Mushala (c) flanked by Lewanika General Hospital Senior Environmental
Officer ChilwanaJunist (r) and Mongu District acting Commissioner
Alice Mutemwa (l) at the new Lewanika General Hospital Two Story Staff
flats in Mongu District during the tour in Western Province to compile
major developmental projects
Government is disappointed with a foreign contractor for abandoning works after being awarded a contract to build a boarding school.
Permanent Secretary in-charge of Special duties at Cabinet Office Bert Mushala says government is dismayed that the contractor Plinth Technical of Ghana was awarded the contract in 2013 but has since abandoned the works.
ZANIS reports that Mr Mushala said this in Kalulushi today when he toured government developmental projects in the district.
The Permanent Secretary however called on contractors in the country to be serious and base their work on trust so that government could add some credibility to the company.
He said contractors that were misusing government money were not only denying the growth of the economy, but also a deduction in the Growth Domestic Product (GDP).
Meanwhile, Mr. Mushala has commended the public service workers in Kalulushi for their good team spirit and urged them to continue.
The Permanent Secretary is on the Copperbelt touring government developmental projects.
All you can say is that you are disappointed. You are disgrace why cant you officer us the hope that the money spent on the contractor will be recovered?
DON’T INSULT OUT INTELLIGENCE,FIKAWALALA.
How do these empty tins award contracts…what criterion do they use? You be disappointed with yourselves.
Pacta illicitum due to failure to pay contractors. Moreover, these contracts should be investigated and you will be surprised that fraudulent misrepresentation is on a wide spread. We Zambians should sue under vicarious liability!
Incomplete news. May be the contractor abandoned because the government has not paid the contractor? Government shall learn to live within means and law shall be passed that permanent secretary and minister in charge who issues any local purchase order or obtains services from any supplier and does not pay within 30 days shall be personally liable to pay and in default goes in jail for 3 years for each such offence.
Why did the contractor abandon the project? Don’t be sensational in your reporting. Sometimes the thief complains about the wounds he sustained while attempting to steal. Let us hear both sides of this story please.
This government must be kidding. Are they honestly saying , there are no companies or engineers in Zambia who can help build a school in Zambia. We do have people and the money given to these Ghanians .
Right brother Kalok. Incomplete news. May be the contractor abandoned because the government has not paid the contractor? Government shall learn to live within means and law shall be passed that permanent secretary and minister in charge who issues any local purchase order or obtains services from any supplier and does not pay within 30 days shall be personally liable to pay and in default goes in jail for 3 years for each such offence.
Has government paid the contractor? Several projects in the country are being abandoned because GRZ has no money.
@jorous, right observation. Incomplete news. May be the contractor abandoned because the government has not paid the contractor? Government shall learn to live within means and law shall be passed that permanent secretary and minister in charge who issues any local purchase order or obtains services from any supplier and does not pay within 30 days shall be personally liable to pay and in default goes in jail for 3 years for each such offence.
How did a Ghanaian contractor find himself with a contract in Zambia? If this was professionally done then there should be remedies in the contract.
A government contract as well, where are investigative journalists in Zambia?
Govt disappointed? What about the common man? It is not adding up.Were you monitoring it on regular basis? Did the Ghananian contractor beat all the Zambian contractors fairy and transparently or ‘hands were exchanged?’ Shed more light to the public as there appears to more than meets the eye on this subject.
The bottom line here is non payment to enable continuity. How does one proceed without financial support . The report is biased . Let the govt be factual.
@kakonga mpidi, very right brother. Incomplete news. May be the contractor abandoned because the government has not paid the contractor? Government shall learn to live within means and law shall be passed that permanent secretary and minister in charge who issues any local purchase order or obtains services from any supplier and does not pay within 30 days shall be personally liable to pay and in default goes in jail for 3 years for each such offence.
Kuti walepula……2013 exchange rate yali shinga?
Bert mushala disappointed gets his allowances, then along will come lucky mulusa get disappointed collect his allowances and so on and so forth
Sue the contractor and trace their whereabouts period. Being disappointed will not bring back the money already given to those criminals. The problem is that these contracts are given to people through dubious means hence when they run away there is no way to find them as they have accomplices within the govt if not state house. Stop giving contracts to these companies that have only been in existence for a few crooked years especially from the west part of our continent.
The government is not paying contractors constructing these boarding secondary schools. Plinth Technical was actually awarded more than one school plus other government projects.
Most government contracts carry a performance bond clause at about 10% of the contract. If this Contractor has run away please invoke the clause and at least recover some money from the guarantor of his performance.
So ghananian’s are building our schools
What are the zambians building kanshi?
Pit latrine toilets?
…this type of journalism is indeed disappointing and disgracing……Both ZANIS and LT should have given us the contractor’s side of the story. Its more likely that the govt did not fulfil it obligation of the agreement…..so instead of govt proclaiming disappointment, its supposed to be apologetic and bear the disgrace…..
@scrutinizerer, right brother. Incomplete news. May be the contractor abandoned because the government has not paid the contractor? Government shall learn to live within means and law shall be passed that permanent secretary and minister in charge who issues any local purchase order or obtains services from any supplier and does not pay within 30 days shall be personally liable to pay and in default goes in jail for 3 years for each such offence.
I wonder whether he was paid.So many contrctors are abandoning their projects due to non-payment. LT ,please get the other side of the story.
Bert Mushala….some of still remember that this chap is a son of a Criminal, Terrorist Rebel that abducted and abused many children especially young girls! Now he is PS – what a change of fortunes!!
LT – this is not yet newsworthy. Go back and do your homework. After two teams play a soccer game you report the scores of both teams not just the score of one team. But this is what you have done here. Get the full story before publishing. Here are some suggested questions:-
1/ – Had the contractor built similar schools in the past?
2/ – Did the government verify the capability of the contractor?
3/ – Was the contractor waiting for start up money?
4/ – Did the government give the contractor start up money?
5/ – Why didn’t the contractor borrow money from a commercial bank?
6/ – After how long of a time did the government realize the contractor had abandoned the project?
pf government has no money to these contractor look at greast road no works.