Zambia railways grapples with encroachment
Written by Millennium on July 19, 2019
KETRA KALUNGA writes
@SunZambian
RAILWAY encroachment still remains a big challenge for Zambia Railways, and it’s one of the things that we are grappling with every day, says Chief Executive Officer, Christopher Musonda.
Mr Musonda said in Kabwe on Tuesday that, the company had been fighting running battles with people in Ndola who have built along the railway line.
Mr Musonda said, the company has decided to partner with Lusaka and Ndola City Councils to carry out daily inspections along the railway line.
“We are working with the municipalities of Lusaka and Ndola to carry out daily inspections particularly for those who decide to build within the 50m range on both sides of the railway line,” Mr Musonda said.
And Mr Musonda has expressed concern over the increased level of railway encroachment and has said the company in conjunction with the Lusaka and Ndola City Councils are working on ways to remove the people that had encroached on the railway.
Meanwhile, Mr Musonda said that ZRL was committed to addressing the issue of retirees and has to this effect drafted a report to the Ministry of Transport and Communication on the issue.
Mr Musonda said the company had formed a committee to deal with the issue of retirees and that he also met with them quarterly to listen to their grievances and to brief them about the progress made regarding their payments.
He was speaking when the Central Province Permanent Secretary, Bernard Chomba, toured ZRL workshops in Kabwe District, in Central Province.
