Accident prone bus operator Mazhandu Family Bus Services has appealed to the Minister of Transport and Communications against the indefinite suspension of its operating licence.

According to the firm’s lawyer Tutwa Ngulube, the company feels aggrieved by the action taken by the Road Transport and Safety Agency to withdraw the licence.

Mr Ngulube called RTSA’s action as disproportionate.

He said RTSA is overstretching its mandate by suspending the licence following a recent spate of road traffic accidents involving Mazhandu buses.

Mr Ngulube who is also Kabwe Central Member of Parliament and Legal Counsel for the ruling PF said as unfortunate as the accidents are, RTSA is acting irresponsibly by killing a business.

He said RTSA should not be in a hurry to kill a business on account of an accident on a particular route.

“Why should they punish an entire business when it is only one route which has recorded some accidents? What if their own investigations find that it is not actually the Mazhandu bus driver who was at fault because at the moment the investigations have not been concluded?” Mr Ngulube asked.

He said his firm has already logged in an appeal to the Minister and is hopeful of a favourable outcome.

Mr Ngulube said Mazhandu will be forced to go to court if appeal to the Minister is not successful.

LUSAKA Province Minister Japhen Mwakalombe says the removal of street vendors from the streets is unsustainable because it does not achieve the desired results.

Mr Mwakalombe said the removal of the vendors had in the recent past proved to be unsuccessful because it had not yielded the intended result.

He said in an interview in Lusaka on Tuesday the vendors would be allowed to continue trading on the streets until a lasting solution was found.

“Many street vendors were worried about being removed but through our studies we have discovered the removal of people from the streets is not sustainable in any way as it does not achieve the intended purpose,” Mr Mwakalombe said.

He said street vendors would not be removed from the CBD but would be required to keep their trading surroundings clean at all times.
Mr Mwakalombe said through the partnership between the Lusaka provincial administration and the street vendors, the traders had agreed to conduct daily clean-up exercises in their respective trading places.

“Through the launch of a relationship between the provincial administration and the street vendors this will ensure that cleanliness in the central business district is improved and maintained,” Mr Mwakalombe said.

He said each shop in the CBD was required to have proper disposal bins and that constant inspections through the provincial administration would be carried out to ensure owners were adhering to the regulation.

And Paul Mbewe, a vendor on Nkwazi Road, said he would ensure that he enforces the directive to clean trading slots.

Mr Mbewe said it is important for each vendor to own a broom which they should use to keep their surroundings clean.

“We are happy that we will not be removed from the streets. We will work together with Government to keep the streets of Lusaka clean. As earlier stated by Mr Mwakalombe, we will clean our surroundings in the morning and evening,” he said.

Mr Lusambo said President Lungu has now appointed more young people in key leadership positions than any other leader in the history of this country.

“I believe that by making these strategic appointments, President Lungu is planning for the development of this nation beyond his tenure of office. The leadership experience that young people like myself are obtaining is invaluable and sets the country on the right path towards sustainable development,” Mr Lusambo said.

He said he strongly believes that President Lungu’s legacy will be one that will be associated with appointments of young people into key national offices.

Mr Lusambo described the appointments of young people into leadership positions as selfless acts by President Lungu which deserve strong commendation.

“I am confident that all of us young people appointed to key leadership positions will repay President Lungu by excelling in our various positions. As Copperbelt Minister, I wish to add my voice to those congratulating Mr Kamanga but I also wish to assure the nation that this appointment is sound, timely and a gain for the Province. I say so because Mr Kamanga has demonstrated strong leadership skills having worked as Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Provincial Administration,” he said.

He said he is confident that Mr Kamanga and I will make a strong team together with all other civil servants in the Province to steer development on the Copperbelt.

“I wish to wholeheartedly congratulate Mr Kamanga on this appointment and offer my continued support to Mr Kamanga as he begins his new role. He is an able leader and I worked with him very well when he served as Deputy Permanent Secretary.”

Mr Lusambo also commended President Lungu for appointing Reverand Dr Howard Sikwela as Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development.

“This is another perfect appointment as Reverand Sikwela has a big heart for the vulnerable in our society and I believe he will bring his strong and fatherly leadership to this very important Ministry. Reverand Sikwela is a capable Permanent Secretary with a keen eye to detail who helped me tremendously to settle in my new role as Copperbelt Minister. He was always on call and ready to offer advice, counsel and direction as I began my new role.”

And the local authority is consequently appealing to Central government to come to its aid to mitigate further damage to infrastructure in the tourist capital.

Livingstone City Council Director Engineering Fred Mukuka said in an interview yesterday that the heavy downpour being experienced in the tourist capital since January 2017, has caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, houses and fences in residential areas.

Mr. Mukuka pointed out that residents in Mulala township were almost cut off as the road to the area was impassable while roads in Mwandi area were all flooded.

“People in Mulala are almost cut off due to a road which is impassable in some areas while roads are submerged in water in Mwandi.

” We have lost a lot of infrastructure as some walls fencing houses have collapsed in residential areas as a result of excess water,” he said.

Mr. Mukuka said this in Livingstone today during a presentation on the city’s disaster situation at a Disaster Management and Mitigation Committee Meeting held in the Council Chamber.

He explained that lack of culverts; drainage systems in areas like Dambwa and blocked drainages were major contributors to the damage on infrastructure.

Mr. Mukuka further explained that inadequate equipment hindered the council’s efforts to rehabilitate some roads.

Drainages, gravelling and compacting affected roads, filling gullies with rubble; building culverts and drifts on roads are some of the urgent measures that need to be implemented to prevent the current situation from deteriorating, he said.

And Acting Town Clerk Grayson Sakala said his is faced with limited resources to miitigate the situation.

Mr. Sakala therefore called for the much needed assistance from Central Government and the Provincial Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).

” I understand the mandate of the council but the current situation was extraordinary and requires external technical, financial and additional human resource support address trhe situations, ” he said.

He said the local council needed a roller compactor for minor works on some affected roads and would soon engage the Road Development Agency to assist them with equipment.

“All along we were working with RDA and their equipment but they withdrew it to undertake other projects. However, we will soon re-engage them to help us with a roller compactor and other equipment for us to work on roads that are in bad shape,” he said.

And Livingstone Mayor Eugine Mapuwo said the tourist capital was in a terrible state as some residents could not park vehicles within their premises due to damaged roads while others could not drive out.

Mr. Mapuwo said concerted efforts from all stakeholders were needed to improve the current state of infrastructure.

Meanwhile, a heavy downpour yesterday has left massive damage to property and other infrastructure in Samfya District in Luapula Province.

Among the damaged infrastructure included government offices and houses most of whose roofs were blown off..

ZANIS reports that a survey conducted by District Commissioner Narson Bwalya in the District today revealed that houses in areas such as Mano Ward in Bangweulu Contitution not to mention Chisokone Secondary in the area were severly damaged.

And Mr. Bwalya said that the recent heavy rains have left several people homeless after their houses collapsed.

Mr. Bwalya said there was an urgent need for the Provincial Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit ( PDMMU ) to move in quickly especially the damaged schools for the benefit of school children in the area.

And Mano Ward Councilor James Kapilila has asked government to provide the internally displaced people with relief food and tents while they await to reconstruct their houses.