Chisamba Constituency Member of Parliament Chushi Kasanda has expressed displeasure at the slow pace of construction works of some maternity annexes financed through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). 

Ms. Kasanda cites the construction of a maternity annex in Chisamba’s Kamano ward as a project whose pace of construction works she is dissatisfied with.

ZANIS reports that Ms. Kasanda said this when she and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Committee inspected the works of the maternity annex being constructed at a cost of over K 1 million. 

She cautioned Kay’s Construction Limited to expedite the works or risk having their contact terminated. 

“There is no reason you should be at ring beam level all this while yet government has given you money for the project. This project is a presidential directive and I won’t take kindly to any contractor delaying development in my Constituency,” she warned. 

However, in response Kay’s Construction Limited Site Engineer Kelvin Mwape assured the parliamentarian that his company will improve on the rate at which it is constructing the facility. 

Mr. Mwape explained that the contractor faced challenges with transporting building materials to the site due to a poor road network, adding that the materials are now on site. 

Meanwhile, Ms. Kasanda urged the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to re-look the Electronic Government Platform procurement initiative and enhance the awarding of construction contracts to reliable bidders. 

“Some local contractors and communities where these projects are being implemented are not benefiting directly as the bidding process may be cumbersome for some. 

“We are now subjected to underperforming out-of-town contractors when we have local contractors who can deliver good quality works on schedule,” she said.