THE Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) says the Lusaka City Council is to blame for the poor management of the Chunga dumpsite.
ZEMA principal information and communications officer Irene Chipili said in an interview that the dumpsite is in a deplorable condition and urged the local authority to seriously and urgently address the situation.
“Before the Chunga landfill was authorised for operation, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency approved its design and an environmental impact assessment was conducted looking at both negatives and positives,” Ms Chipili said.
She said she personally visited the site to see how it was being managed and found some people scavenging the dumpsite for merchandise, posing danger to their health and that of the public.
Ms Chipili said the poor management of the Chunga dumpsite will lead to outbreaks of diseases like cholera and dysentery which will be a huge cost to Government.
She urged the Lusaka City Council to intensify security at the site to ensure that no people enter it to scavenge for anything which they later sell to unsuspecting members of the public.
And when contacted, Lusaka City Council assistant public relations officer Habeenzu Mulunda said the local authority intends to come up with a law to prohibit people from entering the Chunga dumpsite but only companies specialised in recycling of waste materials.
Mr Mulunda said the council is an institution which promotes public sanity and that anything that endangers public health is of concern to it.
A Daily Mail crew that visited the area found some youths and elderly women scavenging the dumpsite picking expired foodstuffs and other items with a view to reselling them after cleaning them at Soweto market.
recycle” thats why in zambia we are very behind the city councils should have recycling machines for each type of waste ba henry kapata not lyonse nipa radio nangu pa tv..
What else do u expect from the local authority
Amano yalichepa pa zed. When u hear pipo talk u think they were mountain movers .St u pid Zambians. That’s why anyone dat begins 2 do well u pull him down. look at de kind of news here fyakubwabwatafye can u even ‘ve time 2 manage ifimafi ku Chunga?
Comment:so many initiatives are not in use…if left un attended to chunga will turn to b an environmental disaster when big brains are busy resting.wake up zambia.