Africa-Press – Zambia. The World Bank working together with the Zambian government is this year expected to mobilize resources to renovate the Manyinga-Mwinilunga and the Mundanya-Litoya Roads.
Improved Rural Connectivity Project Coordinator, under the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development, Mwata Sekeseke disclosed this in an interview with ZANIS in Manyinga today.
Mr Sekeseke said the objective of these projects includes, to improve productivity among local farmers, improve trade and delivery of goods and services in rural communities. He said government and its cooperating partner the World Bank are focused on improving the livelihoods of rural communities.
Mr Sekeseke lamented that it is sad that specialized health services cannot be easily accessed by people from as far as Kashinakazhi and Lusongwa and education services cannot be easily be delivered on time especially during examinations due to the poor state of the roads.
“These Roads Projects once completed will improve the livelihood of the local people,” he said.
Mr Sekeseke further disclosed that the two selected roads in the district will be done to gravel standard in the first phase and later on upgraded to bituminous standards.
“The initial plan is to see to it that rural areas are made economically viable through these roads then other developments will follow,” Mr Sekeseke said. He also disclosed that successful selected contractors are expected to mobilize on sites by September this year.
“We expect the bidding advert process to be concluded by July or August so that the following months the successful contractors can start mobilizing themselves to start the projects,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Sekeseke stated that the actual project implementations may start towards the end of the first quarter of 2023 after the rainy season adding that it is a five year period, with the first two years for rehabilitation and the last three years for maintenance.
And District Commissioner, Brenda Mukwakwa welcomed the development saying the two roads will connect the district to other districts like Mwinilunga and Western Province via countries like Angola and Congo DR.
Ms Mukwakwa expressed optimism that the agriculture sector will flourish as potential customers from other countries and districts will easily have access to agriculture produce.
“With this development people from Mwinilunga, Angola and Congo DR will have access to our farming inputs and our investment potential,” Ms Mukwakwa said.
Ms Mukwakwa also implored government and partners to consider working on other feeder roads in the district as well so that Manyinga’s full development potential can be achieved.
“We shall appreciate if other feeder roads are also considered apart from the two selected, we want our district to develop and our people to be happy,” she said.
And a local farmer and former civic leader Patrick Manjashi has welcomed the development saying local farmers will have a wider market and produce more as access to markets will be made easy with the good road network.
“We are grateful to government for considering our plight,” he said.
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