• Government has been dismantling the debt owed to local Contractors and Suppliers.
• Among them are road projects which have been paid through NRFA.
• Government has shown commitment by continuously paying the money.

Consortium of Local Contractors and Allied Suppliers says government has shown commitment towards dismantling the debt owed to local contractors and suppliers.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Consortium President John Chilupula noted that government has been dismantling the debts under various Ministries and among them are road projects which have been paid through National Road Fund Agency (NRFA).
“Government has been dismantling the debts which are owed to local contractors, under various Ministries. Of course among them are road projects which have been paid through NRFA. So the process of dismantling debt by government for local contractors has been an ongoing process,” Mr. Chilupula said.
Mr. Chilupula stated that although not all arrears have been cleared, government has shown commitment by continuously paying the money and hopes the process will continue because it has been a great relief to local contractors especially during the Covid-19 period.
“I may not say that everything has been cleared but government has shown commitment by continuously paying the money which is owed to local contractors and suppliers. So it has been an ongoing process and we hope the trend will continue because this has been a very big relief to local contractors especially that we are in this Covid-19 period,” he stated.
In the 2021 Budget, announced by then Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu on 25th September 2020, government allocated a sum of about K2.7 billion towards dismantling debt owed to local Contractors and Suppliers.