Road rehab elates Kabompo DC

KAB OMPO District Commissioner (DC) Patrick Kasoka is pleased that the rehabilitation of KatendwaKayombo road in Kabompo district of Northwestern province has started.

Mr Kasoka said the earth road which has been in a deplorable state is of great economic benefit to both the district and the nation through timber production and agriculture.

He said this at the weekend when he inspected the rehabilitation of the road being undertaken by Zambia National Service (ZNS) Rural Road Unit.

"The Government through North-western provincial administration has been in continuous talks with ZNS in relation to our feeder and township roads so they could have a facelift even as we wait for the district roads to be upgraded to bituminous standards," Mr Kasoka said.

Mr Kasoka said Katendwa road was the main road which leads to two major chiefdoms of the district, Kalunga and Chiyengele.

The road, he said, also leads to the newly constructed Government Katendwa rural health post.

"This road is very important to the people of Katendwa, Chikenge and Kayombo as it is the main road which leads to chief Kalunga's chiefdom and chief Chiyengele and had endured the bad state for a long time," Mr Kasoka said.

Speaking at the same event, site and works supervisor, warrant officer, Edison Zimba, said all machinery required for the job is now on site and most of the work has already commenced.

Mr Zimba said the team will soon proceed to Kayombo route after grading the Katendwa stretch which was very impassable at the time and later move to rehabilitate Kabompo township roads.

"We are ready and all equipment is here as you can see, so from here we are going to grade the Kayombo route and later will move to the Kabompo township roads,",he said.

Meanwhile Katendwa parents and teachers’ association chairperson, Kennedy Likomeno, was happy that Government had started working on the Katendwa -Kayombo road.Mr Likomeno said agriculture produce and timber which is ferried through the road will be now transported cost effectively with ease.

"We thank God and government for the consideration to work on this road because it was impassable a few days ago and now our lives will be better.

"However, we would also like if they construct bigger drainages and culverts along the road as the previous problems were caused by running water", he said.

Mr Likomeno further appealed for government to help with enough school infrastructure such as desks as well as deploy more teachers at Katendwa primary and secondary schools as they are not enough. - ZANIS