$1.2bn Lusaka-Ndola carriageway contractor back at half price – Tayali
By Charles Tembo
GOVERNMENT says the contractor who was engaged to do the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway at US $1.2 billion has come back in the country and has agreed to do the works at a-50 per cent lower rate than demanded under the PF regime.
In 2018 the PF administration under then president Edgar Lungu agreed to a contract to do the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway at a cost of more than $1.2 billion.
However, the Road Development Agency halted the construction of the road and attributed the stagnation to financial constraints.
Transport and logistics minister Frank Tayali has now disclosed that the contractor that was meant to work on the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway “using colossal sums of money has come back into the country and has agreed to do the works at a-50 per cent lower rate than what was demanded before”.
Tayali during a meeting with transporters from various bodies in Ndola said working on strategic roads to open up the economy was on top of the UPND government’s agenda.
“The Ndola-Lusaka dual carriageway is one of the roads that we have on top of our agenda to be worked on for the transport sector to flourish. The same people that the previous administration contracted to do the road with colossal amounts of money are coming back again to do the road at a very lower cost. 50 per cent lower actually,” he said.
Tayali said there was no need to put up colossal sums of money to work on one road, when the same amount demanded would work on a number of roads.
He said, after the transporters had outlined challenges in the sector, the government had taken note and that it was committed to ensuring the sector flourished.
Tayali also responded to issues of transporters suffering a monopolised system of work stating that he had written to the Registrar of Societies to break the break cartels in the sector.
He urged transporters to unite and fight for their members’ plight.
“Bleeding within operations is lack of leadership. Let us reverse issues and ensure that we work in harmony so as to ensure that we open up the economy for development,” he said.
“Xenophobia is a bigger picture than meets the eye, because even their fellow citizens are facing the same issues. So this is a problem that needs careful examination to look at the way forward.”
And SADC truck drivers president Eugene Njovu said more than 10,000 transporters based in South Africa are expected to be repatriated back into the country as the transporters are being faced with xenophobic attacks.
“The drivers are being affected due to a demand by the drivers in South Africa stating that the business should not be given to foreigners. The transporters have also called on government to seriously look into the issue of mushrooming foreign transporters who are using the country as a spring board to do business as there are no stiff rules and regulations in doing business,” he said.
“The transporters have also cited mines as culprits who are in habit of engaging foreign transporters, leaving out locals who are only being contracted at a-10 per cent basis out of 100.”
Ndlovu said the sector stood to have more than 10,000 of its drivers sent back to Zambia from South Africa.
“In South Africa, most of our members are affected because not less than 10,000 will start moving back from South Africa because the transporters in that country do not want foreigners doing business there,” he said.
Ndlovu also reported harassment of transporters on the road by Zambia Police noting that in a space of two weeks, drivers have been harassed by traffic officers.
“Officers should be professional as harassment has potential to compromise the image of our country,” said Ndlovu.
Petroleum Transporters Association of Zambia (PTAZ) secretary general Benson Tembo said there was need to critically look at the issues that the transporters were faced with such as being sidelined.
“The way you have done with the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) is what should be done with the mines on behalf of the transport sector. We want full participation because mines are culprits in engaging foreign nationals in the transport sector,” said Tembo.