By KELVIN MUDENDA –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has directed the Zambia National Service (ZNS) to help complete the intercity bus terminus and the ultra-modern market in Livingstone.
ZNS commandant Nathan Mulenga said President Lungu was worried and disturbed with reports that the two projects had stalled for a long time.
The two facilities, whose construction started in 2012 prior to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly, have partially been abandoned by the local authority and the contractor due to a lack of funds.
Speaking after touring the two projects yesterday, Lieutenant-General Mulenga said the Head of State was concerned with the plight of many marketeers who were left to trade in harsh conditions due to lack of proper trading spaces.
“It is at the command of the Commander-in-Chief why I have come here. He directed that we come over and assess exactly what has delayed the works and see to it that the two facilities are complete. The commander-in-chief is generally concerned about the plight of the people who up to now are actually trading in places that are of poor sanitary conditions,” Gen Mulenga said.
“The commander-in-chief wants our people to be served better and it is his concern and he was personally telling me himself how he wants these projects to be up and running, and that is how he sent me.”
Gen Mulenga said ZNS was ready to partner with the Livingstone City Council in seeing to it that the projects were completed soon.
“What ZNS will do is to join hands with the local authority here to see to it that the facilities are complete,” Gen Mulenga said. “Given the necessary funding that is required, I think the projects are nothing to talk home about.”
The ZNS commandant blamed the contractors responsible for the two facilities for delaying the projects.
“Talking from the Service’s point of view, we know that it is not the funds that have hindered the progress on the two facilities but it is the people who are given to do the works who exaggerate things,” Gen Mulenga said.
Livingstone Mayor Eugene Mapuwo thanked President Lungu for engaging ZNS in trying to complete the two projects.
“We thank the President and the central Government for engaging you to come and assist us.As you know the market is the first of its kind in the country and we were afraid that people might start vandalising the facility,” he said.
Earlier, council deputy director of engineering Muyunda Muyambango said works on the two projects would be completed in six months’ time once funding was made available.
“In terms of completion of the market we are at 65 per cent. What is remaining is to complete the two top flows that are there to do the partitioning, plastering and the floor,” Mr Muyambango said.
“For the bus terminus, the major work is the paving and once that is put in place, we should be able to do a partial opening of the station. For the market we are talking about K15 to K20 million and for the bus terminus we need K61 million for us to be on the safe side”.