North-Western Province a Showcase of Poverty in the Midst of Abundance

North Western Province has a population of 727,044 and is the sixth poorest province in the country with 67% of the population living in poverty.
Yet, North Western Province is blessed with a lot of minerals, like copper, gold, emeralds, uranium, oil, diamonds and other semi-precious stones. Massive mining activities are taking place in the province and are contributing massively to the nation’s wealth. Solwezi, which is the provincial headquarters, is a fast-growing town with mining activities expanding rapidly in the area.
However, sadly, despite the mineral wealth of this province it remains poor and underdeveloped to date. Most of the people are still very poor and living under deplorable conditions as they have nothing to show for their province’s supposed abundant wealth.
A visit to this province will leave one in tears as one is greeted by big unplanned shanty compounds with no proper drainage and muddy roads. One wonders why the area has not developed into a modern Dubai with state of the art structures and tarred roads that reflect its abundance of wealth in terms of mineral resources.
This is a sad state of affairs for the province and a showcase of poverty in the midst of abundance. This poverty and underdevelopment should not be allowed to continue. Every well meaning person should learn variable lessons from this book and push for poverty alleviation in their respective areas and ensure development comes to its citizens no matter the cost. Stand up and be counted as a world changer.