By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE in Mwinilunga –

• PRESIDENT Lungu cuts a ribbon to officially launch the Mwinilunga-Jimbe Road in North-Western Province yesterday. Picture by ROYD SIBAJENE/ZANIS

MWINILUNGA District in North-Western Province was yesterday a hive of activity as residents went into a jubilant mood at the historical ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of upgrading of the Mwinilunga -Jimbe road project by President Edgar Lungu.
The 100-kilometre road, which will be implemented by Freca Limited at a cost of US$105 million, would impact positively on agriculture, tourism, mining ‎and other economic sectors.
The road, which would link Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), would spur trade between the two countries, create employment ‎opportunities and ease the transportation of goods and services to and from the province.
President Lungu said the road project had been on the drawing board for many years.
He was speaking when he commissioned the start of the works to upgrade the Mwinilunga-Jimbe Road to bituminous standard.
Mr Lungu told the people of Mwinilunga who took turns dancing in appreciation of the development that his leadership wanted to ‘walk the talk’.
The President said his Government would take development to every part of the country, whether people in the area voted or did not vote for him because it was his duty to do so.
President Lungu said that the Government had prioritised the construction and rehabilitation of roads and other key infrastructure countrywide because they were key to the development of any nation, and gave the Government of the day impetus to push the development agenda forward.
“Our desire to improve the state of our roads is based on the firm belief that roads are a catalyst for national development,” he said.
Mr Lungu said without roads, people could not talk or boast about the development of other economic sectors such as tourism, agriculture, trade and commerce.
The Head of State said with the dwindling fortunes in the mining sector, the Government was looking to other economic sectors to generate the much-needed jobs for the people and revenue for the country.
Works and Supply Minister Yamfwa Mukanga said he was grateful for Mr Lungu’s resolve to improve the road network.
Provincial Minister Danny Chingimbu told the President that the people of North-Western Province were excited with the commissioning of the long-awaited road construction.
President Lungu also ‎inspected a project to connect North-Western Province to the Zesco national power grid which will cost US$163 million.
Kennedy Mwanza, the project site manager for Zesco North-Western Province who took Mr Lungu on a brief tour of the project, said the works had commenced.
Meanwhile, President Lungu received some defectors from the opposition MMD and UPND shortly after touring the project.