Don’t bring cholera here, minister warns

By ANDREW MUKOMA SOUTHERN Province Minister Edify Hamukale has warned against traders migrating from cholera prone areas getting into the province.

Dr. Hamukale says that those getting in Southern province with a view of doing business by erecting makeshift stands were not welcome in the region.

He said that the province was working hard to ensure it remained clean and free from cholera saying that those who wanted to bring dirt would not be allowed.

The minister was speaking in Livingstone in the wake of the cholera incidences that the province has recorded since the outbreak in Lusaka in October last year.

"In Southern Province, we started cleaning in October last year and the Vice President Ms. Inonge Wina appreciates our efforts as a province... Most of the cholera transmission occurs through handshake, which to us is tradition," he said.

“Let's avoid handshakes. I am aware of our culture but for the sake of life and health let’s stop it,” said Dr. Hamukale.

Dr. Hamukale said that the province had recorded three cases of cholera, which he insisted were as a result of the influx of traders migrating from cholera hit areas into Southern province.

“Don’t think by coming to Southern Province you will find space to put up a makeshift place to trade from. We will not allow that,” he said.

The provincial minister charged that the migration of traders was ill timed especially with the cholera outbreak.