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| The author is a Zambia Daily Mail Correspondent |
PRIOR to co-hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference in Livingstone and Victoria Falls Town in Zimbabwe back in 2013, Government embarked on numerous developmental projects.
Among them was the construction and upgrading of most township roads in the tourism capital, Livingstone to bituminous standard.
It was understandable because, at that point, Zambia and Livingstone in particular was to host a high profile international conference and everything posterity demanded that everything be on point.
Other than just roads, Livingstone residents could not wait for the construction, and ultimately, commissioning of two ultra-modern facilities that were also directly linked to Zambia's hosting this high profile conference - the bus terminus and the city centre market.
Truth be told, the two projects are but in a class of their own.
Take for instance the bus terminus, situated along Nakatindi Road. It was going to be the first of its kind in Zambia and was to provide high economic and social value to Livingstone.
The market on the other hand, situated in the central business district is three storeys high. It too was going to add high economic and social value to the city.
But five years have since passed and what initially started as a promising undertaking to the locals here, has somewhat 'lost its breath' at the eleventh hour.
When they started constructing them, everyone in Livingstone was happy that not only were the two structures going to add beauty to the tourism capital, but they were also going to create employment - both directly and indirectly to the locals.
For the local authority, the speedy completion of the two structures was going to be as good as a 'pot of gold' in terms of revenue collection.
The main contractor for the bus terminus is ZAMCHIN Construction Company with the lead consultants being Ndilila Architects and Associates. Works were scheduled to be completed by 15th July 2013 but due to financial challenges, the project has stalled to date at 98 per cent completion.
Similarly, construction works on the three storey steel reinforced modern market commenced on February 22, 2013 and was supposed to be finished by August 31, 2013. It too has stalled at about 60 percent works.
The main contractor was Matty Investments Limited. The market has over two hundred free open stands for marketeers on the ground floor and the floor has been proposed for another two hundred free open stands.
The facility is to have barbershops, salons, butcheries and even banking halls.
According to documents obtained from the Livingstone City Council, the contract values for the two facilities was K55.6 million for the bus terminus and K55.3 million for the market.
But funds have finished and works at both sites have stalled, causing anxiety among people with interests.
Livingstone mayor Eugene Mapuwo has also spoke about how the local authority and Government has potentially lost out of huge sums of money in taxes from the two structures.
In truth, Government through the local authority would by now have reaped a fortune out of the two stalled structures.
In an interview around this time, last year, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela said construction works on the two structures weas due to start by June [last year]. Mr Chitotela said Government had engaged the ZNS to complete the works.
Southern province minister Edify Hamukale recently disclosed that the process to engage the defense forces to complete the two structures had stalled due to legal quagmire.
About K81 million is needed for the successful completion of the two projects, according to Livingstone City Council (LCC) assistant director of engineering services Muyunda Muyambango.
The remaining works on the bus terminus are mostly paving and landscaping whereas at the city centre market, all ablution blocks on all the floors are yet to be complete, shops on the first floor are not plastered and require finished and expanded wire ventilation panels among others.
However the case, the question many people of Livingstone keep asking is, ‘when will the stalled construction works of these two ultra-modern facilities recommence?’
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