Southern Province Permanent Secretary (PS), Mwangala Liomba has expressed disappointment with failure to complete the construction of 11 dip tanks in Siavonga and Sinazongwe Districts.
Mr Liomba said what he found on the ground after inspecting the dip tanks is unfortunate because most projects awarded in 2016 have not commenced.
He stated that he only found one completed dip tank in Sinazongwe but farmers in the area were not using it because the borehole has a faulty.
Mr. Liomba said it is unfortunate that most of the contracts awarded to contractors at the provincial level have not yet commenced because the contractors have not been funded.
The PS wondered why the technocrats decided to award the contracts when they knew there were no enough funds to cater for the construction of all the planned tip tanks.
Mr. Liomba however assured that government will do its best to ensure that the dip tanks are completed because farmers depend on cattle rearing as a source of livelihood.
He pointed out that although the Nautezi dip tank in Siavonga has been completed there is need to drill a borehole to be supplying water for farmers to start using it.
Mr. Liomba also thanked the contractor for using his own resources to complete the dip tank at Nautezi before he is paid.
He added that a down payment has been made to the contractor to ensure that he is back on site to complete the project.
Mr. Liomba has appealed to the local community not vandalise the dip tank to avoid wasting government resources as it is meant for their wellbeing.
And Siavonga District Livestock and Fisheries Coordinator, Martin Mwale expressed happiness over the down payment towards the completion of the 11 abandoned dip tanks project in the district.
Mr. Mwale said the dip tanks will help the farmers to treat their animals against diseases once they are completed.
He has since urged the farmers to form community management teams to ensure that the dip tanks are protected and well managed in the zones where they are placed.
PS is disappointed with the contractors or his government? Be straight here PS. The government has been letting us down in terms of payments and it’s not easy to complete a project without payment. If a contract is awarded in 2016 and this is 2018 and no payment has been made. How do you expect a project to finish with quality because everything becomes expensive. Please help the local contractors to work well and to grow. The government has killed the local companies but busy collecting VAT and other taxes before we are even paid.
PS focus on the key deliverables while in SP.
==>Kafue – Mazabuka road
==>Falling education standards especially last G12 results
Approach external support and resources in need. Non-sh!thole countries like US, UK and Norway will help you.
PF are out cold in a sh!thole. No time wasting here.
That province is rated A++ on the Moody’s scale. We envy you.
As the major source of electricity in Zambia, South Province gets a poor return on its assets.
The money is gone…surely you can not build a dip tank which is basically a hole!!