The Livingstone City Council says the continuous heavy downpour in the area have caused damage to various infrastructure in the city.
And the local authority is consequently appealing to Central government to come to its aid to mitigate further damage to infrastructure in the tourist capital.
Livingstone City Council Director Engineering Fred Mukuka said in an interview yesterday that the heavy downpour being experienced in the tourist capital since January 2017, has caused extensive damage to roads, bridges, houses and fences in residential areas.
Mr. Mukuka pointed out that residents in Mulala township were almost cut off as the road to the area was impassable while roads in Mwandi area were all flooded.
“People in Mulala are almost cut off due to a road which is impassable in some areas while roads are submerged in water in Mwandi.
” We have lost a lot of infrastructure as some walls fencing houses have collapsed in residential areas as a result of excess water,” he said.
Mr. Mukuka said this in Livingstone today during a presentation on the city’s disaster situation at a Disaster Management and Mitigation Committee Meeting held in the Council Chamber.
He explained that lack of culverts; drainage systems in areas like Dambwa and blocked drainages were major contributors to the damage on infrastructure.
Mr. Mukuka further explained that inadequate equipment hindered the council’s efforts to rehabilitate some roads.
Drainages, gravelling and compacting affected roads, filling gullies with rubble; building culverts and drifts on roads are some of the urgent measures that need to be implemented to prevent the current situation from deteriorating, he said.
And Acting Town Clerk Grayson Sakala said his is faced with limited resources to miitigate the situation.
Mr. Sakala therefore called for the much needed assistance from Central Government and the Provincial Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).
” I understand the mandate of the council but the current situation was extraordinary and requires external technical, financial and additional human resource support address trhe situations, ” he said.
He said the local council needed a roller compactor for minor works on some affected roads and would soon engage the Road Development Agency to assist them with equipment.
“All along we were working with RDA and their equipment but they withdrew it to undertake other projects. However, we will soon re-engage them to help us with a roller compactor and other equipment for us to work on roads that are in bad shape,” he said.
And Livingstone Mayor Eugine Mapuwo said the tourist capital was in a terrible state as some residents could not park vehicles within their premises due to damaged roads while others could not drive out.
Mr. Mapuwo said concerted efforts from all stakeholders were needed to improve the current state of infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a heavy downpour yesterday has left massive damage to property and other infrastructure in Samfya District in Luapula Province.
Among the damaged infrastructure included government offices and houses most of whose roofs were blown off..
ZANIS reports that a survey conducted by District Commissioner Narson Bwalya in the District today revealed that houses in areas such as Mano Ward in Bangweulu Contitution not to mention Chisokone Secondary in the area were severly damaged.
And Mr. Bwalya said that the recent heavy rains have left several people homeless after their houses collapsed.
Mr. Bwalya said there was an urgent need for the Provincial Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit ( PDMMU ) to move in quickly especially the damaged schools for the benefit of school children in the area.
And Mano Ward Councilor James Kapilila has asked government to provide the internally displaced people with relief food and tents while they await to reconstruct their houses.
We need the water. Just do big storm water dainages.
This mukuka who cares about wall fences, let it pour iwe, kariba dam should gulp this water, we want to see how far pf will go with it loadshedding lies.
It’s very much OK for the heavy rains in Livingstone so that the kariba dam is filled to capacity, we will now see whom thugs ZESCO will blame for the continued load shedding
When people blame God (natural causes, the Kariba is empty etc) He has a way of exposing people who blame, let it rain please let it rain.
Meanwhile the dull so called president is busy feeling proud about receiving courtesy applauds at at the African Union while his own country sinks in water.
But loadshedding carries on? what excuse now for Lazy Lungu?
Army worms eat Zesco cables resulting in load shedding, just wait that will be a ZNBC headline very soon
That’s good news, Let it rain should be your prayer you fools.
Yes I agree with Ken, this water is required: Muletasha Lesa amupa imfula iyo ba PF babepesha again you start complaining: Rain Come, Rain of blessings come we need you to fill Kariba Dam to the fullest.
Every year when it rains the talk is about bad drainage systems, gullies, etc. What happens during the dry season? Isn’t it when these ought to be sorted out? Its not as if there has been a tsunami or hurricane, its just the usual perennial problems of a lack of planning.