Meet Comrade Kafwimbi Namutowe Featured
Nakonde Central constituency parliamentary candidate comrade Kafwimbi Lunda Namutowe says she joined the Socialist Party “because it promotes mass governance through justice, equity and peace and encourages the young, women and people living with disabilities to participate in leadership and decision-making processes”.
She went to primary school in Chama and Copperbelt, Chinsali, followed by secondary school at Nakonde, and has a certificate in psychosocial counselling.
Comrade Namutowe has worked as a teacher in Morogoro, Tanzania, with the International Institute of Democracy and Conflict Resolution, and also with the Southern Cross Trade Border Association coordinating Muchinga province. She is currently working as a psychosocial counsellor at Nakonde Urban Clinic focusing on gender-based violence issues.
She says agriculture, education, employment, and the problem of early marriages are just some of the issues that need addressing in her constituency.
“We are going to diversify agriculture, not limited to maize, but to include the production of soybeans, millet, sorghum and hot culture, such as fish and animal farming. By so doing, we are going to open people’s minds to other sources of income by selling the produce to East Africa,” she said.
“We have many pressing issues with education. For example, during the enrolment of children, there are a lot of demands that disadvantage the less privileged. The long distances have caused many girls to drop out of school because of teen pregnancies and early marriages as they do weekly boarding. Overcrowding of pupils in classes has disadvantaged many pupils in terms of teacher monitoring and quality education.
“There are no jobs in this area as Zambia is largely de-industrialised. Nakonde constituency is a semi-arid area where people prefer to farm as there are no industries and companies. The Socialist Party will embark on a huge industrialisation programme to create cooperatives, industries and jobs in its three key sectors; agriculture, health and education.
”Comrade Namutowe says Nakonde has what it takes to develop. “However, need a visionary leader who will work with the people to achieve a better Zambia.” She adds that residents “have tried men, but should now trust a woman”.