Mitete District Commissioner in Western Province, Teddy Chimbinde, says fish traders from the Copperbelt and North Western Provinces and from neighbouring countries are allegedly poisoning the lakes in the district to catch fish.
Mr Chimbinde said the trend is worrying because it is endangering the lives of people in the district who draw water for consumption from some of the lakes.
He said animals, too, are at danger as they drink from the same lakes.
The Mitete District Commissioner said Government has since engaged village headmen to see what can be done to curb the trend.
Mr Chimbinde told ZANIS in an interview that it is vital for the traditional leadership and communities in the district to partner with Government as they look for solutions towards addressing challenges of national interest.
And the Mitete DC has disclosed that the Zambia Information and Telecommunication Authority (ZICTA) has visited the area on several occasion as they seek to install telecommunication towers in the area to enhance communication.
The district currently has communication challenges as a result of lack communication towers.
Mr Chimbinde, however, urged ZICTA to expedite the installation of the towers before the onset of the rains as the district would be cut off from the rest of the province.
How possible for traders from Copperbelt, NorthWestern and neighbouring countries to poison the fish? Ithought its the local people that are poisoning the fish and selling its to fish traders from the mentioned places.
I thought so too
Have you been to Western Province? Just your observation says you have never been there. Go there and see the different types of fishermen from all parts of the country before you question the District Commissioner who lives there.
You mean the rains have not yet ‘onset’ in that district? Never knew there were lakes from where fishing activities could take place in WP; I thought there were only rivers? Is that district in Zambia too, or it is in Barotseland?
What matters is the problem at hand people shouldn’t poison their own livliwood should protect their fish because they depend on it to earn a living