04/09/2025
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐰𝐞𝐳𝐢 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 ” Mapesho Kyembe Declares Bid for Solwezi Central Parliamentary Seat
Mapesho Kyembe has announced his intention to contest the Solwezi Central parliamentary seat in the 2026 elections, pledging to put the town and its residents first.
Kyembe highlighted the struggles faced by the community despite the town being at the heart of Zambia’s mining industry.
“𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭,” he said.
Kyembe outlined a series of legislative initiatives he intends to champion if elected:
Amendment to the Companies Act – Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): All companies with profits above K50 million would be required to invest a minimum of 2% of their profits into community development projects, including schools, healthcare, clean water, sports, and youth empowerment.
Amendment to the Mines and Minerals Local Content Bill – Prioritizing Local Labour: Mining companies operating in Solwezi would be mandated to employ local youth and contract local businesses, boosting job creation and empowering local entrepreneurs.
Mining Revenue Reinvestment Bill – Developing North-Western Province: A fixed percentage of mineral royalties collected from Solwezi mines would be reinvested into the province for infrastructure, healthcare upgrades, and the establishment of a public university to provide higher education and skills training.
“𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝-𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬,” Kyembe said, adding that his goal is to transform Solwezi into a city of opportunities, dignity, and hope.
He will challenge incumbent Stanford Mulusa who has argued that during his tenure Solwezi central has seen “unprecedented development.”
©️North-Western Newspaper 2025
