Traffic on the Kafue-Lusaka road in Kafue today came to a standstill after scores of Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) workers and their families blocked the main road as they demonstrated demanding that government should immediately address their plight.
The workers, who were backed by retirees, school going children and women with babies wrapped on their backs, sat on the Kafue-Lusaka road at Kafue cemetery junction, causing a traffic jam, which lasted from around 09.00 hours to 16.00 hours.
The irate workers, who had just been addressed by Kafue District Acting Commissioner Henry Bowa, expressed dissatisfaction at what they were told in the morning and vowed to demonstrate until the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Sarah Sayifwanda addresses them.
The workers, who together with their wives and children, numbered over 300, sat on the road, much to the astonishment of motorists, who were forced to park their vehicles and waited for the situation to calm down.
A number of trucks and small vehicles that were blocked from proceeding in their respective directions formed a stretch of over 8 kilometres.
Drivers of the vehicles and other passengers were forced to get out of their vehicles to watch the demonstrating worker and families as polices officers watched and kept vigil to prevent the situation from degenerating into chaos.
Motorists talked to by ZANIS described the demonstration as an inconvenience to them because they were wasting their business hours by waiting for demonstrators to leave the road.
They said it was unfair for the workers to block road for a long time.
And addressing the workers in the late afternoon, Agriculture and Cooperative Minister Sarah Sayifwanda, pleaded with the workers to give her up to this Friday, to look for resources from relevant authorities to address their problems.
Mrs. Sayifwanda reiterated that NCZ was still a government ‘baby’ whose problems it was ready to solve.
She was accompanied by Lands Minister, Bradford Machila, who is Kafue area Member of Parliament and Agriculture Deputy Minister Daniel Kalenga.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Machila said that government would listen to the workers’ complaints hence Mrs. Sayifwanda’s efforts to travel to Kafue to address them.
He appealed to the workers to be calm as government was addressing the matter at cabinet level.
The workers however gave the minister of Agriculture up to Friday this week to dissolve the company board claiming that it was not accountable and transparent in the running of NCZ affairs.
They vowed to assemble at the District Commissioner as early as 05.00 hours to wait for her to address them on Friday.
Lusaka Province Police Commanding Officer, Greenwell Ng’uni, and other senior police officers were also present to providing to the minister and motorists with security.
ZANIS/BS/SC/KSH/ENDS
Quote “as polices officers watched and kept vigil to prevent the situation from degenerating into chaos.” End quote. From the story, it seems the situation was already chaotic. Traffic Jam from 09 to 16 hrs?
And watch your spellings, LT.
Polices officers? vizungu vo dobelela…
NCZ needs to be managed well so that our food production agenda to be a feeder of all people is realized.
this government only listens when you protest, they dont try to solve problems amicably. and that MP is just a pony of mwanawasa cant even exculpate himself. well done NCZ workers, if they dont listen do it again.
what a government the worst of the three!
VIVA NCZ workers and your partners….you really need to have a life …you can’t continue working without cash!they have to pay you!!
THIS ARTICLE IS TOO LONG, HAS REPETITIVE STATEMENTS AND YET DOESN’T AT ALL STATE WHAT THE PLIGHT OF THE NCZ WORKERS ACTUALLY IS OR EVEN WHAT THEY WERE TOLD THAT MORNING BY HENRY BOWA FOR THEM TO DEMONSTRATE?????
Simple, Government sort out the problem, what is wrong with out Government, allocate money and pay these people out and forget about them, imagine losing a whole day as a nation because the road cannot be used!!!!
pay what is due to them otherwise we label you as Mugabes.You getting your bellies round at the expense of workers all over the country.For food production to be maintained in Zed,these are firms that a caring govt should look into at all times with genuine love just as that of a child to a mother cos it also plays a great role.Stop for once looking at Zim problems and sort out the issues affecting our nation.
Ba passeni badye!!!
why cant these chaps go back to the land instead of incoveniencing inocent travellors. vamahala vinata
Iwe its their money, what is the problem, how can they go back to the land to do what, to eat grass.
NCZ issues are not new, these people have been suffering for years, retirees with no pay, those working at times go with no pay for months, they have school going children,wives and orphans to feed, how does GRZ expect them to survive in conditions like these? they have demonstrated before and nothing has come out. How do they go to the land if they dont even have transport money to get there meanwhile they are working or owed and not being paid? No 10: Vamahala palibe apa, they just have to pay them,and on time period.
#10 has been on the rocker for too long
Next time Unza wonna protest, don’t pick a stone, just go sit on the road. Someone sensible wonna adress you and not Mulongoti, Teta or Lungwagwa.
NCZ is one of FTJ’s political engineering and sadly some people still believe that he was a good leader…God save us!
wats up i thot ncz packed up a long time is it retrenchment packages they a protesting about or wat ba lt improve reporting . i once lived in kafue and ncz was the pride of the town . i hope the a given there dues .
wats up i thot ncz packed up a long time is it retrenchment packages they a protesting about or wat ba lt improve reporting . i once lived in kafue and ncz was the pride of the town . i hope the a given there dues .can we also get feed backs to the articles on this site . wat happenned to slyvia and celtel building ?