By CHATULA KAMPO –
CHIEF Kambombo of the Senga-speaking people in Chama District in Muchinga Province has been displaced by floods in his area after heavy rains.
The traditional leader and his family have sought shelter at Kambombo local court in the district.
Senga Cultural Association (SCA) spokesperson Yotamu Mtayachalo confirmed this in an interview yesterday.
Mr Mtayachalo said other families in the chiefdom were also displaced by the floods early this week.
He said the floods destroyed crops and property worth thousands of Kwacha in the area.
“The chief and his family have sought shelter at the local court. He has no alternative accommodation, so as SCA, we are concerned over the floods that have left havoc in the area,” he said.
Mr Mtayachalo said Chama District Commissioner Japhet Lombe was in the area on Thursday this week to study the situation and see what could be done to help the chief and his affected subjects.
He appealed to the Government, through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, to move in and provide temporary shelter and food for the chief and his subjects.
Efforts to get a comment from Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice-President Davies Mwango proved futile as his phone went unanswered.

Thieves vandalise K1m Kitwe street lights

By MOFFAT CHAZINGWA –
NEWLY-INSTALLED street lights on the stretch between the Wusakile roundabout and Kafue River Bridge on the Kitwe-Ndola Road have been vandalised.
The street lights were installed recently at a cost of K1 million, a grant from the Government, but the facilities have stopped functioning because cables have been removed.
Kitwe City Council (KCC) acting public relations manager Dorothy Sampa confirmed the incident, saying it was unfortunate that the facilities had stopped functioning.
Ms Sampa said unscrupulous individuals stole  cables from four distribution points for the street lights on the highway causing the facilities to stop working.
“Vandals a week ago stole cables for the newly-installed street lights along the Kitwe-Ndola Road and the lights have since stopped functioning,” Ms Sampa said.
She described the vandalising of street lights as a setback to the development of the city because money which could have gone to other projects would have to be spent on the same (vandalised) street lights.
“This was actually a grant from the Government and we were even thinking of mobilising more resources to extend the street lights further,” she said.
Ms Sampa said the vandals further tempered with Zesco cables and this affected electricity supply to Moba Hotel and part of Mulenga Township.
She said the local authority had embarked on a sensitisation programme to educate members of the public against vandalising such facilities.

Commuters welcome Mazhandu Bus, Airtel e-ticket service

By PEZO SIABASIMBI –
COMMUTERS in Lusaka have welcomed the introduction of online buying  of bus tickets by Mazhandu Family Bus through Airtel Money service.
Mazhandu recently entered into an agreement with Airtel which would allow passengers buy airtime through Airtel Money which is used to pay for various services.
Commuters Rights Association of Zambia (CRAZ) national chairperson Aaron Kamuti commended Airtel for providing the service as that would reduce on the time commuters spend waiting for the buses.
“In the past, we experienced a number of cheatings by some operators who made passengers to pay for Mazhandu Family Bus and waited for long hours but ended up using other buses,” Mr Kamuti said.
Mr Kamuti said Airtel should however sensitise the general public on the development so that everyone including those in remote areas could know how to use the service.
He stressed the need for Airtel to engage stakeholders who would help in implementing the purchasing of tickets via mobile phones.
The CRAZ chairperson hoped that there would be correspondence between bus operators and Airtel.
And some passengers talked to in Lusaka said the idea was good though it required more education for people to comprehend and appreciate it.
“It sounds to be a great idea, but I am not sure how it works and I hope both Mazhandu and Airtel can educate the people extensively to let them understand,” said Ackim Phiri one of frequent travellers.
He noted that if well implemented, the purchasing of tickets through mobile phones could help to avoid the harassment inconveniencies by call boys at many bus stations.
Moses Sakapi, a conductor at Mazhandu hailed the initiative, saying it would help reduce congestion as the number of commuters  attended to by ticket sellers would reduce.

RDA upbeat on Mulala Bridge reconstruction

By BRIAN HATYOKA –
THE Road Development Agency (RDA) in Southern Province is finalising the required cost to reconstruct Mulala Bridge in Livingstone which was damaged early this year by floods, regional manager Lawrence Mundia has said.
Mr Mundia said RDA, working in close collaboration with Livingstone City Council and the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), had made progress to ascertain the cost of reconstructing the bridge.
He said in an interview that the final cost would be presented to the DMMU soon for consideration.
“For now, I can’t tell you the actual cost required to reconstruct Mulala Bridge. All I can say is that our assessments have reached an advanced stage.
“The bill of quantity will be finalised soon and submitted to the DMMU for consideration,” Mr Mundia said.
DMMU regional manager for Southern Province Edwin Peleti said in a separate interview that he would give more details on the project next week as he was currently out of the province.
Last month, more than 700 households in Mulala Village of Libuyu Ward in Livingstone were cut off from the rest of the city after Mulala Bridge collapsed.
The residents in the area have continued using what remained of the same bridge to cross to the other side of the tourist capital as Mulala Bridge is the only shorter link to the area.

Slow Zesco response worries clients

By SYLVESTER MWALE –
SOME Zesco customers in Lusaka have expressed concern at the slow pace at which the power utility company responds to electricity faults in homes.
The clients said while Zesco claimed to provide quick response any time, officers had failed to rectify faults on time.
“I reported the problem three days ago and the customer assistant I talked to said officers will be at my home within two hours, but it is now three days, I know that they have many customers but it is important to tell the truth instead of committing themselves to two hours when they know they cannot manage to do that,” said Alice Mwiinga.
She noted that the company had failed to connect some clients for months after finalising all the formalities, yet the power utility company had continued to promise.
Another customer, Marvin Chirwa of Kanyama Township noted that the delays by Zesco to respond to calls was promoting corruption.
“There are many Zesco guys going round the township and once you ask them to rectify the fault at your house they will tell you that you are not on their list and ask you to pay K150,” he said.
But Zesco spokesperson, Henry Kapata said the bulk of work by field officers was making it difficult for Zesco to respond to emergencies on time.
“However, it is such information from our clients that can make us to pull up our socks,” he said. “But it is important for our customers to realise that Zesco has been upgrading substations and our officers are always busy.”
Mr Kapata said the call centre was receiving more than 6,600 calls per day which made it difficult to address all the problems at once.