‘Realign Siavonga to Lusaka’
By NATION REPORTER SIAVONGA should be realigned from Southern to Lusaka Province for easy administration of the district, a senior civil servant has proposed.
The civil servant, who asked for anonymity said the realignment of Siavonga to Lusaka Province would improve service delivery and public administration in the area as the district was closer to Lusaka than to Choma in Southern Province.
He said currently, some Government departments in the district travelled hundreds of kilometres to Choma to file reports which did not make sense as Lusaka was more geographically positioned to administer the district.
He said already, some Government departments and agencies in Siavonga such as the police and the Drug Enforcement commission (DEC), were reporting to Lusaka and not Choma.
The civil servant said once Siavonga was realigned to Lusaka, there would be reduction in government expenditure on transport as the departments in the district would not be traveling long distances to Choma to file reports.
He said as Government was slowly implementing the decentralisation programme and eventually devolve power to districts, there was need to take practical steps to correctly position districts in both geographical and administrative systems.
''It’s a fact that Siavonga district was difficult to administer from Choma and poses huge logistical problems to be serviced because it it's geographically located far from the provincial headquarters," he said.
The opposition UPND opposes any move to realign any part of Southern province to other provinces for fear of losing political grip on its only remaining stronghold.
In 2012 when late President Micheal Sata created Chirundu district and realigned it to Lusaka, the opposition party vowed to ensure that once elected to power, all parts of Southern province which were taken to Lusaka and central provinces would be realigned back to Southern province.