GOVERNMENT has sourced a total of K1.4 billion (KR 1.4 million) to facilitate establishment of the 110,000 hectare Luena Farm Bloc in Kawambwa District.
Kawambwa District Commissioner Ivo Mpasa confirmed the development in from Kawambwa yesterday.
Mr Mpasa said the district administration received the KR K1.4 million which was part of the funds needed for the multi-million Kwacha project before the close of last year.
He said Government had dispatched a team of agricultural specialists into the field to demarcate at least 10,000 hectares which was the core venture of the project.
The farm bloc is expected to cater for a multi-million Kwacha sugarcane plantation, a processing plant
and an out-grower scheme.
“As I am speaking to you right now, we have dispatched a team of officers from the Ministry of Agriculture into the field to do the demarcation of the core venture of this project after which the land will be given to the investor interested in the development of this project,” Mr Mpasa said.
Mr Mpasa said the demarcation works which commenced last week were expected to be completed in the next two weeks.
He said a number of investors were interested but Government would have to come up with one potential investor from those that would respond to the advertisement.
He said out of the 110,000 hectares of land 10,000 hectares would be allocated to the investor for the core venture of the project, while other farms would be given to outgrower farmers and that they would range from 25 to 250 hectares.
He also said that farms ranging from 500 hectares upwards, would be allocated to commercial farmers who had capacity to develop them.
Mr Mpasa said so far, more than 300 small holder farms had already been demarcated and that, government was this year expected to start construction of the dams so that activities in the farm bloc could
start.

FORUM for Democracy and Development (FDD) leader Edith Nawakwi’s daughter Hatambu Hambulo has been gruesomely murdered and her body dumped in a manhole at her residence in Lusaka.

Two suspects have since been apprehended including a garden worker aged 22. The body of the late Hambulo, who was 26, was found with cuts on her thighs while her hands were tied with a rope.

Firefighters and police officers rushed to the scene to retrieve the body in the normally quiet Ibex Hill.

Ms Hambulo was a marketing officer at the Food Reserve Agency.

Lusaka Province police chief Joyce Kasosa confirmed in an interview that Hatambu was attacked in the early hours of Tuesday and her body left in manhole with her legs protruding.

“The victim was heard screaming for help by the neighbours but no one came to her rescue. When she did not report for work on Tuesday, her employers inquired from her parents, and when they checked at her home, she was found murdered,” Ms Kasosa said.

Lusaka has recorded increased murder cases which include that of Ruth Mbandu who was killed and her body parts removed in Emmasdale.

Mathew Chipili, a taxi driver, was killed last month and his body parts removed before he was dumped in Roma, while another taxi driver, Joseph Simfukwe, is another victim whose head was chopped off.

Police sources told the Times that Ms Hambulo’s assailants stole her Honda Civic but it overturned near Salama Farms in Ibex Hill.

“One of the suspects who is in in custody was arrested for a traffic offence and it was after interrogations that he was asked to phone the owner of the car and he called Ms Nawakwi, who went to her daughter’s house and found that she had been murdered,” the source said.

Meanwhile Inspector General of Police Stella Libongani has expressed sadness over the death and pledged renewed vigour to stop the rampart killings.

Ms Libongani said it was saddening that most of the murders were involving youths, both as victims and suspects.

“Human life is sacred and shall remain so and as Zambia Police Service we shall endeavour to protect each and every life as provided for by the Laws of Zambia,” she said.

Family spokesperson, Chris Hambote said the family had received the death with shock.

“The death was cruel it was an unprecedented brutal killing that the family has been left in absolute shock. We wonder how a fellow human being could kill another in such a manner,” Mr Hambote said.

Meanwhile, the United Party for National Development (UPND) and the National Restoration Party (NAREP) have sent messages of condolences to the family of the deceased.

NAREP leader Elias Chipimo, who was found at the funeral house number 55 Lwato Road in Roma, said the death of Ms Hambulo was not only shocking to Ms Nawakwi’s family but also to the nation.

UPND deputy spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa appealed to the police to thoroughly investigate the murder.

Singer Emeli Sande has capped a stellar rise over the past 12 months with four nominations for the 2013 Brit Awards.

The star, who had the best-selling album in the UK last year, is up for best female, best album and has two tracks in the best single category.

There were three nominations each for Mumford and Sons and Mercury Prize winners Alt-J.

Amy Winehouse has received a nomination for best British female after an album of material was released posthumously.

Singer Rita Ora also has three nominations, including two in the best single list, while Muse, Paloma Faith, Plan B and Olly Murs are up for two prizes each.

Jessie Ware, Ben Howard, Rihanna and Coldplay also have double nominations.

If Rihanna picks up the best international female prize at the ceremony on 20 February, it will be her third consecutive win.

‘Scary’

Adele, who swept the board at last year’s Brits, is in the running for best single for her James Bond theme Skyfall – meaning she has received Oscar and Brit nominations on the same day.

Sande’s appearance on the shortlist comes 12 months after she was tipped as a rising star with the Brit Awards’ Critics’ Choice prize.

Her debut album, Our Version of Events, went on to sell 1.4 million copies in the UK last year and she performed at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“It’s a really good feeling,” she said of the Brits nominations. “It feels great, a bit scary, because you never know, you might not win anything.

Sande’s two hits in the running for best single are Next To Me, which reached number two last February, and Beneath Your Beautiful, her chart-topping collaboration with producer-turned-frontman Labrinth

She will compete for the best album award – billed as the most prestigious – with Plan B, Alt-J, Paloma Faith and Mumford And Sons.

Alt-J and Mumford And Sons are also up for best British group, a shortlist that also takes in stadium rock with Muse, teen pop with One Direction and atmospheric indie with The xx.

Calvin Harris, Richard Hawley, Ben Howard, Olly Murs will compete with Plan B for the best British male title.

And in the best British female category, Winehouse and Sande are listed alongside Paloma Faith, Bat For Lashes and Jessie Ware.

Winehouse was eligible as a result of the album Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which compiled rare material, unreleased tracks and alternative recordings after her death in 2011.

The award for best live act has been reintroduced this year, and sees The Rolling Stones gain a nomination, 35 years after they were shortlisted for the first ever Brit Awards.

“It shows the broad spread of British pop music,” said Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton of the diverse shortlist. “That’s what’s great about the Brits.”

Live performances

The nominations were revealed by BBC Radio 1 breakfast show DJ Nick Grimshaw, who also had praise for the eclectic selection.

“It was really good to see Cat Power and Bat For Lashes but also have proper pop stars like One Direction and Rita Ora. And Calvin Harris, as well. I think he’s made the best pop songs this year, so it’s nice to see him.”

At the launch, in London’s Savoy Hotel on Thursday, Sande handed over this year’s Critics’ Choice prize to Sussex-born pianist and songwriter Tom Odell.

She told him to “enjoy it”, saying the award was “a platform to let people know about his wonderful music”.

Artist Damien Hirst has designed this year’s statuette, adorning it with his trademark spot design. The awards will be handed out at London’s O2 arena on 20 February.

The ceremony will be hosted by actor James Corden and will feature performances from Muse, Robbie Williams, Emeli Sande, Mumford and Sons, Ben Howard and One Direction.

THE Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has urged farmers to change their mindset to embrace the new rebased Kwacha, as it is legal tender.

ZNFU media liaison officer Calvin Kaleyi said farmers should not refuse to transact using new notes and coins on suspicion that they might be duped by unscrupulous buyers.
Mr Kaleyi was reacting to some report that some farmers are refusing to use the new currency from people wanting to buy their produce and livestock.
He said this in an interview in Lusaka on Friday.
“Whenever there is change, some people will embrace it while others will lag behind.
“We are using our region offices to sensitise the farmers on what Government is intending to do (rebasing). it may take some time but we will get there,” he said.
He said ZNFU will continue with the sensitisation programme on the need for farmers to embrace the change and promote development.
Meanwhile, Private Sector Development Association (PSDA) chairperson Yusuf Dodia has alleged that the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) did not adequately sensitise the public especially in the rural areas.
Mr Dodia urged BoZ to continue with the awareness campaigns to give more information to the farmers on the new notes.
He said more sensitisation will enhance confidence in the farmers when using the new notes as they trade.
“The people in the rural areas are not seeing any evidence of the rebased Kwacha, we need to engage them in trade and commerce so that they get used to the money,” he said.