Maravi

Choma-Namwala road works in need of K50bn

Choma-Namwala road works in need of K50bn
Written by Charles Mangwato in Choma
Sunday, August 09, 2009 9:22:32 PM

RANKIN Engineering consultant, Tailor Mutero has expressed fear that the tarrying project on the controversial Choma-Namwala Road may again stall unless the government urgently releases the K50 billion needed for works to continue.

And Southern Province permanent secretary Darius Hakayobe has described the Choma-Namwala Road as highly politically charged and that the government would do everything possible to ensure the project does not stall again.

So far the contractor, China-Geo Corporation, has put up a tarmac from Choma covering a stretch of 17 kilometres out of the 82 kilometres under a two-year project with a contract sum of K164 billion.

During a tour of the road project on Friday, Mutero told Hakayobe that works on the project would come to a stand still because the money released by the government for this financial year had been exhausted.

Mutero said the government had so far only released K23 billion of the expected K29 billion towards the road project.

He explained that the contractor had however covered works amounting to over K38 billion.

"The actual works have surpassed the amounts released by government. Our worry is that with the momentum we have gained, it will be sad to have this road project come to an end so abruptly after covering only 17 kilometres of the 82 kilometres between Choma and Chitongo. The contractor has sufficient equipment, materials and manpower," said Mutero.

Mutero said the government should release at least K50 billion to enable the contractor undertake meaningful works and achieve the envisaged progress.

"I am afraid if there is no further funding, this project will die here," he told Hakayobe who was accompanied by district commissioner Laiven Apuleni, provincial accountant Oscar Majazyo and other senior government officials on tour of poverty reduction programme projects.

Mutero said the contractor would ensure all the works on the 17-kilometre stretch that had been tarred were properly completed including road markings.

He said the contractor had also progressed on putting up new bridges on Ng'onga and Munyeke streams using the same funds disbursed by government through the Road Development Agency.

"I am appealing to you, the PS, to knock on the doors of government so that this project does not collapse especially after the contractor has gained momentum," said Mutero.

And Hakayobe said the Choma-Namwala Road project was highly politically charged and that government would not risk the project to stall.

He said the provincial administration would lobby the treasury to release additional funds so that the project was implemented according to schedule.

"I know that as a country we have problems of money, but we will continue knocking on the doors of government because of the importance the people in the province attach to this project," said Hakayobe.

Road Development Agency regional engineer, Lazarus Nyawali, who could not elaborate on the failure by the agency to release sufficient funds towards the project, said the Choma-Chitongo Road project, whose initial works started in August 2008, would be completed in two years.

Labels: CHOMA-NAMWALA, INFRASTRUCTURE, ROADS, TAILOR MUTERO

posted by MrK @ 8:23 PM