Sikongo Town Council has maintained that no physical works have commenced on the strategic Kalabo-Sikongo-Angola Road Project despite President Hakainde Hichilema publicly announcing on July 4, 2026 that construction of the road had commenced.
Speaking in a follow-up interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Sikongo Town Council Secretary Shimwanga Monde said the position communicated to ZBT previously remains unchanged.
“The status I gave you previously still stands, we are waiting for formal communication following the presidential pronouncement,” said Monde.
This follows an earlier ZBT article which revealed that the US$55 million road project had shown no visible signs of implementation despite Zambia securing a US$50 million loan from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) in October 2024, with government expected to contribute an additional US$5 million.
According to official project documents seen by ZBT, civil works were scheduled to commence in November 2025 and conclude by October 2027, but several months after the planned start date, there was no evidence of contractor mobilisation, land preparation or surveying on the ground.
Meanwhile, during President Hichilema’s community engagement in Mongu, Kalabo and Sikongo Districts on July 4, 2026, President Hichilema announced that construction of the Kalabo-Sikongo Road has commenced.
However, ZBT’s latest verification with the local authority responsible for the project area indicates that the Council is yet to receive any official communication from the Road Development Agency (RDA) or any other implementing institution confirming the commencement of works.
Previously, Monde had told ZBT that the Council had not witnessed any contractor mobilisation, surveying activities or site preparations and had not been formally engaged despite the project previously being described as one of extreme national urgency.
Infrastructure Development Minister, Charles Milupi had earlier told ZBT in an exclusive interview in October 2023 that the government was moving “as soon as possible” to develop the border link.
The current deadlock raises serious economic concerns over the $290 million already invested into the bituminous Mongu-Kalabo road, which effectively remains a road to nowhere without this final 34-kilometer link.
Meanwhile, Western Chamber of Commerce and Industry Secretary, Samuel Litebele also told ZBT that the physical ground-breaking ceremony for the project has not yet been conducted on the actual site in Western Province.
“The government has only launched the construction of the road which was announced in Lusaka, several hundred kilometers away from the intended implementation zone,” said Litebele.
With funding secured, presidential assurances now made publicly, and the local authority still reporting no official commencement on the ground, the gap between policy announcements and implementation continues to attract scrutiny.
If construction has indeed commenced as announced by the President, why is the local authority in Sikongo still waiting for formal communication and unable to confirm any activity on the ground?
Article by Philip Sinkala
