Poor state of roads angers Chingola mayor

Wed, 14 Dec 2016 11:11:29 +0000

MOST of the roads in Chingola district are in bad state because the three firms awarded contracts to do road rehabilitation works have abandoned the project for various reasons, says Chingola mayor Titus Tembo.

Speaking on Monday when Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister Ronald Chitotela paid a courtesy call on him, Mr Tembo said the residents of Chingola were not happy at the bad state of roads in the district and felt neglected by Government.

He said the bad state of roads in the district needed urgent attention and that he was sure that the visit by the minister would be followed up by road rehabilitation works to give a facelift to the once cleanest town in Zambia.

“We are hopeful and confident that your visit to our district will be followed up by the rehabilitation works of roads in our district. The state of roads in our district is very bad because we have had three failed contracts.

“In 2006, we had Tana Construction; in 2008 we had Red Lion and in 2012 we had Mivami, but all these contractors abandoned the works for various reasons. We hope that any contractor who would be awarded to do the road works will not abandon the works as well,” Mr Tembo said.

In response, Mr Chitotela said Government was now set to ensure that all the roads which were in bad state were rehabilitated.

Mr Chitotela said his ministry was not only looking at roads, but housing and other infrastructure countywide.

He said all former council houses which had not been sold would now fall under the newly created Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure.

He said the transfer of assets from some ministries to his ministry would be done systematically to avoid some assets going missing.

“I am not the minister of roads, but the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. I look at various infrastructure, but I can tell you that by the end of the first quarter of next year, around April, a number of roads will have been done,” Mr Chototela said.

And Mr Chitotela has advised districts on the Copperbelt to submit all roads which needed urgent rehabilitation works, and not just those leading to the house of the town clerk , district commissioner or the mayor.

Mr Chitotela was supported by officers from the Road Development Agency (RDA) who said it made little or no sense to rehabilitate roads which ended abruptly and were of no benefit to residents.

“Don’t just pick a road because it leads to your house as DC, town clerk, MP or mayor. No, you serve the people, so put the interest of the people first,” he said.