President Edgar Lungu has sent a team of Four Ministers to Lundazi District, Eastern Province to go and assess the damage caused by the washed away Msuzi bridge.
The bridge which is about 6 kilometers from Lundazi boma on the Chipata – Lundazi road was washed away on Friday 21st December 2018.
The team on Ministers that inspected the bridge yesterday comprise Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister Ronald Chitotela, Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe, Minister in Vice President’s Office Sylvia Chalikosa and Eastern Province Minister Makebi Zulu.
Speaking shortly after inspecting the washed away bridge, Mr. Chitotela said the Road Development Agency Will quickly put up a temporal bridge to allow movements of motorists between Chipata and Lundazi.
Mr. Chitotela has explained that construction of a temporal bridge which will be done by RDA- in conjunction with the Zambia National Service and Zambia Army will begin in the next 7 days.
The Minister has however called on motorists from Chipata to use a temporal bypass road through Zimwanda to access Lundazi.
Meanwhile Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe has directed the RDA-to quickly come up with a budget for the construction of the temporal bridge.
Mr. Sikazwe says the bridge should be constructed in the shortest possible time so that the distribution of farming inputs to the district is not disturbed.
And Minister in the office of the Vice President Sylvia Chalikosa said the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit will engage the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the funds are released soon.
And Eastern Province Minister Makebi Zulu has appealed for calm from the people of Lundazi as government is working round the clock to make the bridge passable.
Meanwhile, RDA Chief Executive Officer Engineer Elias Mwape said his engineers are determined to ensure that the temporal bridge is done and all what the Ministers have asked for will be delivered.
You do not sent Ministers, you send bridge experts. Kwena ubupuba elo bwatantalila! One Minister with a team of experts would have made more exciting news. And you are blaming the Engineering ?Institute of Zambia of being disengaged from activities!? Ba kapalaaa!!!
I can end up insulting if I commented on this …. It reminds me when the President sent Min of Health and state house officials to evacuate the boy with needles and wires in his body from Chipata to Lusaka. Kwena bwafya ubu!
PF is cesspool of stand up comedians.
It sounds like the start of a bad joke. How many ministers does it take to inspect a failed bridge in Zambia?
It will take 7 days just to start, not just 7 days.
That bridge will cost $10 million.
Clueless government.
How did we get to this state ?
God help Zambia
Mwakwibilafye indalama bamambala aba!
Can I ask 1 honest question: Is Lungu normal?
– 4 ministers
– ZNS – 30 personnel
– Army – 40 personnel
– RDA – 16 personnel
– Contractor – 30 personnel
Total allowances in of 120 personnel in 7-days = $3-million
Do you want to know who comprised the entourage. The technical team fro RDA accompanied Minister Chitotela, DMMU team accompanied minister in Vice President’s office Sylvia Chalikosa. Please stop making conclusions before making reasonable analysis.
So dull that you can’t realise it’s political propaganda.
Really laughable..What is Chitotela going to assess he probably built that road with his proxy company simply look at the thin layer of black tarmac on that road…the army (ZNS) should never take 7 days to put up a temporary bridge this should take 24 hours…in war armies are able to put bridges for tanks to cross on within hours.
When you steal and build shambles that’s when you think of ZNS!!
Kwena four ministers is an overkill. Some will just be spectating as they earn subsistence allowances. Only ne minister with three Permanent Secretaries would have sufficed
What are FOUR ministers for? Wow. Clueless Lungu never ceases to amaze us. They go over there, look around, make a short speech and assure the people that everything will be alright, and then fly back to Lusaka. Waste of our meager resources. Why not send a team of engineers accompanied by one minister? But then again, it’s clueless Lungu. Not surprised at all.
Was the bridge laying on those pipe lines. The constructor are reliable for that, maintaince must be ongoing for 5yrs in case of damages like that one. (Poorly constructed bridge)
Am surprised too…!! Four Ministers, just to waste Public Funds to watch a damaged Bridge and then come back without a Technical solution to the Problem?
God help us, especially at a time and Generation like this we are in. Supply us with true Leaders from the Heart.
I surely expected Bridge Engineers to be sent their or at least may be with just one Minister, say, Works and Supply Minister.
For example, what was the role of Freedom Sikazwe in washed away Bridge?
Koma uku ndiye kupuba…. Kkkkk
Four ministers(plus drivers and Chola boys) to assess a bridge? What do they know about civil engineering? Are they registered with EIZ?Isn’t this just another Xmas expedition?
Work done by zambian contractor
SABLE
Just send Zns engineers. Why send 4 ministers
Chitotela. Sikazwe. Honestly is this a serious country.
Chitotela is synonymous with corruption
Sikazwe is a yes bwana cadre
LUNGU-MUST-GO
We have no opposition. Pf was multiple failures yet 10 united is failing you to capitalize.
I considering joining active politics
Our pit latrines are collapsing too in Chibolya and Misisi Mr president .Its a public health emergency.
It’s him who built them you are the ones who built them when people are making morden toilets.
Where are the engineers ???? I didn’t know ministers were engineers too!!!
But why are they emphasizing on a temporal bridge. 4 ministers sure, travelling all the way from Lusaka to talk about putting a temporal bridge. I am sure it’s going to outlive PF. You even tell RDA to make a budget about a temporal bridge, but when you were renovating a tree in kabwe there was nothing like that.
HE SAID HE HAD NO PLAN
I cannot see any sign of a “washed away” bridge there. How does a Bridge look like?
Its a case of a poor report by an unqualified reporter
Chitotela and Sikazwe are a waste of and resources!! How can the progress with this calibre of ministers? It is laughable that Chitotela should a Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, all he knows is to negotiate a percentage on any project procured by the Chinamen. Only in Zambia!!
Same thing happens all the time, a few months back they sent lusambo to look at the transit train systems in one of the Chinese cities. Why is it politics first.
This is stealing money in the form of useless allowances. What does Sikazwe even do?
Nadabwa.
When will these ministers cum engineers come and assess the Sesheke road?
Koma eh
@ Chalo Nkhanza, are u sure this road is not done? It must be worse now coz I last used it Feb 2017
I saw no problem on Senanga -> Sesheke -> Livingstone road in August .. But Mazabuka -> Kafue was an eye sour
This is always the case when politicians rate themselves more than anyone else in anything
Twalimishiba emo mulira!!!!
How can the president send grade 6 Freedom Sikazwe to assess damage that should be done by qualified engineers? Even the next one will be useless because the assessment and the report about the damage would be made by ignorant Ministers masquarading in offices as competent people.
Its about night allowances and all that it takes to siphon cash out of the government coffers. Just looking at the washed away bridge 10 nights in Chpata and Lundazi.
This is the waste party to have run the affairs oftis country. Whatever went wrong?????
Just wait for Avic to work on the bridge. Avic costing K1m and government budget for the bridge K18m. Just wait and see. You will prove me right!!!!!
Disaster!!!!
Imagine an Auto mechanic certificate holder like Sikazwe assessing the bridge, you wonder how a contractor working on that road agreed to lay tarmac over that bridge!!
SABLE should be held accountable and pay the cost l hope the analysis will include the question
It is embarrassing to think we couldn’t find a better man to run this country it’s embarrassing to think this is my president it’s nowonder he did not see anything wrong with buying a fire truck at $1 million each something that even the USA with all it’s sky scrapers could not do. How does some one send 4 ministers infact even sending 4 engineers to inspect such small bridges would be a waste of time and money
It is embarr@ssing to think we couldn’t find a better man to run this country it’s embarr@ssing to think this is my pres!dent it’s nowonder he did not see anything wrong with buying a fire truck at $1 million each something that even the USA with all it’s sky scrapers could not do. How does some one send 4 ministers infact even sending 4 engineers to inspect such small bridges would be a waste of time and money
This is barbaric the whole president sending 4 ministers just to look at the washed away bridge. I say just looking because what do they know about construction of bridges. If he sent 4 engineers yes not these useless ministers said late Sata!!!! He was right. Useless ministers!!!!
Disaster!!!!
There is need to investigate cause of bridge collapsing and bring contractor together with engineers who certified the works to task.
December 24, 2018 at 2:43 pm
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It is embarr@ssing to think we couldn’t find a better man to run this country it’s embarr@ssing to think this is my pres!dent it’s nowonder he did not see anything wrong with buying a fire truck at $1 million each something that even the USA with all it’s sky scrapers could not do. How does some one send 4 ministers infact even sending 4 engineers to inspect such small bridges would be a waste of time and money
it’s embarrassing to think this is my pres!dent it’s nowonder he did not see anything wrong with buying a fire truck at $1 million each something that even the USA with all it’s sky scrapers could not do. How does some one send 4 ministers infact even sending 4 engineers to inspect such small bridges would be a waste of time and money
It is embarr@ssing to think we couldn’t find a better man to run this country it’s embarr@ssing to think this is my pres!dent it’s nowonder he did not see anything wrong with buying a fire truck at $1 million each something that even the USA with all it’s tall buildings could not do. How does some one send 4 ministers infact even sending 4 engineers to inspect such small bridges would be a waste of time and money
Please, just debate using civil language, not provoking words. How many people in UPND, be them MPs or mere party leaders argue against Hakainde Hichilema? No one at all.
So stop insulting the old man Minister for Presidential Affairs, Honourable Freedom Sikazwe, that he is a yes bwana. No one holds contrary views against HH, or any other Opposition leader in his party.
Rda should conduct a detailed bridge inventory, not only concentrating on the visual crack patterns of these structure but should extend to foundations, the interaction btn the bridge solid foundation ,the soil and the water keeps on changing.A foundation which was stable in 1980 can not remain forever stable.the effective stress of the soil, and the angle of friction btn the particles is altered due to the water pressure.Then you have loss of equilibrium btn the soil and the foundation resulting into tilts in the foundation, then the rest is history.zambia is an engineering dead country
There is a pothole just outside my house on the road. I wonder when and how many ministers will come to assess the situation before some guy comes with a wheelbarrow to fill it.
This bad dream of sending four ministers to go and do nothing reminds of us of Sata when he was in opposition asking if President Mwanawasa was okay, when there was the bigrim disaster, I think, the explosion at Chambeshi, where many people died. it happened the day when Levy was on the Copperbelt but Levy decided to fly to Lusaka. When Sata asked about his normalcy, the President then decided to fly back to the disaster area on the Copperbelt.
At least Levy had ears to hear what others were saying. But these guys, their ears went deaf long time ago.
Imagine if big Bridges like the Luangwa Bridge were to be carried away with water… The entire Cabinet would take one Month Camping at Luangwa Boma including all PSs and the entire RDA.
Chalo cha chipa mwebantu….. Eeeiish…