President Hichilema has re-affirmed the government’s commitment to implement measures to mitigate incidents in all the wildlife habitats, in order to protect lives and property in the country.
President Hichilema says the government is enhancing the protection of natural resources while enabling communities to benefit from sustainable tourism.
Speaking in a speech read on his behalf by Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Peter Kapala, during the Dantho Traditional Ceremony of the Chikunda people in Luangwa District, ZANIS reports that President Hichilema acknowledges the cases of human-animal conflict which have negatively impacted on the people in the district.
As one of the mitigation measures to the human-animal conflict in Luangwa District, he reported that the government has procured two land cruiser vehicles for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to enable swift response to cases of human-animal conflict in and around Luangwa.
“I wish to indicate that the interventions put in place by the government are aimed at promoting the coexistence between humans and wildlife,” he explained.
President Hichilema was responding to concerns of crop fields being devastated and humans being killed in his chiefdom thereby threatening food security and human life.
The President further appreciated Chief Mphuka for the farming activities that are taking place in Luangwa saying the government has expanded its support to farmers under the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) and the Sustainable Agricultural Financing Facility.
He says these interventions have provided a credit window that enables more farmers to procure irrigation equipment, farming inputs, farm power mechanization equipment and livestock.
“These are unprecedented steps towards empowering our farmers and advancing the commercialisation of agriculture in Zambia and I assure you that government is making every effort to ensure that more farmers benefit from these initiatives,” President Hichilema explained.
He emphasised that the government will continue collaborating with the traditional leadership and supporting traditional ceremonies that promote peace and national unity in Zambia.
Meanwhile, Chief Mphuka has thanked the government for the developmental and social protection programs in his chiefdom citing social cash transfer and cash for work that have positively impacted many households.
This year’s Dantho traditional ceremony was celebrated under the theme, “Cultural restoration for national unity, peace and economic development in Zambia after 60 years.”
