• CHILUFYA

By Namakau Hantembe –

DESPITE being in existence for 14 years a district, Kazungula in Southern Province still lags behind in infrastructure development.
The Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) was in power for 20 years but did very little to transform the district.
With its potential to attract more tourists because of its locality bordering three neighboring countries namely Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, Kazungula border town is slowly beginning to change because of the developmental projects currently taking place.
The newly built Kazungula Secondary school is another milestone achievement the district could boast about. The district had no secondary school since its inception and pupils used to go to other neighboring districts with such facilities to further their education.
Kazungula border post has had lacked a proper parking yard for the trucks in transit for a long time while waiting to be cleared. This would soon be a thing of the past because Gomes Haulage Ltd, a local contractor is doing its best to pave the Kazungula trucking to bring sanity in the area.
And K49 million was approved for the same project to build a concrete slab for the trucking yard at Kazungula border post. Gomes Haulage will also work on 10 kilometres of roads within the council boundaries in the area.
The infrastructure developments that are taking place in Kazungula have cheered the residents as well as travellers using the same route.
In an interview, Dickson Machai a Kazungula resident could not hide his joy as he expressed his gratitude to the Patriotic Front government for putting infrastructure development on top of its agenda
in the country.
Machai observed that the PF government has a strategy of developing the country as seen from developmental projects taking place countrywide in different sectors of the economy. He said in Kazungula for example, the population of people was growing so fast because of so many projects that are taking at the same time.
“By mid 2015, Kazungula will be totally different from what it is today,” Machai said.
Machai also observed that the incoming projects starting this year such as the construction of a district hospital and a multibillion Kazungula bridge across the Zambezi River would boost the economic development in the district and the country in general.
“The local people would be able to acquire jobs especially from the bridge construction as soon as it starts,” Machai said hopefully.
He also hoped that the construction of the district hospital would be completed within schedule so that the local people can start accessing the medical services from the facility. Machai explained that as it is now, Kazungula residents travel to Mwandi and Sesheke in Western Province and Livingstone town to access proper health care services.
“What we have now is not a rural health centre per se but it is a small thing. It used to be a house for one of the veterinary officers operating here in Kazungula.
“The house is not fully equipped and it lacks health staff that’s why when you go there at times you would find that it is already closed at 16:30 hours. The construction of a district hospital is a long awaited thing by the locals here because of the many challenges people face when they get sick.”
“This is a border area and we have so many people in transit. When it comes to emergencies, people are rushed to Livingstone General Hospital,” Machai explained.  He was, however, happy that things were slowly changing for the better.
And Joseph Posikali and Kizito Bwalya both of Ndola working for VS Cargo, transporters of copper shared with this reporter how grateful they were when they heard that the construction of Kazungula border Post Bridge across the Zambezi River would start.
They said the bridge would ease the transportation of goods to neighboring countries. They added that truck drivers face a lot of challenges at Kazungula border because they spend more days because of the long queues as a result of constant break downs of pontoons in the area.
“We are happy that Kazungula is changing. We need more infrastructure such as banking services and more toilets among other things. You see madam, while we are in this place, we spent a lot of money because the food is expensive. We feel once the bridge is constructed, all these facilities shall be in place and we won’t be spending more days,” said Bwalya.
Meanwhile, Mandia ward councilor Brighton Mwampole added his voice on the incoming construction projects in Kazungula. Mwampole said he was happy especially that some of the developmental projects were happening in his ward.
He mentioned that the current government was delivering to some of its campaign promises. Mwampole said the population of Kazungula has doubled and services like the district hospital was seriously needed by the locals and other travelers.
“Kazungula district is very vast with five chiefdoms namely Musokotwane, Mukuni, Sekute, Nyawa and Moomba. I am pleased to have learnt through the Deputy Minister of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya that
other than the construction of a district hospital, government has also given Kazungula district 10 rural health centres to be constructed out of the total number of 650 to be constructed country
wide. This is the development that people want and the realization of these rural health centres will go a long way in alleviating their suffering,” said Mwampole.
Mwampole added that with the coming of so many projects in Kazungula starting this year, it was important that Government considered putting up some measures in place to allow contractors give most of the casual jobs to the local people who would in turn appreciate not only the developmental projects taking place in the area but also the creation of employment.
He observed that most contractors come with their own people when given a contract for a particular undertaking forgetting about the locals in that particular locality.
He charged that most of the residents in Kazungula were illiterate as they cannot find white color jobs. Mwampole said it is through such projects that the residents can find opportunities to work as casual workers so that they too can generate some income to feed their families.
“Illiteracy levels and unemployment are very high here. I am hoping that the local people would find employment from these coming projects,” Mwampole said.
Mwampole also implored the contractors coming to do projects in Kazungula to think of leaving a legacy behind after their contracts are over. He stressed the need for them to plough back to the
communities where they would be extracting resources for their projects to move so that in turn the community benefits from them too.
Mwampole said the community need social amenities from contractors such as schools, clinics, markets, good roads among other things.
Recently, Deputy Minister of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya was in Kazungula to officiate at a ground breaking ceremony to pave way for the construction of Kazungula district hospital. Dr. Chilufya was
happy to mention that the Patriotic Front government is a working government that wants to see infrastructure development coming closer to the people.
He said for a long time now, Kazungula district has had no such a facility since independence adding that the district hospital would bring proper health care services to the people.
“The people of Kazungula district have suffered a lot because they refer patients to five other areas that are outside the district,” Dr Chilufya mentioned.
He said this would soon be the thing of the past because the construction works of phase one which would be a complete hospital at a cost of K11.5 million shall take only 11 months adding that the contractor, Mercury Lines Ltd is already on site and committed to meet the deadline.
Dr Chilufya emphasised that the PF government wants to deliver primary health care services closer to the people so that sustainable development can be achieved. He also disclosed that Kazungula district has been given 10 rural health centres out of the 650 that government is earmarked to construct country wide.
At the same function Kazungula District Commissioner Pascalina Musokotwane urged the people in the district to continue giving support and appreciate government for the good works it is doing for
the people.
Meanwhile, Chief Sekute who was also in attendance, said he was humbled by government’s gesture and pledged to support the Patriotic Front government under the leadership of President Michael Sata.
And Kazungula District Council Secretary Raphael Zulu said in an interview recently that there was need for plot owners in the district to speed up building works to move at the same pace with the developmental projects government was earmarked to start this year in Kazungula.
“The council has had given plenty of land, both commercial and residential plots to people who have not taken development seriously since 2009. The same people were retarding the development the district was aiming to achieve.
It was important that these plot owners could develop their land and take advantage of the incoming developmental projects such as the construction of a district hospital as well as the multibillion Kazungula border post bridge across the Zambezi River.
A lot of developments to take place in Kazungula would attract more people to reside in the area hence the need to have a lot of accommodation in place to cushion the challenge of accommodation problem that the area was currently experiencing,” Zulu advised.
Once Kazungula district is fully developed, it has the potential to grow in various sectors of the economy through increased tourism and agriculture among other things thereby contributing to the
economic development of the country.