunger in the country especially in drought prone areas is through crop diversification.
He says farmers in rural areas should be encouraged to plant drought tolerant crops like millet and sorghum so as to enhance household food security.
For many years, Maize growing has significantly dominated the agricultural sector in Zambia and a failed maize crop as a result of poor rains entails food shortages in the country.
Chief Munyumbwe bemoans poor work culture
By Nchimunya Vanessa Mweemba
Chief Munyumbwe of the Tonga speaking people of Gwembe district in Southern province has challenged his subjects to play a leading role in the development of their communities.
He told Radio Chikuni News Friday that meaningful development can only occur if locals play a leading role.
The chief said it is sad to note that many people in his area are not ready and willing to offer free labour in developmental projects.
Chief Munyumbwe said the poor work culture among his subjects has negatively impacted on many developmental projects.
The traditional leader said most people are more interested in politicking instead of focusing their energies on working to end poverty in the chiefdom
Chief Munyumbwe said poverty can only be eradicated if people of different political affiliations unite in the fight against it.
Leprosy sufferers appeal for relief food
By Nchimunya Vanessa Mweemba
People suffering from leprosy in Gwembe District of Southern Province have called on government to alleviate their suffering by responding to their basic needs.
And they have appealed for immediate food aid from well-wishers.
Salia Malambo of the Leper village says that people of her kind face perpetual hunger and are in dire need of urgent relief food.
Ms Malambo further says that government should ensure that they help sufferers of the disease so that they live as dignified human beings.
She told Radio Chikuni News that many leprosy sufferers continue to face a harsh life as the debilitation effects of the disease have left them frail ,making it hard for them to work in their fields.
And Sam Majendo of the same village says that perpetual hunger remains the biggest challenge for people who suffer from leprosy in the reclusive village.
The leper village in Gwembe District of the Southern Province of Zambia is home to people once ostracized by society because they had leprosy and this reclusive settlement has been in existence since the 1960s.
Hundreds of leprosy sufferers enjoyed life in this reclusive village, it was a safe haven for those who had leprosy and faced discrimination everyday because at that time, the causes of this otherwise debilitating disease were not known by a lot of people.
Many have died from the disease and only six have survived ,two females and four males.
But the sufferers can hardly say much beyond the usual ‘we suffer’ and sadness and utter resignation to the fate of despondency is evident in the faces of these people ostracized by society and abandoned by the government.
Monze District council closes bars and tarvens in Chikuni
By Moono Hamasukwa
Monze District Council Wednesday, swung into action closing down bars and taverns operating without toilet facilities at Chikuni market commonly known as Mundale.
The move comes after the bar owners failed to comply with the council’s 21 day ultimatum to improve sanitary conditions at their premises.
Council Health Inspector Habben Chitukutuku told Radio Chikuni News that the affected proprietors will only resume operations once they dig toilets at their business premises.
Asked to explain why the council decided to give operating licenses to persons who had no toilets to open bars and tarvens, Mr Chitukutuku said that the the bar owners had promised the council that they would dig toilets once the bars became operational.
But a concerned resident Steven Mubukwanu said the council should ensure that a person is only allowed to open a bar if they have the necessary sanitation facilities.
And one of the affected bar owners accused the council of ill will towards business people operating in far flung areas.
Mrs Justina Mainza said as far as she is concerned, she had complied with council regulations as she had built a toilet but the council employees told her that it was too far from the bar.
Many bars and tarvens in Mundale have been operating without toilet facilities, forcing patrons to turn trees into urinaries,,a situation that has angered the more progressive members of society who fear a possible outbreak of hygiene related diseases.
