By CHUSA SICHONE in Chinsali –

president Lungu

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has warned that he will part company with some Government officials and contractors if his audit of developmental projects countrywide reveals that they are the ones hindering progress.
President Lungu noticed with great concern that developmental projects in some parts of the country were progressing at a slow pace and that he would not spare anyone who would be found wanting as  “enough is enough”.
President Lungu also wondered why at times the release of money to fund projects, including some at  98 percent completion rate, took up to a year, saying that kind of procrastination would not be condoned.
“This year, 2018, I will be doing snap checks and audits of all the works we promised to do and I want convincing reasons why they are not being done. So let it be a warning to all of you who are charged with these projects,” he said.
President Lungu said when he addressed a public gathering in Chinsali District’s Mulilansolo area at the weekend that certain projects were like low hanging fruit and could be completed quickly if they were taken seriously.
President Lungu cited the contractor working on the Chinsali-Mulilansolo Road and some working on other infrastructure in Chinsali District as having a sluggish attitude towards work.
He said he was going to meet the contractor working on the Chinsali-Mulilansolo Road, as well as the ministries of Finance and Infrastructure Development to find out why works were being delayed.
President Lungu opted to travel to Mulilansolo from Chinsali town by road, a bumpy journey that took more than an hour while the return trip via chopper was approximately 15 minutes.
Among those at the meeting were Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe, Special Assistant to the President for Project Monitoring and Implementation, Andrew Chellah and Road Development Agency board chairperson Samuel Mukupa.
Others were Minister in the Vice-President’s Office Sylvia Chalikosa, Muchinga Province Minister Malozo Sichone and Livestock and Fisheries Minister Michael Katambo.
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has pleaded with critics to stop wasting his and their time by telling him to fire who they perceive to be nonperforming appointees.
President Lungu instead implored those calling for the sacking of his appointees to be brother’s keepers by approaching those they felt were not performing instead of reporting to him.
Addressing congregants at St John’s Catholic Church in Chinsali yesterday, President Lungu said some people, including ministers, were telling him to dismiss some of his appointees.
President Lungu likened himself to a coach of a team who was at liberty to choose players.
“We are running 90 minutes from 2016 to 2021 and I will know who to substitute and when. Please, napapata (I beg you), leave my ministers to work.
“And if they are not working well, go and talk to them and say ‘try this and that’. By coming to me, telling me who to fire, you are wasting your own time,” he said.
He warned that those ministers approaching him, urging him to fire their colleagues would end up being dismissed themselves.
The Head of State said while he would sack his appointees at his opportune time, others had chosen to resign on their own and that he had already dismissed some.
Meanwhile, President Lungu reiterated his appeal to the church to continue praying for politicians, including those that did not believe in God, for them to be converted.
President Lungu assured that the Government would continue working closely and supporting the church in a bid to uplift the people’s living standards.
The President noted also that the Government had learnt lessons from the challenges the E-voucher system had faced and he was hopeful that it would be improved upon going forward.
He was, however, happy that the Government had managed to save huge sums of money which went towards paying ghost farmers through the old system.
St John’s Parish Priest Seferino Chibesa urged President Lungu to ignore detractors who were bent on seeing him and his administration fail.
Father Chibesa said leaders were chosen by God and that was the case with President Lungu thus there was no other Head of State apart from the incumbent.
Fr Chibesa assured President Lungu not to worry about critics because God was on his side and would propel him to greater heights.
Fr Chibesa also took a swipe at people saying that the outbreak of cholera was a sign that the end of the world was near, saying that was an interpretation of a shallow understanding of the Bible.
As has become his tradition, President Lungu excited the gathering by dancing and singing along to music by the vibrant choir as some ministers and other Government and PF officials joined in.