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Parley Committee Wants New Ministry Created
A NEW ministry should be created to specifically be dealing with the fisheries industry whose potential has not been tapped the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture has recommended.
President Edgar Lungu has so far created 20 ministries. Presenting the report on Agriculture on Friday, Committee chairman, Villie Lombanya said the fisheries industry had vast potential to contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr Lombanya who is United Party for National Development (UPND) Solwezi East Member of Parliament said agriculture budgets have always been tilted towards the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) thereby disregarding industries such as fisheries.
“Agriculture has vast potential to contribute to Gross Domestic Product if all sectors were explored. We can even close the mines. Agriculture budgets have been tilted towards FISP and FRA disregarding industries such as fisheries,” he said.
Mr Lombanya said if a specific ministry was created to deal with fisheries, the industry could help the country’s economy because it had the potential to be a source of export to other regions.
He said there was need for Government to put practical intervention on agriculture diversification.
Mr Lombanya said fisheries had proved to be the fastest growing industry which only required stringent measures to protect the fish.
“We seem to have challenges when it comes to regulation such as the imposition of fish bans. Some areas have little or no means of livelihood hence contribute to the depletion of fish from water bodies near them,” he said
Meanwhile Deputy Minister in the office of the Vice President Steven Kampyongo told Parliament on Friday that government had put in place measures to ensure that no Zambian starved in light of the poor rains recorded in the 2014/2015 rainy season.
He was responding to concerns raised by Liuwa member of Parliament (MMD) Situmbeko Musokotwane who said that as a result of poor rains people from his constituency would resort to poaching in the plains.
“I want to assure the honorable member from Liuwa that no one is going to starve in his constituency.
As we speak now the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit is on the ground in all the eight districts in Western Province that were affected as a result of rains,” Mr Kampyongo said.
Posted by Editor
on June 21, 2015. Filed under LATEST NEWS.
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New Educated Zambia©
June 21, 2015 at 10:11 pm
You are very foolish. Where is the money going to come from? PF has mismanaged this economy and now we running on a deficit economy which has reached alarming levels. How do you chaps then come up with an idea that is going to cost us more. Look, if you chaps can prove to us that the benefits of setting this ministry will outweigh the costs then please be my guest. However, I do not see any sense in creating a further ministry. All you need to do is assemble a powerful team of specialists within the ministry of agric that can deal with fisheries issue. You are all fools. Can we please have UPND in 2016!
Czar
June 22, 2015 at 7:12 am
Blah blah blah us in UPND. Can’t even see the proposal came from us in UPND.
Famous idiot!...
June 21, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Another ministry? Its like imbwa ilefwenya panuma using amolu yakuntashi instead aya kunuma!… Impiya shikafuma kwisa ba pompwe?… Use what u have ba makaka imitwe ukukosa kwati likufi lya ndoshi nangu umusula wakwa kaboyi…
New Educated Zambia©
June 21, 2015 at 11:09 pm
walya fire mune. next time vote upnd
Beautiful Moma
June 21, 2015 at 11:29 pm
The govt should create another Ministry when it was struggling to lift the wage freeze just recently? The real problem here is the implementation of controls in the fisheries industry. The govt should strengthen the existing capacity at the Min of Agric. instead of creating another white elephant which will waste govt resources.
Czar
June 22, 2015 at 7:42 am
I totally agree with you.
Coach E.
June 21, 2015 at 11:51 pm
@ NEZ, did you realize that the MP proposing creation of a new ministry is UPND?
observer
June 22, 2015 at 10:48 am
What is needed is discipline in terms of resource management not ilya mentality yakuti fya Boma.tuma workshops utwabufi mwacefyanyako bane. Shi Chilufya alikenye bane.