Ndola residents have appealed to the local authority to unblock drainages in the City before the onset of the 2022/2023 rainy season.
The residents are of the view that the blocked drainages will have a bad effect on the few roads still in good condition.
They say their concerns over the drainages should be treated with the urgency it deserves as the situation will make it difficult for road users to use the roads once the rains start.
One of the residents, Luke Bwalya, said in an interview that Ndola City Council should ensure that the drainages are unblocked according to its mandate.
Mr. Bwalya is of the view that as the council collects revenue in the area, it was only logical for the local authority to ensure that it ploughs back into the community by unblocking the drainages before the onset of the rains.
“We are not even supposed to be appealing to the council to unblock the drainages. It is the duty of the local authority to provide services for the residents in any given town,” he said.
He said as much as the residents have the responsibility to ensure that they do not litter garbage in drainages, the council should do periodic works to ensure that drainages are not blocked.
However, other residents are of the view that the drainages that pass through their yards should be cleared by the affected residents instead of waiting for the council.
Mr. Cabby Chilufya said the stretches that do not pass through many residential places are long and are labour intensive than the ones that pass in people’s yards.
He observed that the council has been reluctant in clearing the drainages in the district which causes floods in most cases when there are heavy rains.
In response, Ndola Mayor Jones Kalyati assured the residents that his council is coming up with a work plan to abate this looming disaster.
Mayor Kalyati has since urged the councilors and Ward Development Committee (WDC) members to take advantage of the finances on ward allocation and Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to help with such works in communities.
It’s one of those financial burdens our local authorities can avoid. Government should start fining those who throw litter in undesignated places. But that’s too much to ask in independent Zambia. In colonial Northern Rhodesia the government would not tolerate it.
Do they have to be urged? Isn’t this a 365 day job for any civic center? What are they being paid for?
The design is rotten, why do these draignages have to open pit? Common sense is not always common!
I concur.Why dont they cover them completly.These drainages always look like they are still under construction