State taken to task over Dag rebuilding
By JOSEPH BANDA
GOVERNMENT was yesterday taken to task by a parliamentary watchdog committee on the change of stance in the reconstruction of Dag Hammerskjoeld stadium in Ndola.
And the Government assurances committee has said Zambia stands to lose out financially if no proper stadia were built by 2010 when South Africa hosts the World Cup.
According to the committee, Zambia would lose not less than K3 billion.
Government assurances committee chairman Best Makumba (UPND) asked Sports Permanent Secretary Barbara Chilangwa to explain if the policy on Dag Hammerskjoeld stadium reconstruction had changed because she talked about Government opting to use the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) system which calls for private sector participation.
Mangango member of Parliament Crispin Shumina (FDD) also expressed worry with the BOT system saying the then Sports minister in 1992 assured Parliament that the stadium would be rebuilt in 36 months using Government resources without the private sector.
Shumina said it was not obvious that the private sector would automatically be interested in the project and that Government should take it upon itself to ensure that the job was done.
Sinazongwe MP Raphael Muyanda (UPND) asked Permanent Secretary Chilangwa to explain the relationship between BOT and Government funding to Dag Hammerskjoeld stadium because Government had already released some money for the project.
Muyanda said Zambia risked losing about K3 billion if it did not have modern stadia by the time South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup.
“No team would camp in Zambia if we do not have modern stadia and they will go to other neighbouring countries,” he said.
In her submission, Chilangwa said there had never been any further work at Dag Hammerskjoeld stadium site since 2003 due to lack of funding but assured the committee that the stadium would be rebuilt before the 2010 World Cup.
Chilangwa said that K5 billion had been allocated for Dag Hammerskjoeld stadium and that K1.5 billion had since been released for some works at the site.
She said Dag Hammerskjoeld was among the three proposed modern stadia to be built before the 2010 World Cup and Government was relying on the BOT to raise the structures.
Chilangwa said the idea to rebuild Dag Hammerskjoeld stadium had been rekindled by South Africa winning the bid to host the soccer show piece which would attract more people to the region.
She said the planned stadia would be built at the current Independence stadium in Lusaka, Villa Grounds in Livingstone and Dag Hammerskjoeld itself and that a committee of ministers and permanent secretaries to oversee the issue had been formed.
She disclosed that Zambia was featuring prominently on South Africa’s plans to support neighbouring countries in view of the 2010 World Cup.
Chilangwa said some companies interested in rebuilding Dag Hammerskjoeld stadium had already approached Government but that Government had to make it open so that more partners could come forward.
