Northern Province Minister Leonard Mbao has hailed the Road Development Agency (RDA) for the works being done on the pothole patching on the Kasama-Mbala road.
Speaking when he toured the road to check on the progress on the works, Mr. Mbao said the road is a crucial one as it connects Zambia to Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The minister said government is committed to improving the lives of the people in the province by facilitating good roads where locals and other people can easily use to trade between the districts and link the whole country
He said government has a long-term plan to ensure sustainability of the roads in the province which will boost and improve economic activities.
The minister cited the Kasama-Mpika road and the Kasama-Luwingu road which have already been worked on.

He disclosed that government has engaged an Egyptian firm under the public private partnership (PPP) to work in collaboration with RDA to fully work on the roads.
Speaking during the visit, RDA Regional Engineer Benny Kashimoto said the firm appreciates government efforts to support the region through funding to repair the roads for the benefits of the locals.
Mr. Kashimoto said RDA has received K3.5 million out of the K19 million that the government allocated for the rehabilitation of the roads.
“From that allocation, we have secured 120 drums of bitumen and other materials to work and complete the works on the Kasama- Mbala road”, he said.
The engineer bemoaned the lack of equipment and operators to speed up the works which is slowing down the completion of the project. He has however expressed confidence that the works will be completed before the onset of the rains.
Norris Chomba
ZANIS