LUMEZI Member of Parliament Lufeyo Ngoma has revealed plans to channel a part of the 2026 Constituency Development Fund (CDF) towards building a solar-powered electric fence to protect valley communities from rampaging elephants.
For years, villagers in Mwanya, Chitungulu, Zokwe and Kazembe have lived under the shadow of death as elephants migrating between Kasungu National Park in Malawi and Lukusuzi National Park in Zambia trample through their homes and fields, leaving behind destruction, hunger and tears.
On a radio programme in Chipata over the weekend, Ngoma said the desperate cries of valley residents had grown louder, with many families mourning loved ones killed in the conflict and others losing their entire harvests to the crop-raiding jumbos.
He said surveys and measurements were already underway this year, setting the stage for the project to commence when the 2026 CDF is disbursed.
The solar-powered fence will stretch along the Luangwa River, covering three chiefdoms in the valley.
Ngoma explained that to make the fence a reality, other construction projects in the valley would be suspended in 2026 so that resources could be directed to the specialised barrier.
He added that while bursaries, grants and other non-construction allocations would continue, schools and clinics would have to wait until the fence is up.
“If not every two months, we have lost lives because of the human-animal conflict. People have died, we have lost loved ones because of animals,” Ngoma lamented.
The lawmaker further credited President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration for the expanded CDF, saying it was the first time that valley residents could dream of such a lifesaving project.
Ngoma expressed optimism that the intervention would finally deliver peace of mind to communities who have endured decades of danger, while also securing food production that has long been threatened by elephants.
By George Musonda
Kalemba September 8, 2025
