By SIMON MUNTEMBA
GOVERNMENT has warned of stern action against parents and guardians who force their children into early marriages.
Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela said Government would ensure that parents and guardians who forced children into early marriages were severely punished.
Mr Chitotela said this when he handed over two classroom blocks which had been built at a cost of K437,000.
The two classroom blocks and staff houses at Mishingo and Poosa primary schools in Pambashe Constituency, Kawambwa district, were built using Constituency Development Fund (CDF) money.
Speaking during the handover on Friday Mr Chitotela, who is Pambashe Member of Parliament, said it was government’s desire to take education to all the parts of Zambia.
He said Government was determined to promote education in Zambia and would not allow parents to force their children into early marriages.
“Government has constructed schools in almost each district in the country and training teachers in order to educate the nation. We shall not tolerant parents who force their children into early marriages,” Mr Chitotela said.
“President Lungu’s leadership and that of the Patriotic Front gets pleased to see to it that education is taken to all the areas of this country, hence the building of the one by three classroom block and the purchase of desks and books,” he said.
Mr Chitotela, who donated desks and books to the two schools, urged the administration, residents and pupils to take care of the newly build infrastructure so that the generations to come could also benefit.
He also pledged to engage his counterpart from the Ministry of General Education, David Mabumba, to tackle the shortage of teachers in the schools in his constituency.
Meanwhile, Kawambwa district board secretary (DEBS) Frank Malama has commended Government for remembering the district in the infrastructure development programme.
Mr Malama promised to ensure the classroom blocks were taken good care of by all stakeholders.
He said his office would ensure enough teachers were sent to all schools.
Mr Malama said his office was aware that some schools had fewer teachers than they needed.
Kawambwa council chairperson Kalumba Chifumbe said the district was collaborating with traditional leaders to stop child marriages.
Mr Chifumbe said his office was working with all traditional leaders in the district to ensure the scourge was stopped.
