The Barotse Royal Establishment says it is happy that the new administration has initiated several programmes that will improve the living standards of the people.
And the BRE has bemoaned that infrastructure development has remained a major challenge to growth, economic and human development in Western Province.
BRE Ngambela(Prime Minister), Manyando Mukela says the region has been neglected in terms of development for many years by successful governments.
He cited poor road infrastructure as one of the areas that need urgent attention and called for construction of additional inter-provincial and inter-district roads to open up the region.
Ngambela Mukela has however, expressed happiness that government under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema has promised to improve the road infrastructure in province.
And Induna Amukutelile of Sesheke Regional Principality in Mwandi said early child marriages in the province are a consequence of the neglect that the place has suffered in terms of socio-economic and infrastructure development.
ZANIS reports that the BRE was speaking when Office of the President, Gender Division, Permanent Secretary, Mahinga Kabika paid a courtesy call on both chiefdoms in Western Province.
“Poverty has contributed to early child marriages in Western Province, but with the free education policy which this government has introduced among other economic developments such as the increment in Constituency Development Fund (CDF),the region will see change in many spheres of life,” he said.
And Ms Kabika informed the two Kutas that government is promoting education for a girl child and enhancing women’s role in politics and economic decision-making at the subnational level in the country.
She stressed that women are underrepresented in the representative authorities such as Parliament.
“Low levels of female political representation in Zambia are considered to undermine the quality of the country’s democracy and economic development, and if this continues how are we going to achieve the 50/50 representation in Parliament by 2030,” Ms Kabika asked.
Ms Kabika has since called for women to participate in the economic and political affairs of the country.
The gender division is mandated with the responsibility of conducting community sensitization on gender related interventions aimed at combating all forms of gender based violence against women and girls.
In this regard the division is conducting cultural resetting on negative traditional social norms and practices that perpetuate Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child marriages in Western Province.
Western Province is home to the Lozi-speaking people, one of the biggest of Zambia’s 73 ethnic groups.