By Mirriam Zimba – HE has had to abandon his income generating activities in Kalabo and travel 75 kilometres to Mongu to accompany his wife take their sick daughter to Lewanika General Hospital.
Sililo Ngenda, a fish trader based in Kalabo is dependent on income raised from his trade to sustain his entire family.
“My daughter has been admitted to hospital for almost a week now, and I had to accompany my wife to Mongu to bring her to hospital,” he said.
Unfortunately for Mr Ngenda, he has to ensure another journey back to Kalabo to check on the rest of the family and bring back with him some clothes for the wife and daughter to change during their stay in hospital.
Because of the low water levels in the Zambezi River, Mr Ngenda has to endure the hardships of having to travel by road through the thick sandy terrain of the Barotse Plains to and from Kalabo whenever he travels.
“This road is such a nightmare to travel on, especially when it is hot, however, with the construction works on the road, the contractors have build a diversion which they constantly attend to by way of compacting and sprinkling of water in order to ease the challenges faced by travelers,” he explained.
Without these maintenance works on the road diversion, travelling between the two districts is an experience many would describe as anguishing.
There are two modes of travel between Mongu and Kalabo, and these are by means of water transport-boat, which ranges between two hours to about 12 hours depending on the type of boat.
By road, the journey takes about three to four hours, meandering through the sandy Barotse Plains.
However, the agony of having to endure the hardships of travelling on this road is something that will soon be over.
Construction works by AVIC International-the Chinese road contractor working on this road are progressing well, and are within the scheduled timeframe.
It is envisaged that once these road works are completed, the travel time between the two districts will be approximately 30 minutes by road.
Kalabo District Commissioner Alfred Miyato says Government is impressed with the rate of progress of the road works.
“We as Government are very happy with the progress on this road construction, in fact, the works are way ahead of the scheduled time,” he said.
Mr Miyato explained that although works are scheduled to be completed by March 2016, he is hopeful that the works could completed even by the end of this year.
“Looking at the rate at which progress on this road is going, we are very hopeful of having this road ready even by December this year,” he said.
He is hopeful that the completion of the road will enhance economic activities for in Kalabo District due to increased and free flow of goods and services between Mongu-Kalabo and other parts of the country.
“This road once complete will open up business opportunities for the over 83,000 populace of Kalabo District,” he said.
Mr Miyato however appealed to government to consider overhauling the 24 kilometre stretch between the bridge to Kalabo District, which he said is in a deplorable state.
“There is need for Government to consider possibilities of overhauling the tarred stretch between Kalabo Boma and the bridge across the Zambezi River, because it has now developed potholes,” he said.
His sentiments are supported by the Private Sector Development Programme chairperson Yusuf Dodia, who explains that roads are an important initiate and prerequisite for development.
Mr Dodia said the completion of the road would enhance business opportunities in the area.
“Firstly, the development will be seen along the road-there will be shops, filling stations, lodges, business houses along the road. But after sometime, the development will spread much further than the road itself,” he said.
According to him, because the area will be more accessible, the road construction project is a very good investment.
“This road is a worthwhile investment and a good way to develop equity in the nation,” he said.
Mr Dodia, who is also an economic analyst called on the Government to consider implementing similar road construction projects in other parts of the country as well, as a way of increasing investment opportunities.
Zambia secured a loan of about K1.3 billion, approximately four per cent of the country’s national  Budget for the construction of the 75 kilometer stretch, out of which about 50 kilometers cuts across the Barotse Flood Plains.
Some of the immediate socio-economic benefits this road would include reduced travelling time between Mongu and Kalabo-providing an all year round accessibility of the area.
According a 2011 report by an economic analyst Robert Sanyikosa, most importantly, Kalabo would have access to more goods and services, cheaper due to reduced transport costs, from Lusaka, the Copperbelt and the rest of Zambia through Mongu.
In a significant way, the road will have important multiplier effects.
In economics, the multiplier of a direct investment like road construction is high and its effect immediate. It is also assumed that the road will employ local people and they will supply food to construction workers.
There are also benefits that allude to opening up of Zambia to Angola for trade through Kalabo.
The Mongu-Kalabo Road that passed though the Barotse flood plain was one of the most expensive and involving road projects in Zambia because of the geographical location.
The largely swampy terrain would need 59 bridges to suspend the road above the murky ground usually flooded during the rainy season.
In the past, she said, Government lost colossal sums of public funds on unsuccessful road construction projects due to imprecise feasibility studies.
The Mongu-Kalabo Road is one of the projects in the country on which public funds were wasted in the past because of poor feasibility studies and designs.
In 2005, Government pumped money in this project but nothing worked out. Again in 2008, more resources were channeled to this project but the culverts were washed away.
About 650 jobs have been created for the local people since the commencement of the Mongu-Kalabo Road construction project.
With all these benefits in place, it is certain that frequent travelers between the two districts who had to endure the hardships of lost business opportunities, and increased travelling time, will soon have something to smile about.
The completion of these road works will open up Kalabo to other parts of the country, and eventually raise the social-economic status of the district.
And true to this, people like Mr Ngenda and many others who frequently travel between Mongu and Kalabo will have the travelling burdens lightened.