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CEEC to fund 94 projects out of 8,172 applications
| The new strategy will have 90% of its funds going to rural areas in line with the rural industrialization strategy of the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry with 10% of borrowers being serviced in the cities. CEEC director general Likando Mukumbuta announced that the new empowerment plan had kicked off to a bright start with over 8,172 application worth K730million received so far. The challenge for the CEEC is that it only has a budget of K35million to disperse for project proposals. The Commission received K25 million from the treasury and recovered K3 million from loan repayments. Therefore, Mukumbuta said only 94 projects have been selected for funding. He said each province would get K3 million, in accordance with the new CEEC strategy to have the money equally shared across all ten provinces at the rate of three districts per province this year. He said the CEEC would prioritise empowerment to the youths and women with 70 percent of its funding aimed at their projects. To push the rural industrialization forward funds to processing factories in selected districts have been approved. He also said that CEEC would re-engage some communities to facilitate nine essential investment plans. Among the communities to be re-engaged include Eastern province, Chipata district, where a dairy processing plant is required, while Southern Province, Choma district; Northwestern Province, Solwezi district and Muchinga Province, Mpika district will require more dairy cow restocking. Siavonga in Southern province, Mpulungu in Northern province together with Rufunsa in Lusaka whose main industry is fishing will also require fish processing plants. Mwense in Luapula whose main industry is palm oil will be encouraged to increase its palm plantation while diversifying production to mango juice from the rampant fruit tree growth in the area. And lastly, Lusaka district will be encourage to industrialise in chicken processing and packaging. Mukumbuta further reiterates that the implementation of funds will remain transparent and will be managed with integrity through its Provincial Empowerment Evaluation Committee in each province and overseen by the technical review team at CEEC headquarter. He warned people with ill intentions of wanting to fatten their pockets at the expense of poor Zambians that the CEEC is a place for people who need loans that would improve their lives and also contribute to the country’s economy, as well as, create jobs for the unemployed in the country. | |
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