Friday, March 29, 2024

Lusaka Mayor, Miles Sampa Launches Pre-Rain Season Fixing of blocked Drainage System

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Lusaka Mayor, Miles Sampa helping with works in Lusaka
Lusaka Mayor, Miles Sampa helping with works in Lusaka

Lusaka Mayor, Miles Sampa, has launched the community led pre-rainy season unblocking of drainages in the wards.

Mayor Sampa launched the programme this morning in Justine Kabwe Ward of Mandevu Constituency. He said residents must change their minds sets and avoid being reactive but be proactive and start keeping their surroundings clean.

“We don’t want our people to be reactive to issues of sanitation but be proactive and start engaging in cleaning activities on daily basis,” he said.

Mr Sampa said he wanted residents to own the relaunched Make Zambia Clean, Green and Healthy.

He explained that the programme was not re-launched for few individuals and institutions but for every resident.

Meanwhile, Justin Kabwe Ward Councillor, Teddy Mwaba, has appealed to the Mayor to help expand the drainage system in his ward.

Councillor Mwaba said almost all the drainages in the ward were too small to contain the storm water during rainy season resulting into flash floods in the ward.

He appealed to the Mayor to use his influence to request the Road Development Agency (RDA) and Disaster Management and Mitagation Unit (DMMU) to assist in the expansion of drainages in the ward.

“Your Worship, there is need for expansion of drainages in my ward because most of the drainages here are too small to contain water when it rains resulting in nearby houses get flooded,” he lamented.

Councillor Mwansa informed the Mayor that DMMU had been informed of the problem but nothing had been done about the matter.

And speaking at the same event, newly elected Health Committee chairperson, Councillor George Data, said people who were in a habit of dumping waste indiscriminately would not be spared by the council.

Councillor Data observed that indiscriminate dumping of waste was common in almost all the wards.

“Your Worship, our people should change their mind sets and stop dumping waste in the drainages and other open spaces,” he said.

He warned that those found contravening the law relating to solid waste management would be prosecuted accordingly.

13 COMMENTS

  1. Ba Edgar and Eric Chimese tried that method of using shovels to unblock drainage, its not effect tool . You need equipment, diggers, if you could buy $1 million firetruck, you can definitely get $100,000 per digger.

    • This requires small diggers and the cost around $30,000 each. They need 20 of the for the whole lusaka. It does a job which can be done by 20 people.

  2. Nearly every person in the kombonis has been to primary school….if an environmental awareness subject, teaching our kids to look after our environment , is introduced from primary school, the next batch of primary school leavers hiting the streets will have a different mindset…..teach them young.

  3. Miles, now that you mave made an aexample of countability find the person in charge of keeping the drainage systemclean and get them to do their job. Someone somewhere is being paid for inspecting and fixing city problems. If not create these positions and drvie them to do their jobs.

  4. Sorry it’s not going to work! cleaning the drainage because it will be blocked before rainy season. The current system is not fit for purpose, fact. If Sampa was forward thinking he would be engaging civil engineers etc to identify a system specific to addressing the issues. We already know the problem, it happens every year. Consider drainage models in flood prone cities that work I.e. Copenhagen. Adapt the idea to Zambia, think outside the box. Come man, this thing of donning overalls and appearing to help with the cleaning is old and just a PR stunt.

  5. Firstly, if those were proper drainage systems, it would take much more to block them. In most cases they are just open ditches. You need covered systems that allow mostly only the water to sip through – and don’t take much work to unblock when smaller waste goes through and accumulates after a long period of time.

    Secondly, what do all those people in various positions in public health, environment and sanitation do – apart from seeing them in all sorts of garb during the cholera season? What do they do the rest of the year?

  6. Just like everyone mentioned you need proper equipment for that instead of risking people’s health. It is also a continuous process that’s why campaigns like this never work. Buy machinery or hire some people that’s how you create employment instead of this cheap dangerous fix. I see why Chinese call us monkeys how do you unclog those drains with bare hands and rakes.

  7. What do municipal council do in our country? This is their task and are paid for it. Mr Sampa is gaining millage here for nothing. He is suppose to engage the council and make them work for there money!

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