Lusaka Mayor Wilson Kalumba says the capital city is very dark.
And Mr Kalumba has revealed that the Council is in talks with a Chinese firm to operate a time passenger bus service across Lusaka.
Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Kalumba said there is need to urgently light up the city.
He revealed that only ten percent of Lusaka have street lights which makes the city very dark at night.
Mr Kalumba said Lusaka can be best defined as a dark city.
He added, “Lusaka is a very dark city and the city only a few roads have lights. Infact, only 10 percent of street lights have lights. Lusaka can be defined as dark city. Install street lights in the city, identified a company to do it for us and we have financing available. No area will remain in the dark, this is important to reduce crime.,
And Mr Kalumba has disclosed that the Council is discussing with a Chinese investor to set up a time passenger bus service across the capital city.
He said he will soon be travelling to China to conclude discussions around financing and equipment for the project.
Mr Kalumba said Lusaka needs big, clean and time buses unlike the current chaotic public transport system in the city.
He said once fully developed, the public transport system in Lusaka would allow people to leave their private vehicles at home when going to work as it will be efficient.
Mr Kalumba also clarified that the existing 9,000 public service vehicles in Lusaka will continue to operate as the Chinese firm will only bring in 100 buses that will complement the private sector.
He said the Council has also approved new bus routes that will help decongest the Central Business District.
Meanwhile, Mr Kalumba has stated that the project to set up free Wi-Fi in selected parts of Lusaka have reached an advanced stage.
“Lusaka will soon have free Wi-Fi, yes free Wi-Fi. I see a lot of people struggling with bundles, send them a document, they won’t even read it because of bundles. Now the city in selected areas will have free Wi-Fi. We are already running an advert in the paper for Expressions of Interest and within the next few months and appoint a service provider,” he said.
Do we need a Chinese investor to come and operate time buses in Lusaka? Why cant the mayor discuss the same plan with bus operators Lusaka instead of going to china?
Is this mayor still sleeping? Someone to tell him to wake up and open his eyes. How can you see light if you’re a sleeping mayor
Why is everything China? It seems now we cannot reason beyond the Chinese nose!
“He said he will soon be travelling to China to conclude discussions around financing and equipment for the project.” Why again discussing finance if you are bring in a Chinese firm? Can’t this firm find its own funding? BA SAKALA NYONGO! They steal in the norming, during the day and at night. Before we wake up, Zambians, these guys will have already auctioned us to the Chinese – PF and Opposition are all the same – they are there for a quick buck
Developing a country is like marriage. It takes only two people to make a marriage work. Outsiders can just help. Similarly, the Chinese and other foreigners can just help to a certain extent to develop Zambia. It is only us Zambians who can develop our country.
Mr. Sleeping mayor… are telling us that the council can not run buses? world over, the trend is that the local councils runs the transport system, that is how councils make money.
THIS PURE MADNESS NOW, SORRY WE HAVE TO CALL A SPADE A SPADE. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF INDEPENDENCE?
What is wrong with you Mr Kalumba? You are an embarrassment to the Party. You mean u can’t see something wrong in bringing a Chinese firm to come and take up transport business in Lusaka. Have you stopped thinking,? If you have run out of ideas leave that position to someone else. There are a lot of qualified Zambians out there who can do better than you. Shame
That’s why Kalumba sleeps, too dark.
The only reason why each and every leader in PF want to bring in a Chinese investor is because of corruption. They are paid alot of money as kick backs at the expense of development. When the mayor speaks like this, just know that he has already been promised alot of money by this Chinese transporters. Ichalo chaonaika. We need to put an end to this.
Mr mayor Lusaka is a dark city because your eyes are always closed. You are sleeping. Aren’t there any zambians that can operate an efficient bus service. Pool together several bus services to form a single company that will operate an efficient time bus. If you leave out the zambians, they will never learn how to run or operate some of these basic services
Before you lobby for Chinese transport trade to Zambia, do prioritize,Zambians needs CLEAN WATER,BETTER ROAD NETWORKING and BINS disposals on proper SITES. Try to beautify the CITY of LUSAKA is a WAY to go NOT Chinese transport corporations .MR kalumba stand up and WORK you seem like you are still dreamily of corporate WORLD.SO far , your performance is below 5% .
Indeed, this sleeper must be dreaming ever since he fell asleep. What a load of nonsense. Just accept that you have no plan for Lusaka city, better resign that keep on embarrassing yourself all the time kkkk PF.
Lusakatimes please bring back his original picture (the one in which he is doing his job…sleeping!).. Clean buses what what uko, cant you see how the whole city is literally a garbage dump?? Clean up the damn streets! You dont need Chinese onvestors for that.
As long as he continues sleeping on duty Lusaka will be a dark city
If PF allows him to go ahead with this, then we can now confirm what they are upto
It’s is true Lusaka is a dark city for someone who sleeps in the day and parties though out the knight.
Mr. Mayor, understand that you may be developing all these services without developing your citizens and as long as you do that, the country will not develop. Services will come and go just like the investors you bring in. Look at where we are now, we cant provide anything or manufacture anything for ourselves unless a foreign entity comes in. Dont think they are zambian companies just because the investor comes and registers under a vernacular name. Follow the money trail, its all leaving the country. Rather than making trips to china, have some well travelled zambians guide you on how some of these things should be done. And while you are in china, ask them if they are still building public toilets for multiple households in residential areas.
Am sure when he comes back he will have a chinese investor to fund the lighting of lusaka.
1000 buses for lusaka alone plus the 9000 already running seems like some of those 9000 will be out of business very kwikly with 1000plus chinese getting work permits to drive buses that zambians can. Do these buses have seat belts ,
Its dark,filthy and disorderly close to two years down the line.Wake up Mr Mayor.We need the Chinese Zambians can do nothing, our work culture is pathetic.
#Hagain, don’t you bring mouth again like your name. Not all Zambians have issues with work culture! I can challenge you on that one We simply need motivation and encouragement. How do you work when you’re being paid with peanuts, no work protective clothing and proper incentives? Even in America there are lazy people loitering the park streets and all. Don’t generalize
Mayor you have no idea at all of either cleaning or developing the city. Worse more you are sitting on the gold mine; The Council with so much resource potential but you can’t see opportunities because you are sleeping bwana. You should be ashamed for asking the Chinese to bring in buses when the city has excess. Invite the Public to share with you ways your Council can best be run. You have lamentably failed.
when will you fire this *****
Nice one mayor…Try to run away from the Chinese now and see yourself go backwards… They have the money now and we can talk all we want BUT we are not gonna go anywhere without them…As long they bring development to Zambia, i do not see any problem….
MASALAMUSO DO NOT MISLEAD THE MASSES, ITS 100 BUSES AND NOT 1000 BUSES AND HAS THE MAYOR SAID THAT IT WILL BE THE CHINES DRIVING THE BUSES.
You think they will just bring 100 buses. China has money if they see that they are getting more money from here, they will increase the fleet to even more than 1000 buses and what will happen to your local transporters? They will loose business and pack their buses so what good are u doing to your people. PF has ljust ost it, Period!!
He’s finally awake and his mouth speaks rubbish..! SMH..
Please stay asleep!!
The idea of a time bus is brilliant but who will be driving these buses . I hope its not the Chinese themselves.
I thought this snoozing Bum will talk about solar street lighting …I bet he has not noticed how many traffic lights work in Lusaka!!
The Mayor seems to not know what he’s talking about. Just before 2016 elections we had most of the Lusaka roads resurfaced even were it wasn’t needed, solar street lights where installed on the same roads but only a few work, an example is Kabulonga Rd. What I would like to ask is what was the warranty on those Solar street lights?
This Mayor must keep quiet because it seems he has no clue of what he is supposed to do… Why involve the Chinese…Are there no Zambians who can do that which he is suggesting…PF should adopt another person in 2021 and I think Mr Fisho Mwale would have done a better job in my opinion…
Ndeloleshafye………
The man just woke up. I agree with most of the things he said.
bushe, why does everything in this country have to be with the chinese kanshi? local investors can run a time bus just fine (for once let’s have confident in our people!), just make a bus (emergence) lane!
This obsession with umchocholi the current leadership has will leave us without a country of our own one day!
hahahah! Wonders shall never end. Kaki no be leather.
Zambia has an attitude problem. We are very poor at managing our own affairs.
Upright people are never liked or appreciated. We are great talkers, but little doers.
I miss Mr. Sata.
I agree with Mr Mayor on the bus issue. Let them the buses from China and let them be managed by the Chinese. Look at the so called buses in Zambia. Dirty and filthy. Fi Conductor ifyalamba ififulamina pa mwinshi. The modified seats inside are pathetic. We need sanity for once.
When u get on the bus ati seleniko uko. Where he is telling u to move there is no space. No we are tired
Lusaka urgently needs an undergrounf system like London where I live or metro in Paris. This would radically in a positive way make life better.,
It’s such an indignity when leadership no longer has confidence in its people to develop solutions using its own people. It insulting to the local populace and people should not sit and simply go quietly in the night while the nation is pillaged and auctioned to the Chinese using single sourced procurement as a cover up.
An underground system would require lots of capital but if all the malls in Lusaka were linked and they contribute to the cost plus all the jobs needed would help employment. This would be a great legacy for Lungu. The question is why has this not been done in the past?