THE Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR) has saluted the Government on the installation of first ever sewer line in Zambezi sawmills Township in Livingstone as a way of improving the welfare of citizens.
Southern Water and Sewerage Company (SWASCO) Limited is currently laying sewer pipes in Livingstone Zambezi Sawmills area and the exercise will be completed by September this year.
About 302 households in Zambezi Sawmills have had no sanitation facilities since the country’s independence in 1964.
Recently, Livingstone Member of Parliament Lawrence Evans mobilised K603,000 for sanitation facilities in the area and SWASCO is currently laying sewer pipes to connect the households for a stretch of three kilometres.
JCTR Media and information officer Mwiinga Shimilimo said the move to put up a sewer line in the area showed Government and the community’s commitment to have proper sanitation in the heavily populated compound.
Speaking in Livingstone when JCTR conducted sanitation and delivery of social services survey in in the area, Ms Shimilimo said it was Government’s responsibility and elected leaders to ensure that people lived in habitable conditions by providing social amenities that could improve life.
“As JCTR, we believe that government and elected leaders have the responsibility of improving people’s lives by providing social amenities like good sanitation. So this project here in Zambezi sawmills compound shows governments commitment and we want to commend them,” Ms Shimilimo said.
Ms Shimilimo was however disappointed that Libuyu and Ngwenya compounds still had sanitation problems with no flushable toilets 50 years after independence.
“ Its disheartening to note that there are still houses fifty years after independence without flushable toilets. We would like law makers to see how best they can lobby for funds in order to improve sanitation in these areas,” Ms Shimilimo said.
And a senior citizen in Zambezi Sawmills Township, Mate Mulonda, thanked the Government and Mr Evans for installing a sewer line in the area.
Mr Mulonda, who is also one of the supervisors for the ongoing works, said the project was progressing well and was hopeful that they would complete within three months.
Mr Mulonda said it was good that President Edger Lungu took keen interest to ensure that the people of Zambezi sawmills had a sewer line.
He said the project had seen a number of youths in the being employed and that so far 70 percent of the works were done.
“We are very grateful to President Lungu for listening to our plight and making sure that we have a sewer line fifty years after independence. We wish him good health and ask him to continue with his development agenda for the country,” Mr Mulonda said.
And JCTR Livingstone coordinator George Makaha said there was still a problem in the delivery of social services especially in the area of sanitation in most Townships.
Mr Makaha said there was need for Government, through the local authorities and communities, to strike a balance to see how best people could live in better sanitation facilities.
“Government through the local authorities must strike a balance to see how sanitation can be improved in most of these compounds.
“So what needs to be done is more sensitization to the local leadership and communities to ensure that there is improved life in these compounds,” Mr Makaha said.
How do you congratulate long over due projects? How do you congratulate people for doing work they were supposed to do anyway ? There is nothing extra ordinary here to warrant congratulations, JCTR, let’s be a bit more serious, you normally do excellent work.