IN Proverbs 11:18, the Bible tells us that a wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
It is only last week when Chief Sinazongwe of the Tonga people in Southern Province suggested that the once contentious Bottom Road be renamed Edgar Lungu as a tribute to the Head of State.
The traditional leader said since it was President Lungu, Zambia’s sixth president, who has fulfilled the feat of working on the road that all his predecessors only paid lip service to, it was just right to rename the road after him.
Now a cross section of stakeholders in Southern Province has backed Chief Sinazongwe’s proposal that the Bottom Road should surely be renamed Edgar Lungu Bottom Road.
The road under construction is an important one since it connects Chirundu, Siavonga, Gwembe, Sinazongwe and Livingstone districts and would radically transform the agro zone once completed.
Though highly politicised by some sections of the opposition, a good road network is beneficial since it reduces the distance between people, markets, services and knowledge – or simply ‘getting people connected’ – a great part of what economic growth is all about.
Experts have also noted that connectivity has become increasingly important today and relies on a good and reliable transport network.
There is a very strong positive correlation between a country’s economic development and the quality of its road network.
Thus apart from working on the Bottom Road, the Patriotic Front (PF) Government has scored a first through various ambitious road projects countrywide.
It should be noted that till recently when the PF administration started the road projects, Zambia was lagging behind countries like South Africa and Botswana in terms of the development of its road network.
Not only was road coverage in Zambia insufficient, but where it existed, they were either in a poor condition or totally impassable, especially during the rainy season.
As a result, people, especially those in remote areas, experienced difficulties in transporting their goods, travelling from one point to another within the country or even catching up on new developments.
It is for this reason that it is baffling that such developmental issues are being politicised by some parties and individuals.
As noted earlier, developmental issues should never be politicised since development is a universal language that cuts across linguistic, tribal and regional barriers.
Why is it that the Bottom Road construction is being politicised when it is known for a fact that development is being taken to all parts of Zambia where different tribes live?
Fortunately, there are people like Chief Sinazongwe and a cross section of stakeholders in Southern Province who are thinking above narrow tribal politics by hailing the project.
Those politicising such developmental efforts should be reminded that ethnicity is very superficial, especially when some spiteful people extend it to development.
Instead, as people who value democracy and development, it is important to rally behind President Lungu’s well-meaning projects that would help transform Zambia and not only one region.
Only then will the future generations remember us as gallant men and women.
They might even name some structures like roads after us.