Govt to cancel traffic deal?

A TECHNICAL committee to look into possibilities of cancelling the 17-year traffic management concession for Intelligent Mobility Solutions (IMS) has been constituted.

Ministry of Transport and Communications Permanent Secretary, Misheck Lungu who confirmed the development said the committee would recommend whether to cancel the deal or not.

Mr Lungu said in an interview that Government would only act on the matter using the right procedure. He said Zambia was a country of laws and that Government would follow the laid down procedure to handle the matter at hand.

“The council of ministers has set up a technical committee to look into the IMIS contract and once it comes up with its findings then we shall be informed,” he said.

So as a ministry, Mr Lungu said, we are waiting to be informed what step to be taken by the council of ministers who are looking into the matter.

Mr Lungu said Government would ensure that the matter was dealt with using legal provisions of the laws of the country.

He said that Government had entered into an agreement with IMIS to spearhead the project, therefore, necessary measures needed to be followed when cancelling the agreement.

“Yes many people have been talking about Government cancelling the IMIS contract but we cannot just wake up today and say that we are cancelling the contract. Necessary measures need to be followed before we cancel it.

And Mr Lungu said the contract was no longer between Road Transport and Safety Agency and IMIS as it had now been taken to Ministry of Finance.

On 23rd August 2017, Government through the Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA) signed a 17 year Public Private Partnership Concession Agreement with IMS for the design, installation and operation of systems and solutions for vehicle inspection, vehicle registration, road safety law enforcement and traffic surveillance, nationwide.