By CHUSA SICHONE in
Itezhi-Tezhi –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has observed that some contractors are bent on draining State coffers at the expense of them performing to expected standards.
President Lungu said he is tired of seeing contractors getting away with colossal sums of money, which did not equate to their input.

. MONDE

Mr Lungu said this when he addressed a meeting at Itezhi-Tezhi Boarding Secondary School, in Itezhi-Tezhi District yesterday and ordered area Member of Parliament Greyford Monde to approach the ministries of General Education and that of Works and Supply to ensure that works at the institution were completed within six months.
President Lungu said it did not make sense for the school to be incomplete for 10 years as works commenced in 2006.
President Lungu charged that he viewed delayed projects as products of corruption and thus warned that if reviewing the procurement process ended at blacklisting local contractors, he would do just that.
“I would like to challenge the contractor and the Ministry of Education to expedite the process, because I don’t see the reason why a project like this one can take 10 years, from 2006 to 2011 and now to 2016, one project, Itezhi-Tezhi Boarding School.
“This doesn’t make sense to me! Honourable Minister of Livestock and Fisheries (Mr Monde), please, when we get back to Lusaka, see the Minister of Education, see the people at Works and Supply to ensure that they finish this project in six months,” he said.
President Lungu said he wanted quality workmanship, quality and competent contractors to be awarded contracts and not those that did shoddy works.
He ordered Mr Monde, who was present, to remind him about the Itezhi-Tezhi School matter during today’s Cabinet meeting.
“We have to get to the root of this. Six months from here, this project should be handed over and all the contractors should vacate, that is an order that I am making now and going forward, I am saying useless Zambian contractors count yourselves out,” he said.
He said Government would not be awarding contracts to local contractors, just because they were Zambians.
The contract was initially awarded to a local contractor, Profund, in 2006 before it was given to the current Chinese firm.
Meanwhile, President Lungu said he wanted to see selfless civil servants as well as those who were loyal to the Government of the day.
He warned that the civil servants bent on frustrating the civil service work owing to their belief that there would be change of Government after the August 11, 2016 general elections would be in for a rude shock.
To the pupils, Mr Lungu urged them to take education seriously as it had far reaching benefits and to work towards their ambitions now.
He urged the female pupils to say no to early marriages as they should wait until they reached the right age and charged that some girls had dropped out of school because their parents “foolishly” lured them into early marriages on account that they were beautiful.
School head Benny Malingapasi said the institution was opened on January 14, 2013 and currently has 439 pupils.
Mr Malingapasi said the school had, among other things, cut down on the distance the pupils covered to  access education as well as prevented female pupils from renting houses which resulted in some falling prey to early marriages.
He, however, said the school still faced some challenges such incomplete infrastructure like staff houses, incomplete water installation as well as the girls’ dormitories lacking furniture, among others.
From there, President Lungu and his entourage comprising Government and party officials went on to tour Itezhi-Tezhi Hydro power station and a market besides holding a public rally after lunch.