Mwamona firm faces uproar

…as villagers protest over stalled project

"It is sad that Mwamona has taken three years to construct the homes of these families and up to date not much progress has been made hence the said families have no decent accommodation and have been inconvenienced from that time," said District Commissioner Dennis Sikazwe.

GOVERNMENT in Mpulungu is considering terminating a contract awarded to Roan lawmaker Chishimba Kamwili’s company Mwamona Construction to build 30 houses for displaced families it has been learnt.

However, Mwamona Construction site manager, Davis Mwila, said it was ZESCO that was delaying the project for failing to pay workers and that the matter had actually been taken to court.

This follows protests by villagers who were promised houses three years when they were displaced from their settlement to allow for the construction of a hydro power station.

A Daily Nation team that visited the construction site found that a total of 15 houses were either at window level or roofed while the rest were in the initial stages of construction.

In an interview with the Daily Nation in Mpulungu, district commissioner Dennis Sikazwe said Mwamona Construction Company had taken too long to finish building the houses for the families that were displaced during the construction of the Lunzua Hydro Power Station three years ago.

He explained that the displaced families were divided into three groups with first opting for cash compensation, second group were resettled in Isoko village while the third group wanted houses in Mankonga area, which contracted was award to Mwamona Construction.

He said individual households that were displaced were given land near Mpulungu Boarding School and Mr Chishimba Kambwili’s company was contracted to build decent houses for the families.

"It is sad that Mwamona has taken three years to construct the homes of these families and up to date not much progress has been made hence the said families have no decent accommodation and have been inconvenienced since then," said Mr Sikazwe.

He said the displaced families had lost patience and wanted to know the way forward.

He also claimed that the construction company had not been paying their workers, causing the project to stall.