By JOHN SAKALA
Chingola Mayor Titus Tembo says it is better to train women in entrepreneurship because they are the ones that feel the pain of poverty.
Speaking at a two days Women Entrepreneurship workshop organized by Don Bosco for marketeers, Mr Tembo who spoke in Bemba said that ‘abaishiba efyo bwingila, efyo bwakula, nefyo bumfwika, ubucushi ni banamoyo.
Literally meaning that women are the ones that know and feel the pain of poverty.
He said empowerment that targets women is effective because women always want to come out of poverty.
He said government cannot give money to all citizens, hence the need for the citizens to create wealth.
The Mayor who seized the opportunity to elaborate on the removal of street vendors, said his council has equally created marketeers empower fund which is aimed at helping marketeers to grow.
He said the marketeers could not grow on the street and that’s why Chingola Council has built market shelters with a view to accommodate growth of marketeers.
“We didn’t hate you when we removed you from the street but we had a vision of making Chingola better and come up with several entrepreneurship programs to empower you,” he said.
And the Trainer Joseph Mushalika from Victor Series said being poor does not mean lacking of resources but the failure to utilize the available resources.
Dr Mushalika said that resources are passive and inactive waiting for someone to utilize them.
He said developed countries like Japan have very little known resources but they have utilized everything around them to become rich.
“One major resource that the poor fail to utilize very well is time. You cannot be sleeping like you are competing with the dead and expect to come out of poverty. And some of the women are fond of shifting their mandate to God. Do not give God a job when it is actually you who is supposed to do it.
“You cannot go and pray to God to give you riches when you are sleeping in bed. Jesus turned water into wine because there was water, Jesus multiplied bread and fish because someone had something and the Example of Elisha where a women filled several containers from very little she had. All these examples must tell you that God multiplies what you have,” he said.
And in a vote of thanks, one of the marketeers Veronica Chishimba thanked Don Bosco and Chingola Council for the initiative.
Ms Chishimba said marketeers have been very stagnant and the training was empowering for their advancement.
