TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka has alleged that the Zambia Railways concession was awarded in dubious circumstances and has proposed that the Patriotic Front government should consider cancelling the deal.
Mr Lifuka said it will not help to pretend that all is well with the Zambia Railways concession and the matter should be resolved.
“The PF government should seriously consider cancelling this concession and finding other ways of commercialising the railway sector,” Mr Lifuka said in statement released yesterday.
Recently, Government cancelled concessions and agreements on the operation and maintenance of Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) scanners at border posts and others related to operations of border points at Kasumbalesa and five other borders.
He said TIZ is aware that the railway concession has not proceeded as envisaged and “the company is now nothing but a cash cow for some people”.
Mr Lifuka challenged the Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication to release the reports of the inspector of railways on the performance of the railway concession.
Mr Lifuka said his organisation welcomes the measures taken after the release of the ZRA commission report and prodded Government to thoroughly investigate the issues raised in the report and take legal or administrative action against all erring officers and public leaders.
He expressed disappointment that the Kasumbalesa concession was primarily an unsolicited bid for a project of high national security and importance.
“We find no justification why Government did not proceed to open up the tender to promote transparency in this particular transaction. The manner in which this bid was handled raises more questions than answers,” Mr Lifuka said.
He said it was worrying that Government gave the concessionaire a 14-year lease for 100 hectares of land at Kasumbalesa border and it is shocking that title deeds were issued to the concessionaire, in total contravention of the concession agreement.
Mr Lifuka said it is interesting that the border concession involved primarily one company which was using different names, as reported by the ZRA Commission of Inquiry.
The ZRA commission report revealed that the company used the name Baran for the dry ports and Kasumbalesa bids, and used Zambia (IP) Border Crossing Company Limited during the signing of the contract with Government for the Kasumbalesa concessions.
The company assumed another name – Zambia Kasumbalasa Venture Company during the commencement of operations.
The report says the company was called Zambia (IP) Border Crossing Company when bidding for the five borders but changed the name to Five Border Post Company at the time of signing the contract.
The name changed again to Five Border Post Group, after it took over the construction of Nakonde border post.
Mr Lifuka wondered why the people behind the projects found it necessary to keep changing names and why Government allowed itself to deal with a group of people who were not consistent.
Mr Lifuka advised President Sata to authorise the Minister of Finance to immediately make the ZRA Commission of Inquiry report public, in the same way he did for the Zamtel report.
“The Zambian people deserve to know the full contents of this report. There should be no sacred cows in this process,” he said.
Mr Lifuka said Government should not renege on its decision to cancel all border concessions and warned the PF government to guard against possible corrupt maneuvers by some unscrupulous individuals.
“TIZ is following this case keenly and we will not hesitate to expose and condemn any public officials who will support any unscrupulous activities which impact negatively on the lives of ordinary people,” Mr Lifuka said.
He called on Government to set in motion a process of overhauling the public procurement system, saying it is time loyal and dedicated men and women are given the responsibility of public procurement.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
This is actually long overdue. I vividly remember that even LPM (MHSRIP) considered terminating the contract. The railways is in a worse off condition!
spot on… This has been one of the most useless concession ever undertaken by the mmd
Someone who was actively working in government circa 1967 has reminded me that the chain of events currently reminds him of that time. Nationalization is back! Be careful not to repeat the sins of the past even as you address what are being called ‘irregular’ privatizations.
You can’t go on ignoring non-performing institutions. RSZ have had enough time to turn around the railway industry and have failed. The rationale behind nationalisation in 1967 wrestle control of assets from foreigners. Foreigner are welcome now as long as they are adding value. What value has RSZ added to Zambia Railways? ZERO.
cancel them please and bring in serious investors. Rail systems of Zambia is a thorn in the fresh. No reasonable investment has been pumped into the rail line since privatization. The rail line is dilapidated and poses alot risks to people using it. I used the rail line only once travelling from Ndola to Lusaka, it took us 2days to reach Lusaka.From that I regretted and decided never to use that form of transport in Zambia.
Kwena ba Pepecho Sufferer, is it suffering that made you decide to get on a train just to endure more suffering? You should be well informed to know the kind of services provided by our rail transport system – complete rubbish!
Mr Lifuka looks like he is carying TWO heads (ifi mitwe fibili)!! Sir, u need to shed that mass of fat you are carying! Obesity has never been a good thing.
The railways should have provided an alternative mode of transport for moving goods, but the railway line is in a pitiful state since RSZ took over. If anything the infrastructure has continued to deteriorate with no benefit to the nation. I support the call for re – visiting the concession and another serious investor to take over as a matter of urgency!! This a key sector in the development of the country that we can not afford to lie idle.
Zambia Lalwe nayo ni yasu yasu! ZR is a potential employer of thousands of Zambians. a good railway network will also save our roads…GO Chipolopolo !!
This is the most sensible proposal that any right thinking zambian should seriously consider and i hope the PF government will accord this matter the priority it deserves. i know SATA was part of the people who concessioned ZR. The prudent thing to do know is to ensure that ZR is taken back to its original glory and i can travel to NEGA NEGA is comfort. MPs along the line of rail, those are the issues you need to look at seriously.
I remember the train journeys to Hillcrest…..wow glory days! amundipe bege yangu…bandibida bege….and there was a sticker in the train reading ” echi chitima lubono lwenu, muthachinyonyone phe”… kathuya chitima chabola basa!
Get ZR back, the infrastructure ther are using to chew money was left by Rhodesia Railways built by cecil rhodes.
Hmmmmmm…. ba big brain or is it think tank. So you where at that once-upon-a-time prestigious secondary school in Livingstone called Hillcrest? No wonder your postings are of such incomparable intellect. You are honored with the title “Mfumu Ya Nzelu”. Ni chokako weka pa site pano where boys are separated from men. I am mauless with these former Hillcrest scholars……
So if nationalised what are the prospects?
awe..tehre were too many thieves form the copperbelt..jerabos..
VONSE VIGUSU NA MATOLOKOSI YA KAENA BANA GULISA AMABALA!
The railways are important. Irregularities or not, please do the right thing to make sure that they stay running and get better and safer over time.
Lifuka my guy, what’s with the double chin?
Privatisation has not made any sense to me. In the late eighty’s when I used to go to School from Livingstone to Monze, The Trains were running between 60-80km/h. Today these trains are crawling at 30km/h as maximum speed. This purely shows that no meanifull investment has been made on the rail line because the rail line is worse of now than it was ten years ago. Remember that even back then, we used to we used to say the Rail Line was bad. To me, this shows that Privatisation is not always the solution.
I think we Zambians must be ashamed of ourselves. Instead of improving where John Cecil Rhodes left our rail transport system, we have retrogressed. Whats wrong with us surely? Are we competent enough to run our affairs properly without outside support? By this time and era we at least should be talking about electricity driven trains and not these obsolate diesel locomotives. Because of the poor rail system people are forced to use buses which by comparison are more risky and not convinient for long distance travel.
TIZ is now a branch of the PF, i like the way they are doing the nationalisation push on behalf of their mother body.
There is also the problem of the ripped out rail sleepers. Was this the result of privatization as well? I know that small towns like Luanshya now have a road where once there was a rail line. Are we going to bring back the lines once we cancel the concession? Just asking…
Only a grown up fool in possession of a diamond can not know how precious the stone is. TRANSPORT, AGRICULTURE AND TOURISM, the rest just falls in place once these are in order.
He eats two chickens and 5kg of chips per breakfast; ask his wife
No.4 you’re spot on. This chap looks more like a hippo. Too much good milile at TIZ ka.These chaps have found a loop- hole on how to milk the NGO’s. I hear he is on a $20,000 wage for talking and not production.What a waste…PF must investigate and audit all NGO accounts…you’ll see how the same people calling for transparency will cry foul…
Lifuka is misleading people. The Railways concession was for the operation of trains and not the track. The track or rail line is the responsibility of the Zambian govt. Lifuka should just advice the PF to find money and relay the whole railtrack network of both TAZARA and ZR. RSZ wont do that for you it is not their property. They just operate the trains and the wagons not the line! Better example to study is the UK one. The separate company called Rail Track owns and maintains the lines while a number of train companies such Virgin, National,etc operate the trains. Lifuka should start using his brain and stop being a PF cadre
Does that mean we brought an invester just to come and run the trains?. How on earth can someone fail to run the trains really… I cant just imagin it.
wa mutu ukulu salewa nkhonyo! Lifuka stop eating with both hands!
Amfumu you are now flip-flopping, the famous PF behaviour. Which side of the argunment are you?
Initially you said ZR niyanu-yanu, meaning you want nationalisation. A decision deemed headless by those who have done basic economics. Now you sound as though you are against LIfuka, when he is on your side …supporting nationalisation, without understanding the economic arguments.
@19 mwamoneni,
jealous iwe! has what he has said good or bad? progressive or not? thats the issue here not his looks or stature.
IREENA stop misleading the people. Don`t be defensive over nothing. You study the Concession Agreement then you will understand what Mr. Lifuka is talking about. Are you trying to protect some interests? Am very dissapointed with you. You are talking of things that are not in the Concession Agreement. Just continue eating with them and keep quiet. Do you think the Government can be so foolish to come up with the concession like the way you are dreaming?
We have actually gone 40 years backwards in as far as operations of the Railway Network is concerned. We are the worst in the Sub region, and this defeats the whole purpose of Concession Zambia Railways Limited. No investments have been made into Rolling stock and track rehabs. They are still using the same old Locomotives and Wagons left by ZRL. Trains are now moving at dead slow speeds for fear of derailing coz the track is completely rotten. Train crews use cell phones as mode of communication when running trains which poses great danger to both passengers and goods. The country is not benefiting anything from this scandalous concession of ZRL.
@ sure Badala! I am told that you can disembark from the moving train and go to the bush to relieve yoself and still catch the train. Its also true that from Ndola 2 Lusaka takes 2 days; to L/stone at times 1 week so it only shows that this is a stinking deal!
THESE GUYZ HAVE NOW MOVED ALL THE SAVERS AND DATA TO DRC WHERE THEY A RUNNING THAT BORDER AND RUMOURS ALSO FROM DRC WANT TO CHASE THEM ALSO. IMAGINE HAVING SAME SYSTEM DRC AND ZAMBIA WHERE IS SECURITY?
Instead of just talking, please find the Zambia Railways concession document and read it. It is only then that those are against cancelling it will realise that something is really wrong. It is could also be very good if the PF Govt can publish it for all to read. I read parts of it and I wondered what the Mwanawasa admin was up to. IT IS BAD MANNERS TO EAT WITH BOTH HANDS.
I hope lifuka got express authorization from mmembe to open his mouth!!!
Me what i think is its either the government to cancel the concesion or to improve on the services like maintaining the rail lines,buy new loco motives engines and to pay the workers the money that can able to pay tax cause no one is paying tax there are just saffering like the do not work.