WE CAN’T ALLOW TOLL FEES ON THE BUSY LUSAKA-NDOLA ROAD TO BE COLLECTED BY A FOREIGN ENTITY FOR 25 YEARS – KALABA
CITIZENS First leader Harry Kalaba says they would renegotiate the contract entered into between the UPND administration and Macro Ocean Investment Consortium, which has allowed the foreign entity to collect toll fees on the busy Lusaka-Ndola dual carriage way for 25 years.
In a press statement made available today, Kalaba argued that Zambia was among the countries with the busiest roads in the entire Southern African region, with the National Road Fund Agency having indicated that they collected K4 billion in toll fees in 2024 alone.
“Zambia is among the countries with the busiest roads in the entire Southern African region. We in the CF believe that our capacity to generate revenue from our roads can be increased without placing any added financial burden on our citizens. This is especially true when it comes to our toll gates,” Kalaba stated.
“The National Road Fund Agency collects most tolls nationwide, but the so called “new dawn” has handed over the operation of major toll points on the Lusaka–Ndola dual carriageway, to a private foreign consortium known as Macro Ocean Investment Consortium.
“This arrangement made by the “New Dawn ” gives a foreign company the right to build and operate a major national road and earn from our toll gates for a total of 25 years. The agreement includes 3 for construction and 22 years in which the consortium will operate, maintain and collect toll revenue from that road. This means that foreign interests will continue earning a large share of revenue from our roads until the year 2048”.
He argued that with proper planning, the levels of revenue NRFA was collecting was more than enough to support the construction of factories, power projects and large industrial parks.
Daily Revelation
Dull kalaba it was u and fellow PF who signed they contract why did u not bring the argument then to your beloved LunguKalaba try to use critical thinking skills not Judy but bubbling like a frog in the river
Leadership demands intelligence and wisdom, clearly some people don’t have it.
He was a Clerk, not that there’s something wrong with being a Clerk, however you can’t transition from Clerk to become president. That’s the problem when you look back at ECL leadership, it had made a lot of fools cheapen the presidency. May be the period to a bit long in order to renew the contract. Twenty-five years is too long. However, putting fellow Zambians in charge of collecting money is not advisable. We all know the reasons.
El chapo.Think of the road this way:It will save your life from dangerous speeding and overtaking for 20 years.Now which one is more important,your life or a toll gate?
Sometimes I fail to understand how some people reason. So according to Mr Kalaba, someone who did not spend or do anything on the project should be the one to collect the fees, instead of the one who actually did the work? Can someone please tell where the logic is with such reasoning. Now with such thinking, how will NAPSA and other financiers going to recover their investment?
Yes,the trouble with El chapo is he is always trying to sound unique in solution generation,but ends up breaking the eggs by over thinking simple things