ZAMBIA is truly changing for the better through a myriad of developmental projects that government is implementing, President Lungu has said.
He said this here yesterday when he commissioned the 120 Mega Watt Itezhi Tezhi hydro-power station built at a cost of US$142 million through a private-public partnership.
“Let us show the critics that we are changing the country through the several projects such as this one I have just commissioned,” he said.
The station will supply power to Central Province and some neighbouring regions in a development expected to significantly ease load-shedding.
President Lungu said that he would create greater access to electricity to rural and peri-urban populations through projects aimed at addressing the entire power system infrastructure.
He said government will find a remedy for the current power deficit which has had an adverse social and economic impact on the country.
On Itezhi Tezhi, President Lungu said that with the availability of reliable power supply, agriculture, mining and tourism sectors will rapidly expand and subsequently increase employment opportunities and foreign exchange inflows.
He said that the potential in the mining sector will be actualised with increased power supply.
The President also said Government has embarked on development programmes and re-aligned the district to Central Province.
He said that to revamp the road infrastructure, government is now tarring the D-79 road under the Link-Zambia 8000 project.
President Lungu said the current power deficit Zambia faces is neither a product of PF’s four years in power nor is it a creation of his one year rule.
He said that the energy problem is a combination of lack of investment in the sector and the vagaries of nature such as poor rainfall in recent years.
President Lungu said government is delivering power projects across the country, and he urged stakeholders in the Maamba coal-fired power plant to ensure that they deliver the project not later than the revised July (this year) deadline.
Speaking earlier, Energy and Water Development Minister Dora Siliya said that the hydro-power station will help to mitigate Zambia’s power deficit.
Ms Siliya said that the power shortage has been around for the past 20 to 30 years and it is not a strange occurrence.
Central Province minister Davis Chisopa said Itezhi Tezhi has a lot of potential in tourism and the commissioned hydro-power project would reduce load shedding in the region.
Mr Chisopa said the project, which started in 2007, employed about 800 local people.
The Itezhi Tezhi project is a joint venture owned by TATA Power Company Limited and Zesco in a 50/50 share ownership.
Zesco managing director Victor Mundende said the project is the first of its kind in Zambia and it has shown that public-private partnerships are viable if properly enhanced.
Mr Mundende said the hydro-power project is a great milestone in enhancing economic development in the country.
“He said that the energy problem is a combination of lack of investment in the sector and the vagaries of nature such as poor rainfall in recent years.”
More palatable than your first run of excuses. Anyway, forget the ‘vagaries of nature’ for a moment… That leaning building could become our own leaning tower of Pisa. Remarkable. I wouldn’t want a window desk on the right though…
~ Don’t like him
~ Don’t respect him
~ Don’t trust him
#ChagwaMustFall
Too late too little. Chagwa shall fall this August.
So now Lungu says the current power deficit Zambia faces is neither a product of PF’s four years in power nor is it a creation of his one year rule.
Yes, but the construction of this Hydropower development at Itezitezi is ALSO neither a product of PF’s four years in power nor is it a creation of your one year rule!!!!
So stop LYING to us.You have done NOTHING to make this happen. And the money has come from the PRIVATE SECTOR. So what have you done with the TEN BILLION DOLLARS you have borrowed in the Zambian peoples name??? Besides joyriding to New York with all your friends at a cost of US$ 300,000-00 ????
Visionless lawyer thief, your time is up. Better you run away from Zambia because after August you will have a chance to show your incompetent lawyer skills when you are in…
Indeed Dokotor. One would believe the actual commission happened at pre-design stage. Expect this sort of smoke and mirrors to dominate election season.
Too late Mr. Lungu.
Take a leaf from Bwezani. You should have held those press conferences to explain the time tables wit the people of Zambia. Ifya pa last tafibomba!
“Let us show the critics that we are changing the country through the several projects such as this one I have just commissioned,” he said.
Changing the country with no vision, Tiyo ko!!
From swindling clients money now wants to swindle us, sorry Wrungu we know you and come August we are sending you back to chawama bars that’s where you belong.
That Wrongu, he is the wrong one.
#ChagwaMustFall
Whatever is happening in Zambia is a serious lesson to all Zambians. We are so gullible thats why we voted for Visionless Chakolwa Lungu, now the economy is drunk. Do you all know that Mwanawasa got all the debt cancelled and because of PF we have racked up the debt because of visionless PF and we will now be shackled to IMF to survive. Now tighten your belts bafikala.
One down, more to come. PF must focus on reminding the citizens about developmental projects that have reached completion and those that are due to completed. The human mind easily forgets at times. Let’s give PF credit where they have done well. Nothing wrong with criticizing PF where they have failed to make progress especially on the fight for corruption, over borrowing, and unnecessary appointments. One Zambia One Nation.
@Eye
I do agree with you that we should give credit where its due. But l beg to differ with you on the developmental projects. While l agree that infrastructural development is brilliant, what annoys me its the way PF has gone about doing this. They have inflated the costs of doing the projects because of corruption and also the quality of the projects is so much
compromised that a year a two down the line this new infrastructure will start running down and you have the loans to pay back.
@Mumbww. Dont lie. The roads PF has are far much better than those which were done by MMD. Go to libala area and see for yourself. Go to Mongu in western and see how Mongu has been transformed. Go to Chililabombwe and see the nice roads which has been done. Go to Nothern province province and see some roads there. Go to southern province and the dip tanks and Hospital which have been done. Gentlemen we know u want HH to be in leadership.nothing wrong. if the people of zambia say yes, he will be voted but remember u have a big challenge ahead of u and that is to deliver in a bigger way that what PF has delivered. If you cant see u will have a problem with voters who are seeing. So ignore PF development at your own peril
@mumbwe…
…..you are close to the truth….infact not close but the fact…I pity the successive presidents to come…they will have a hell lot of mess to sort out
meant …deliver in a bigger way than what the PF has delivered.
@Mr Munkombwe
I’m not against the infrastructural development the PF have done but the manner in which this has been executed. Do you realise most of these roads have no or proper designs and do you know the contractual implication of that- giving blank cheques to contractors for variations, Compensation events etc. The other thing is do you know whats is happening at RDA in terms of contract awards- open your eyes buddy. All this is your money being misappropriated and now you will be shackled to the IMF. Lastly , I did not say I want HH, but someone who has a vision of where to get Zambia in the next 5 to 20 years someone competent and l feel HH fits the bill.
@Mumbwe.Let us be objective. If you look at the roads constructed before RDA most of them had no drainage and where drainage was done it was not lined and drainage was viewed as an unnecessary cost. The cost of roads per km in Zambia is quite high. Eng Chiwala explained that this is because the tar is imported from S.A. Mutati commented on it as if he was not part of MMD government. It is true the PF has not done anything to address this high cost of roads. I came across a ZANIS report where a bridge was more expensive than the cost of a modern district hospital.
thumbs up to mwanawasa, project started in 2007, maamba project started under RB i wonder if there is anything to commision that was started by PF
If the truth must be told the Itezhitezhi project was started by KK. The Itezhitezhi reservoir is meant to serve the Kafue Gorge Power Station but could not be constructed at Kafue Gorge because of the Kafue Flats. Right from the beginning the Itezhitezhi Dam was meant to have a power station to utilize the 60m of head behind the dam. It could not be constructed because there was sufficient power in the country from Kafue Gorge and Kariba. In any case if the project was started by MMD in 2007 it should have taken about 2 years to construct and completed in 2009. It is one thing having a project on paper and another thing implementing it.
Just do your job, shame which critics. Always commissioning projects which clearly the minister of that sector could have done or the PS of that District. Sleeping President. You have done too many wrongs in the short period that you have been president. Posing with convicts such as mohane which leader does that, posing with officials whom no country wants to associate with for security reasons, pardoning defillers bet you have no girl child to worry about being a victim, imagine Tasila’s child being a victim one day!!!! The list is endless, Your Bwalya just spoke I’ll of a country that does so much yet you still entertain him…..your nuts are loose in that disfigured head.
Cadres : Pabwato! Pabwato! Pabwato!
Guy Scott : Power Toll! Power Toll! Power Toll!
From that time on, Power deficit has had a toll on the national economy.
Retract those nasty chants!
The projects you are busy commissioning ,the itezhi-tezhi and maamba are not the pf projects, they were started by mwanawasa and the mmd in the energe sector.On a number of occusations you and yo ministers have bn duldging the power crisis blaming it on mmd and unip for not developing the sector.But here you are shamelessly commission the projects initiated and implemented by the previous Govt,just because they have been completed during yo tenure, and now you want to take credit on the wisdom of others.Tell us wat you initiated yoself.Stop riding on the wisdom of others and boost that that they are yo projects.
Cadres, why so much hate & bitterness. You can google Itezhi Itezhi, you will find the facts there. The project was started in 2007. But you know what, all the so called others GRZs failed because it was not a priority & could not raise their part of the funds. It was only in 2014 that GRZ got serious & organised it’s part of the funding & the reason why we have a completed project. Lying & hating to win election won’t take you anywhere. Just appreciate now you have GRZ being invested in projects that benefit people on the ground. It was never the case before.
Why talking about the fulture when pipo/ we need power(electricity) right now. You con’t stop a child from crying when he/she is hungry by telling him/her tht tomorrow you wil hve alot/plenty of food to eat. How long wil it take for it to bulit(itezhi tezh hydro electri power station) ? When they knw tht elections are near. Thts when they will start long term projects as the pasport 4 next term. carefully zambian pipo.
Comment: I like your matured comments people, Its really important to acknowledge the good that has done by someone to motivate them no matter what we stand for. The biggest problem we have with our government is ‘friendship’, what I mean is that there are a massive number of diplomatic and well elite citizens now in Zambia that not only capable of doing the work but also give appropriate advice to the gov’t of the day on how to end these challenges we are facing but because these people are not friends with the people in power they are not recognized hence these problems are not going to end in our country until we start acknowledging our own.
Cadres, please we are all Zambians & we must love each other regardless of backgrounds. Projects take political will & funding to happen. They don’t just magically conclude when they are 1st mentioned. There is also nothing wrong with concluding projects that were started or failed previously. Why do you harbour so much hate. This GRZ may have made some mistakes but they presided over an unprecedented # of public projects like no other to give back to the people all over Zambia. In addition we now have a Constitution that gives power to the people. Is this what is causing you to hate? As a Christian Nation we need to focus on loving 1 another & what ties us together. Point @ the wrongs but applaud the positives as well. That is God’s way.
Lungu and Amos hope you’re learning from others such as lula the former Brazilian leader and some of his officials…..you might brag now about how much power force you have around you but one day, just one day….even mighty gaddafi could not save himself, sadam and all others……as for you, be ready to crumble bcz of all your deals…Amos you better start processing visa to the untouchable land, wafwa……