By George N M’tonga
Setting the Record Straight on the Lusaka–Ndola PPP Project
The narrative that the government is “lying” about the Lusaka–Ndola dual carriageway financing deserves clarity. Emotion and political sloganeering aside, the facts of the project show a very different picture.
1. The Cost Comparison Is Real, Not a Lie
The Patriotic Front (PF) administration indeed pursued a plan costing over US $2 billion for the same road. The UPND government renegotiated and restructured the deal under a PPP model, reducing the cost to US $650 million. That is not “lying” — it is a real, tangible saving to the Zambian taxpayer. Even if PF argues their last figure was US $1.2 billion, that is still nearly double the current project cost.
2. NAPSA and WCFCB Investments Are Not Theft
The use of funds from NAPSA (US $300m) and the Workers Compensation Fund (US $50m) is not a backdoor “raid” on workers’ money, but a structured investment. Pension funds the world over invest in infrastructure, real estate, and bonds to generate returns. The Lusaka–Ndola road is a revenue-generating asset through tolls, which provides steady, predictable cash flows — exactly the kind of investment pension funds seek. Calling this theft ignores the reality of how pension funds grow value for their members.
3. Toll Gate Revenue as Part of the PPP Model
Yes, toll gate revenues are part of the concession — because that is how PPP models work. The concessionaire invests capital upfront, builds and maintains the road, and recovers their investment over time through tolls. This is not a “giveaway”; it is a contractual structure. Importantly, the tolls are not private property — they are managed through escrow accounts jointly controlled by government and the concessionaire. This ensures transparency and protects public interest until the concession period ends.
4. Accountability Exists
The claim that this is “bogus” ignores the fact that PPPs are audited and regulated. Both NRFA and RDA have oversight functions, and the financing model was publicly debated and tabled before Parliament. Unlike opaque loans contracted in the past, this PPP has no sovereign guarantee — meaning the state is not burdened with contingent liabilities. That is a financially cleaner arrangement for Zambia.
5. Cancelling the Project Would Harm Zambia
The threat that “next year we will cancel the project” is reckless. Infrastructure projects of this scale involve binding contracts. Cancellation would expose Zambia to billions in legal claims and penalties, not to mention damage investor confidence. No serious government can run on a platform of tearing up agreements and still expect credible financing for future projects.
Conclusion: Discipline, Not Deception
The government is not “lying” — it has restructured a bloated project into a leaner, more sustainable PPP. It has mobilized local institutional investors in a way that grows pension assets and preserves fiscal space, all without adding new sovereign debt. Toll gates are not being stolen; they are being used as collateralized revenue streams under a regulated concession.
The truth is simple: Zambia is finally building infrastructure in a smarter, cheaper, and more transparent way. That is progress, not plunder.
Binwell Mpundu wrote:
THEY LIE TO US BECAUSE THEY THINK WE ARE ALL VERY DULL.
The minister of finance yesterday was proudly boasting that they are doing the Lusaka /Ndola Road under the PPP model where they are spending only $650 million as opposed to PF who wanted to spend $2billion.(By the way PF was going to spend $1.2billion).
They have no social shame, because they facilitated the $650million loan from our workers money Napsa and Workers compensation and on top of that they have even given away our toll gates to the same consortium. So how can they claim that they are spending only $650Million when on top of the $650million they are also using the revenues from the toll gates and you all can guess how much is being collected from those toll facilities on a daily basis.
This week on Wednesday i was scheduled to move a motion to ask them to reverse that corrupt decision to give away the toll gates before the contractor completes the project but this motion was erroneously removed from the order paper i guess it was because they wanted to come and lie to the people of Zambia.
They are nothing but a bunch of liars and basakala Nyongo stealing from us in broad day light while some of you are even clapping for them.
NEXT YEAR WHEN WE FORM GOVERNMENT, WE WILL CANCEL THIS BOGUS PROJECT AND WILL MAKE ALL THOSE WHO ARE STEALING PUBLIC FUNDS THROUGH THIS BOGUS ARRANGEMENT TO PAY BACK.
#BCM8
#ICHABAICHE
#timetochangethegameandtheplayers
Boy George is misguided. The scope of work packages are totally different.
The dual carriage way that PF wanted to construct would have offered a lot more infrastructure like resting stations, hard shoulders, hotels, garages etc. etc. all the way from Lusaka to Ndola. In addition, several feeder roads would have been built. This would have created a lot more permanent job. And the income generated from toll gates would have belonged to the state. In truth, it was a much better package. The UPND venture is flawed. It was a missed opportunity to elevate our road infrastructure.
So, boy George, you are talking through partisan lenses. And for that reason, I can never take you seriously. You are a liar young man. We do not need liars for our next generation of politicians. Your raw models are flawed.
VOTE FOR CHANGE IN 2026.
In reality, boy George, this road will cost closer to 3 billion USD, if you incude the income that the state will lose over the 23 year concession. This project is marred by corruption, with beneficiaries being politicians and their cronies.
Learn to tell the truth, boy George.
We were unjustly harsh on ECL. He was a much better leader than Hakainde.
REJECT TRIBALISM, CORRUPTION AND OPPRESSION.
VOTE FOR CHANGE IN 2026.
Please don’t expose your dullness in public. The road generates $30 million per year, meaning it will take about 22 years to make $650 million. Where is the $3 billion you are claiming going to come from? Please go back to school, because clearly you can do maths, on to of that, you can’t reason properly from all your writings in the past. And since you don’t know maths, $1.2 billion was the principle amount for the loan, meaning once interest is included, it very much possible for the figure to double or triple looking at how poor PF was when comes to negotiating terms.
Ba Indigo, it is a well known fact that inflating contracts was PF’s way of putting money in their pockets and most of them are stinking rich with no track record of nurturing and building a business. Remember the USD1million firetenders which were insured for USD25,000(?).
Is it the government’s responsibility to put up hotels and garages along the route? If truly there was a need, private business would move in and fill the void. Who was going to run those hotels and garages anyway?
Ba Indigo, Mr. Lungu was an unmitigated disaster for our country and the destruction he inflicted will take a long, long time to correct. To say he was a better leader than HH is to ignore the evidence. He was an extremely divisive and selfish leader who had no love for our country but was only concerned for his and his cronies welfare. Even in death he has managed to divide the nation. Remember how his wife went to the USA with an entourage of all kinds of sycophants to collect old redundant fire tenders? Was it really her job to do that? Better leader indeeed! That is his legacy.
Indigo Tyrol has shown up.
What a small prick.
Lungu is rotting and you are crying because your father is dead… CHIKALA.
You have nothing to say but old stories and how great PF was….well well well…where is PF now eweh chikala….where are they…..oh by the way of is in self destruction mode….better start sucking your chikala Indigo
Hon. Binwell Mpundu is one of the dull MPs in parliament who thinks he is intelligent, but does not understand most of the things he talks about. It is a pity that man does not even understand how pension funds like NAPSA generate money to pay the retires, so he thinks they just keep the money in the bank. It is really scary to have such people leaders, because they are the ones who can cause so much damage to our economy.