By John Chola.
Minister Nzovu noted that since inception in 2015, the Lake Tanganyika Development
Project had provided socio-economic infrastructure like schools, rural health facilities and
water supply among others to support the well-being of the people of Mpulungu and Nsama
Districts.
Minister of Green Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu has expressed disappointment
that contractors engaged to work on the Nsumbu water supply project, Nsumbu Hospital and the Youth Skills Training Centre in Nsumbu, Nsama District abandoned the sites without completing works.
Minister Nzovu is shocked to find that despite huge sums of money having been spent on the Nsumbu water supply project, the Contractor had performed extremely poorly before
abandoning the site for more than a year now.
Nzovu said this after he toured Kasaba Bay Boarding Secondary School where he inspected
the School infrastructure as well as the Nsumbu water reticulation project, which is meant to supply clean and safe water to surrounding communities.
The Minister also found out that construction works on the Landing site (Fish Market and
Jetty) in Mpulungu had stalled for more than a year while there was some work progress on
the Fish Market and Jetty in Nsumbu, Nsama District.
Nzovu has instructed the project management to ensure that contractors are brought back to the abandoned sites and taken to task to correct all the defects warning that he would return soon for further inspection of the projects before they are commissioned.
He cited lack of capacity in engineering supervision of the works, and directed that an
engineer be attached as soon as possible to guarantee quality of work.
Nzovu also toured the Lake Tanganyika Development Project sites in Northern Province.
He has called for vivid accountability by the engineers charged with the responsibility of
supervising public construction works.
He lamented the lack of seriousness and accountability by engineers charged with the
responsibility of supervision of works, valuation and certification for payment for projects.
He questioned the motivation behind the engineers’ certification of shoddy works by the
Contractors, and allowing them to get away with that.
Nzovu has since demanded and directed management of the under-construction projects to
ensure that all contractors involved in the abandoned works address the numerous defects and initiate recoveries of money where need be.
Meanwhile Minister Nzovu has called upon all officers at the Provincial and District
administration levels, to provide oversight of project implementation.
“From my findings, I have come to appreciate that these projects are very cardinal to
improving the livelihoods of our people especially those who depend on the Lake
Tanganyika. There is need for all those that are charged with management of the projects to take ownership and ensure that the resources are prudently managed and applied to guarantee that the various outstanding infrastructure is completed before the conclusion of the project in December 2022,’’ said Nzovu.
The Project is partly financed by a loan of US$ 22.5 million from the African Development
Bank and a grant of US$7.0 million from the Global Environment Facility.
Of the total UD29.5 million, integrated natural resources management is allocated US$15.5
million; socio-economic infrastructure development US$6.4 million; US$4.1 million will go
towards alternative livelihoods and project management and coordination has a share of
US$3.5 million.
