NAREP chief calls for inquiry into fire cases
B AARON CHIYAN O THERE spate of fires which have NAREP EC
Mr Chipomo said that he was alarmed and concerned about the de astation that had befallen the residents of Ndola following a fire at Kapalala mar et in Masala ownship.
Mr Chipimo said in a statement that there was now a deep and disturbing problem that the go ernment needed to sort out.
He howe er reiterated that the problem would not be sol ed by ta ing away people s liberties through threatened states of emergencies or thinly- eiled accusations against political opponents.
Mr Chipimo emphasised the need for an independent body to thoroughly in estigate the spate of fires that had rocked the country.
Although the most recent fire appears to have been caused by sheer negligence Zambians must resist any attempt to impose any further limitations on our rights and instead demand the leadership that has been lac ing from the PF. e need an independent body to in estigate the causes of the fires that are ravaging our mar ets and to ma e clear recommendations about how to pre ent future incidents of this nature he said.
Mr Chipimo explained that there was need for an independent en uiry into the fire incidents to give confidence to the public that there was no larger issue at play.
He pointed out that criminal in estigations of this nature re uired ongoing public updates to give the nation confidence that the incidents were not going to be used by those in power as a pretext to see a way to silence the opposition or indeed benefit from the contractual wor s that would be re uired to be underta en to rebuild what had been damaged.
E erything should be done to facilitate the wor of the police to thoroughly in estigate the cause of these incidents in order to bring the perpetrators to account. ut something more must also be done to assure the public that these in estigations are thorough and lea e no stone unturned said Mr Chipimo.
Mr Chipimo challenged President Edgar Lungu to allow for the institution of a parallel public en uiry into the safety of mar ets and what could be done to pre ent calamities such as those witnessed recently if there was nothing to hide.
He ad ised that the commission of in uiry should also loo into how the ongoing in estigations had been handled so far and its terms of reference should commit to ma ing the findings public within the shortest possible time.