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Fuel shortage cripples govt depts
Nchelenge, August 1, 2014, ZANIS…The Ministry of Education, Science and Vocational Training and Early Education in Nchelenge says the shortage of fuel in the district has negatively impacted service delivery.
Education Standards Officer for General Inspection Jones Mwenya said the critical shortage of fuel that has rocked the district is hampering the delivery of quality services in the education sector.
In an interview with ZANIS in Nchelenge, Mr. Mwenya said his office has literally struggled to mobilize the movement of mock examination papers in the area because of the prolonged shortage of fuel.
He said the five months shortage of fuel is impeding the delivery of the quality service in the ministry of education and adversely affects the general performance of other line ministries in the area.
He observed that the ripple effects of the shortage of the commodity have reached alarming levels and has the potential to negate the social and economic gains that the government has posted if the situation is not harnessed.
Mr Mwenya lamented that the fuel crisis has made monitoring of the ongoing mock examinations difficult and that routine monitoring of the teacher performance and infrastructural development in the area has suffered a setback.
Nchelenge district in Luapula province has gone for five months without fuel forcing motorists and government departments to fetch the commodity from the neighbouring Kawambwa district.
He charged that the government should seriously engage both local and foreign investors to exploit the area’s energy sector and put up filling stations.
He argued that the acquisition of land for such investments must be eased up to stimulate investor confidence and advised the local authority to come up with an investment plan in the energy sector.
Mr. Mwenya also urged the government to consider the fuel shortage in the area as a security risk because of the proximity to the war prone Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
