President Levy Mwanawasa says government is working on a programme aimed at improving the state of feeder roads across the country to secure improved productivity in the next farming season.
Dr. Mwanawasa said government has since procured road construction equipment worthy US$39.5 million which would be used to improve the state of road infrastructure, including feeder roads in the country.
He said government was aware of the extent of damage to road infrastructure caused by heavy rains in the last rain season.
He was speaking today at a public rally held at Kafumbwe High School grounds in Katete district to drum up support for the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) candidate, Rueben Banda for the June 26th 2008, Milanzi by-election.
Dr. Mwanawasa said government has worked hard to introduce good agricultural policies which have made it possible for the country to have a sound food security by producing enough maize for consumption.
He said government was also working to improve the livestock farming in Eastern province.
He disclosed that a centre for artificial insemination which would also manufacture animal disease vaccines was under construction in the province.
He said the artificial insemination centre to avail farmers an opportunity to improve their livestock breeds into quality and disease resistant animals.
And the President also said government has constructed many schools health centres in the province in general and Milanzi constituency in particular to improve the quality of life of the communities in this area.
Dr. Mwanawasa said a state of the art school at Kafumbwe has been constructed to help reduce illiteracy levels in the area.
He said government recognised that improved access to education would help government to effectively implement developmental programmes in all sectors of the economy.
He therefore expressed disappointment at the recent move by Kafumbwe High School pupils to riot and destroy infrastructure and school property recently.
Dr. Mwanawasa said the destruction of the school infrastructure was a frustration to government efforts of improving infrastructure in the education sector, which he said was a measure of providing quality education to Zambians.
He also regretted that the recent incident would send wrong signals to the donors that partnered with government to construct Kafumbwe High School in Milanzi constituency in Katete district.
“I was extremely frustrated when pupils at this school demonstrated and damaged property. And you expect government to repair the damaged when it is working hard to ensure that similar infrastructure is taken to other needy areas of the country,” he said.
Dr. Mwanawasa added that, “even the foreign country that helped fund the construction of this school will get frustrated because you the pupils are damaging the school hardly two years after it was constructed”.
He urged the pupils at the school to guard the infrastructure jealously because it has been put up to facilitate their easy access to education.
He has further urged the pupils to work very hard for them to meaningfully contribute to the country’s future development because they formed part of the future leadership.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mwanawasa has urged the electorate in Milanzi constituency to vote for the MMD in Thursday’s by-election in order to sustain ongoing implementation of projects in the area.
He cautioned them to be wary of false promises being given by some political parties which are promising to provide free fertilizer, which he said was not possible.
The President said the people should vote for the MMD because it was the party in government managing the national resources in an exemplary manner.
He warned them against experimenting with leadership because doing so could derail ongoing developmental programmes.
Earlier, Dr. Mwanawasa paid a courtesy call on paramount chief Kalonga-Gawa Undi of the Chewa people of Katete district in Eastern province.
The Milanzi seat, which fell vacant after the death of the UNIP Member of Parliament Chosani Njovu in April this year, is being contested by five candidates.
These are Mr. Banda of MMD, United National Independence Party’s (UNIP) Ahmed Randera, Chimwala Phiri of the United Party for National Development (UPND), Francis Banda of the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), All People’s Congress’ (ACP) Stephen Phiri and Patriotic Front’s Peter Phiri.
ZANIS/SKJ/KSH/AM/ENDS
who is he cheating, like we have not heard it before? and how can you improve on feeder roads, grading? which is not a lasting solution during rainy season. Milanzi people wake up, if they cant maintain tar roads in the city wht makes you think they will maintain your feeder roads. Tell them to put a tarred road with proper drainages besides it, what good is a tarred road without drainages beside it. city planners in our country are just useless.
LT check your headline, State to WHAT? Feeder roads
It is not the State….It is the Govt. I am tired of people mixing the two! Zambians please wake up!
Do we have town planners?
A spade should be called a spade. I don’t know which othe party one can vote for apart from MMD. They have tried their best. Yes in some areas they might have failed but strictly speaking the have tried. Viva Levy.
5 I agrre with what you are saying that MMD have done well but i think we must be allowed to analyse other paries’s policies,manifestos ETC and then compare with what MMD offers before making any decision on who to vote for.This is the time we need to use our heads when choosing leaders.After Kaunda and Chiluba we should have learnt our lessons and do as the so called civilised world.we should appreciate what is good and criticise what is bad for us to shape our nation for the better for our children.Obviously we still have a lot to do in improving our country
you probably should be MMD to applaude a useless govt. lets analysis i thing what have they achieved, the first ever govt to have a vry unbalanced economy with so many shortages
1. fuel
2. sugar
3. power
4. cement
what next? you should be blind to applaude them ka
MMD is another name for public theft.
These fellows have no morals. They are busy condemning Mugabe while they have been cheating Zambian people since 1991! The time for regime change in Zed is long past over due! This grz will talk rural rlads today, sugar tomorrow, MFEZ on Monday, Chinese on Sunday, etc. They are not focused on Zambians Institutions that can do the donkey work in our country so that we cab have a better nation. KK beats these thugs by far. He was really ahead of his time given his educational levels, he is a saint!
Really this LPM GRZ can only be said to have done well when you compare it with the chiluba administration. If compared with other countries we are among the worst. This GRZ has not done much. Even the feeder roads LPM is talking about is just a compaign gimmick to corrupt the poor people. Why talk about such only at ralies. Even if these feeder roads were to be done, it has to be done by the Chinese, as a country we cannot do it on our own. During KK feeder roads were maily done by GRZ. One wonders how many earth moving machines GZR has.
#7. natalie
1. Fuel prices are rising globally. If there is a rise in price, for sure there will be a shortage. Be realistic. Zambia is not the only country experiencing Fuel Shortages.
2. Zambia Sugar PLC and Kafue Sugar are private companies. Take it up with them.
3. The whole of Southern Africa is experiencing power shortages including South Africa.
4. Chilanga cement is a private company. Take it up with them.
Now i am not MMD. I am UPND but sometimes we shouldn’t criticize for the sake. Lets be realistic sometimes.
Zambian fuel prices are a scandal. Why is fuel in Zambia highest in the region? The answer lies in the greed of our leadership. The formula that they use to work out the price of fuel needs to be revisited and a proper model put in place in order to enable the vast majority of our people access the transport industry. There is also need for the GRZ to make public transport a Citizen only industry like in all sensible nations. Why do we want the world to come and run buses in Zambia as if Zambians can be allowed to run buses in say, India, UK, Botswana, S. Africa, Canada, Alaska, Venezuela, Namibia, etc?
In order to cut down the number of accidents in public transport, the GRZ needs to:
1. Only Zambians are to be Public transport operators;
2. Establish the technical specs for all public transport vehicles to be licensed;
3. Establish bus stations in all districts with proper human facilities. Councils are to operate these stations;
4. Ban Call boys. All bus operators shall be working from designated points – departure points, and arrival points. All long distance operators shall be working based on a departure / arrival schedule based on a speed limit of 80Km/ hour.
5. All Public Transport vehicles shall have speed monitors and speed limiters.
6. All Public Transport vehicles shall NOT be more than 6 years old from the year of manufacture so that our citizens are..
..cont
transported safely and in comfort.
7. All school kids shall no longer be transported in open trucks, but in designated school buses which are to be acquired for all Districts. Schools shall book for their use in advance so that all school activities are properly planned and vehicles are used when needed.
8. All Drivers shall pass annual PSV driving tests; and all Public transport drivers shall be on a national drivers database so that any person who wants to employ a driver, all records of the driver would be accessed to verify the safety record of the applicant.
9. All roads in each province shall be maintained by the provincial roads department. This department, reporting to
..cont
the provincial minister.
10. Each provincial roads unit shall have its own highway engineers, roads construction technicians, and a roads design unit.
11. Each Roads unit in each province shall NOT approve payment to any road contractor until the Roads Department from Central government has evaluated the quality of work done against the design standard. This is to ensure that people do not get paid for dummy works as the case now!
12. Each provincial roads unit shall maintain a routine roads mantainance programme all year round so that no road is ever neglected.
13. The central government at its Road department, shall have a well trained team for bridges design and monitoring..
..cont
of all existing bridges in the nation. It is clear to me that the design of bridges after KK left office is really unacceptable. There is so much shoddy work that one wonders in which country our leaders are expecte to do their best if they are accepting rubbish works as these we see.
14. The design of Roads by the roads unit shall be to an international standard. Each road is to have more than 1.2metres of a shoulder, and the road bed is to be not less than 200mm after being well compacted and in some areas, with cement being added to the bed for increased strength. Proper road tests shall be done on completion of each road BEFORE the contrator is paid.
15. There shall be a Roads
Training Centre. This is where all Roads construction technictiona will undergo a 3 year technicians’ course – learn all the basic skills necessary to construct a road, from land surveying to driving graders and bull-dozers. The programme shall be set up by roads construction staff from countries where road construction is excellent – Norway, Canada, Botswana, S. Africa.
16. The Roads Training Centre shall be the main consultant to all provinces on the evaluation of road works in their province, and will audit these works before approval for payment of a contructor.
Have a good day.
If LPM had a better GRZ, all these ideas would have been in place so that Zambian transport is beneficial to all citizens of Zambia. Institutions! Institutions! And a brain to ensure that nothing is left unchecked for better performance!
#10, that name suits you, crazy zambian.
someone who has a little knowledge of economics or just an average on gvt policies, would laugh at your statement.
that is why we have economy planners and analyst and advisers to the president, the govt should control the price be as it many, they should plan for such things like inflation and subsiding when things get worse.
you cant let your people suffer because most of the private investors, do something or better start producing.
in short they should plan this things, what a waste coz south africa is experiencing power outrages it should give me satisfication?
zambia has too many monopoly companies around. you should think
#18 I think you should read again what #10 has written. He is merely trying to guide your framework from which to make an analysis of things. But ofcourse you are right about planning ahead, which I am sure Magande will tell you he does a good job of (hopefully) but the truth still remains that govt can only do so much. Oh, I also think #10 wasn’t getting personal at all. Bravo
why do u pipo divert from the stem of the article we a talking about feeder roads and natalie and company u start arguing abt fuel and sugar . theres is no doubt we need good feeder roads asap and not shoddy ones
LT: Should read, “State to BUILD roads ….”