By FLAVIOR CHISHALA –
VARIOUS stakeholders have commended Cabinet for the decision to reject a proposal by the Ministry of Works and Supply to put up a new State House administration building for the Republican President and staff.
On Monday, Cabinet declined to approve the proposal to construct a new State House main administration building in view of limited resources due to the prevailing economic challenges the country is facing.
Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) executive director Kryticous Nshindano said the decision was in line with the President’s pronouncements to cut down on expenditure because the country’s production had gone down.
Mr Nshindano said there was need to consolidate the nation’s fiscal position and revamp the revenue collection as opposed to building a new State House administration.
He said in an interview that implementing agencies should abide by the directive and uphold only the projects that were approved.
“We are very happy with Cabinet’s decision and we hope that many of such decisions will be made in the future so that poverty reduction can be the priority of every Zambian,” he said.

. MWANZA

Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director Pukuta Mwanza said Cabinet’s decision was important as it signified that internal democracy was being enjoyed.
Reverend Mwanza said there were many other urgent needs to which the available resources could be directed, adding that the action taken was critical for national development.
“We appreciate the decision made by Cabinet and we hope more of such tough decisions could be made so that the limited and scarce resources can be directed to only urgent needs of the country,” he said.
The Southern Africa Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes executive director Boniface Chembe said the decision was prudent considering the challenges the country was already facing.
Mr Chembe said the Government should instead focus its attention on constructing more roads and link Zambia to as many countries as possible.
Lusaka residents also praised the Government for setting aside plans of constructing a new administration block.
A Lusaka car spare parts dealer, Cephas Dube said the decision was welcome and appealed to the Government to concentrate on stabilising the economy.
Mr Dube said the prices of most commodities, including farming inputs on the market, had gone up and needed serious attention.
“We cannot afford to divide our attention because we have serious issues that need attention,” he said.
Another Lusaka business executive, Davies Lubula said building a new State House block was costly, especially considering the poverty levels prevailing in the country.
Mr Lubula said the decision simply showed that this was a listening Government which took into consideration the welfare of its people.
“The poor rainfall has left and is yet to leave a mark of poverty, so the resources available, if well utilised, will have a positive impact on many lives,” he said.