Lufwanyama District Commissioner (DC), Miniver Mutesa says the Lufwanyama-Kitwe road will soon become impassable due to the poor state of Bulaya Bridge which is on the verge of collapsing.
Dr Mutesa made the observation after she visited the area situated on the west part of the district.
The DC who was franked by other district government officers, told ZANIS that part of the bridge has since been washed away.
She explained that the remaining part has developed cracks while, the road leading to the same bridge is also becoming impassable due to heavy downpour being experienced in the area.
Dr Mutesa said Bulaya Bridge which is across Kalulushi stream is the only crossing point connecting Lufwanyama’s Bulaya ward and Kalobwa area in Kitwe district.
She has since appealed to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) to quickly repair the bridge before the situation worsens.
Dr Mutesa emphasised that if left unchecked, the bridge might be completely washed away and cut off residents from accessing services like education, health and other important social amenities.
The DC further said she rushed to the scene after her office received numerous reports on the bridge.
Meanwhile, some of the residents talked to, described the situation as an eyesore especially for the young school going children who fail to attend classes whenever water overflows the crossing point.
It’s grobal my friends, endeavour to withstand the inconvenience
Stop buying luxury SUVs and use that money to maintain our infrastructure such as bridges, drainages and roads. Simple solutions to greedy people are very complicated.
A classic case of cheap construction and money stolen with inflated prices.
There are many more to come yet, but the government is responsible for this.
As a contractor myself, it’s a shame and disgrace to see this happen and the government will blame the rains for this.
@John you same contractors when the government gives you down payment, you run away to dubai leaving the project. You start buying cars and plots.
One of Lungu’s many collapsing or swept away “handsome kickback” bridges and roads.
This is what we say, we need very strong institutions in Zambia if we have to move rapidly in the economic development of this nation. Poor foundations of most bridges which cannot stand heavy rain. This means we have to spent more money because of poor planning or used substandard materials by the contractor to put more money in the pocket; I wonder where Bridge Inspectors were or could it be that Inspectors were threatened by political heavy weights – I mean those who love quick money. This is no different from some of the roads which were paved? One wonders why a contractor can pave substandard road for more than 1 kilometer without Highway engineer or technician inspectors stopping the work and command the contractor to redo the paving to the initial specification.
The consequences of not following proper tender procedures. The whole process is shrouded in secrecy resulting in unqualified or amateurs winning bids including those who bribe government officials. The consequences of also having a minister With a history of being charged for stealing. I wonder why no one is taking these contractors to task for constructing things that don’t last
Cheap is expensive – that is what corruption does for us. Now we will have to “pretend” we are repairing UNIP era infrastructure, borrow more and let the incompetently, kakistokratic, kleptomaniacs we have installed in positions of authority continue to loot, lie, and shield each other. Vucita monga vizavitenga vimene vikuba!!! Awe shuwa!
What’s alarming is that the bridge is still in use despite being on the verge of collapsing. Surely public safety should come first. I was expecting to hear that the bridge will be closed due to safety issues from the educated Dr. Everything is collapsing in Zambia next will hear president Lungu has collapsed.
Few days into his Presidency, one of the news outlets had a screaming headline, “Chagwa Agwa” after ba Corrupt Jona collapsed whilst addressing citizens.
That surely was a future omen, on what was to befall Zambia under corrupt “Mwibala Chagwa”.
Now everything these bandits touch with their soiled corrupt fingers collapses, like these infamous “CHITOTELA BRIDGES”
Do we have Structural Engineers who assess and sign off these bridges once they are built? Bridges need to be examined regularly and recommendations made to prolong their lives. You cannot have bridges collapsing like bees from the sky.
How can people comment on this? There is no information on when this bridge was done, type of structure, etc, etc. Pa Zed culverts have become bridges, slag dumps are now black mountains, it’s official!
Sonta epo wa bomba……kikikikikiki
I think Dr Mutesa is a brother to DC Miniver Mutesa, Unless I’m behind.