Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Finance Minister calls for Routine Maintenance of Roads

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Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu has called on the Road Development Agency -RDA and National Road Fund Agency -NRFA- to adopt a culture of carrying out routine maintenance of roads.

Dr. Ng’andu says RDA and NRFA should not wait for roads to deteriorate before moving in to repair the damages.

He says government can save more money on road repairs once maintenance works are done on time.

Dr. Ng’andu was speaking during inspection of Chinsali-Nakonde road rehabilitation works on the Great North Road in Muchinga province.

He was accompanied by officials from RDA and NRFA, provincial Minister Malozo Sichone and Chinsali Member of Parliament Kalalwe Mukosa.

And NRFA Director Wallace Mumba said the agency will change its approach towards road maintenance by ensuring that once a road is rehabilitated, maintenance works immediately start.

Meanwhile, RDA Acting Director, George Manyele said works on the 2-hundred and 10-kilometer road from Chinsali, Isoka to Nakonde on the Great North have progressed.

Mr. Manyele said the scope of works involve widening the road from 6-point 5 meters to eleven meters.

While in Muchinga Province, Dr. Ng’andu also inspected infrastructure projects that have stalled.

19 COMMENTS

    • Believe it or not in the 60s there were people employed to sweep that dust off the roads. I saw them with my own eyes! Then we entrenched corruption into our culture and such services just disappeared. We first moved to providing roads without pedestrian paths. then retrogressed to giving our communities just tarmac on top of some soil then we went on to just give them dust parched over by a grader.

  1. Great advice. I think this is a vital point. Every good or product, even the human body needs to he maintained. Other wise it ends up costing you a foot and arm in end. We will take this advice on and I will arrange meeting with all stakeholders.

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  2. The Finance Minister is just saying where are my lazy colleagues; Sylvia Chalikosa and Chiteme? Great advice to who indeed?

  3. The British were wrong to give independence too early to a people who only know how to consume what they have not worked for

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  4. Pointless making statements, why can’t you make it policy and make sure that each and every road has a Maintainance schedule. We are forced to pay road tax and people expect this money to go towards maintenance of roads. We need standards in GRS service delivery.

  5. It’s already policy to carry out periodic maintenance. I don’t know wht the finance minister is talking about. He didn’t have to say this at all. It’s the reason RDA, RTSA and NRFA exist. He should just said he was inspecting progress after releasing funding to work on the road.

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  6. KZ
    Ati ……”..We will take this advice on and I will arrange meeting with all stakeholders….”

    Look at them…….

    they don’t know about maintenance. How can you expect a country to work if people don’t know about routine maintenance ?????

    And you ka kaiser , you said….

    “……We then need find a way to ensure we never allow those with questionable records to regain Zambian citizenship. I am talking the tarinos spaka etc.. these aretoilet cleaning criminals who wont add any value….”

    You are looking at jail time in no long time badala…….

    Zambia si yaba nyoko , who can you stop ….?????

  7. Advising someone to do their job and as usual some dullard are commending this forgetting how much of taxpayers money is wasted to build these roads at inflated rates.

  8. The engineer speak for yourself. We know to you the whlte man is your saviour that is why you ran away there and followed your master to become an asylum seeker.continue wiping your old masters backsides there and leave us to run our own country you sell out

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  9. Geeeee, who would’a thunk that preventative road maintenance is a good thing… never mind necessary?

    Imagine that RDA and NRFA need this kind of “great advice” and is something to “take on” as if maintenance were a secret. Truly, it’s nothing short of scandal to even consider spending money on a road without budgeting for (and then doing!) routine maintenance. Or maybe the problem is too much pressure to spend all the money on new roads so people can dance around and shake their fists in the air at ribbon cutting ceremonies? Just get a donor to bail things out and pay for maintenance when it falls to c’rap? Genius!

  10. It does nt have to take a former BOZ administrator to tell engineers how to do there job, that means they are incompetent! Typical of this government! @kaisar even thinks it’s good advice…..is it the job of technocrats to advise policy makers? A seasoned engineer should know that periodic fimifimo should be done….infact it’s routine, followed by periodic, then major ……but of course we eat more mwiibala when it’s reconstruction since we can inflate prices and share change with our chambian friends!!

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  11. ba KZ but why zambian roads are poorly designed?i is it half baked UNZA engineers or just chimbwistic mentality coupled with corrupt tulyemo atitude.Surely 50 years after you chased the colonialist we can not rule ourselves.Is a black man cursed?……or doomed for failure.

  12. You are Wright Dr B N, the thing is we do not have Engineers in Zambia if any there where trained in Chibolya even the when you walk in so called Cairo road I see madness feeling to maintain mini walls and pavement?? To make maters worse when I went to Chungu graveyard I sew a mini wall very deep with no lid on it that is total madness boss you need to fire some one out there

  13. Minister of Finance is trying to tell Minister of Works to do his job. Also Minister of National Development and Planning

  14. Bo Kaizer Zulu, likute kile Linde; umuchinshi u suma; ulemu ni wa bwino;
    Real men dont insult. I am Christian lawyer who respect authority, love justice and seek peace.
    Let us regard each other as children of God for Zambia to be truly a Christian nation.
    Our behaviour in words and actions must reflect JESUS Christ.
    When you have power use it to the glory of JESUS for he is the owner and Giver of that power.
    Our lives should not revolve on HH and HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT DR EDGAR LUNGU. We belong to GOD AND GOD and ALL MUST FEAR GOD AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

  15. Once upon a time the local authority in every district or city was responsible for all services including electricity, water, and infrastructure maintenance. If you look across the border in countries using that system like Namibia (they adopted Zambia’s system actually) that is still the case. You pay Municipality for water, rates, and other services. They buy electricity, water and specialized services in bulk and distribute. Pa Zed fyonse ni ma polotiki cabe. Ati local guys will become too powerful in the process you mismanage calo just like that.

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