GOVERNMENT has encouraged investors to consider setting up filling stations in Kazungula District to support economic activities in the area.
Kazungula District Commissioner ,Pascalina Musokotwane encouraged local businessmen and women to take advantage of the enabling environment that Government had provided to set up filling stations in District.
She said the lack of filling stations led to the proliferation of illegal fuel vending, adding that the quality of fuel sold by illegal vendors could not be guaranteed.
“Consumers in Kazungula still have to travel outside the district to buy fuel, with the nearest filling stations being over 60 kilometers from here, in Livingstone.
“Quality of fuel sold by illegal vendors cannot be guaranteed as it could be mixed with other harmful substances. Furthermore, there are safety risks associated with the storage of illegal fuel in homes and other undesignated areas,”Ms Musokotwane said.
The District Commissioner was speaking during an energy stakeholders meeting organised by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) in Kazungula District, Southern Province on Tuesday.
Ms Musokotwane said for the past four years, Kazungula has been experiencing a lot of infrastructure projects that were being undertaken by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government such as the construction of a district hospital, as well as construction of business and housing units.
“I wish to appeal to ZESCO to ensure that reliable and quality power is supplied to the district in order to promote more infrastructure growth in the district,”she said.
ERB Southern Region senior Manager, Steven Mwinga disclosed that Zambia only had 270 filling stations out of which only 33 were located in Southern and Western Provinces.
Mr Mwinga said there was an urgent need to increase the number of filling stations in Southern and Western Provinces from the current 33 to over 50.
He called on investors to fully invest in the energy sector in order for them to reap the numerous benefits and opportunities that existed.
Caribbean Chicken proprietor and Chief Executive officer, Newton Silwenga appealed to Government and ERB to help integrate the illegal fuel vendors into cooperatives with funding from Government, to enable them contribute to the growth of the energy sector.
“As we think about developing new filling stations, let’s think about these people (illegal fuel vendors) so that we help integrate them in the mainstream. If we prioritise filling stations owned by foreigners, how are they going to benefit from that?
“That’s where we need to think about the cooperatives that Government is promoting, let the vendors come together and form a cooperative so that they set up their own filling station,” he said.
However licencsing Procedures at ERB are marred with bureaucracy and red- tape after which there will be
red – tape from the Environmental Council .The whole process will take about 12 months .Which investor
in this global business environment would want to waste their time bogged down in RED TAPE!
Government should first stream line these processes and remove the bureaucracy and red – tape to
encourage investment that is the FIRST STEP!
Why not you think setting up a filling station is like setting a tuck shop for schools!!
DA Projects Management LTD Zambia interested in Filling station for Kazungula & Sesheke.
We Developed a Business Plan where Selected and Trained Vendors share in Filling Station operation.
Contact Andre Lemmer at : [email protected]
I HOPE THIS NEW TOWN HAS BEEN PROPERLY DESIGNED. IN ZAMBIA IT WON’T BE SURPRISING TO FIND THAT THE MAIN KAZUNGULA TOWN CENTRE IS ACTUALLY ON THE MOTORWAY INSTEAD OF BEING CONSTRUCTED A FEW KILOMETRES AWAY FROM THE MOTORWAY. I DON’T KNOW IN WHICH PLANET ZAMBIAN ENGINEERS LIVE. EVEN PETROL FILLING STATIONS SHOULD BE AT LEAST BETWEEN A QUARTER AND A HALF KILOMETRES OFF THE HIGH WAY. IF ONE CROSSES INTO BOTSWANA, PRETTY SURE, KASANE TOWN WILL BE AT LEAST A KILOMETER AWAY FROM THE MOTORWAY (THE MAIN ROAD).
Our “Engineers” are busy on the LT blog, no time to reason and practice what they have learned. i bet the sewerage has not been designed designed either, everything is soak away.
Can cadres in charge of allocating plots design any thing meaningful? Country and Town planning are not their priority but planning personal budgets to meet their extra ordinary pouch lives. Neither Country and Town planning are priority of the ministry of Local govt and councils but heavy conditions of service, allowances, state of the art vehicles, etc.
I hope that the VP has Zambians in mind when talking about filling stations. Even if I would be happy to see a Zambian investor, most of them are not disciplined and they start well but businesses fold and they always blame the foreigners. I have personally seen a lot of Zambian move into this sector and they have failed. I also know that the system has been instrumental in making people fail. The systems in certain cases does not favour locals and we have only seen Mr.Lishomwa surviving. Even promising companies like Protech are no longer in the business. I sometimes wonder if black people will ever be free. They seem to make decisions that work against them all the time. Thanks.
from@3 WHAT I MEAN IS THAT FROM THE TIME (RECENTLY) ZAMBIA DISCOVERED RING ROADS ALL OLD TOWNS MUST BE REDESIGNED TO INCLUDE THE-NEW-TO-ZAMBIA CONCEPT OF RING ROADS, RATHER PLANNING AHEAD. IT IS ONLY AN ID!OT ENGINEER WHO WOULD DESIGN A TOWN WITH THE MOTORWAY PASSING RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE TOWN.
“Caribbean Chicken proprietor and Chief Executive officer, Newton Silwenga appealed to Government and ERB to help integrate the illegal fuel vendors into cooperatives with funding from Government, to enable them contribute to the growth of the energy sector.” You are right Mr. Silwenga, this is the only meaningful solution Zambia has, although the Vice President Inonge Wina & her boss can’t agree with you. Within their hearts they are convinced that the solution is to board a plane with heavy allowances & go abroad/overseas to woo investors. If this fails, is to issue licenses in batches to Rwandese refugees & Masai hair plaiters in the Zambia or PF cadres as last option. Why look else where when people who have passion for trade, served many motorists for years under difficult…
Why look else where when people who have passion for trade, served many motorists for years under difficult circumstances are there? All they need is funding by CEEE, DBZ, basic book keeping & formal operations training before loans are disbursed.
Dragon Kanyuka my friend from UNZA with the VEEP, Proud of you.