Posts Tagged ‘ULP’

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FOCUS ON MAIZE OVERSHADOWS OTHER FOOD CROPS – SAKWIBA

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

By ZAMBIA NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENT

OPPOSITION United Liberal Party (ULP) says the emphasis on mass production of maize as a basis for food security in Zambia is disadvantaging other food crops such as rice, wheat, soya beans, millet and cassava.

ULP leader Sakwiba Sikota said in a statement made available to Zambia News Featurse Thursday that the fertilizer support programme should be extended to cover massive production of rice, wheat, millet, ordinary beans, soya beans which have become local staples of the producing districts.

FRA silo

FRA silo for mostly maize storage

Sikota, who is also Livingstone Member of Parliament, said government must balance support in the 2010/2011 farming season for the production of maize and other food crops including plain beans and soya beans to help reduce the high levels of malnutrition in the country.

“Achieving food security will require the government to increase support for the mass production of rice, millet, soya and ordinary plain beans. Food security should also include preparing in advance proper storage facilities that will preserve the bumper harvests of these crops for many years without any damage.

“Today we are faced with a situation were part of the bumper maize harvest from the last farming season might go to waste because of inadequate storage capacity,” Sikota said.

The ULP leader said his party believes that food security would be attained if the majority of citizens had access to adequate quantity and quality nutritive food and that government should also resolve some of the main causes of food and nutrition insecurity which include inadequate investment in physical and human capital, adverse agro-ecological and climatic conditions, political instability, poor health services and the spread of HIV/AIDS as a firm strategy of attaining food security in the country.

(Edited by Gershom Ndhlovu. Contact us on editor@zambianewsfeatures.com)

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SIKOTA CALLS FOR SHANTY UPGRADE

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

By ZAMBIA NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENT

THE UNITED Liberal Party is concerned about increased crime and disease in shanty compounds if they are not upgraded.

ULP President Sakwiba Sikota, who is also Livingstone MP, said in a statement this week that government should not allow poor living conditions in shanty compounds to become a perpetual challenge that can be resolved but put in place measures that would improve the living standards of people by upgrading their housing units.

“The main reason ULP is calling on government to start upgrading compounds is that people have a fundamental right to live with basic dignity and in decent conditions. It is also in the best interest of cities around the country to upgrade compounds and prevent the formation of new ones,” Sikota said.

He said there were many factors that were needed for government to implement a successful compound upgrading programme and two most important ones being strong political will on the part of government and strong buy-in on the part of communities.

“Government should show political will and start the upgrading of compounds around the country,” Sikota said.

He stated that compounds were not homogeneous, with many diverse vested interests that existed there.

“In addition to the poor who are simply looking for a decent place to live, there can be criminal elements who take advantage of the informal space, or landlords who make small fortunes renting out shacks to people over time.

“All of these interests must be properly understood and brought into the planning process. The best way to do this is through negotiated development, in which people participate in negotiating their rights and understand that all the different interests have rights that need to be brought into the equation,” said the ULP leader.

In the past, he said, shanty compound upgrading projects had failed because there were people in the community who believed they would not qualify for an upgrading programme because they did not have enough resources to occupy upgraded housing units or they were not citizens or residents of the country.

He proposed that government should undertake a massive sensitization exercise for people in shanty compounds to understand why it is important to start upgrading their localities.

“The sensitization process will also create a sense of partnership between the government and the communities in the affected compounds,” Sikota said.

He warned that if compounds were allowed to deteriorate, government would lose control of the populace and compounds becoming areas of high crime and disease that would impact badly on our country.

He said improvements to the economic condition of households and infrastructure in compounds and the resolution of conflicts between the community and local authorities should form part of this upgrading process.

(Edited by Gershom Ndhlovu)

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OPPOSITION URGES REVIEW OF FUEL FUND

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

*USE STRATEGIC FUEL FUND TO STABILISE PRICES

By Gershom Ndhlovu

ZAMBIA’s opposition United Liberal Party (ULP) has called on government to urgently review the implementation and performance of the Strategic Reserve Fund (SRF) for it to become an effective tool in resolving fuel shortages and cushioning price fluctuations in the fuel industry.Sakwiba Sikota

ULP president Sakwiba Sikota said in a statement Wednesday that currently the relevance of the SRF in stabilising diesel fuel prices was increasingly becoming questionable because of pressure from various quarters to divert the fund.

The SRF was established to pile up stocks of fuel so that in times of shortages, fuel could be offloaded on the market to stabilize prices and also in times when fuel costs increase rapidly, fuel stocks could be released at a lower cost and not to be a source of funding for other capital intensive projects such as road rehabilitation.

Under the SRF, established in 2006, motorists and other consumers of diesel pay K252 for every litre purchased. At current national consumption levels of 1,500,000,000 litres of diesel per month, government has been collecting approximately K 350, 000, 000, 000 (about US$75 million).

Sikota, State Counsel and Livingstone Member of Parliament, issued his statement a day after the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) increased the pump price of petrol to K7, 573 (approximately US$1.50) per litre from K6, 652 while diesel was hiked to K6, 898 from K6, 414.

“Government needs to assure the nation that SRF is prepared to deal with any shortages and price increases that could arise as a result of a BP pullout from the Zambian market.  Government needs to inform the nation on the available stocks of fuel reserved under the Strategic Reserve Fund to deal shortages that might arise from the pullout by BP Zambia,” Sikota said.

BP recently announced that it was pulling out of Zambia and intended to sell off its assets which include distribution centres in Ndola and the capital, Lusaka and a chain of filling stations throughout the country.

The solution to the perennial fuel shortages, Sikota said lay with government utilizing the money collected in the SRF for its intended purpose of ensuring a constant supply of stock feed at INDENI, an oil refinery in Ndola, for the production of diesel and other petroleum products.

“The supply can improve and the price of diesel can be kept stable and uniform through out the country if government utilizes funds from the Strategic Reserve Fund correctly.

“The money raised through the SRF can also be used to construct storage facilities for diesel and other petroleum products to avoid shortages. Government should stop diverting money from the Strategic Reserve Fund to other areas because the practice will continue to affect the supply and prices of fuel in the country,” Sikota said.

Meanwhile, the ULP has called on government to introduce policies that would facilitate the development of competitive small-scale milling facilities in towns and villages where maize storage sheds exist.

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