Chingola District Deputy Mayor Richard Kabwe says grant disbursement to local clubs will lessen overdependence on mining activities in Chingola, Kitwe, Kabwe and Mufilira.
Mr Kabwe said the contribution of the Ministry of Mines and Development through Zambia Mining and Environmental Rediation and Improvement Project (ZMERIP) of disbursing grants to local clubs in Chingola and other areas is exciting.
He said that the Local Authority under the department of Housing and Social services in conjunction with ZMERIP is implementing this project of releasing grants to some local clubs in the area in order to provide alternative means of a better living for youths, women and the community at large.
“This project is funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Mines seeks to reduce adverse impact on mining in communities critically polluted by mining areas, and I am pleased to inform you that one of our local clubs Hope Youth Foundation at Nchanga development Centre last year in February 2021 received about Sixty-eight thousand, one hundred and twenty-two Kwacha and later received forty percent (40%) of the totaling amount (K168,390) as a grant to Kick start their projects,” he added.
Mr Kabwe said the recipient club has embarked on making coffins to generate income and sustain their livelihoods.
He also commended ZMERIP for their gesture to local clubs in Chingola as it aids a move away from illegal mining activities and supplements alternatives towards more sustainable means of generating income such as fish farming, carpentry and gardening among others.
