• President Edgar Lungu (left) being saluted by service chiefs at City Airport before departure for Luapula Province yesterday. Picture By SALIM HENRY/STATE HOUSE

By CATHERINE NYIRENDA in Lunga District –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has said it is irresponsible for the provincial administration in Luapula to fail to provide fuel for dredgers dispatched to open up canals leading to Lunga District.
The small district is surrounded by the Luapula River and  Lake Bangweulu and the only way to reach it is by air.
However, the Government has provided heavy duty machines to open the canals to ease the movements.
But the dredgers have been idle for more than a year now due to lack of fuel.
Mr Lungu said it was the duty of the provincial administration to ensure that it pushed for financial resources to ensure that developmental projects were executed.
“You don’t have to wait for the President, it is the duty of the provincial minister to push for resources, the country is big and there are competing projects countrywide.
“Don’t be reluctant, be pushy. When you fail they will not only point at you, they will say we have failed, but am not a failure, so I expect you to be proactive,” Mr Lungu said when he inspected developmental projects in the area.
The Head of State also met with five traditional leaders in the area upon arriving from Lusaka via Mansa yesterday.
However, Patriotic Front (PF) Luapula Constituency Member of Parliament Emerine Kabanshi told President Lungu and his entourage that she had been pushing for the fuel but that her efforts had been in vain.
Mr Lungu directed special assistant to the President for project implementation Lucky Mulusa to liaise with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that fuel was immediately procured for the dredgers.
During the same meeting, Mr Lungu said the Chinese Government had pledged to drill 920 boreholes in Luapula and Central provinces of which more than 40 would be drilled in Lunga District.
He told the traditional leaders that the construction of rural health posts had stalled and contractors that were engaged by the Indian Government were not giving proper reasons.
The President has since delegated Vice-President Inonge Wina to India to find out why the projects had stopped.
He appealed to the traditional leaders to be open with him by giving him and his administration counsel and guidance whenever required.
Chief Nsamba who spoke on behalf of other chiefs in the area said the traditional leaders would rally behind Mr Lungu in the 2016 tripartite elections.
“We have been and we will work with you, come 2016 expect massive votes from us and the people in the district,” Chief  Nsamba said.
He commended the Government for embarking on the mobile voter registration exercise and the issuing of National Registration Cards.
Chief Nsamba appealed to the President to consider opening up the area for oil exploration and also send investors to explore the growing of rice and other crops.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has directed Mr Mulusa to reorganise the contracts for the construction of Lunga District administration block and other buildings which have stalled for more than one year now.
President Lungu was concerned that the construction of the district administration block had stalled from November last year.
Mr Lungu was not happy that the construction of office and accommodation buildings for the district had been given to several contractors who have abandoned the work.
“There seems to be proliferation for these projects, we cannot be having many contractors doing different projects for this work, Mr Mulusa reorganise the contracts and let works be done properly not everything being done at once,” he said.
Among the buildings to be constructed include the Police camp, 30 houses and a post office.
All the projects have been given to different contractors.
Meanwhile, President Lungu ended his tour by addressing people of Lunga District and assured them that his administration would ensure that some of the projects in the area are completed by February next year.
He said he would ensure that fuel was sourced for dredgers and he would take investors to assess the growing of rice.
He also told the people to work with the traditional leaders to identify some water bodies in the area where they could breed fish for one year to increase on the population of fish in the swamps.