Works to overhaul the 156 kilometer Chinsali-Mpika stretch along the Great North Road, is set to start with financial support from the European Union.

Muchinga Province Minister Henry Sikazwe told ZANIS that the contractor is expected to camp on site soon.

He described the road as a death trap with big potholes which will require a complete overhaul to save the lives of motorists.

“We shall soon see a contractor moving on site to work on a stretch between Chinsali and Mpika which is in a deplorable state,” said Mr. Sikakwe.

In a related development, Mr. Sikakwe disclosed China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited the contractor working on Lot 1 of the rehabilitation of the Great North Road between Chinsali and Isoka and China Railway Seventh Group working on Lot 2 between Isoka and Nakonde, will also work on some township roads in Chinsali, Isoka and Nakonde.

Mr. Sikakwe said that the Provincial administration has already engaged the two contractors and will soon reach an agreement on the number of kilometers of Township roads to be done in each district.

“We are in talks with the two contractors and soon we shall know how many kilometers of Township roads will be allocated to each respective district,” said Mr. Sikakwe.

The Acting Secretary to Cabinet, Patrick Kangwa has expressed concern with increasing numbers of public service workers being surrendered to the Public Service Management Division (PAMD) or transferred to other Ministries or departments on the basis of misconduct.

Mr. Kangwa has since directed PSMD not to attend to such requests, further urging controlling officers to also refrain from making the requests.

He was speaking in Lusaka today, when he officially opened a meeting of Permanent Secretaries and Directors of Human Resource and Administration on the Public service disciplinary code and handling staff offences.

He explained that requests of surrendering or transferring an offending officer to another ministry or department does not solve the problem but instead it is just transferring the problem to another environment.

Mr. Kangwa said the trend has led to an increase in the number of officers facing disciplinary action without proper conclusion of the cases.

He wondered why despite having the authority to warn, charge, demote, suspend or fire erring officers, people entrusted with such responsibilities have failed to do so.

He explained that there is need for the officers to be proactive and timely deal with challenges that affect the effective provision of public services.

“Surrendering or transferring of staff is not in any way dealing with a problem, we need to be proactive, and failure to deal with an officer who is indisciplined is an indication that you have also failed. This is why I am directing PSMD to discontinue receiving requests of surrendering, and you PSs not to make those requests of surrendering, “he added.

Mr. Kangwa cited the continued citing of public service workers in the Auditor General’s report and the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee as an indication that there is a lot of disorderliness in the service.

He stated that the new administration is committed to seeing a civil service that is vested with knowledge on the government procedures and operations for effective public service provision.

The Acting Secretary to Cabinet explained that this is why government has embarked on human resources management reforms aimed at equipping the head of Human Resource and Permanent Secretaries on how to efficiently deal with issues to do with personnel.

He also called for strict observance of confidentiality when handling government documents and matters.

Mr. Kangwa further added that the cabinet office will continue with such engagements in order for controlling officers and other key staff to have knowledge and understanding on professionalism that will in turn benefit the workers.

Vice President Mutale Nalumango says President Hakainde Hichilema is in a hurry to transform the country’s economic fortunes.

Ms Nalumango stresses that it is for this reason that all international and local trips that President Hichilema and herself undertake are economically calculated.

She says the new dawn government remains focused to ensure economic benefits to the Zambian people who she says are eagerly waiting for their lives to be transformed by the new administration.

The Vice President was speaking on the sidelines of the Seventh Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction conference which officially opened today in Bali, Indonesia.

“ I want to inform you that we are not walking, but running, we want to transform the people’s lives and provide jobs to the people, the reason you see us moving and lobbying on behalf of the country,” she said.

The Vice President Mrs Nalumango is in Asia nation to share and learn how that country has managed to create wealth even when Indonesia is a perpetual victim to disasters.

Other than this, Mrs Nalumango is in the Asian nation to discuss ways to tackle underlying risk drivers both locally and globally with the international community.

Mrs Nalumango, who is among several International governmental and non-governmental representatives attending the GP2022 platform held several private meetings with key stakeholders aimed at steering investments into the country’s economy.

She held a private meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to find common grounds for developing the mining and the energy sectors as well as to strengthen the two country’s bilateral relations.

Other key stakeholders that the Vice President met was, President of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, Abdullah Shaihid and Deputy Secretary General of the UN Amina Mohammed who deliberated with the Vice President on developments and innovations in disaster management.

The Vice President is expected to give her keynote speech at the forum on Friday, May 27,2022.

Earlier, UN Disaster Risk Reduction Chief of Communications Officer, Janette Elsworth, expressed happiness that Zambia had sent a high level representative in Vice President Mutale Nalumango.

“This is a demonstration that Zambia attaches great importance to issues of disasters and the UN body is grateful to Zambia,” she said in an interview with ZANIS.

.

And Indonesian President Joko Widodo opened the forum with a call to UN Member states to work as one, in fighting world calamities.

Mr Widodo said Disaster risk reduction is central to Indonesia’s national development strategy and the country is a leader in disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Meanwhile, President of the UN general Assembly Abdullah Shaihid called for more concerted efforts in fighting global disasters.

The Global Platform takes place seven years from the adoption of the Sendai Framework and just over two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This global crisis has exposed how underlying vulnerabilities and inequities have catastrophic consequences for the most exposed across the world.

The GP2022 is organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) from 23 to 28 May 2022, in Bali, Indonesia, hosted by the Government of Indonesia.

Ndola Chambers of Commerce president, Paul Chisunka says true freedom is achievable when the public and private sectors combine forces in eliminating hunger at domestic level.

Mr. Chisunka says this can be done by jointly leveraging national resources and other endowments such as land, water resources, and traditional and non-traditional crops.

Speaking in an interview of the sidelines commemorating 2022 Africa Freedom day held under the theme: “Leveraging National resources for enhanced food security, ” the chamber president there is need for everyone to work together and eliminate all forms of hunger in the country.

“We believe that true freedom comes from the public and private sectors working together so that no Zambian goes hungry and that our people are fully in charge of their own food security which is insured against every possible eventuality through strategic agro-investments,” he says.

He calls on government ensure the agricultural sector is further liberalized by making the acquisition of farming land easier and cheaper for Zambians.

He further called for more investment in cold chains, grain storage, commodity exchanges, reliable and affordable power supply to farm blocks and rural to that accelerate mechanization.

Mr. Chisunka adds government should also provide farmers with more extension services, pest and disease control services.

“For enhanced food security, resources should urgently be secured and deployed towards fertilizer production, and agro infrastructure to build good roads leading to farming areas.

“ Water harvesting facilities, irrigation channels, food processing zones, and the promotion of linkages within the agro-value chain,” Mr. Chisunka says.

The Ndola Chamber president , who paid tribute to Ndola based freedom fighters, stresses that the country’s food security can further be guaranteed through long term affordable agro-finance, inexpensive farming inputs, and uptake of new technologies.

He emphasized exposure to improved farming techniques, marketing, commercializing of traditional farming knowledge, continuous scientific research, and the strengthening of linkages between small holder farmers and commercial farmers.