Maravi

Mulyata calls for tarring of W/Province road network

Mulyata calls for tarring of W/Province road network
By Mwala Kalaluka
Wednesday August 29, 2007 [04:00]

SOUTHERN Province minister Joseph Mulyata has urged fellow parliamentarians from the Western Province to fight for the tarring of the entire road network in the area during their time in the House. And Mulyata, who is also Mongu Central member of parliament, complained that some sections of society have continued to portray him in bad light despite the good work he has done in rehabilitating the feeder roads in Mongu town.

Featuring on a ZNBC Radio One programme Zambia Ni Lifasi Kacenu, Mulyata said a good road network was important for the economic aspect of any area.

“My only request fellow members of parliament from Western Province is that we are supposed to fight for better roads because this is what we came to Lusaka for,” he said. “Western Province is the only province in this country which does not have a good road connecting it to a neighbouring country.”

He said there was a good road linking Nakonde to Tanzania, Chirundu and Livingstone to Zimbabwe including the Copperbelt to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “For us it is only this short road that enters Namibia from Sesheke,” Mulyata said. “If you open the road network, people will be able to move properly and also sell their goods easily.”

On the Mongu-Kalabo road project, Mulyata said even though K20 billion was released towards the placement of bridges on the 72 kilometre road stretch, the money was not adequate.

“But we said let us just use this K20 billion for now so that in the next budget we can move another step,” he said. “We want all roads in Western Province to be tarred, that is our agenda.”

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recently instituted investigations against Mulyata following his intervention in the release of a luxury coach belonging to Lusaka businessman Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM), which was impounded at the Livingstone WeighBridge for overloading.

Meanwhile a report published in the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) report for 2006, quotes NRFA director Raphael Mabenga stating that the three road sector agencies namely the Road Development Agency (RDA), Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) and NRFA last year undertook a study trip to New Zealand to understand how other road user charges such as road taxes, weighbridge fines should be collected, receipted, banked and monitored to avoid leakages.

The problem of overloading has been cited as one of the major constraints against efforts by stakeholders in the road sector to attain their objective of improving the core road network of 40,113 kilometres by 2013. But Mulyata said it was sad that even though he had put in a lot to improve the road network in Mongu, some people were still bent on tarnishing his image and social standing.

“I have done a very good job and most of the roads in Mongu town are now tarred,” said Mulyata.

However, the roads that Mulyata claims to have rehabilitated fall under the RDA’s Accelerated Urban Road Rehabilitation programme that was commenced in several towns around the country using fuel levy last year. Mongu was apportioned over K5 billion for the improvement of about eight kilometers of the link roads in the town.

Labels: JOSEPH MULYATA, ROADS, WESTERN PROVINCE

posted by MrK @ 4:13 PM