By Veronica Mwale
Mpongwe (20/05/2022)
Sports, Youth and Arts Minister Hon Elvis Nkandu.Mp was on the Copperbelt Province on a working visit.
The Sports, Youth and Arts Minister was in the company of Copperbelt Province Minister Hon. Elisha Matambo who then started the touring of Resource Centres in Mpongwe District where they made the first stop over at Kwilumuna Youth Center. The two Ministers, expressed happiness at the quality of works done so far that have reached 97 percent to the completion stage of the Youth Resource Centre.
The ministers however, gave a 60 days
Ultimatum to the contractor building the centre to finish the classroom blocks and Dormitories for the students which is currently one of the pressing issues at the institution.
Kwilimuna Youth Resource Centre is been built at the total cost of K16 million and it has currently enrolled about 306 students in various faculties.
The Copperbelt Province Minister Elisha Matambo and Hon.Elvis Nkandu implored youths in the District to utilize the Youth Resource Centre because the Zambian government attaches great importance to Youth Skills Training as one of the vehicle identified by the government to end poverty.
Kwilimuna Youth Resource Training Centre is also engaged in training Youths in bricklaying, tailoring, fish farming, poultry farming and piggery.
Meanwhile, at Masaiti Youth Training Centre in Chief Mushili ‘s chiefdom, Mr. Matambo said there is need for the Youth Training Centre to start operating like yesterday. He added that the bottle-necks surrounding the training centre which is already completed must be resolved.
Sports, Youths and Arts Minister noted that the problem has led to the delayment of opening the youth centre is that it was built on someone’s land. Hon. Nkandu assured the youths that the New Dawn government is working to resolve the matter and soon the skills centre will be operationalize.
The ministers however took turn encouraging youths in the district to form cooperatives and for them to access the empowerment funds government is rolling -out in different ministries.
The two winded down their tour of duty by inspecting Luanshya Youth Training Centre and were not happy to find that the Youth Training Center was abandoned at 47 percent prior to the completion stage and vandalism has since started taking place.
“We are going to find out what happened to the project and we hope it is not one of those projects where colossal sums of money was paid and works were not executed ” they assured the youths
The two ministers were accompanied by other government officials and party officials during the tour of Youth Resource Centres on the copperbelt.
CIC PRESS TEAM
