CABINET has approved the demolition of old Government Offices around the Ridgeway area in Lusaka to allow for the construction of ultra-modern office blocks to be called Jubilee City.
Cabinet, which met on Monday, has also agreed to support and facilitate the development of the privately-financed Angola-Zambia Refined Petroleum Multi-Product Pipeline (AZOP) project worth US$5 billion in order to enhance the efficiency and reliability of supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country.
Chief government spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili announced this in a statement yesterday.
“Cabinet approved the demolition of old Government Offices around the Government area in order to facilitate the construction of ultra-modern office blocks, a five-star hotel, shopping mall and a car park through a public private partnership,” Mr Kambwili said.
He said the financial resources required for the project will be raised by the private sector, while Government will provide land as its initial investment.
He said Government owns 13 office blocks in the Ridgeway area, most of which were constructed prior to or a few years after independence.
“Most of these buildings have outlived their lifespan and thus pose a danger to the occupants. In addition, some of the buildings are made of fabricated material and cannot be re-modelled to improve their outlook and safety standards,” he said
Mr Kambwili said the Ridgeway area is a prime location and, therefore, requires modern infrastructure which will not only contribute to availability of modern office accommodation but also improve on the capital’s sky-line.
On the development of the AZOP project, Mr Kambwili said this will cushion the country against the rising prices of petroleum products on the domestic market, while making Zambia a regional hub for fuels.
Cabinet also took note of a report by the President on the cause of disparity in the cost of air tickets procured directly from airlines by the Civil Service Travel Office effective June, 2013.
“There have been complaints over disparities in the cost of air tickets based on quotations obtained by Civil Service Travel Office (CSTO) and ministries, provinces and other spending agencies (MPSAs),” the report stated.
It noted that air fares on an aircraft are usually segmented with many varying rates with the first to be sold being the cheapest which are booked and purchased long before the travelling date.
The closer it gets to the travelling date, the more difficult it is to access cheaper tickets. Further, the closer the date of travel, the more difficult it is to hold a booking, the report stated.
Cabinet was also informed that President Lungu is expected to be the guest of honour at the Fifth African Green Revolution Forum to be hosted by Zambia in October this year.
Three other heads of state are expected to attend the forum.
Mr Kambwili said Cabinet was also informed that progress is being made in the modernisation of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
“The contractor has mobilised and has commenced construction of the camp which is at 80 percent completion,” the report states.
Mr Kambwili said Cabinet also discussed the maize marketing modalities for the 2015/2016 marketing season and resolved that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) should start buying maize when the moisture content is at 12 percent. The FRA will stick to purchasing 500,000 metric tonnes of maize for strategic reserves only.
Cabinet deliberated the introduction of a bill in Parliament to repeal the Refugees (Control) Act of 1970 and the introduction of the Zambia wildlife bill as well as the tourism and hospitality bills to Parliament during the current sitting.
Cabinet also approved Zambia’s intention to bid for the hosting of the African minerals development centre.
Pie in the sky or sugar on the elbow!
Any news about availability (or lack) of electricity, quality medical care, education, basic social services, fight about endemic corruption, provisions to streamline bloated civil services…….
We are very good when it comes to putting things on paper, but implementation malume, awe tinabwelako chabe,…
This Government has misplaced priorities.
Thanks
BB2014
We never learnt from the mistakes of dag stadium!
What this government should do is to expand lusaka not re congestion of ridgeway. Remember with UTH its a very busy area. You have already built 3 malls in one road in a radius of less than 5km on a busy road to the airport , same road as parliament. …. the list goes on.
why can’t you expand lusaka outwards?
@james buga
I totally agree with you. There is a lot of virgin land in Zambia. Why not build a whole new complex or even city in a new place? Do we have to destroy even the little we have? Besides, Zambia is bigger than Lusaka!!!!
By the way, how long did it take us to have Levy Stadium after demolishing Dag???
Leave those buildings intact. They are future heritage sites. Find undeveloped land all over Lusaka and develop it into a so called city if you want to make money fro yourselves on non priority projects. All over in the civilised world there are such buildings left intact for the future generations to appreciate where we are coming from. Is that a priority for Zambia honestly? Zambia is finished after with PF ruling.
This coming from the same guy that tried to name Heroes Stadium the “Gabon Disaster Stadium”. When I say , it is hard to compete with the stuupidity in PF, this is exactly what I mean. we have so much land, why demolish? What lesson was learnt from the demolishing of the Dag Hammarskjold in Ndola?
Jubilee City is a stoopid name.
#New Yorker: What name are you proposing then? Don’t just end at insulting and criticising. Provide an alternative name!!!
@Adapt or Die!!
How about ‘Gabon Disaster City’? Lol.
Iwe adapt or die iwe; now if new yorker suggests a name what good will that do? They will still give it what has been described as that ”stoopid name.” People have no say in this government so even if we suggest names it won’t change anything
We do not need Jubilee city. We need rural roads improvement. We need to build new district centre’s. We need to look after destitutes and they are many. We need proper drainage in Chawama not that make-believe schambolic. This government is self-serving.
Some build a national Health Center please. A national Research and science facility. Are u sick with mashrooming Mall full of junk from China. Build Zambia’s ultra Modern research center. Till today no one knows what is killing people. Malls Finshi kanshi ala
imwe ba cabinet. that is a great plan but the place is wrong. Your plan will increase congestion. why not build that elsewhere ie the new economic zone,10 miles,chongwe etc. If we can have offices their these places will develop and a lot of other organisations will build there meanwhile we will see a reduction in congestion in the city.
#Dora: Good point there.
Or it could even be named KAUNDA SQUARESTAGE III
I have to congratulate Hon. Kambwili on this press statement. Just facts and no opinion. This is the way it should be, I would like this to happen on a weekly basis so that we can monitor how some of these important issues are progressing and being handled.
Well done!!
Fair enough – only sad when someone has to be “congratulated” for doing the least expected.
I agree Spuds, but if we let the Minister know how we like things to be done then perhaps it will become the norm?
Sure, it’s nice to be optimistic.
Like the leopard with its spots, I think there is only so much you can do with “Hon” Kambwili. But as you say, perhaps.
(…there might even be lights at home tonight.)
Personally, I think the Angola pipeline should have been the headline not replacement of office space but then again Zambia has priority issues. Just thinking out loud
or another hydro power station or anything to increase our electricity generating capability seeing that everything is going down hill…
1. mine tax reduced hence budget deficit,
2.power cut hence reduced mine production and revenue hence less tax hence further budget deficit,
3.power cut hence economy at a standstill hence reduced govt revenue hence further budget deficit
4…..
I am also enthused that Govt is looking at the private sector as a partner in some of these projects. That is the way it should be. Let the private sector take the risk of borrowing and running while Govt simply oversee and regulate. I support this move by Govt.
Why not build another UTH. Or extend the existing one.
Shopping whilst your population is dying?.
The pipeline is fine but the city is a misplaced priority
Chinese are building us another UTH next to levy hospital as GRZ is not capable of finishing there own hospital projects or are too broke but weve got enough money to build new offices im still wondering where my tax dollars are going
Run for president Tutu..!
Remember the story of Dag, in Ndola? It took 40 years and a donation to rebuild albeit in another location.
It would be wiser to leave the current structures wherever they are and build Jubilee City elsewhere in Lusaka. My 2 cents
Not only that.
How about putting up new buildings somewhere else FIRST before destroying the ones that are there? Then build “Ridgway Park” so the city finally has some green space?
Mr Chimbwii-li tell your government to sell those government offices around ridgeway and find new and spacious land between Lusaka and Chongwe for that project. Black leaders, awe sure!
Please think beyond consumption, consumption all the time! Tell us how you are going to scale up production of goods and services as well as how you will make such products more competitive in the region.
#New Yorker, when someone somewhere says that some of these PM ministers are illiterate, many people don’t understand. Even #Adapt or Die does not understand. Why they can’t just call it as “Jubilee Centre” instead of city is beyond me. I thought they were building a separate city outside Lusaka or they were turning Chawama into a city with it’s own council offices or officers and mayor. I can understand the use of the name it was just an individual building his own private shopping centre and calling it as a Jubilee city but not the entire airport cabinet calling such a project as a city.
pardon me: meant PF ministers … and …use of the name if it was just…
This government is rotten. They want to use borrowed money to built the so called jubilee city when there are more pressing issues that need immediate attention. Why is this government so childish? How can the entire cabinet approve such nonsensical idea? Of what value will be the same project? What is wrong with this cabinet? That’s what happens when you entrust your power in people with small brains. The entire cabinet is made up of feather-brained people including the president.
Misplaced priorities.
Hope PF will have chance to see the completion of these projects.
Government has turned the word “Jubilee” into a cliche. Jubilee train,Jubilee city. Hell,we might as well just hear of Jubilee stadium or Jubilee school pretty soon. By the way national water rationing is in the pipeline because of the load shedding among other things. Just invest into nuclear energy with that money.
Let those buildings remain and move along Great East road and open up that area.These shopping malls are doing us more harm than benefits.Small businesses are closing down due to unfair competition from these South African shops.Can government stop this demolition please we can still use them for other purposes and not congesting Ridge way
Gabon Disaster Heroes National Stadium
Lusaka desperately needs a new and modern Skyline befitting a Capital city. I say yay to bringing down old unattractive unsafe buildings and replacing them with new safe structures. It’s not like they are planning to squeeze more buildings per square measure, so this should not be a problem with congestion as stated by others.
People may not be aware of the validity in replacing dangerous structures, but my sister who worked for Buildings Branch and City Council as a Blueprinter, told me in 1992 (!) that there were many unsafe structures in Lusaka, pointing out office blocks that were practically death traps waiting to crash down.
Lusaka needs to spread out a bit, but the Business/Gov’t Buildings should be Central and be in one place making a coherent Business district.
We do need to move out smaller businesses closer to residential areas rather than have tatty looking shops selling tat right in the middle of the city centre.
Only Hotels, restaurants, offices, and substantial shop vendors selling quality goods, should be around the city centre.
Smarten it up a bit with open green grass spaces with local trees, plants etc and benches for lunch and resting.
London is joint up buildings centrally with no open spaces in the city centre. Hot summers are made unenjoyable because of lack of open spaces for the air to disperse all the emissions leading to bad air quality causing breathing problems etc. we can learn from Western countries what to emulate and what to avoid.
@ liar abroad #19.1
Which park in London has been earmarked for development?
The empty space in your skull or the one between your empty eye sockets?
Ndipo Jubilee yavutika.
Go and build a brand new modern city. Leave the current city where it is.
These PIGS! How do you demolish structures such as roads (Ndola’s Broad Way) and buildings (Cabinet Office) when other people have none at all!
We roads between, Kaoma-Sesheke, Kaoma-Lukulu, Lukulu-Mumbeji, Kalabo-Senanga, Kalabo-Lukulu before the PIGS indulge in extravagance.
‘development’ we want but this is absolutely reckless. Not only have they stolen large amounts of money and are living large, now they want to upgrade their offices. Pay lecturers/teachers etc, clean up universities, UNZA is an eyesore and the bathrooms stink and not fit for human habitation. Clean up shanty townships and at least make lives of the ordinary Zambian something to write home about.
Cleaning you cn do on yo own. You can’t wait for the Govt to clean after you. Learn to keep your places/ environments clean. How can anyone in right mind expect the Govt to come and clean yo places.. SHAME
Read the headline and was like woohoo we are getting another city within Lusaka town so we decongest the city centre but lo and behold it is just offices. Common guys after the PWC report about us being one of the least developed cities in Africa we can do better than this. We need to start thinking forward by building infrastructure that facilitates development. Build modern roads with bicycle tracks and walking tracks on both sides of the roads to help our people walk and cycle and have a health population, we are blessed with good weather. Africa is a paradise but we take everything for granted and don’t appreciate what we have. Anyway, this Jubilee city is not a bad idea but absolutely on a micro level. We need visions like getting rid of shanties and build modern housing
Please leave those buildings where they are! Every country have such buildings. They will be our heritage sites and will help teach our young ones about our past, where we are coming from. We have plenty of virgin land where such structures can be developed! It is very surprising that the entire cabinet settled on demolishing the buildings including the drunkard! Decongest that ridgeway area please. For once listen to people! Don’t sit alone as cabinet when making important decision knowing too well that you are all (cabinet) daft! Consult! There is plenty of land east of lusaka and south of lusaka. You can’t tell people that those buildings have outlived their usefulness! How long has the white in USA been standing, buckingham palace, kenwood house in london. These are structures that…
Good plan but as usual you send the wrong messenger to sell the project…instead of the usual shopping malls why not build IT business parks that add value and promote skilled labor.
Massive hunger in villages. Njala njala njala mpamimba. Town dwellers live in luxury. Demolishing and rebuilding government offices. Yes it is necessary but only when you eliminate our hunger in villages first. I am PF ,but frankly we have failed, lets pass on the button gracefully. I dont even understand how we win bye elections, is it because of massive apathy especially from our opponents. I tried to pretend, wear the PF regalia but the kitchen at home is in tatters. For how long am i going to tell people that all is well and yet tafili wino.
Jubilee City? This is wastefulness at its best. When the government is virtually broke they want to build MORE offices instead of trimming the civil service.Who is occupying that whole “UNIP House”?
Does this govt have a master national plan or someone just wakes up with a fantastic idea and brings it to cabinet?
Why talk about a new city when lecturers are striking or students abroad are destitutes due non payment of allowances by the same govt?
Why not modernize UTH to an international standard and put all the necessary equipment.????
Cabinet use your brains ! are there no educated people in this cabinet? Even Msiska is just saying yes yes yes boss?
Shame on you all!!1!11!!!!!!!
These brains have seen better days. Now in Zambia there will be a mall at every corner.
Whats the meaning of “improve on the capital’s skyline” How can you improve a skyline? Kambwili stop targeting the wrong and imaginary things. You can improve on education, health or employment not on a skyline
Oh boy! The bravery of these guys is astounding!
If I were in their shoes I would not have the courage to demolish anything, to begin with. I would instead pick a brand new site, build everything to completion before I start demolishing the old site.
And the only reason I would handle things that way is, in case what I thought was a brilliant idea about building an ultra modern Jubilee city turned out to be just another hare-brained scheme.
Jubilee city Noooo. New ridgeway or new Lusaka
I think it is not a good idea to demolish the old govt buildings. Let us leave them as heritage sites for future generations. Look for another site to build the new complex
Guys guys guys what is it with zanbians and malls? You build malls only to sale goods produced by other people. Bama kaka what do you use to think Kanshi? I’m sure those who approve such ideas have leftover buhobe for brains.