President Michael Sata directs Copperbelt Minister to tar road from Mpongwe turn off to Ibenga Mission

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President Sata expressing disappointment at the state of the road to St Theresa Catholic Church
President Sata expressing disappointment at the state of the road to St Theresa Catholic Church
President Sata expressing disappointment at the state of the road to St Theresa Catholic Church

President Michael Sata has directed Copperbelt Province, Minister Mwenya Musenge, to ensure that the road branching from Mpongwe turn off to Ibenga Mission is tarred.

President Sata told the Copperbelt Minister that he would like to see the roads connecting to Mpongwe district tarred within a short period of time.

Mr Sata was not impressed yesterday with the current poor state of the road which leads to the Parish, the Secondary School and Ibenga Mission hospital.

He said Mr Musenga should ensure the road infrastructure was upgraded to modern standard and that the next time he would visit the parish, he should find the road properly tarred.

President Sata was speaking in Mpongwe today when he attended a church mass at St Theresa Catholic Parish which was also attended by Vice President Guy Scott and hundreds of other parishers.

“The next time I come here, I should find this road properly tarred,” Mr Sata said

President Sata was not happy that the tarred road around the Parish was severely damaged and he directed Mr Mwenya to immediately find ways to tar the road.

And Mr Sata has bemoaned lack of active participation by men in church-related matters.

The Head of state said there was need for men to emulate the women in taking part in church activities so that the country can be guided by those principles.

Mr Sata further urged Deputy and Cabinet Ministers and various Members of Parliament (MPs) present during the mass to ensure that they regularly visit the people who ushered them into office.

Meanwhile, St Theresa Catholic Church Priest, Fr Bonaventure Mpasa, said there was need for leaders to unite with Christ so that they can govern the country based on his principles.

During the same mass the head of state made the PF candidate for the Mpongwe constituency by-election Gabriel Namulambe to kneel down in front of the congregants to apologies and pledge to work with the church.

Immediately after the mass the President and his entourage paid a courtesy call on Chieftainess Malembeka of the Lamba people at her palace which is a few meters from the main road.

President Michael Sata is in Mpongwe District on the Copperbelt Province to drum up support for the Patriotic Front candidate, Gabriel Namulambe, in the forthcoming Parliamentary by-election.

The President arrived in Mpongwe district aboard a Presidential Chopper and touched down at Ibenga Girls’ Secondary School grounds at exactly 09:50 hours to a thunderous welcome by Ministers, Members of Parliament and hundreds of Patriotic Front cadres.

The President, who was accompanied by Defence Minister, Geoffrey Mwamba, Commerce Minister, Emmanuel Chenda, and his Press Assistance George Chellah, and was received at Ibenga Secondary school grounds by Vice President ,Guy Scott, Sports Minister Chishimba Kambwili, Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge and PF campaign Manager for Mpongwe by-election, Jean Kapata and other Ministers, Members of Parliament and PF cadres.

Upon arrival, the President proceeded to St Theresa’s Ibenga Mission where he attended a two-hour mass with the Vice President Guy Scott and several MPs and the rest of the entourage.

In his short speech to congregants, Mr Sata called for togetherness and hard work among government leaders.

The President noted that the Catholic Church was doing a lot in helping vulnerable and orphan children, hence the need for government leaders to work with the church to ensure that they continue helping many more children.

The President cited St Theresa’s Ibenga Mission of the Catholic Church in Mpongwe as one of the partners of government in helping children and called on ministers and Members of Parliament to always ensure that they work closely with such all churches.

79 COMMENTS

  1. Mr President you are really funny, the road you are walking on is the standard of roads in our neighbourhoods around the country. Maybe you should get out more, then the country will develop in 90 days. Spend less time holed up in that State Hospice called State House and be on the street more often , man of action, then you will see why we voted you into power. You seem to have forgotten and I find it strange that you are suprised to see the state of the road you have seen. That is the standard baba everywhere in Zambia

    • @ Tonga Bull, do you really think through your thoughts? Do you have a clue of what individuals in hospice or under hospice care have to go through – It is mean spirited and heartless to refer to HOSPICE – in this manner. Hospice is not for a select few but all that live – I hope your end does not lead you through hospice care

    • The whole thing is to fool voters into voting for the PF and as dull and gullible as they are, they will do just that and 3 years from now, we will still be talking about this road. Look at the mealie meal crisis, it was only yesterday that we head suggestions that there is still a shortage in the very Mpongwe area despite the presidential directives and threats against the millers. The call should be for Zambians to wake up from slumber and hold politicians to account!

    • Livingstone and Mpongwe voters should find out if projects promised to Mufumbwe and Chongwe during the by-elections have been carried out as promised by Michael Sata.

    • Iam now wondering why I even voted for Sata . But RB is to blame because I voted not for quality but a revolt against MMD miss rule little did I know Sata was just side B of the same useless MMD cassette . Now we playing the same rubbish politics. Why does this man open his mouth at anything. To tar a road you have to budget for it in the year. Ministers don’t tar roads. I miss sauzande, maxim and jomwa musinje mwale and kapotwe. I wish the guy in state house can join them.

  2. Ibenga Mission Hospital saves many Luanshya residents especially in TB and HIV cases. It is right that the road should be improved.

    • But the question is: How many roads in the whole of Zambia save many lives from HIV and TB and have the same state of roads. Do not just promise to fix a road only when you are campaigning. Make a plan to fix all roads leading to hospitals and clinics around Zambia.

    • I agree with northerner. May I add that the president is still missing the point. He needs to step back a little and have specific directives to all his cabinet ministers. In issuing such directives he should say, “I want a plan to tar all roads in your province by Thursday 14:00hrs sharp, with time frames for each road starting with this one. If I don’t get, you are a goner! You feel me?”

  3. People of Pongwe, if these “useful Idiots” are dishing out money, my advise is that you take the money and indeed anything they are giving out during campaigns but never vote for PF. The reason is simple because Sata himself is pretending that he didnt know the road was in such a bad state and is promising to tar it only now when thety are elections…… why only now????????

    Sata will ppromise you he will tar the road within 90 days after you vote for the idot Namulambe………I think let me just ask you to join in calculating how long this 90 days will be.

    Please vote wisely.

    • We just need to educate our nation to understand that being in Govt is not about “developing” the areas where you have your MP’s but rather using your idiologies to advance the nation. We say president of Zambia – meaning the whole nation. If PF keep up with promises of development only for areas with their MP’s the other areas should chase them when they bring their manifesto of lies. Idiologies and policies are the things that should separate parties…not who lies the most and dangles carrots when time for voting is on.

    • @ Robin, patients do recover, or feel better. Lions or Cobras get sick too, and they recover.
      Sata is inspirational by going to church, and thank God for giving him another day!!

    • They will think up another story. The aim is to portray the President in every negative way they can think of. Its called propaganda Hitler was very good at this

    • You guys must be really concerned about Sata’s health for you to even be discussing it. If it were not an issue you wouldn’t be bringing it up. You’re chanelling Jimmy Cliff’s song titled ” Who feels it, know it” . Are you scared for your jobs acquired due to your political and tribal connections? Pray for your President. He is certainly not okay!

  6. Sata’s body guard has been changed… amazing. But why why?
    Chenda is Commerce minister now, what happened to Bob Sichinga?

  7. But this man is a big joke for heavens sake. He use to come to Mpongwe while on the opposition and knew this road very well. Now that it is election period it is development of directives. Pure chimbwi no plan. University in Muchinga directive, Stadium in Mongu directive, bring HH bank details directives- all these are all marks of a dictator. Anyway, what do you expect- UKULI IFIPUBA EKULI INDALAMA- Zambia for you. By the time this dictator leaves office the country will be heavily run down and in total red in terms of debts- I fear for the next president and the poor majority.

    • I hope there is a budget line for this road directive otherwise this government risks getting completely off track in terms of what Parliament approved in the yellow pages.FTJ had devised a special Presidential budget line which the Post called the SLUSH FUND.In earnest, that budget line if properly used is the one where Presidential emergency projects would draw their funding from.

  8. People of mpongwe dont be fooled by such knee jerk reactions. So it means the next development will be during another by-election? Dont buy such promises, they are meant to win your vote. I can I asure you that the road will never be done. Once they win elections, they will disappear until next elections. Dont be fooled again

  9. This is being done to please the catholic church. News flash for all Christian denominations in Zambia. You can only make it to heaven through Christ. Only Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Mary can’t get you in, you think me wrong, just read the bible. Read John 3:16. Anyway could the minister not have thought this up himself?

    • Did they kill another chicken with father Bwalya in Mpongwe? This chap called father Bemba Bwalya is eating queitly in his special office at ZESCO HQ bonking all those nice looking girls like Judge Chikopa of Malawi

  10. I’m sure this directive about tarring the said road would never have been made had there been no bye election campaign in that area. This is all about soliciting for votes and after the election the chapter will be dead and buried.
    The president should be sincere and not express dismay about that road because he knows all too well that all roads in Zambia including the capital are in deplorable condition.

  11. Catholic Church turned into campaign ground!!! Not suprised there, It has been part of his constituency and backing! You reap what you saw! Scandalous church!!!

    • what did you want the church to do? chase the president? And you call the catholic church scandalous, look at yourself before anyone else.

  14. Is it that 70% of our country cannot logically think for themselves? 22 years of democracy and a vote can be bought by a tarred road? Days go by and Zambians still can’t see what fuels a desert nation like Botswana. They have roads and street lights in their version of Shangombo. Yaba!

  15. Thats exactly the kind of leadership you don’t want.The spur-of-the-moment decision making does not lock & key in with the budget.By just issuing directives Sata just believes in old fashion “ruling” and not governing.

  18. I’ld be a fool to fall for such a random directive. It’s all for the sake of the ballot. Voters dont be so gullible

  19. How can one run a country via presidential directives – I can bet you some road project somewhere in the country has been abandoned and machinery will transferred to this area all in name of cheap politicking by the president.

    • Aside from not being budgeted for its also very wrong to run a country based on emotions or politics coz you’ll never approach needs objectively.We need a non partisan budget office like it is in USA.

    • Fair points but how exactly does one get to a fiscal cliff if budgeting is not politicised in the US to some extent?

  21. The President and vice president are busy campaigning for the sole purpose of increasing their numbers in parliament.When they have the numbers they can run Zambia however they want.Through the short PF rule so far we have seen alot of disregard for the law.Zambians please don’t let PF get anymore seats.Vote whatever frog you want but don’t give PF a chance to ruin our country.We only have one country the country our children and grandchildren will inherit.Please please

  22. Yes this is waht we want , Mr President direct your ministers to WORK also give them targets dont just say next time when i visit, when?????/

  24. Most of the people have forgotten that roads within the districts are supposed to be maintained by councils not government. For the past 20 years under the MMD, most councils have not been performing their duties like road maintenance and garbage collection but ended up auctioning all the heavy equipment for garbage collection and road making. A good example is Kitwe and Chingola and auctions were spearheaded by the town clerks. Most councils like the ones in the C/belt and Lusaka should not depend on the government, they raise enough income to provide services. The Ibenga road can be done using CDF funds, the hospital covers all constituencies and the council can provide the professionals to work on it. This has nothing to do with the national budget, it is local level.

  25. Our president would rather be politicking for a by-election than signing a peace agreement with other African regional heads of state in Addis for DRC…a peaceful and independent DRC is very good for SMEs and job creation within Zambia. I guess some people will always be simple opposition leaders even when they are in the ruling government.

  26. So if the poor man starts tarring from tomorrow, he could be finished by thursday, 28th Feb so that PF wins the election. He has to use his initiative, whether he uses his own shyte it does not matter but he must tar the road.

  28. I am pretty sure there is misinformation here, the road is tarred from Luanshya up to Mpongwe turnoff. St Teresa’s mission is on the Mpongwe rd, some good kilometers before Mpongwe turnoff. The roads in question should be within the mission grounds and leading to the Mpongwe rd (junction of mission and Mpongwe rd) which just be a few meters. Unless the they’re saying the mmd dugout the tar when they realised they were losing the elections. Lol

  29. Thats a good one Ba president, Mpongwe is PF now. we can now seat and watch bafana UPND and Nevers lose. Beaten by must dribbler

  30. Did you notice that the dictator asked his aspiring MP to kneel again. So this culture of kneeling continues…..What a shame!!

    • SIMPLE THINGS LIKE THIS MAKE SATA POPULAR. THE POOR PEOPLE WHO USE THAT ROAD ARE GOING TO APPRECIATE THIS MOVE AND THEY WILL GIVE VOTES TO HIS MP. AS FOR THE OPPOSITION OR OPPOSERS OF DEVELOPMENT, SATA IS SLOWLY DEFLATING YOU. UNTIL YOU BECOME SERIOUS. YOU WILL CONTINUE LOSING EVEN YOUR OWN MPS

    • May look comical to you but to a voter in the rural area who is uneducated uninformed this leaves an big impression on them and is sadly a vote winner…even a corrupt crook like Gabriel Namulambe can be re-elected!!

    • There he is – Gabriel Namulambe who has corruption cases pending kneeling in front of the president who is apparently allergic to corruption yet he has been MP for that area for years…in honesty what is he going to do differently this time around that he has failed to deliver in the past?? Having an informed and educated electorate is very important indeed to the development of a country.

    • Ba sobelenge. IF YOU READ MY COMMENT YOU WILL FIND NO INSULT IN THERE. WHY CAN’T YOU TRY TO ANALYSE WHAT I WROTE AND ENGANGE ME INTELIGENTLY IN A FRUITFUL DISCUSSION? I CAN TELL YOU THAT IF WE HAD PERSONS WHO CAN DEBATE WITH FACTS, THIS BLOG COULD BE A VERY GOOD SITE FOR EXCHANGING VIEWS AND IDEAS. MR SATA IS AN OLD MAN. HIS TWO TERMS OF OFFICE WILL ONE DAY COME TO AN END. BUT ZAMBIA WILL REMAIN FOR EVER. THERE IS NO NEED TO INSULT ONE ANOTHER. LETS ALWAYS LOOK FOR BETTER WAYS OF DOING THINGS. SOME ZAMBIANS LOVE SATA OTHERS DONT. BUT THE MAJORITY WILL RULE. SO LETS ACCEPT AND RESPECT THE WISH OF THE MAJORITY. ITS NOT TOO LATE OTHERS CAN ALSO GET THEIR CHANCE IF THEY WORK HARD. NO MATTER HOW MANY INSULTS YOU POUR ON SATA, IT IS THE VOTERS WHO WILL DECIDE IF HE SHOULD CONTINUE AS OUR…

  31. We Lambas are frstrated with the fact that though we live in Zambia’s richest province our villages are soo dilapidated. Repair this road as Sata says. and properly, not giving us a third grade substandard road! Does the president have to address each and every issue in the land b4 progress is seen? Where is the civil service with its PSes? Looks like Zambia only works when supervised.

  32. There he is – Gabriel Namulambe who has corruption cases pending in court kneeling in front of the president who is apparently allergic to corruption yet he has been MP for that area for years…in honesty what is he going to do differently this time around that he has failed to deliver in the past?? Having an informed and educated electorate is very important indeed to the development of a country.

  34. I will only believe the president if PF loses Mpongwe and the road still gets a face lift. If PF wins and the road gets tarred,it doesent add up. Its called corruption. The losing candidates should petition, even by a mere statement Sata gave.

  35. The president (if at all he deserves to be called that) recently luanched the Zamlink project. If at all this road is not in that plan, let it wait for its turn. In Africa and Zambia in particular much of our under development is due to lack of discipline to follow our own plans. This idea of just talking things into existence will not take us anyway. there so many road and infrastructure projects that need to be developed and one hopes that those that went into the Zamlink were seen as priority. while priorities can change, changing just for a bye-election is not the best way to develop thye country. If we were talking of a bridge being washed away after heavy rains and the president says rebuild one would understand and would hope that a budget for emmergencies exist in VEEP’s office

  37. Real development is carefully budgeted in the national budget. Development cannot be realised only during election campaigns. Sata is a huge deceptionist. Besides, where did Sata create his 50,000 jobs. Only the USEFUL FIPUBA will believe him.

  38. So, what does it really mean when the President gives a directive like “President Sata has given a directive to Minister C to tar road A”? To those who receive these directives, what does it mean to you? It sounds extremely stupid to me, sorry.

  39. My observation is that it seems the president wants to tar roads that lead to an institution where he has personal interest. I can give an example of the road to Fatima Girls Secondary School which was done within 6 months. That is where the first lady did her secondary school education and it is a catholic school. Ibanga is also a catholic school. He should be seen to take development even to places where he has no personal interest!

  40. No sense!!! You mean Mr president your minsters can only function under directives? And where is the money? By the way, you don’t just wake up and make some promise out of the blues! This kind of day dreaming should not be be encouraged. I wish I was voting, I not give your mp my vote, I encourage every citizen participating in these election to vote wisely.

  41. A message to the people of Mpongwe. You should welcome the directive to have that road tarred however, when it comes to voting, look at a broader picture.

  42. Segregation of duties bwana President what does the local Government / Council do?? VS Government? Where will you get the money do you just direct projects like that with no proper Budget / strategy? This is way people steal in that country. PLEASE DON’T DO THINGS JUST TO GET VOTES. DO IT WITH REASONING / PROPER PLANNING. ANOTHER CHEAP ROAD THAT WILL EVEN LAST A YEAR. THIS MANAGEMENT BY REACTION WILL KILL OUR COUNTRY.

  45. I do not need 5 years to see that PF have failed and will continue to fail lamentably. I just needed to watch them for 30 days and I new right away that Zambia was going nowhere. We are lucky that we are close to SA and are beneficiaries of their strong economy. Otherwise things would be much much worse. We are also still enjoying the legacy of Mwanawasa (Peace be Upon him) and his policies. PF are a total failure and they can’t help themselves. They will soon resort to stealing and corruption once they realize they have failed. Just watch what will happen.

  46. Why should ths directive come from the President? Isn’t this a waste of his time. Why have Provincial Ministers if they won’t do their jobs. Mr. President it could be that there is no funding for these projects except for times when politicians need to make a public politcally driven show of concern for the people. MIcro-managing is not a friend of progress. Then again some one cold have pocketed funding for these projects.

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