We did not engage any Israeli firm - PS
GOVERNMENT has refuted media claims that it has engaged an Israel-based company for the purification of water in Lusaka.
Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection permanent secretary Bishop Ed Chomba said the ministry had called for companies that would clean up the contaminated areas in Lusaka and the Israeli company was among the firms.
“We have experts in the ministry and other government wings that are capable of purifying the water. The Israeli company was only promoting their machine and we allowed them to demonstrate to us how it works.
“They were able to purify the water or although they were unable to eliminate the pathogens in the water,” said
He said the equipment that used was not to the required standard that the government was looking for as it was too small for the intended task at hand that of purifying all affected areas in Lusaka district.
And Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale, also said that government was looking into ways of buying big equipment that can be used for the purification of water in Chongwe as there has been complaints from people of Chongwe that the water is not clean.
“I can confirm that a test was carried out using the machine that the Israeli company was promoting and I drank the sample and the water was clean it’s just that the equipment was not big and it was not to the required standard that we are looking for,” Mr. Mwale said.
Mr. Mwale said process of acquiring the equipment would be done in collaboration with technocrats from the ministry and the University of Zambia, to see how best the equipment would help in mitigating effects of unclean water in Chongwe.