PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema says the conclusion of the Kalungwishi Hydropower project in Luapula which has stalled for more than 20 years is yet another priority goal and nothing will deter his determination to guarantee its fruition.
President Hichilema said this during a meeting with traditional leaders and a delegation from Kalungwishi power project at State House yesterday.
“Let’s get Kalungwishi done like yesterday and nothing should stand in the way and I mean nothing,” President Hichilema said.
He said the power plant once completed would contribute to the Government’s objective of Zambia having surplus and efficient energy.
Mr Hichilema said Luapula was failing to venture into industrial manufacturing and manganese processing because the region had been sitting on the Kaungwishi project for years and yet it would provide the much- needed energy.
President Hichilema said time to dilly-dally or speculate on the project was long gone. Mr Hichilema said he would be heavy- handed using his Constitutional powers to get things done or unlock rigidities.
He said the New Dawn Administration was encouraging teamwork with the private sector and traditional leaders, among other stakeholders, who would have a shared vision or understanding of what they wanted to achieve.
“Today, we must get a direction over Kalungwishi and get on with the project,” Mr Hichilema said.
President Hichilema said with projects like Kalungwishi operating, Zambia would not have been experiencing load- shedding because it would have surplus and efficient energy.
The President said the Government’s desire was to reconstruct the economy and that was why it pushed for the debt restructuring agreement.
“The energy sector, your royal highnesses, sits as a critical sector in this jigsaw puzzle and in there we are clear that we want energy sufficiency and surplus, very simple, more importantly green energy and Kalungwishi sits in that space,” he said.
Earlier, Energy Minister Peter Kapala said the meeting was called to chart the way forward on the Kalungwishi project, which
had been on the table for more than 20 years.
Mr Kapala said he was optimistic that the outcome of the meeting would give a clear way forward on the project.
Senior Chief Nkula and representatives of Chief Mwata Kazembe were among the notables that attended the meeting.
