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Govt. happy with construction works at Chitambo Nursing school
Chitambo, December 2nd, 2014, ZANIS —- A Chitambo Nursing School Principle Tutor Jonathan Kasoka has expressed happiness at the construction pace of hostels, dining, kitchen, a classroom block, skills laboratory and staff houses for the Nursing School.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS after he toured the construction works , Mr. Kasoka said he was impressed with the speed of SIMU Construction Company was erecting the said structures at the school.
The construction work follows government’s grant through donor support from the Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) at a cost of K9,444,000.
This programme has seen the construction of 2/20 hostel blocks, a classroom, a demonstration block, kitchen, dining and cold room as well as 4 semi-detached 3 bed roomed staff houses.
Additionally, Government through the Ministry of Health has contracted BENCON Construction Company to construct a one by twenty hostel block which is expected to be completed by early 2015.
Mr. Kasoka said the hostels under SIMU Construction Company are expected to be completed by next month to pave way for the new intake of students that starts in January, 2015.
“I am very happy with what I found at the site, very soon the hostels will be completed and the new students for 2015 will come and occupy them,” he said.
He said due to lack of classroom and hostel space the school has not enrolled for three years as they were waiting for the current 27 to complete, however, the construction of the new hostels will help the school scale up the number of students to be enrolled.
“The school will now enrol 120 students as there will be 60 rooms added to the existing 16 hostel rooms bringing the total to 76 rooms, this will be a big milestone in scaling up the students enrolment as they will increase from the current 27 to 50 students per intake,” he said.
He expressed that the Nursing School helps to contribute greatly to the much needed skilled man power in the nursing fraternity in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals number 4, 5 and 6.
Mr. Kasoka said the coming of the project has benefited the local community in that the youths that are working at SIMU have managed to save some money in order to advance their education while others have invested in farming.
One of the workers Evans Musenge said the job has given him an opportunity to learn new skills and to be kept busy other than wallowing in misery and beer drinking.
Mr. Musenge who is a school leaver said the job has given him an opportunity to save money for tertiary education as he intends to go to college soon.
“I am happy to have been employed by SIMU because I am learning new skills and at least I am kept busy and staying away from beer.
“ It has also given me an opportunity to save money for college because I really want to advance my studies,” he said.
And another youth Ben Mpondela said the company has accorded him a chance to add more knowledge on the little he knows about building adding that he started as a general worker but now he is a skilled welder and even though the project ended, he would have known the job and be self-employed.
“I knew very little about building now I have learnt new skills and techniques, I entered as a general worker now I am a skilled welder and even if they left I would be able to do the job and be self-employed,” he expressed.
And the site engineer Don Kanyama said the company is building standard structures which can be found in Botswana and South Africa.
Mr. Kanyama has cautioned people to desist from their mentality that Zambian Constructors do shoddy works.
“Those who say that Zambian Constructors do shoddy works should desist from such a mentality and realize that Zambians are capable of doing quality works, we are constructing buildings that are found in Botswana and even South Africa.
