Enterprising youths arrested over garbage collection
TWO enterprising youths have been arrested by the Lusaka City Council police for collecting garbage from residents from Chibolya using a wheelbarrow.
However, according to the Lusaka City Council it is illegal to collect garbage using a wheelbarrow as only vehicles were permissible. This is despite the fact most compounds are not serviced by vehicles and rely on the enterprising youths to collect garbage from households and dump it at a central place for collection by either the council vehicles or private companies engaged to for specific areas.
The council apprehended two juveniles of Chibolya Compound for collecting garbage using a wheelbarrow.
The juveniles were taken by a team of LCC public health inspectors and council police on Wednesday morning in Chibolya Township.
He said the two had been charged with two offences, illegal collection of solid waste and indiscriminate disposal of solid waste contrary to the Public Healthy Act Cap 295 chapter 100 of the laws of Zambia and will be soon be prosecuted.
“The two juveniles were illegally charging unsuspecting Chibolya township residents for collection of solid waste using wheelbarrows, which they would later dump in undesignated places,” he said.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Nation, (LCC) acting public relations manager George Sichimba, said the council is ready and committed to work with people who use the correct equipment for waste collection such customised garbage trucks or tipper trucks. But the council has charged that any individual using wheelbarrows for the purpose of waste collection is not to be engaged for such persons are not registered with the council.
He has encouraged Lusaka residents to demand to see the receipts and contracts of engagement provided by the local authority to all registered waste collectors, before signing up for this service and not to fall prey to illegal waste collectors.
He also refuted the claim that council police are not working. But that the council policy is fully on the ground and enforcing the by-laws such as the Public Health Act. “Council police is effective only that, the shortage of manpower seems to beaming a picture of ineffectiveness on the operations of the council as they cannot be in all parts of the city,” said Sichimba.