Copperbelt Minister Japhen Mwakalombe says the chasing of traders from the streets has not given government the results it needed in some parts of the country, as the sanitary situations remains unimproved.
The minister who is also Chongwe member of parliament said this, Monday, when he opened Ndola Under Bridge to motorists on Dag Hammarskjold Drive.
“…chasing people from the streets has not given us the answer we wanted. We need to keep our environment clean and keep waste management. And in Ndola, we are not going to allow any street vending. We need to give dignity to the people, the traders, marketers, the bus drivers and everyone,” Mwakalombe said.
“This work here has cost K10 million. We need to ensure that we keep this infrastructure. There is no guarantee to investor that can come in a district without proper infrastructure.”
He said he was a happy provincial minister because President Edgar Lungu was not listening to his critics.
“We have a leader who cares for the people. He is not paying attention to the critics, but a working President. That is why we just call him Mr walk the talk. President Lungu has continued to create a conducive environment for investors. We can’t build an economy without infrastructure. To the business community, come on board and support us. Business can’t look at profits alone,” said Mwakalombe.
And Ndola Mayor Amon Chisenga said the local authority had been called names over the bridge.
“We were called names, called whatever over this under bridge works. But today am happy that this project has finally come to an end,” said Chisenga.