A year after rehabilitation works began at Independence Stadium in Lusaka, the facelift is making a slow and anxious progress.
Firstly ,work has stalled on 44-year-old venue with an indefinite delay in the laying of a new artificial turf to replace the old grass surface.
Then it is still uncertain when the new grandstand will be built after the four-decade-old structure from where the legendary Dennis Liwewe made his famous football radio commentaries high-up in an orange press cubicle.
Exorbitant bids received by the stadium landlords, the Government, will see the iconic venue remain closed for at least the foreseeable future.
A scar remains where the grandstand once stood at Independence as the ghost of Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium in Ndola resurfaced.
Dag was raised in the mid 1980’s to make way for a new venue for Zambia’s failed hosting of the 1988 Africa Cup finals.
However, while construction delays continue to haunt Independence stadium, people building houses continue to creep closer and closer to the perimeter of the venue, that has given both joy and painful memories for soccer fans over the years.
No longer will spectators, unable to pay the required entry fee to watch a sports event, have the privilege of a panoramic view of the arena on match-day from Humanism Hill located on the south-side of stadium.
The rocky outcrop is now dotted with private housing developments that have spread across the hill like a cancer and also encroached onto the western side where homes now stride between the stadium and the old Chingwere cemetery.
Meanwhile, the Gabon air disaster grave yard just south of the Stadium is with each year that goes by adopting semblance of a dignified and pristine stature,15 years after that dark April tragedy.
Adding to the pain is the last game Zambia ever played there is one fans would rather forget.
October 8, 2006, archrivals South Africa’s Bafana Bafana won their first international match there beating
Zambia 1-0 in a 2008 Africa Cup Group 11 qualifier.
With that, a refreshing but now seemingly drawn-out new era at Independence is awaited to erase the old errors and sorrows
Most Zambian projects fail due to lack of planning. I think we need to teach our Kaponyas the basics of Project planning and implementation. Now if you make it worse by voting for a kaponya president, that all works will be done at rallies. Talk, talk, talk and no results.
This one I’m first.
Those of you in the diaspora studying project management inchito iyi, these machocholicho cant do a good job. they need you to supervise their cascade bar charts
…wow..I’m second..and third.lol
Zambia needs the new stadium for 2010. If Angola is hosting the 2010 AFCON why can’t Zambia host it in the near future? Chipolopolo boys and girls need the new Chinise Staduim. This should be names after Doctor Kaunda. The Liwewe type of people comes once in a life time. we need the new Liwewe. Please do not talk about politics but soccer to bring unity even when going to and coming from an election.
INDEPENDENCE STADIUM I LOMFWISHA INSONI SHETANII ULIKWISA LELO. WE AE TOO BEHING IN ZAMBIA WHERE IS THE MINISTER OF SPORT AND CULTURE. NGA BAKALWISHA BWALYA AFTER BABWELA BALECHITA INSHI KU ZAMBIA?
BAMENOPAUSE NAMUSAMBILILA MU KABWELEMO TO ZABIA UKUYA AFWA ICALO NOT UKBA BAKOBOYI UKO MULI
no2 scobby ala it is not the middle east where people are pre occupied with who was here first, Hahhaha you are funny good luck next time and hope you read the article
An not Zambian but my wife is and yes she is a lovely Bemba woman that is why i can write speak and read bemba and quite interested in zambian affairs naturally.
#2 You have nothing to talk. Please shut up. wheather you are # 1 or last does not matter.We need to talk about Independence Stadium things out of topic. Please go to sleep if you have nothing to say.
this is another sad example of how zambians are good at speaking, just wait for Banda, even the konkola and the possible nchanga will be put to gravel.
MENOPASE WHY DID YOU MARRY A ZAMBIAN ?
pa zendi fye,
#9, Good fellow. Learn more of Zambia’s languages and enjoy Zambia to the full. Zambia is simply great!! Do you know the song – This land is your land and this land is my land from the great Zambezi to the Luangwa valley; from the zairean border to the …. This land was made for you and me.
Now think, can you ever entrust this beautiful Coiuntry with a foul mouthed Seroppent for president?
they shud just sell that chi plot and take football back to cb
wikala ku soweto Pure zambian. be careful zenofobia
walipena which plot should they sell?
#9, Even fools marry.
#12 am guessing you have had a bad day and just want someone to chat to.Not that it is a bad thing but the forum cant be any worse.At the top of these commentary, is an article i think you best leave this forum if you want a personal chat there are quite a number of online chat rooms with loads of people just waiting for the likes of you. it is rather unfair to ardent readers of these articles and comments to be made to read something out side of the spec of the article.why did i marry a zambian woman? because i love her.
We are not serious at all.
#14 natotela mukwai nakalebalika, muleyenda ulifwile ing’ombe.Lesa amipale you are the only one who has welcomed me,a visitor foreigner but now i feel quite at home.lets go get some mayehu to celebrate
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata yesterday said it is sad that paramount chief Mpezeni has endorsed Vice-President Rupiah Banda’s tribalism. …
Damn… next time we will wake up,to a rudest shock to find
the whole town centre is gone.MMd awe, no gabon report, no Dag, no independence or indipondo as we used to ko it, next no mwanawasa and then you are next to extinct.
If had my way i would format the whole country and start anew.
Lastly lets protest in the streets over the stadias, actually that tells the story as to why soccer has gone to the dogs.
COMMENT DELETED
If Liwewe had been a chairman of FAZ in his life time, there could have been a good Stadium in Zambia. He’s the only one i trust when it comes to soccer issues in Zed. Even Kalu is not good at this stuff. The politicians suck.
You guys why do you like writing stories that expose your friends work. I am trying to get the best deal for the stadium but these people from abroad in the South and in China are a nightmare.
JUST BUILD A NEW STADIUM.
Iwe suntwe 21..menopause…you do sound like you are kaonde iwe chi mambala….you are zambian …uleponoka
# 2- wachelwa boi!!!!=))
RB will build it in two weeks. so that he can commission it before 30/10/08. he is Rupia money. remind him about it. his image builders will work on it. RB Money Maker Waster president.here is another chance darling sugar daddy. just call chainese. i want to be the youngest first lady. tandiwe mwaiche anywhere go ahead u remember i was your boy friend in Lundazi and chipata teachers college. yenda nizabwela ku state house kabili mudala ni flat battery.
it’s pity that the gabon report still hasn’t been made public… I wonder what they are hiding.
Imwe indipondo tailiko pa Zed. baponoka bamambala. let us be serious with development in Zed if we are to move forward in Zambia. yesterday i advised my friends to vote wisely on Oct 30.
This story sucks, our government is not doing its job and its sad that at 44 years of our independence zambia still does not understand the importance of sports and its infrastractures.
#31, my friend, it is only zambia which doesnt know the content of the report. i work with a friend from carbon here, and he has explained to me what really happened. i can give you all the details if you want, i have nothing to fear about.
Just wait another two years. Ministers will be building houses there.
Is that dressing room for Independence stadium? Charming! With our boys` kit! Kabili uwawashishe aya ama “jersey” alipya kuminwe.
These iliterate councillors need to be educated on the fact that they are not empowered by the state to sell plots. We have the council and Min of Lands not cadres pliz.Can the Min of Lands STOP this nosense of building houses around the stadium.
Who is to blame for all this mess? Poor Leadership! Simple.
#36 There is nothing wrong with building houses around the stadium. My fear is in two years time, the site will have houses built on it.
#24 I feel you!
Sad. Why did they raze the grand stand before terms were agreed with a contractor?
I think it all zeros down to poor planning, misplaced priorities and maybe mismanagement of public funds………..
Ahahaha!! ati Changing Room! you guys are joking right? Come on, put up the real pictures of Independence Stadium. LFMAO.
Get ready for a komboneer government.
Zambia is one of the most backward countries in the world. Surely 44 yrs after independence, no stadium to boast about. Angola, just coming from war are even advanced than us. They are hosting the 2010 africa cup. DRC another war torn country has some decent stadia. Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique etc have proper stadia. But in Zambia I dont know. This is the problem of having thieves in govt. All they do is enrich themselves and they dont care about the development of the country. But ine umutima wakalipa. For sure independence stadium is another Dag in waiting. How are we then going to host the All-africa games in 2011. Just expect another ban like it happened when Zambia failed to
Just expect another ban like it happened when Zambia failed to the 1988 africa cup due to lack of infrastructure. But Zambian leaders have really failed the nation. Shame on all these hyenas, crocodiles and vultures.
i concur with #43 & 44. Zambia crazly is supposed to host 2011 all africa games. meanwhile we have no facilities like hotels and stadias to accomodate such an even. This MMD mad Govt., says to renovate UNZA and HONE hostels for the same. my God. i think they wanted to use it to send off levy after his two terms the way FTJ used his last year of power and became SADC chairman with a few months of his rule only remaining.
China prepared the stadias and otheer social amenities well in advance for the beinjig games, the olast one yr was for mop up. Ourselves this is end of 2008 nothing in place. Zambia Sucks.
I’m bidding for the independence dressing room, check picture on the above story before comments. Iwant it to be my house or a pub.
At least this way I will put it to good use, I’m bidding K100,000,000 any serious challengers.
its very sad with the situation here in Zambia.
#34 spill the beans. why have you taken so long to come out. If you are a patriotic zambians (and they are very few indeed) come out and say it.
This net is for information, education and damn revelations.
Dont be afriad.
its not just independence stadium,there are lot more structures that need to be worked on upon the hosting of the 2011 all africa games.around this time last year we were told the stadia wud be ready by december 2008,but am told the bidding process is still going on.how do we expect soccer startands to improve wen we dont even have a single mordern stadia.i now know y zambia plays well wenever they playing away from home becoz thier opponents have gud stadiums,ba under 20 found it diffcot to play at nchanga,but in egypt it was an easy flowing game.can boma do something
Yes! 34# Tell us why are you even wasting time. Tell us the truth. And this truth will set you free.
RB CANCELLED HIS MEETING IN KASAMA BECAUSE THERE WHERE NO PEOPLE TO ATTEND HIS RALLY
#34 please tell us the story, we are Zambians and we deserve to know!
This is not looking good for not only zambian football but the people in leadership,especially faz.Shame
Does the author of this article reside in Zed?? What I know is that the grave yard for the 1993 Gabon tragedy victims is North and not South of the stadium.
34 give us the Gabon Disaster report online since you have nothing to fear
We nah love wah a gwaan! Dem fail we again. Dem nuh know seh soccer bring de pipo dem together? Politricks divide but games unite.
And #34 unnu betta be serious an’ spill de beans mi yute! Yu cyaan seh A an’ fail to seh B!
Nyawa, kkusondoka ebboo!!!tell us the whole story then will buy into the junk you are posting!!!!
its a sad story and am always thinking why this country and not any other?…Zambia is a very beautiful country and the only problem is mismanagement and lack of planning especially people from high offices….honestly why start up something that you know will never finish???for once we need solutions and not problems…2010 is just around the corner,lets get started!!!!
Zed politicians & senior civil servants are a bunch of jokers, period! They seem too eager to dream up all these grandiose projects without the slightest clue of the challenges at hand. Not too long ago, Sports Minister Mulambe & his PS Bob Samakai (the conman!) were trying to convince us that we had the ability to host the 2011 All Africa games! C’mon, give me a fckin’ break…!
…
Raze the old grand stands down before they kill our people.Thats staduim needs a thorough upgrade from the ground and make way for a modern staduim, and GRZ says they cannot afford a stduim built by chinese, shame.Its embarassing to see a game from Zed on supersport, people standing around a fence, while they are called “grounds” not staduims.
We seem to lack any priorities. Who in their right mind, given the massive poverty, disease & illiteracy levels we have in rural & peri-urban Zambia, would rather spend meagre resources on some mediocre sports event like All Africa Games?! Same applies to all the numerous & useless by-elections we always hold due to MPs kicking the bucket?! Zambia is a rich & blessed country in terms of natural resources, but the one curse we seem to have is mediocre leadership!
Thats the reason we need educated leaders in Zambia, well, young and fresh brains, RB as a unipist will probably want to make his mark as KK did, also raze this staduim down and fail to even grow grass on it.This country is backwards in all aspects sports, infrastructure, business processes, etc. We need to start and clean with a new broom, I’m dreaming a 65 Years leader will come out of this, come 1 Nov.And the mediocrity just continues further, Zim will even recover and overtake us again, watch this.
thanks mr LT FOR DELETING useless postings which do not benefit the majority. No.34 please we are waiting for your update on cabon incidence. since the Govt like keeping information we also say thank God other pipo know what really happened.
We can only do the right thing if we put the past inorder.Looking at the appointing pattern of these so called ministers and deputies.For example,someone with a trade in accountancy is given a ministry whose core existence is the supervision and awarding of contracts to these so called Chinese investors.Honestly,how do we expect an accountant to certify construction works and sense some form of failure on the part of the constructor?
Its high time we started pointing pipo to position which are in line with their qualifications.Political appointments will always result in failure in the concerned ministries.Once a cadre always a cadre-you can not change mind shape of these political cadres
Things just get worse and worse. Who will ever change this? Tule chula banee.
Zambian politicians it appears they were all born from the “same mother” as they have one thing in common. They are all crooked 1diots.
Zambian politicians it appears they were all born from the “same mother” as they have one thing in common. They are all crooked 1diot$.
Tubikepo limbi Sata. Atleast is a man of action. These current hyenas in govt. have failed us. PABWATOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Why the hell are we building on an old site when there’s is so much land in Zed! Independence Stadium should have been down graded to provide state of the art training facilities instead. Then a new stadium complete with surrounding support structures (eg roads, police and media facilities) should have been tendered as a design and build project so that we got a consortium of bidders offering the whole package with garantees on completion milestones. We could have even looked a Private Finance Intiative (PFI) to use private funds if govt is stuck for cash so that we dont rush for Chinese. This sort of incompetence makes my blood boil. Naya.
LT where are my posted comments?????????????????
DOES SATA WATCH FOOTBALL GUYS?
44 years and that’s the only staduim we still have, yangu tata.
Just vote Hichilema and experience real development
Where is my comment???
Iwe ka 34 spill the fcukin beans…. FCUK by the way ni designer.te nsele.
Lets see if we protest maybe that would be a wake up call.
“Dag was raised in the mid 1980’s”. Well if it was “raised” why is it not still standing? Or should that read “razed”? Also, it’s “1980s” not “1980’s”. The first is plural, the second is a possessive expression, ba LT.
LT were i my comments
34 plz tune as
#77 lol!
Once again LT where are my comments?????????? What are you playing at!!
Where are the comments LT???? What is going on in your brains????? Why do you have a blog when you do not publish the comments???? Where is the money from FIFA for the artificial turf? The swiss guy from FIFA was in the country for a few days and said everything was ready for the artificial turf. What did he have on his eyes????? Or who gave him all the information?? Wake up Zambians, don’t be fooled. Something is wrong here.
Shame, always shameful.
What happens to those comments that are not published?
34. nyawa Bruv could you please email me the report it sounds like a good read.
My email address is:[email protected]
Thanks in advance.
84. Juicy
Oct 14th, 2008 at 11:36 am Vote: 0 0 What happens to those comments that are not published?
==============================================
Thats what is called censorship dombo.
NYAWA PLZ EMAIL
NYAWA PLZ EMAIL ME DA REPORT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPEND MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS [email protected]
The Independence Stadium is a joke. Please go out there and have a look at it. Why is nothing done for such a long time? Do we really need the Chinese to do all the work – like at the funeral? It looks like it.Zambians, even if there are a few hundred thousands of young Zambians who are not allowed to vote this October 30th, because they were not registered, all other voters should make an informed decision on that day!Just look at all the candidates and what they have to say.But don’t forget there is a time after all the promises… when they are in office. Make them stick to their promises and remind them all the time what they said during the election campaign.
By the way the donor community already suggested in 2006 to keep the voters registry updated monthly – good idea, but nobody listened to it. Now we would need it so badly.
No 86 if you know that the blog is censored why are you participating? Or are you censoring it, Dombo?
How can we say our economy is improving when we can’t even afford to renovate a national stadium?
ISNT IT THE WHOLE REASON WHY I WANT TO CHUCK OUT THE MMD CHAPS???? THIS IS THE ONLY CHANCE WE HAVE..OTHERWSIE WE ARE S TAUCK WITH FOR ANOTHER 7 YEARS
Iwe ka Nyawa, #34 wila spreadinga ama rumours apa, ka! If your story is true, why r u keeping us waiting?
THE CHINESE INVESTOR IS NO GOOD AT ALL.STADIA NEEDED
Anyone interested in exchanging my voters card with 30 pockets of chilanga cement?
Am a registered voter and I need some cement.
It’s good a big part of the stadium was not tempard with, maybe they should just go aheasd and lay the Artificial turf if funds wont be there to redo the Grand stand as it was a potential disaster area.
Zambians are well known for lack of serious plannig and lack of maintainance.That is the price you pay for electing leaders with no foresight or vision.Am embarrased to hear pipo say PF man of actio will do blabla….The culture revolves o him also,what can he change when he also has failed projects like MEZAF where only his relatives benefited.
Let PF shut up, before they ope old wounds.We are tired of their rhetoric, more jobs,less tax, more moey nonsense.
If PF wins, I will go on self impossed exile,I dont want to be part of their lies.Look at thier inconsistency in China-India policy,they flow with the wind.
No principles,no stamina.Let their yes be Yes and NO No.Who cheated PF that they will create Jobs, and give more money with less money in the tresasury.Why then are the poor failkig to come up with projects,its lack of finances.
PF, should stop cheating Zambians for political expedience, Cheatig poor people is not just a si,its a crime against humanity.Taking advantage of the poor is more serious than hunger.Anyway if PF win I will be out of Zambia,let alone the poor revolt when they fail to deliver.
U publish those koments LT……….IM WAITING…A.S.A.P
The next one to b razed is Konkola then arthur davies until we remain with no stadia. Wat a joke this country is. Abash old men with no ideas.
#34 go ahead give us
Next is Edwin Mboela to be razed.This Gvt is very good at demolishing buildings but incompitent to rebuild..
GVT miniters have been helping themselves from the money that was raised to refurbish DAG.Our gvt has always been a let down.We need to conduct a match against the gvt months agvt so they can show us details of the account where the
is moeny was deposited.In the early 90s we had about 400M fro the project and i am sure now we have nothing.A few months ago a minister announced that the Chinese are starting rebuilding DAG,any more infor on the project?
£34 has no data people he just wants attention.
VOTE HH and experience real change. RB sleep when wathing football! He had to be waken up when Zambia scored,only to scream Mbesuma,Mbesuma before his protocal wishpered “Its Katongo,not mbesuma”
As for Sata,I dont think he has watched any soccer game at staduim..may be rugby or smoking competion.
Sad story indeed.what is wrong with us Zedians?we only know how to destroy not build.
#107 my brother/sister, its because of the $tup!d govts we’ve had over the years. They have really let the Zambian people down.
Chiluba killed KK 11 coz he was jealous!!!see what problems he left for Zed now!!BY shud be answerable as well as Defence minister ..soccer is gone and stadium is a white elephant now!
Spooky story.
we are a country of jorkers, then dag and now independence.2011 is around the corner for the all africa games and elections. just dont know how we are going to handle both when we v failed to renovate the said stadia.
Voters card nifuna cement, am one of those building pa Indipondo, any offers, am serious
Very strange article. Couldn’t understand what they’re trying to say.
Its i big shame that a country as big as zambia cant afford to build a descent stadium. These monkeys in power, state house and parliament are enjoying big time. they are building themselves villas in LSK and opening big businesses. Shame on youg guys. No one will come and develop your country on your behalf. Maybe SATA can do something.lets try to give him a chance. im not a politician. but we need change
Am back!! next is Nchanga then we will be playing in Zimbabwe or Congo DRC
Wrong question Angola has a bigger GDP and a larger FDI index wrt future reserves, gold, diamonds and yes OIL and GAS.
So they can afford from their own coffers to fund a $500Million sport stadia and not worry about delays like poor Zambians whose only source is the Chinese!