With only less than two months before the onset of the rain season, all main drainages in Lusaka city are still blocked by garbage and other debris.
In Lusaka’s Kamwala trading area, the Bombay drainage, which cuts across the shops leading to drain water into Ngwerere stream, is blocked and filled with stagnant water while the drainage along Lumumba and Mumbwa roads are almost buried with growing grass and litter.
But the Lusaka City Council officials claim that the local authority has been cleaning the drainages once a week and has programmes in place to ensure that apart from drainages, the city is kept clean and healthy.
The officials, who include Lusaka City Council Director of Public Health, the Acting Assistant Director of Engineering and the Kamwala Ward Five Councillor, have told Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice President Harry Kalaba that the council is on the ground working on the drainages.
But Mr. Kalaba, who has toured the drainages, has described the situation as a disaster in waiting, and if not urgently attended to, will cause loss of lives.
He is saddened with Lusaka City Council officials claiming that all is well when the situation on the ground needs urgent attention before the onset of rains just slightly under two months.
Mr. Kalaba has since directed that the council, in conjunction with the office of the District Commissioner and the Provincial Permanent Secretary, to work on the drainages and collect all garbage in the city within the next two weeks.
He says government will not wait for disaster to occur but will work proactively and prevent disasters.
During the tour, it was discovered that vendors had build makeshift restaurants and hair solons on top of the drainage along Lumumba road.
And both Acting Assistant Director for Engineering at LCC Mainza Simonga and the Kamwala Ward Five Councillor Joyce Banda say the council has over US$350 million under the Millennium Challenge account for water and sanitation programmes and drainage works.
ZNBC
Of course the problem wont just go away with mere rhetoric which is also compounded by “legalising” street vending.I mean somebody is just watching US$350 million to germinate without putting that money for the intended purpose.
Garbage everywhere is what you get when you allow vendors on every street like the PF did just to win votes.Even where the council is failing,it says alot about the zambian psyche that a person will allow themselves to live or work next to such filth.We should all demand highly of ourselves to always have nothing but the best.Any society that lives in such filth is going nowhere.
Its hard to even imagine how we have accepted this as ‘normal’
although they have responsibilities in this issue, this situation is far beyond the council. the council can’t manage to constantly clean up after lazy zambians. the council put garbage bins in city centre, people stole them. they provide rubbish collection services, people dont pay the minimal fee. how do we expect zambia to be clean and healthy if we the people don’t do our part?
THE ZAMBIAN GARBAGE DISPOSAL PROBLEM IS DEEP-ROOTED IN ZAMBIANS THEMSELVES. SERIOUSLY, A SUBJECT IN SCHOOL CURRICULUM MUST BE INTRODUCED TO CORRECT AND CHANGE THE NEXT GENERATIONS ATTITUDE TOWARD HYGIENE AND CLEANLINESS. I WOULD SUGGEST ‘TOURISM’ AS A SUBJECT TO BE INTRODUCED RIGHT FROM PRIMARY SCHOOL TO COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LEVEL. THIS SUBJECT WILL KILL AT LEAST TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE- RE-INSTILL HYGIENE AND CLEANLINESS INTO THE NEXT GENERATION OF ZAMBIANS, AND FURTHER STILL TEACH CHILDREN THE IMPORTANCE OF LOOKING AFTER OUR NATURAL RESOURCES TO ATTRACT ALL TOURISTS, LOCAL AND FOREIGN.
Was this not part of the 90 days promises?
On this one we can’t blame the council alone. Zambians think cleanliness ends at their homes and the outlook of the town is everyonelse responsiblity. What happenned to ‘Keep Zambia Clean Campaign’. The dirt on the streets is outrageous. You can barely talk on the streets without feeling like all the dirt and bacteria is going in your mouth. PUBLIC DISCIPLINE IS NEEDED!! The council needs to come up with stiff laws for throwing garbage anywhere but then again if you legalise vending how can such good laws be implemented? There is no space to walk in the sidewalks, no chance to see the beauty of the town because of tomatoes, rape and salaula all over the place. MAKE VENDING ILLEGAL!! It will make cleaning the city up much easier..
No sex at graveyards, … fine. But, is it also a criminal offense to keep piles of rubbish in the city? Come on, there must be a bye-law to this effect.
what are some good and even widely used internet sites regarding blogs and forums???
If one political party just promises to remove the garbage and pave the streets in Lusaka it will win 500,000 votes. A government’s importency can always be seen in its failure to clean up the cities
The way you are hot of circumucission is the same way you should be hot of gabbage issue.companies whose products ar found anyhow must be told of clossure if the their fipaketi continues being thrown. venders after selling always leave dirty in corridors and breaking of beer bottles after bafikala banwa is also bad.close such bars. bushe infwe chashupashani?
You do not know where they are taking those skins removed from the penises. There is a story behind, some one is benefiting from that.I wanted to take my kids for the same (circumcision) but this time mwe. When MMD was in power Lsk had PF councilors and they blamed the Rulling MMD that lsk city was dirty coz the MMD did not give them enough money to clean the city. But it was not as dirty as it is now. What can they tell us now, they are in power now and it becomes worse. I knew it before we voted them into power. People just wanted to change but they changed from bad to worse. They are yet to the worst.
The money is in Sata’s pocket.
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