Wouldn’t it be nice if just a fraction of the World Bank money (below) was spent on Obote Avenue (above), the road to Chanters Lodge from Mosi o Tunya road? But I’m not holding my breath! Luckily only about 750 metres effects us.

The World Bank has released US$75 million to Zambia’s road sector, the first cash injection after the bank and other cooperating partners suspended funding to the sector last year following allegations of corruption. World Bank country manager Kapil Kapoor said in a recent interview that the cooperating partners were satisfied with the measures that had been put together by President Rupiah Banda’s Government to stop corruption.

The donors to the sector last year announced a decision to withhold funding and accused the Road Development Agency of corrupt practices. They cited the auditor general’s report which indicated that the agency had overcommitted the Government to more than K1 trillion. Dr Kapoor said stakeholders engaged in talks with the Government and were satisfied that the sector would perform to their expectation.

He said the Government had worked hard to ensure that all the concerns raised by the donor community were addressed. He said the $75 million was an allocation for this year. He dismissed reports that the World Bank attached rigid and unfriendly conditions to its aid, saying it only insisted that the money it released should be used for intended purposes. Dr Kapoor said the Government had been exemplary in managing the affairs of the nation with sustained economic growth.