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An assessment by the Road Development Agency (RDA) indicates that 80 percent of the core road network in Zambia requires immediate improvement and maintenance, as it is in a poor condition and deteriorating at an alarming rate, authorities have said.
Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Minister Charles Milupi said it is public knowledge that the New Dawn government inherited a core road network that was already in a deplorable condition countrywide.
Milupi in a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday said this state of affairs, is despite the previous government borrowing heavily on account of investing in infrastructure, including roads.
“One begs the question, where did all that borrowed money go? Which roads were built with all that borrowed money, which has left this country highly indebted? he said.
Milupi said Zambians are saddled with a debt of about US$25.4 billion accrued by the previous regime.
“To put it more clearly, the population of Zambia is approximately 20 million people.
This means everyone of us, including a baby born yesterday owes US$1,272 or K24,142 each,” he said.
Milupi said with Thursday’s announcement by Finance and National Planning Minister, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, from Paris, France that Zambia has clinched a debt treatment deal with our bilateral creditors, will allow the country to restructure its debt repayments beyond a 20-year period, government plans to sustainably rebuild Zambia’s highly deplorable 45,000km core road network starts now.
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