$5 million dollars earmarked for canal clearing in Mongu.

Government says the $5million US dollars canal clearing which is a component of the climate resilience project which was launched last year will commence before the end of this year.
Acting Chief Planner Kafula Chisenga said the clearing of canals requires consultation and visibility studies in order to serve their purpose.

 

Mr. Chisenga explained that the project is on schedule and that the social and environmental impact study has been completed.
He noted that the implementation of the project depends on the engineers who are working on the canal designs and are expected to complete the exercise before the end of May this year.
Mr Chisenga Kafula pointed out that the purpose of the project is to mitigate the negative impact of climate change in the Barotse plains and adapt to its effect.

 

He added that there is need to engage institutions that will ensure the sustainability of the canals so that they can save their purpose and improve the living standard of people living in the Barotse plains.
Mr. Chisenga has since called on the beneficiaries to give ideas on how they think the canals can be sustainable and beneficial to their livelihood.

He added that a website has been opened for transparency and accountability and for people to have more information on what is obtaining on the ground.
Some Mongu residents have raised concerns that money for the clearing of canals was released last year by the World Bank but they have not seen
anything tangible towards the project and wondered why the project has delayed.
The five canals earmarked for clearing include Muoyowamo which is 19km and is used for navigation during the Kuomboka Ceremony, Lubitamei which is 78km, N’gombala 14km, Musiamo 58km, Fisheries 9km and Nabubela canals.