A Catalogue of fraud and gross weight understatement characterized major abuses employed to irregularly allow overweight Chinese Higer buses to operate in Zambia.
Zambian transporters have accused Transport Works, Supply and Communications Deputy Minister Panji Kaunda of having ignored technical advice and recommendations from the ministry, the Road Development Agency (RDA) and the Zambia Police that condemned the Chinese buses.
They have produced a range of documentation revealing high level forgery within RTSA in which the Higer buses weight was grossly understated for registration purposes.
At the weekend, Col Kaunda issued a statement that Higer buses were free to operate on Zambian roads, thereby contradicting a statement by Ministry of Works, Supply and Communications permenent secretary Joe Kapembwa who earlier announced the Chinese buses had been banned.
The transporters have complained that because of the wrong weight of the buses, they were being forced to pay more at the weigh-bidges thereby eating into their profits.
But Higer Bus Zambia Limited general manager Wu Ming has blamed RDA and RTSA for the falsified weights that have led to government condemning and recalling the Chinese buses.Mr Wu has accused one of the transporters complaining of having failed to settle the loan for the buses he procured and that he had allegedly bounced nine cheques in his attempt to settle the loan.
The single diff buses often with four rear wheels have been condemned by the Zambian government because their net weight and GVM Kg were wrong, making the buses incompatible to the Zambian roads.
The gross vehicle weight of the buses was 16,000kg and 18,000kg respectively instead of the required 10,500kgs after loading, far above the expected weight and that they could only load up to 15 passengers as a result of the mechanical fault.
The Zambia Police, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) and RDA have all condemned the Chinese Higer buses because, apart from their net weight not being uniform for the buses with the same seating capacity, the buses were not making good business for the Zambian transport operators.
Most of the transporters have complained of having been duped over the net weight of the buses by Kinglong Motors Limited, the company that has been supplying the said buses to Zambians.
The original concept of importing the Chinese buses was to empower Zambian drivers but the Daily Nation has been informed that Colonel Panji Kaunda in connivance with the Private, Public Buses Association had hijacked the programme and were using it to their own personal benefits.
Transport operators such as Sonwemo Bus Services, Mwami Coach Services and Ilangeni Coach Services have said they were shocked with Col Kaunda’s statement because government professional agencies such as RTSA, RDA and the police have confirmed that the buses were unsuitable for Zambian roads.
Col Kaunda, when contacted said the position of government’s was that all the faulty Higer buses in Zambia were going to be recalled and that there would be no more importation of such buses until the manufacturers modified the passenger transport vehicles.
“The position of government is that we have with immediate effect stopped the importation of the Higer buses from China and we are now recalling all the faulty buses on the Zambian roads because of the complaints from the transporters. The buses we are recalling would have to be handed back to the supplier for modification so that they could be compatible to the Zambian roads,” Col Kaunda said.
But some operators have accused Col Kaunda of having connived with the PPAZ senior officials of hijacking a project that was intended to empower drivers. The operators said the initial proposal was that the over 300 intended beneficiaries of the empowerment programme were made to contribute K1,000 towards the programme but that the money could not be accounted for.
Some RDA sources have told the Daily Nation that there was a possibility that some transporters could have been duped on the weight of the Higer buses and have confirmed that the buses have been condemned and should be recalled from the Zambian roads.
According to a letter dated June 23rd 2014, by RDA director commercial and traffic services Steven Mwale addressed to Yobby General Dealers, the complaints by the many operators about the Higer buses weighing above the 10,500 Kg which was the recommended weight in Zambia.
Source: Daily Nation
ba sakala nyongo
Acquit based on his being a son of a legend.
I happens in South AFrica with Oscar’s trial who is innocent as he mistook the woman for a burglar
Thanks
Ba Mushota naimwe muleibwelamo. I really doubt there’s a university that would allow a scholar of you caliber to do a PhD. Your reasoning leaves much to be desired
The Truth has come out?? Panji should be investigated because he has been blocking most public transport initiatives for his personal interest. This is just starter, there is alot to come because he benefits from Higer, for pushing people to use these buses. let him be fired.
Where does a deputy minister get such power to rule a cabinet minister? I am not surprised by this,for Panji this position is God sent. He’ll stop at nothing to get a buck given where is coming from. Prior to this appointment he was so skint that there were moments when he would go his father KK for bag of Millie meal. Don’t be fooled by his appearance, the polygamous is busy cutting deals. Remember Steven Lungu’s report on financial abuses at ministry of Works and Supply.Col. Panji Kaunda was implicated in illegal withdraws of funds meant constituency development. His guy is on a mission of plunder once and for all espcially that there is no one to watch from the top.
Unless you are saying even invoices and documents from the suppliers were fodged and Customs documents were also fodged. Which is which? Otherwise do not create a storm in a cup. There are so many ways of verifying that, do not paint a picture which is implying that we have dull people.
When someone told me that PF was made up of ‘Kabovas’ I disagreed. Now I may start to change my opinion after seeing some kind of appetite by the col. to be off policy making and try and get back as close as he can to buses.
…..in engineering we work with numbers, each tarmac road is designed to a specific maximum load it can bear. The highway road may have different specifications to township road network……we also have weigh bridges…. so were is the problem..??…why raise an argument in the media??….get the road specifications and take the fully loaded dam buses to the weigh bridge and compare the figures period…
….by the way, did Panji’s bankruptcy get annulled before he got into public office..??
Why are you complaining?Didn’t you realize that China has no quality standards.
Ask Botswana about these Chinese construction companies.All the power stations built by a Chinese company to make the country self sufficient in power are down.The country is now 100% relying on imported power.
Thats China for you.
@Red Square, more accurately, China will cater to your low standards and expectations. The iPhones you are rushing to buy are done under scrutiny by the Chinese! They know that Africans care only for outward appearances so they will produce knock-offs at the drop of a hat. That scales up to serious things like power stations, too. You negotiate them down they negotiate the quality down, too. It is that simple. Alas, our leaders will never heed such advice.
2 & 4 have said it . Please do not be afraid of competition by hallucinating rubbish.
Welcome to the club my dear these selfish transporters are just fearing the competition from our hard working Chinese other what they saying is totally rubbish
Surely the topic is dealing with HIRE bus, and not HIGHER?
Any thoughts Ba Mushota, PhD(Hons)? Please educate us?
I have never trusted anything “made in China” apart from pottery.
As long as we have politicans have the final say and not empowering institutions…we will always substandard products in Zambia. I bet you this bus can never be imported into Europe as it would fail lamentably all standards.
This Higer deal has corruption written all over it!!
It is NOT Panji Kaunda’s fault. Panii was just called to come and serve in an already corrupt system. Did you expect him to just sit and watch while everybody else is stealing. Why were people not complaining when GBM was getting all the contracts at Zambia Army, ZAF, and ZNS? The only problem I have with Panji is that being the son of Kenneth Kaunda (KK) the former dictator who killed hundreds of people in Zambia, I don’t know why Sata expected Panji to be different. But, again, wasn’t Sata part of the Kaunda regime that killed hundreds of Zambians. And the amazing thing is that evil people like KK keep living longer and longer….sivikufa, bamene bakufa nibaja baliko bwino. Zambia is cursed.