THE acquisition of troop carriers and other machinery worth more than K360 million by the Government meant for Zambia National Service (ZNS) to enable this defence wing fulfill its many tasks timely and efficiently should be commended by all well-meaning Zambians.
This was revealed during the ZNS officers’ annual ball held in Choma on New Year’s eve by ZNS commandant, Lieutenant-General Nathan Mulenga, in a speech read for him by chief of health services, Abynoty Mulela.
Looking at the magnitude of work being done by ZNS, which includes clearing feeder roads, this is a welcome move which will go a long way in bringing about development in the country.
In agriculture, the equipment will be essential as mechanised equipment will be hired by farmers to ease food production, which is usually labour intensive.
Feeder roads or frontage lanes, closely related to a frontage road, are common in small rural towns.
Frontage lanes are technically not classified as roads because of their nature, as bridges from one road to another, as well as the architectural standards – that they are not as wide as standard roads, or used as commonly as a standard roads, streets, or avenues.
Technically, a frontage lane is a paved path used for the transportation and travel from one street to another.
The machinery mentioned above is expected to arrive in the country this month-end.
Let us face it, most of the feeder roads in outlying areas of the country are in a deplorable state and do require attention for purposes of communication and transportation by the small-scale farmers.
The equipment in question will, therefore, come in handy for the farmers to ferry farming inputs.
The equipment will not just be appropriate this moment around, especially in the rural areas where farmers need to get to their fields to conduct their work, it is a way to avert the mud which accumulates during the rainy season.
In addition, once the farmers are ready with their produce, feeder roads are vital for them to ferry produce quickly to market places for sale.
Gen Mulenga further said it was the Government’s hope that the land development equipment procured would contribute to both management and mitigation of national disasters working in collaboration with the Disaster management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).
In the area of food production, Gen Mulenga said the Service had embarked on an expansion programme to increase production threefold.
This increase would not only add to national food security but also assist the Government to stabilise food prices in the country.