Minister of Fisheries and Livestock – Professor Nkandu Luo has with immediate effect announced the termination of her ministry’s partnership with the Zambia Co-operative Federation – ZCF for not delivering their end of the agreement in the MOU.
The MOU was premised on the plan to build Aqua Park Fisheries Centers but nothing has been done. This development (or indeed the lack of development in this case), has angered Fisheries Minister, Professor Nkandu Luo.
The Livestock and Fisheries Minister stated that there was supposed to be an aqua park for fish which includes, fish ponds, fish processing plants, fish feed making machines and necessary implements for expanding fish production.
“I just want to express my utmost disappointment with the Zambia Co-operative Federation (ZCF), who came to our Ministry to partner with us. Its been over 1 year now, since we signed a Memorandum of Understanding – MOU and this is my third time being to this site just to find that there is nothing that is happening on the ground.
“But what is so disturbing, is the junk that has been put on this plot. The last time I had a meeting with the chairperson/president of the ZCF, he told me that he had containers at sea which where going to bring the equipment that’s going to be used for the partnership and this is the equipment that you see here”, an irate Prof Luo questioned.
Furthermore, Prof Luo says the ministry cannot accept such kind of arrangement and has with immediate effect cancelled their partnership with ZCF.
Definitely the ministry cannot accept to be in such kind of arrangement and I’m calling upon ZCF to just know that this partnership is over. Because this one of the things we were saying, our Zambian entities are forever complaining that we are not giving them opportunities but when opportunities are given to them, this is what they do?
The minister stressed that a Zambian Government, the first priority should be to give opportunities to the Zambian people who are expected to do things for the betterment of the Zambians, but this is not right, this is doing something for selfish gains.
“This is a clear demonstration of a group seeking a partnership with us as a Ministry, and since we think that there is so much we can do in Livestock and Fisheries for the betterment of our people, we thought they came in good faith just right here there has been no activity, the people that are here are busy buying maize from the farmers here that was not part of the agreement”, she said.
Meanwhile the Fisheries Minister says there was nowhere in the agreement between the Ministry and ZCF that talked about building of a warehouse that was being used to buy the maize from the farmers and that the activities that must be conducted are those that will increase productivity of fish in Eastern province .
“There was nowhere in the agreement that they will use this land to be buying maize. Why would you have land of this magnitude not to grow the maize, but to build a warehouse to be buying maize from the farmers? Why should Zambian people labor for an organization?
They are saying they are a co-operative federation that is interested in agriculture, so if they are interested in agriculture the activities that should be here, are those that will enable you to start working on issues of fish farming, so that we can increase the productivity of fish here in the Eastern province”, she said.
Prof Luo is currently on a trip to the Eastern Province to check on her Ministry that includes Livestock and Fisheries. Livestock and Fisheries remain a high potential area for commercialization in Zambia due to the country enjoying good geographical position with vast number of regional market access.
