Northern Province Permanent Secretary Bernard Mpundu has urged Chilubi Town Council to strengthen its supervision of the contractor working on student hostels and the second phase of a lecture theatre at Chilubi Nursing School.
During an inspection of the works on Chilubi Island, Mr Mpundu expressed concern over what he termed inadequate supervision by the local authority, particularly regarding the construction of hostels.
He noted poor tiling work and attributed the substandard workmanship to weak oversight by the council.
“The government expects projects to meet the benchmarks of cost, quality and time. The best way forward is to ensure we live by those benchmarks, but this is not what we are seeing here, quality is being compromised,” Mr Mpundu said.
He directed the council to closely monitor the projects and ensure their timely completion, especially the second phase of the lecture theatre, which has stalled.
Mr Mpundu stressed that the facility is a transformative investment for the district and will greatly improve healthcare training and service delivery once completed.
“Let us show that we are capable of delivering on time. The government is eager to see the project finalized without further delay. These are key projects here and everyone is looking forward to their completion,” he added.
Chilubi Town Council Acting Engineer Kennedy Mumba attributed the delays to logistical challenges, explaining that materials such as blocks must be transported from Samfya across Lake Bangweulu using the post boat, which has limited carrying capacity.
“We only have one vessel to transport material, the post boat, which also has limitations. Even when the contractor wants to do more, they are restricted by the speed at which materials arrive,” Mr Mumba said.
He said despite the setbacks, the second phase of the lecture theatre is expected to be completed within 18 months.
And Chilubi District Works Supervisor Luka Chuunda disclosed that about K1.5 million is required to complete the construction of the nursing hostels.
