Residents of Nakatindi ward in Chongwe district have continued to have difficulties in accessing clean drinking water as they have been depending on one borehole for water supply for the past two years.
Speaking in an interview in Chongwe, Ward councillor Akashi Sitali disclosed that only one out of six boreholes in the ward has been functional for the past two years.
Mr. Akashi stated that the crisis has led a lot of residents in the area to draw water from Mikango army barracks while some have dug wells at their homes to access the resource.
He said some residents have been covering long distances to source water and are eager to see the crisis being addressed.
Mr. Sitali revealed that officers from Chongwe municipal council have since inspected the boreholes which are non-functional and are expected to repair them.
He also stated that Chongwe Member of Parliament (MP) Sylvia Masebo has offered to sink one borehole in the ward to improve water supply in the area.
Mr. Sitali said drilling of boreholes is among the proposed projects prioritised by the communities in the ward to be implemented through the constituency development fund (CDF).
He called on various stakeholders to come to the aid of people in the ward by drilling more boreholes to enable people in the area to easily access water.
Meanwhile, one of the residents talked to Wallace Chabota said people of Nakatindi are looking foward to start enjoying their basic right to water under the new dawn government.
“Very little was done in the past to address the water challenges in Nakatindi and we hope the new dawn government will improve water supply. Access to water is our right and it is sad that this problem has not been attended to for a long time,” Mr. Chabota said.
Mr. Chabota said the ward development committee in the area should ensure that CDF allocations for the ward are used to address various challenges affecting people in the ward such as the water crisis.
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Ever since the two Chinese mines are operating in the Chongwe area – and are using immense amounts of water – the water table has gone down by more than 15-20m. And the Chongwe river has dried up completely. But you won’t hear one word of protest about those mines: two many local councillors etc have been on the receiving end of this PF induced corruption. Thanks, Edgar China Lungu!;
This is why Forest 27 was supposed to be preserved as a catchment. We cant allow a few greedy people to affect the lives of thousands of people in chongwe. It may not be popular but HH needs to be a leader, undo what lungu PF did in order for this town to survive. Vacate and restore Forest 27 as a forest reserve. Including developments on the Twin Palm Rd side.