Lusaka City Deputy Mayor Chilando Chitangala has said Lusaka was suffering from a sanitation crisis which was claiming people’s lives through annual cholera, typhoid and dysentery outbreaks.
Ms. Chitangala said the sanitation crisis was also causing severe environmental pollution.
ZANIS reports that the deputy mayor was speaking during the official opening of media training for Editors at Chita Lodge in Kafue district yesterday.
She said the peri-urban, which represents at least 70 percent of urban population, was the most affected by the sanitation crisis.
“Access to sanitation services is particular in lower peri-urban settlements as sanitation provision is generally left to residents who mostly use unsafe pit latrines of which most of them are in poor condition,” she said.
Ms. Chitangala added that, “The sharing of these latrines is also a common practice especially for those who do not have a facility on their property in areas which are densely populated while there are isolated cases of open defecation”.
According to the deputy mayor, the other risk was that 57 percent of Lusaka’s water supply was sourced from within the city.
“The city has an unusually high ground water table which is prone to contamination particularly in high density areas without proper sanitation facilities. This is against a projected population growth of five percent and is estimated to grow to five million by 2030,” she said.
Other than noting the inadequacies in the provision of sanitation, Ms. Chitangala added that the crisis was denying people their right to basic facilities hence the outbreaks of water borne diseases.
She said the introduction of the Lusaka Sanitation Programme (LSP) was in line with government’s vision 2030 and the sixth national development plan (SNDP) which is aimed at bettering the lives for ordinary Zambians.
The LSP’s objective is to increase access to sanitation services in selected areas of Lusaka and strengthen Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company’s capacity to manage sanitation services.
Through the provision of adequate sanitation services, the programme is also expected to improve Lusaka’s public health outcomes such as the annual cholera outbreaks.
The project is funded by four International Financial Institutions (IFIS) which are the European Investment Bank, Kredistanstal fur Weiderauf bank (KFW), the African Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.
And Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) Director Manuel Mutale said the quality of life will drastically improve for the people in Lusaka when the LSP is fully implemented.
Mr. Mutale said water related illnesses will also reduce because people will no longer resort to unsafe alternatives because there will be enough clean and safe water.
Flush toilets and garbage trucks are “unAfrican”
Apparently, when Idi Amin chased indians and allowed the locals to take up their properties, guess what happened! The once green and lush lawns now became grazing grounds for goats, the garages for state of the art volks wagen were turned into chicken house etc. Literally, the village came to Town.
@whisper: This would be funny had it not been foolhardy. Have you been to India and lived with Indians? Do you know their sanitation practices? Please dot expose your ignorance here.
Are Indians themselves that ‘green’ savvy..!?
The discussion isn’t about Indians. Africans are easily distracted. No focus
The influx migrant rogue gypsy tribes from N/E Rhodesia has really spoilt a once prosperous nation, N/W Rhodesia. They invaded LAMBALAND, LENJELAND & SOLILAND & have bred like hamsters to increase their poverty-stricken population from just 3million at independence to over 10million now. 80% of them live in abject poverty in Compounds. Such low-lives, oxygen thiefs, waste of sperm.
In the 80’s Lusaka was so nice to walk around. Now its infested & congested with these filthy dark-skinned youths from migrant tribes who loiter, smoke dagga & drink in town whole day. They are rude, violent & primitive. If a lady of walks into town wearing a skirt above the knee, she’ll be stripped naked.
They need to be moved back to N/E Rhodesia where they belong.
LOL…classic comment…hahaha..i might nit agree with you but..hahaha
As if this wasn’t enough, they aspired for jobs occupied by the more honest and deligent NW Zambians. Thieves invaded the police force, rapists the army, smugglers the immigration department and the highest office was taken by a sweet talking but empty headed pigmy conman and swindling kleptomaniac in the name of one Chiluba. Just when we were seeing light by having a NW Zambian as head of state, God dealt us a cruel blow by taking him away so quickly and handing us back to the same rougue migrant tribes. We got a twit, a bafoon and now we have a puppet with no idea where he is taking us. His handlers have now vowed never again to hand back the country they stole. We are in deep s***!
@ Deep Thinker: Their crooked leaders now encourage tribal politics because they out-number Lambas in Lamba-land, Lenjes in Lenjeland & worse in Soli-land. When u speak Soli in Soli-land they tell u to stop speaking FITUNDU. Mxxxm.
They don’t even think of relocating back to N/E Rhodesia. They are like a virus, hard to take out of the body.
Their forefathers came to Soli-land to search for work as houseboys, tea-boys & Maids for White People. They settled in Filthy Compounds making Lusaka one of the filthiest city in the world.
N/W Rhodesia is really cursed to be yoked with these oxygen thieves.
i wish you young deputy mayor the best. don’t just have seminars and write speeches. see to it that council and GRZ does not steal money for sanitation, but work hard to provide running water from Kafue to everyone to have proper toilets and do away with pit latrines. over 50 yrs and we’re still having pit latrines in lusaka is a shame.
Hey Manuel, still doing two chief exec jobs! Lucky fella you are.
What’s your secret?
@KK Airport Cabinet, exactly my thoughts. They make all these speeches, tied to SDG’s, visions and plans but do not show any work plans or activities how this will be achieved. Deputy Mayor says “…Through the provision of adequate sanitation services, the programme is also expected to improve Lusaka’s public health outcomes such as the annual cholera outbreaks…” Again what are the practical steps and actions that will be taken to improve the sanitation? We really need to start taking on these public figures and rhetoric speeches.
Madam deputy Mayor,
Please you and the Mayor of Lusaka needs to seriously change the face of Lusaka and you MUST do this by engaging stakeholders and plan for this city. Lusaka is too small a city but its in deplorable state and its high time we delivered together to the people who have put us in these jobs. Lets make LUSAK A GREEN AND WELL PLÁNNED CITY ÇAUSE WE HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN TO MAKE IT!
Please I encourage you and the Mayor to invite stakeholders to meetings where new and workable ideas can be exchanged and solutions of how the council can start making money and attract professionals, ITS DOABLE WHEN YOU PURSUE THE VISION! Remember, 2021 will be about service delivery and we have the opportunity to do just that, NO EXCUSES.
For as long as we believe in unplanned settlements, street vending and such activities you can have all the seminars nothing will work. Practical action and not rhetoric is what is needed. Street vending is not the only solution to poverty. When government openly supports such activities ba Mayor you have failed sanitation before you start. Speeches without action are cheap it does not matter who says what.
Can you imagine blaming the current heat wave on PF by Upnd?
Lusaka City is very deceptive, the first impression you get from its layout is a well planned town but is the dirtiest City in Zambia. Rains are here and water borne diseases are here year in year out no permanent solution. Reason I will never live in Lusaka!!!
Our town are dirty and chaotic because of uncontrolled street vending. Speak to Nkandu Luo, she has some ideas to curb the disorganization. She dared (and rightly so!) to control it when the late president sanctioned it and earned a censure! Now the politician are “riding the back of a tiger”, fearing if they ordered the vendors off the street they will loose the votes! we have the dirtiest towns in the sub – region and therefore, most unhealthy! High time we had councilors worth their mettle to find solutions to vending! The other is contamination of water sources in Chalala and Meanwood where boreholes are sunk close to soakways resulting dysentery and cholera when the water table rises in the rainy season.
Zambians come back from SA and Botswana and Namibia appreciating the cleanliness of the towns there. But we can do the same here if we gave power back to the council and stopped condoning illegality and lawlessness by taking power from the cadre!!! Its ridiculous that the town councils should be at the mercy of the cadre because of party cronyism and disrespect for regulations and by laws. Its a reflection of the quality of the leadership!
well deputy mayor is a grade 2 drop out her level of perception of things? Low IQ…Let her first deal with obesity….
why do you always eliminate my posts yet you keep pubishing lies and sexist insults and diatribe?