150, 000 Chinsali residents to benefit from new water project By

THE construction of Chinsali Water project in Muchinga Province has been completed and is expected to be com- missioned next month.

Minister of Water Develop- ment, Sanitation and Envi- ronmental Protection, Rapha- el Nakacinda, says the project which is expected to benefit over 150, 000 residents, is also expected to create jobs for locals. Mr. Nakachinda said this yesterday in Chinsali after inspecting the water project that access to clean and safe drinking water will signifi- cantly contribute to reducing the diarrheal diseases.

"The completion of the water project is clear proof of President Edgar Lungu's as- pirations to ensure that peo- ple have access to clean and safe drinking water," Mr Nak- achinda said.

Meanwhile, Mr Nakachin- da announced that plans to establish a water utility com- pany in Muchinga Province have reached advanced stage.

Currently, the province is serviced by Chambeshi Water Supply and Sanitation Com- pany, which is also running Northern Province.

Mr. Nakacinda notes that there is need to establish a utility company for Muchinga Province to ensure effective and efficient service delivery of water and sanitation ser- vices to the people.

He urged the utility compa- ny to safeguard water infra- structure because provision of water supply is a cost under- taking.

Mr. Nakachinda says utility companies should also come up rehabilitation programs of water infrastructure especial- ly boreholes because repair- ing is equally a huge cost.

GLOBAL equity funds witnessed higher inflows in the week ended Feb. 24, on optimism that global central banks would keep interest rates lower to prop up their economies, undeterred by rising inflation concerns.

Investors purchased $31.4 billion in global equity funds in the week ended Feb.24, which was 17% higher than last week, Lipper data showed.

On the other hand, global bond funds saw their lowest inflow in eight weeks on worries over higher inflation levels.

The bond funds had a net buying of $7.36 billion in the week ended Feb. 24, with money flowing mainly into inflation-protection bond funds and shorter-tenor bond funds.

Investors bought about $4.7 billion worth of funds that invest in U.S. short-term and medium-term bonds, while funds focused on bonds structured to provide protection against inflation, attracted about $1.5 billion, according to the data. Among equities, tech funds had their lowest inflow in four weeks, hit by rising U.S. yields. Higher yields lower the present value of future cash flows of growth stocks, making them less attractive.