Govt says Kabitaka Housing Project must succeed

—–Government says it wants the Kabitaka housing project in Solwezi to go on without interruption as it is a valuable asset to the district.

Solwezi District Commissioner, Chrispin Likando, said this when he met the Kabitaka housing project stakeholders,  Kansanshi Mine, Mbonge community representatives and the Kapijimpanga Royal Establishment at Solwezi council chamber today.

Mr Likando said government has engaged its security wings to investigate allegations of corrupt practices involved in recruiting workers at the project site.

He explained that the contractors and the community surrounding the project must make sure a common solution is found if labour disputes between them are to be fully addressed as the Kabitaka housing project is a delicate issue and it is government’s intentions that it succeeds.

And speaking at the same function, Kabitaka housing project community representative, Allan Kabwata, appealed to Kansanshi Mine management and contractors to give employment priority first to the people displaced by the project before contracting people from other parts of the country.

Mr Kabwata accused contractors at the site of not honouring the Memorandum of Understanding with his committee, saying the move has greatly disadvantaged his people from accessing employment at the site despite some of the prospective employees being inducted by the same contractors.

He said the contractors are outsourcing labour at the expense of the locals some of whom he said have the necessary qualifications.

Mr Kabwata has called for the replacement of some recruiting officers at the housing project if progress is to prevail at the site.